It is currently Tue Mar 17, 2020 2:31 am

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 6 posts ] 
Author Message
Post subject: Low Wattage Tube/Valve Combo With Headphone Jack
Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2010 11:09 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2007 5:28 pm
Posts: 21
Hey all-

It's been a long while since I've been in the forums, but it's good to be back!

I just got got a new job, and will be moving to an apartment. My dilemma is that I will probably have neighbors, and unless I have my Tweed Blues Jr (with Jensen) set up in the church where I'm working, I'm afraid that it will probably be too loud.

So that being said, I'm currently looking for something small, and low wattage. The kicker here is I'm really looking for something with a Headphone Jack, for the night jams and practice. I love the Vox AC4 even with the attenuator, but it doesn't have a headphone jack. If it did, I'd probably have bought one over the weekend ($170 for the 8 inch combo!). About the only ones that really fall into this category are the Marshall Class 5 and the Blackstar HT 5. These are a little out of my price range than I'd like to spend for this kind of amp, but am not opposed to it.

Have any of you had any experience with either of these amps? What's the sound like thru headphones?

Also another option I've looked at is the Vox Valvetronix 15 watt modeler. I've never been huge on modeling amps, except for these Valvetronix amps. They somehow nail their stuff pretty well, and that one is in the same price neighborhood as the AC 4. Anyway, thanks for your thoughts and comments!


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject:
Posted: Fri Mar 12, 2010 7:40 am
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2009 12:05 am
Posts: 1400
Location: Australia
Peavey Valveking Royal 8. Pretty sure it has a headphone jack and they are pretty cheap. Sound not too bad. Just don't expect it to sound like your BJ though.

_________________
_______________________________________
Image
MIM Std Tele, MIM HSS Strat, Homemade Mongrel Tele, Blues Jr, Champ600, coupla pedals...sweeeet!


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Fri Mar 12, 2010 7:54 am
Offline
Amateur
Amateur

Joined: Fri Mar 20, 2009 3:56 pm
Posts: 131
Just looking on the GC website. How about the Bugera V5?

[url]http://www.guitarcenter.com/Bugera-V5-Tube-Guitar-Combo-Amp-105653901-i1470778.gc[/url

5 watts
Built in attenuator
headohone jack

I actually played one last week and I was pretty surprised. The onboard reverb is pretty bad, but the tone and gain knobs work well. I didn't plug in headphones, so I can't speak for that feature. Overall, I was surprised by the features/sound; a decent amp for the price.


Another option is to buy an attenuator with a headphone jack. An inexpensive option is a Weber Mini Mass. The 25 watt version would work for your blues jr. Or the 15 watt micro mass if you don't push it too hard. Again, I can't speak for the quality of the sound through the headphone jack because I haven't used one, but people seem to like them. I own a mini mass (without the headphone jack) and it works well for bringing the volume down a few dbs.


But if your considering spending up to $400-$500 on a Marshall or Blackstar, you might want to expand your search to include some more boutique options that aren't sold at Guitar Center, because a lot of great amps can be had for that price. Post your same question at a more frequented forum like The Gear Page or Harmony Central and you'll get a TON of suggestions.

_________________
Image


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Fri Mar 12, 2010 8:11 am
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Mon Dec 21, 2009 8:16 am
Posts: 1171
Location: Rutland, Vermont
I run headphones in the Bugera V5 and it sounds exactly the same as running it on the 8" driver. Works very well. The phones I bought at Radio Shack were pretty inexpensive (about $30) and have a volume control on each ear. I really like them. Could be just a little more comfortable. I just bought a shielded 16 foot extension yesterday morning so I don't have to sit so close to the amp all the time but have not used it yet. I think you'll be pretty happy with the kit. 8)

Maybe check out this VOX at Sweetwater! http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/VT15/

_________________
You're only as strong as
the drinks you pour,
the tables you dance on,
and the friends you roll with.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Fri Mar 12, 2010 8:37 am
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Sat Dec 13, 2008 11:49 am
Posts: 1153
Location: South Bay, CA
Caveat emptor - Bugera is Behringer, who are notorious for making their products inexpensive by using cheap parts, poor quality control, and by ripping off designs of other company's products and producing them almost exactly - we're not talking about a better version - it's the exact version in some cases.

If you haven't had any problems yet with your Bugera, then you may have one of the better ones. I would google Bugera to see if others are having service problems and then make your own choice.

For my conscience, I won't buy any of their products or the Danelectro Cool Cat series, which are blatant ripoff of top pedals.

Back on topic - in general tube amps don't have headphone output as they need to have a speaker resistive load to function properly.

For practice, you may want to look at something simple like a Vox plug, a Pod, etc. Not great, but you'll be able to practice at home. If you want to use your tube amp, you'll need to step up to something like the Palmer PG04 that replaces your speakers with a dummy resistive load for recording or live sound. It's $600-700 so may not be cost effective.

Good luck.

_________________
Image
'59? Bogen Challenger CHA-33, '65 Bandmaster, '65 Tremolux, 65 Showman;
'74 SF Princeton; '77 SF Princeton Reverb; Dr. Z Mini Z

Our band: http://www.facebook.com/thetoysband


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Fri Mar 12, 2010 9:20 am
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2007 2:19 pm
Posts: 8827
nedorama wrote:
Caveat emptor - Bugera is Behringer, who are notorious for making their products inexpensive by using cheap parts, poor quality control, and by ripping off designs of other company's products and producing them almost exactly - we're not talking about a better version - it's the exact version in some cases.

If you haven't had any problems yet with your Bugera, then you may have one of the better ones. I would google Bugera to see if others are having service problems and then make your own choice.

For my conscience, I won't buy any of their products or the Danelectro Cool Cat series, which are blatant ripoff of top pedals.

Back on topic - in general tube amps don't have headphone output as they need to have a speaker resistive load to function properly.

For practice, you may want to look at something simple like a Vox plug, a Pod, etc. Not great, but you'll be able to practice at home. If you want to use your tube amp, you'll need to step up to something like the Palmer PG04 that replaces your speakers with a dummy resistive load for recording or live sound. It's $600-700 so may not be cost effective.

Good luck.



+1


Top
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 6 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: