is 5 watts enough

[cake1122]

is 5 whats of tube amp enough to get a really good sound in the studio.

 

[c7sus]

Define "good sound."

If you want "clean Fender" tones, probably not. If you want Derek and the Dominoes tones it's the way to go. A lot of those old records were made with 15w Fender Champ amps and such.

 

[cake1122]

well mostly distorted hardcore metal music. little bit of punk probly.

 

[c7sus]

Should be fine. Your neighbors will thank you too.

 

[IronFlippy]

Pump it through a closed back cab with a 12" speaker and you should be fine. You'll probably want an OD pedal in front of it, since 5 watt tube amps usually don't have enough gain stages for hardcore/metal.

 

[cake1122]

hmm...should i just go ahead and get the 15 what combo its only like 70 bucks more. im looking at the epiphone ones if u where wandering.

 

[jonnyc]

this clip is an Epiphone Valve Jr head thru a Marshall 4x12 with a metalzone for distortion. You tell me if it's enough.

 

[cake1122]

that does sound really good. im thinking about getting a crate tube amp. its 15 watts and only 200 used. sounds really good 2. ill probly do that

 

[ofajen]

FWIW, my thought on speakers is to try to get the cone to be begging for mercy just about the same time the output tubes are. Thus, I'd try 8" speaker for 5 watts (single ended), 10" speaker for 15 watts (say a pair of EL 84s), 12" speaker for pair of 6L6s, EL-34s, etc. That's kinda why combos are put together that way so much, matching the cone rating to the output stage.

Otherwise, the tone isn't quite complete. A 5 watt amp pushing a 4x12 may sound OK, but it won't sound quite like a small version of 100 watts going through that same 4x12. All you will get is the despair of the output tubes, not the cone breakup. But, maybe that's good enough.

Just my 0.02 watts... YMMV.

Cheers,

Otto

 

[jonnyc]

FWIW, my thought on speakers is to try to get the cone to be begging for mercy just about the same time the output tubes are. Thus, I'd try 8" speaker for 5 watts (single ended), 10" speaker for 15 watts (say a pair of EL 84s), 12" speaker for pair of 6L6s, EL-34s, etc. That's kinda why combos are put together that way so much, matching the cone rating to the output stage.

Otherwise, the tone isn't quite complete. A 5 watt amp pushing a 4x12 may sound OK, but it won't sound quite like a small version of 100 watts going through that same 4x12. All you will get is the despair of the output tubes, not the cone breakup. But, maybe that's good enough.

Just my 0.02 watts... YMMV.

Cheers,

Otto

See what happens, or seems to, is since the speakers aren't pushed as hard you get much more headroom before that amp starts distorting, thus making it shweeet for pedals.

 

[Micter]

well mostly distorted hardcore metal music. little bit of punk probly.

A Valve Jr. with a Line 6 Uber Metal in front of it. No problem! I do prefer the Crate V8 over the Valve Jr. (I have both) for hard rock/metal though.

 

[Sonixx]

please post a 5W clip if you do... I'd like to hear this. I'm dubious

 

[jonnyc]

please post a 5W clip if you do... I'd like to hear this. I'm dubious

There already is a clip a few posts up.

 

[Sonixx]

thanks I missed it earlier...

the softer parts are nice and the clip overall is very cool, but the heavier gtr seems to be missing the bottom and is kind of mushy and not comfortably growly. maybe just too much saturation. Class A can sound very smooth but that seemed a tad harsh.

I've played around with the Epiphone Jr some and it's a decent deal at $100, but I'd put some more $$ with it for a bit more power.

 

[jonnyc]

thanks I missed it earlier...

the softer parts are nice and the clip overall is very cool, but the heavier gtr seems to be missing the bottom and is kind of mushy and not comfortably growly. maybe just too much saturation. Class A can sound very smooth but that seemed a tad harsh.

I've played around with the Epiphone Jr some and it's a decent deal at $100, but I'd put some more $$ with it for a bit more power.

You are aware of the fact that clip has a metalzone as the distortion right? Yeah it's not a perfect tone but there's probably been a dozen or so people who've run out to buy the amp after hearing the clip. One guy over at gearslutz even went and bought a modded metalzone to go with his new VJ from hearing the clip. Just wait until you hear this amp with a real distortion pedal in front, or even one of the modded amps. These are really little gems for what they are and I doubt you'll find anything near the tone vs. dollar amount of this amp.

 

[noisedude]

You are aware of the fact that clip has a metalzone as the distortion right? Yeah it's not a perfect tone but there's probably been a dozen or so people who've run out to buy the amp after hearing the clip. One guy over at gearslutz even went and bought a modded metalzone to go with his new VJ from hearing the clip. Just wait until you hear this amp with a real distortion pedal in front, or even one of the modded amps. These are really little gems for what they are and I doubt you'll find anything near the tone vs. dollar amount of this amp.

It sounds absolutely superb to my ears ... the drive is a little "pedal-y" but I happen to like that anyway. The whole clip sounds excellent to me - well done!

 

[Sonixx]

You are aware of the fact that clip has a metalzone as the distortion right? Yeah it's not a perfect tone but there's probably been a dozen or so people who've run out to buy the amp after hearing the clip. One guy over at gearslutz even went and bought a modded metalzone to go with his new VJ from hearing the clip. Just wait until you hear this amp with a real distortion pedal in front, or even one of the modded amps. These are really little gems for what they are and I doubt you'll find anything near the tone vs. dollar amount of this amp.

ouch... Okay.