Home-Studio Amp

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F88

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Hi Guys,

I am looking to purchase a new amp in the near future, but am unsure which way to go.

Volume isn't going to be an issue - It's only for home use, so I really don't need to be cranking it up all that loud.

I intend to have a decent little studio setup for recording (am still researching whether to Mic up an amp or not), but at the end of the day I am going to be doing a fair bit of experimental work with my new Manson MB-1.

I was considering an Orange Tiny Terror - the ability to knock it down to 7watts was a bonus.

Any pros/cons or deep thoughts from the gurus?

I appreciate your time.

Cheers
 
Get yourself a little 1 watt valve combo that way you can crank it for a great tone and mic it without it being that loud.

Like a Blackstar HT-1 combo!

:) Muzza
 
Thanks heaps Muzz, I didn't even know the Blackstar existed - so it's definitely food for thought.

Cheers mate :)
 
I've watched a few of the demos of the manson guitars.You can do some cool stuff with them for sure.I would think that something like this Axe-Fx Ultra Effects Processor would pair up real nice with the kaos pad, especially if you had the midi foot switch.You could always buy a tube power amp and a small enclosure later.
 
I have a Tiny Terror ...... I promise you ..... it's not that quiet.
I've gigged with it on the 7 1/5 watt setting in a band with a drummer and been asked to turn down! :D

That Blackstar would be a better choice IF you're worried about being too loud or you want to crank it wide open.
The Blackstar would likely give you more tonal possibilities too. The Orange is pretty much a mid-range heavy sorta sound.

Another possibility in the Blackstar line would be the http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/...eries-HT5H-5W-Tube-Guitar-Amp-Head?sku=483560
A little more power at 5 watts but way more tone controls and such so a lot more sounds you could coax out of it.
It even has an effects loop and speaker emulation.
 
Thanks heaps for the thoughts guys.

I intend to team the MB-1 up with a KORG KP3 initially and expand the effects out from there.

I don't have alot of experience with tube amps, so I probably didnt put enough thought into just how loud 5w's of Tiny Terror would be wide open.
 
No probs yeah Blackstar stuff is new but don't let that put you off they have made massive waves with their stuff! Also on the Blackstar is a simulated line out. Not new I know but it's the best I've ever heard so you can record direct with very good sound it's a little weird that it's so good but no gonna complain! Definitely my next studio purchase man!

Muzza.
 
Muzzaman said:
No probs yeah Blackstar stuff is new but don't let that put you off they have made massive waves with their stuff! Also on the Blackstar is a simulated line out. Not new I know but it's the best I've ever heard so you can record direct with very good sound it's a little weird that it's so good but no gonna complain! Definitely my next studio purchase man!

Muzza.
Click to expand...
and considerably cheaper than a tiny terror
 
I can't believe I'm saying this, but USB Audio Interface | POD Studio UX1 | Line 6 will work, and only cost you $125 or so. Takes care of the interface and the guitar amplifier at the same time. Plus bass tones, too. Oh, and they give you Ableton Live Lite as well. Tough to go wrong.
I always like micing real amplifiers, but I always find you need some power to move a real speaker, and pushing 1-watt into a 50-watt speaker just doesn't sound 'right'. Until they figure out how to defy the laws of physics, it's a real amp anywhere from 20-watts up to 100-watts (depending on the tone I'm after) unless the kids are sleeping. Then either SansAmp or Line 6 gear gets dusted off. Think about it.
 
I have the UX-1 and honestly it's not good enough. Hence why a HT-1 combo is on my shopping list. I'll be pushing 1 watt into a 8" speaker and mic'd i'm sure that will be better, and anyway the emulated out on the HT-1 is definitely more realistic that my toneport. UX-1 is ok but it's just that OK. I may be re-recording all my guitar parts on our cd when I get the Blackstar lol.

Muzza
 
F88 said:
Any pros/cons or deep thoughts from the gurus?
Click to expand...

The big one is, well, you need to think long and hard about what kind of sound you're after here. Are you recording jazz? Blues/rock? Hard rock? Metal? The best amp for a home studio enviroment really depends on the sound you're after.

I write and record instrumental prog-metal, more or less, with some pretty bluesy influences, and I use a 100-watt Mesa Recto Roadster with a Hot Plate. It actually sounds shockingly good for what I'm after at sane bedroom volumes, because power amp sag and compression isn't really a part of that sound in quite the same way it is if you're trying torecord Buddy Guy style Chicago blues.
 
i use a weber mass lite, with a 60 watt amp, much the same way as drew describes.

works great, plus i've got an amp that can hang at full stage/studio volume when i need it, and ANY point inbetween that and bedroom volume.


remember..

a microphone doesn't read volume....
it reads tone.
 
I bought a Traynor Dark Horse amp. It is an all tube head with two power settings. It uses two 6V6's for the 15 watt mode and a 12AU7 tube in the 2 watt mode. This is just a great studio amp with its selectable British or American tone stacks plus a straight trough option as well. Just love this amp for around the house and recording.
Traynor Amps: All Tube Guitar Heads
I use it with open back 1X12" cabinet with a Vintage 30 or set it on top of my Vibro King and use the 3X10's in that cabinet.
 
Muzzaman said:
I have the UX-1 and honestly it's not good enough. Hence why a HT-1 combo is on my shopping list. I'll be pushing 1 watt into a 8" speaker and mic'd i'm sure that will be better, and anyway the emulated out on the HT-1 is definitely more realistic that my toneport.
Click to expand...

Well, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, when they figure how to get 'girth' and all that fat low end from an 8" speaker with 1 freakin' watt driving it, I'll be the first in line to buy that amp. It ain't gonna happen. Now the speaker emulated output is a horse of a different color. But a mic in front of the stock speaker will sound like a constipated kazoo. It sounds fine for clean and that's it. The dirty tone is actually OK for solo work, but power chords just sound thin, because you only have 1-watt trying to move some air. And by 'thin' I mean after you've stood in front of a dimed 'stack' everything sounds thin by comparison. It's never bass players that fall for this claptrap. Always the gullible guitar players.
If the UX-1 doesn't float your boat, there's Tech 21 stuff. Or the Revalver. Anything is better than trying to get 1-watt to sound huge 'live'. After you've had that HT-1 for a week I'll bet my allowance for a whole year you'll be back here asking what's the best pedal to use with it. Or at least what mic can get the tone you're hearing in the room onto your computer.
Trying to get itsy bitsy teenie weenie amplifiers to sound huge has been a hunt we've all been on for 912 years. Somehow someone convinced you all it can be done. A Smart Car cannot be considered in the same handling and performance category as a Countach.
Ah, screw it. Some people consider a coffee and cigarette a hot meal, and those people also consider a 1-watt amplifier 'toneful'. Have at it. If you end up only liking the emulated output, you've paid for a gloried DI.
 
ranjam said:
Somehow someone convinced you all it can be done. .
Click to expand...
Recordings that have great sounds and were done with small amps have convinced some of us.

Whatever floats your boat for sure but just because you can't do it doesn't mean it can't be done.
Mics don't know jack about how much air you're moving ..... ALL they know is what gets to their diaphragms and makes them vibrate. If you're close enough to a small speaker you can get such sounds.

But mainly I'd like to see everyone open their minds a little bit.
Personally, I'm a big proponent of the idea that there are LOTS of different ways to get sounds.
I really disagree with ANYONE that believes there's only one way. They're always wrong. I learned that by being wrong enough times to get it thru my head. :D

If someone tells you that you can't get a realistic enough sound with your UX-1 they're wrong. They might not be able to do it but you can. Others can too 'cause I've heard it.

By the same token, when you say someone can't get a big sound out of a small amp, you're wrong. I've heard it. And do it frequently.

Not everything works for everybody. Our different styles, playing techniques and the different tiny details that we each choose to obsess over makes us get different results with the same gear. And so, some gear suits us and some doesn't. And it's just not the same from person to person.
I see it all the time in every aspect of music ..... people thinking there's a hard-fast rule and only this way of doing things is ok.
It's simply not true.

Different strokes for different folks ..... lots of different ways. We each have our own preferences but that's all it is.

And, BTW, I'm also a bass player with a quite nice rig for gigging.
Know what I mainly use for recording? A POS Marshall MG-15 with an 8" speaker! Sounds big as shit if I play it nice an soft with a LDC sitting right in the speaker. ;)
And yes, I've used the modelers for bass too but I actually prefer the sound of that small piece of crap. And there's no way you'd hear it and say, "Oh ..... that bass amp is tiny".

I don't personally have an axe to grind ...... I have 14 amps, all nice ones (except the MG-15 :D) and I have 5 or 6 modelers. I use whatever I happen to grab or be in the mood to use.
I get good results out of all of them.
 
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VHT Special 6....something to check out at least.....made a splash at N.A.M.M.

Having said that, I am loving my Vox AC4 thru my JCM 800 412 with Celestion V30's.....
 
Ya know, Bob, you have me thinking. I might open my mind on my hard-line opinion that you can't go direct from a guitar and get as good a tone as mic'ing the speaker on a all-tube guitar amp...

Thinking... thinking... thinking...

Ah, I'm done. Can't be done.:)
 
It can be done. It may not be the same sound as a tube amp, but it can be a 'good' sound, as long as you have any tolerance of what is 'good'. Pedals can be the same as some 'poor' emulators in that they don't translate picking attack well. The pedals, and the emulators, that do respond to picking nuances are the ones we've all been looking for.
What little I know about speakers is this. Your treble response comes from the center of the cone, and your bass response comes from the outer edge. This is why 'woofers' have a rubber surround. You want it to be able to withstand sound pressure without deformation. Now the typical Chinese speakers you see in Crate, Black Heart, Behringer, whatever, have a small spider and a stiff surround; at least until they 'break in'. They just don't have that fat bottom end. And an 8" has even less than 'not much'. Marshall never had a lot of bottom end, even in their 'best' vintage stuff, so an MG-15 is just more of the same. But at least they put that 80's hair metal tone in there. They sound great for solos and that 80's metal. Watch this; YouTube - Marshall MG15CDR miked up. Sounds fine. But just for when he goes wee wee wee all the way home. Those AC/DC crunch chords sound thin. No surprise. And that's a plain 57 micing it. Putting the mic right in the speaker cranks up the proximity effect, and tries to fake some bottom end. But I'd rather play to the tone I actually hear in the room, and not hoping like mad it sounds better on tape later.
Anyway, a good amp cranked pushing the speaker and responding to your playing nuances with the right mic and compressor has always been my goal. But lately I think the journey is more important that finding that perfect piece of gear. Use what you have. But after you hear that MG-15 I point out above, compare the same guy playing a 'real' amp; YouTube - Low budget Marshall replacement. Now hopefully you understand the not so subtle differences between 'good' and 'great' guitar tones.
 
dude ..... you're just as close minded as the guys that won't accept you can get good results out of your digital rig.

I do this for a living ..... it's the ONLY thing I've ever done for a living. I've done it in clubs and session work 5-7 nights a week in clubs and LOTS of session work for over 40 years.
I don't need to look at someones' lame Youtube video to understand the subtle differences in guitar tones .... it's what i do and what people track me down and pay me money for ..... because I'm good at it.

As I said earlier, when others tell you you can't get a good sound the way you record things, they're wrong.
You're wrong about this but you go ahead and follow your muse where it leads you. You just shouldn't tell other people that you know the golden way because you don't.
And, BTW, your disertation on speakers confirmed what you started it off with. You know little about speakers.

I love people that think their way is the only way ......... :rolleyes:

A second BTW ..... I have a Marshall 6101. two Mesa's, a 70's Ampeg half-stack , 3 other 70's Ampegs, a Fender Hot Rod deVille ..... I have amps and I know what good ones sound like because I do this for a living.
 
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