You really don't need 40 watts to gig with. 20-25 watts is usually plenty. Any bigger venues, you would mix through the PA system anyway and keep your stage volume at a reasonable level. The problem with pushing any 5 watt amp is headroom. You won't have any at a workable volume if you want or need it. After a certain point you pass the sweet spot and the distortion gets a bit nasty. Along with my 74 Champ, I have a five watt home built kit amp that's pretty cool. I run that one through two 112 cabs. It's great for rehearsals but would be iffy for gigging.

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Well, the rhythm guitarist played a 22 watt Fender Deluxe RI live and honestly there were times that it just sounded like mud because it had to be turned up all or most of the way live. But then, I'm more of a clean player and I like having the extra headroom so it's just my preference. If I need dirt, I use an overdrive pedal.



My Peavey Classic 30 has an aftermarket attenuator so I can get some serious overdrive at bedroom levels. I paid about $300 for it used several years ago, so granted it would take much more if you bought the amp new and did the modification yourself. But getting an attenuator is a cool mod for any amp.

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[/quote] My Peavey Classic 30 has an aftermarket attenuator so I can get some serious overdrive at bedroom levels. I paid about $300 for it used several years ago, so granted it would take much more if you bought the amp new and did the modification yourself. But getting an attenuator is a cool mod for any amp. [/quote]


Hmm, I've heard of attenuators but was never really sure of what exactly they did and how... Is this a simple modification? And how much would it cost (diy or tech)?

Take a look at the Carvin Vintage 16. It's a 16 watt all tube 112 combo that is switchable to 5 watts. It also has a line out for recording.

Hello!
Seems to be a lot of good amps out there. I'll just give you an input . I have now for years used a Hot Rod Deluxe. Pretty loud amp , I think. Then - in the need to get a good sounding amp for practicing and recording at home - I bought a Blackheart Little Giant. 5W switchable to 3. Later I took it to band-rehearsals just for testing it out- and we were all chocked about how loud it was. No problem getting sweet sounds to be heard over a pretty noisy drummer.
Blackheart also offers a 15/7 W -and I suppose this should fit you like a glove
It's called Little Devil but I got to admit that I haven't tried it. but -hence to my good experiences with the Little, I recommend that you check it out. Good luck, anyway
http://www.blackhearteng.com/bh15112.html

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A-man

Another vote for the Peavey Classic Series! Affordable, sound great and are built like tanks.

Muddiness is caused by a lot of things, though I've never had A Deluxe Reverb sound muddy. Usually I find it just the opposite.

Anyway that's one of the many reasons I jumped the Fender ship after 40+ years. Reliability and their use of cheap tubes, components and speakers. I've found Egnater to be a breath of fresh air.

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I have looked at the carvin and am very intrigued by it. also, the blackheart handsome devil looks very promising. does anybody have any experience with either one of these amps or other carvin/blackheart amps (im not sure about the quality of the blackheart...)?
thanks for all the replies, you guys are great!

Absolutly no problems with my BH5 - Stirdy enough for rough transport, no electronically issues.
But I am also sure the Carvin is very good. Steve Vai sticks to the brand
Of course - there are plenty of 'purists' out there who would not touch the Blackheart , because it is chinese made. But it IS - US design/construction

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A-man

Nothing wrong with Carvin either. I believe they're made in the USA too. The only problem with low wattage amps is they have very little headroom if and when you need it. I have two. A 6 watt 74 Champ and a 5 watt MOD DIY kit. Both sound great, but anything but a coffee house gig and they get lost in the mix.

That's anther thing to consider. My HRDlx couldn't cut a mix no matter where I set it. My Egnater even though it's half the wattage, cuts like a knife. It's was definitely the speaker that was the problem.

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Tested the Egnater a couple of weeks ago - I agree- it sounded fabulous. I think i personally will consider buying it. But also , I have been considering replacing the speaker in my HRDlx - and buying a good power attenuator for it Any recommendations ?

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A-man

I would go with a Weber Mini Mass 50 watt for an attenuator.
http://taweber.powweb.com/weber/minimass.htm

I'd go with either Weber or Celestion for speakers. Personally, I dumped my HRDlx due to serious reliability problems. It liked my tech more than me. That's how I wound up with the Egnater. I sold mine on CL because even though it was in mint condition and a fresh set of JJ's and seven months left on the warranty it was only worth $250 on a trade in. I got tired of trying to make my HRDlx something it wasn't. A good sounding reliable amp.

Anyway Weber make first rate stuff. I use a Weber Z Matcher so I cam match the impedance of any of my amps to just about any speaker cabs I have or borrow.

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I briefly had the Carvin Vintage 16 earlier this year. It's a great little amp. I mainly played it in 5 watt mode with the volume dimed and the gain up to around 7. It was very reminiscent of a tweed champ. It was very responsive to the guitar's volume control. The onboard reverb isn't as strong as the Fender reverb but the Fender reverb is the industry standard. It's good for most uses but not quite what you would want for surf music. You can always add a pedal for that. The only reason that I sent it back was because I was more convinced that I wanted a tweed champ instead of the Carvin. I ended up not getting the tweed champ but instead got a Carvin Legacy combo because my tweed twin needed to take a trip to the shop.

I would highly recommend giving it a try. They are made in San Diego. No experience with Egnaters or Blackhearts.

I like the Egnator Rebel amps a lot. A Rebel 30 is on my "One of these days" GAS list...

I also like the current Vox AC15--it's a good-sounding, very flexible amp; several friends of mine have used them in their punk/pop bands...of course I'm playing bluesy Texas Roadhouse Music and it worked well for that, too. They're tough amps (one guy literally throws his around and treats it like crap, yet it still works well), plenty loud (I don't know why that 15watt tube amp is so much louder than other 15 watt tube amps, but the three that played through were loud enough to keep up with a violent drummer, second guitarist as well as a bassist and still be heard), they have a great onboard tremolo effect and they're really reasonably priced (especially used)...but they have the problem of being made in China. They're on my "maybe one of these days GAS list."

I'm very curious about the new Fender Pawn Shop Excelsior amp...it looks so cool, but I want to get my ears and hands on one in person before I add it got the GAS list in any way, shape or form.

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Good Vibes To Y'all!



Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals

I would buy the Excelsior, gut it and build a nice hand wired 5e3 circuit in there.

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Life...... It's sexually transmitted and always fatal