microamp to record with?

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Jouni

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This must've been covered a zillion times but....



I've missed a couple of deals by a hair at a local musician's market.. an Uraltone jr in a mahogany closing and a H&K Cream machine. :(

I've sort of wanting to try out a "tube tone" to my recording gear... man, that Cream machine sounded great even through a YouTube-video... :eek:

First, am I completely off target here??
Can I get a better sound out of a DI box than a tube microamp??...

Am I dreaming on of a pre and power tube amp I can mic at bedroom levels for metal??

..probably with "tone"... but what'd be the best I could get??
...for home playing, got no venues, and MAYBE to mic on tape??

:o
 
Low-wattage tube amps are starting to spring up from a lot more manufacturers lately.

For metal, I'd be curious if the Satriani-inspired Mini Colossal from Peavey would do well? Its like a 5W tube amp with a built-in attenuator. On paper, it sounds like a perfect option but I've never heard one.

The little Epiphone Valve Junior is another 5W all-tube amp, but it goes more for vintage kinds of tone. Although there is a sound clip floating around these boards of one being used for metal.
 
That Peavey sounds interesting, so does the Epiphone Valve Junior...

...I'm kinda looking for a jack of all trades here... since I'd like to hear the tube cleans at the point of break, to give that nice break and separation (and softness) to notes played gently, with lowered guitar volume... then a volume swell, and some decent saturation to play with.

I can add overdrive/distortion with pedals before amp and it'll still sound tube???

As you've guessed I'm n00b at tubes. :o

I also like to noodle around with bluesy stuff, then some older ZZTop kinda riffing---> LedZep/sabbath/--->death and black metal.

Sorta want to sweeten the cleans in pretty stuff... then dig in with some serious layered stuff to rip it apart.

Let's say Ill get the Epiphone Valve Junior, cheap as it is... :o
If I'm to mic it what'd you suggest for a mic??? All I've got now is a pair of Rode nt1-A:s...

But for homerecording, micing shit is a drag... So I'm still wondering if there is an DI-option that'd sound tube...??
 
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just stick an sm57 or a sennheiser e609 in front of it and you should be fine.
 
I agree, micing an amp isn't really that tough. Especially when you consider the alternatives. A plain DI signal from a guitar amp is usually pretty uninspiring. Normally a little gritty and generally lifeless.

That's where the cabinet simulators come in, like the POD, etc. But its a different world of tone when you go that route. I don't find anything "tubey" about the simulators. Nothing beats a tube amp when it comes to slight crunch and rock tones in my opinion. A POD can do pretty good cleans, and pretty good searing distortions. But when it comes to those crunchy middle grounds of guitar distortion, the breakup of a tube power section is just inimitable.

I feel like my Traynor (Custom Valve series, which does offer a 15-watter) does the things that you're describing: bluesy, rock, Zep, and even Sabbath. In my opinion, it excels at all of those. But it stops there...there's no wringing any death metal out of my amp.

I have a feeling that the Valve Junior will be in the same category. I can't imagine it putting out any chunky, balls-to-the wall, low-mid heavy distortion even if pumped through a 4x12. But everybody around here that's played through one really seems to fall in love with that little amp for the price. They're one or two small user-modifications away from being excellent low-wattage amps for just about any price range.

Oh, and an overdrive pedal in front of a tube amp will certainly be a good match. Use it to drive your amp harder and get more tube breakup without having to walk over and turn up the gain knob. The same goes for your volume control on your guitar. At the right amp settings, your volume knob becomes your control for distortion.
 
How handy are you with a soldering iron? Build a low watt tube amp. I just finished another 5 watt single ended amp around a 12AU6 and 50C5 tubes.
 
Zvex has also cought my interest, luckily I don't fly much. :D

I've got electrical training and working on automation, so I can solder...

Ive got plenty free time on my hands at job, and been thinking about building an amp from a kit.. There is metalworkers, machinery, electricians, and all sorts of knowhow in the older workers, I'd be lucky to have anything to do myself!... :eek: :D

...but also would like to have my amp soon.
I'm heavily leaning to the Valve Junior here...
 
The Firefly is on my future project list. Hopefully it'll happen sometime this summer. There's great info for modding these things available. Currently my low power amp is a '58 Voice of Music Hi-Fi amp that I modded. It's a SE 6AQ5 output, 6AU6 pre, 6X4 rectifier 3.5w beast. I use it way more than any other amp I own.

Mike I'd really like to see the schem. of your latest.
 
Track Rat said:
How handy are you with a soldering iron? Build a low watt tube amp. I just finished another 5 watt single ended amp around a 12AU6 and 50C5 tubes.
Click to expand...

Heh, don't see many radio tube amps these days. I've got an Alamo Capri with that confirguration that I just recapped. Telefunken 12au6s are dirt cheap and sound great in the front end.
 
This is what I just built. It sounds pretty cool.
 

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Thanks Mike; I've got some of those tubes, and an old tabletop radio that could donate an OT. I've never messed with anything that has the heaters in series like that. It looks cool, but I don't think I would want to touch any other gear while plugged in. :eek:
 
It distorts nicely if you lean into it (and with the tube rectifier, it sags a bit too which is cool). And of course, as there's no input tranny, it's not insulated from power but I wired it with a 3 prong plug and the case is grounded so I've not had any issues with shocks or hum.
 
Jouni said:
I'm heavily leaning to the Valve Junior here...
Click to expand...
I got a Valve Junior head and I'm currently running it through a 2x12. Definitely get one - they seem too good to be true for the price. I've used two distortion pedals with it - an Ibanez TS-10 and a Fulltone Fulldrive 2 - both of them sound great, and I could get as much crunch and pinch harmonic action as I wanted.

One thing you'll read that matches my experience is that the goodness of tube amps comes from overdriving the power amp stage, not so much the preamp stage. For that reason, DI from a tube amp (which bypasses the power amp stage) skips the good part. Similarly, getting a tube preamp and running into a solid state power stage doesn't get it either. Another aspect to this is that to be overdriving the power tubes, you've got to be playing loud, or using an attenuator between the amp and the speakers (which will, at best, eliminate speaker breakup, which is another good sounding thing). For this reason, lower wattage is usually more desirable, unless you really want to move some air.
 
Track Rat said:
I just finished one today. It ROCKS. You've got to build one of these.
Click to expand...

Way Cool! I'm jealous to say the least. I've been wanting to do one of those for a while. The other projects keep getting in the way. I was recently bitten by the pickup winding bug. As soon as the fever subsides, and I finish my current guitar project. I'm on it like bluebonnet.

Did you get the kit?
 
No kit. I just got the schematic and used parts I had laying around the house and fabricated the chassis. I can't believe how much balls this little thing has.
 
Track Rat said:
No kit. I just got the schematic and used parts I had laying around the house and fabricated the chassis. I can't believe how much balls this little thing has.
Click to expand...

Right on! I like your style. Could you post a picture of your layout please.
 
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