Mini Amp Craze

[TKEblue]

How much volume do you really use on a 100w+ head? Because my 60watt on past 4 with 3 12s makes my ears ring after I turn it off

[jgcable]

How much volume do you really use on a 100w+ head? Because my 60watt on past 4 with 3 12s makes my ears ring after I turn it off

Its got nothing to do with wattage or whether or not you play at home or you gig all the time.
What I am talking about is how many players are getting caught up in this mini amp craze.
The amp manufacturers are doing a great job of marketing these little turds.
I guess they figure that the majority of their customers already have amps and the fact of the matter is that amps for the most part have been very reliable over the last 10-15 years. Back in the old days we blew up amps like crazy! The manufacturers needed to do something to sell an amp to a player who already has one. Thus... enter the mini amp craze.

[markD]

How much volume do you really use on a 100w+ head? Because my 60watt on past 4 with 3 12s makes my ears ring after I turn it off

live, i use my 120 watt rivera set to half power/triode - it bumps each power amp down from 60 watts to 15 watts. but, like john said, it isn't really about the volume - that 15 watts i am using is LOUD!!!!

[markD]

john, as a guy who has been playing as long as you have, do you find that your playing has matured at all over the years? changed in a way that sometimes you sit in with blues players, or jazz....or even country? i have been playing around 30 years, and, about 5 years ago i started playing more "vintage" type gear - stock strats, teles, guitars with P90s....i also noticed that, while my riveras COULD handle those styles, it seemed to make more sense to go after the "original" amps for those styles, i.e. a twin reverb, or some other fender?

to me, that is where (in some cases) the mini-amp makes sense. i went specifically shopping for a 6V6 loaded amp because i was after a sound similar to a fender champ, but i didn't want a fender champ. i wanted an amp that had more versatility (efx loop, gain, etc.) so i could go sit in with a variety of players/gigs and have my bases covered while still being able to sound like me (the rivera sound). the little egnater fit the bill quite nicely.

i, personally, "gig" 4-6 nights per week. if it's not shows with my band, i try to make the rounds to all the different open jams to keep my chops good and to learn learn things. the eganter has made showing up at those jams SO much easier. no more lugging an 80 pound rivera or fender combo amp, or a 65 pound rivera head and a 40 pound 1x12 cab....

i get your "fad" perspective, but some of these amps DO have validity.

i do, however, agree with you regarding "mini" versions of bigger amps. the mini-recto and mini-V3 seem redundant. if you want those amps, just get the full sized amp!!!

[Twitch]

How much volume do you really use on a 100w+ head? Because my 60watt on past 4 with 3 12s makes my ears ring after I turn it off

Ill add a little more to this here. Just because your amp may be rated 100W, doesnt mean youll ever use that amount. That figure is with all controls at 10, you couldnt be within 50 feet of it at that point. Its a matter of headroom, which the lower wattage amps dont have at gig/ rehearsal volumes. At the minimum you need 50w if you want any kind of head room at all. If you want a lot of headroom, youll shoot for 100w or more. Sure if youre one of those guys that actually likes breakup in the power section(IMO, = garbage), than a lower watt amp is for you. But there will come a point where youre pushing it too hard and it will all turn to mud with no dynamics whatsoever.

It just like having a 3000 lb. car with a v8 and a 3000 lb. car with a 4 cyl.. Theyll both get you where you need to go, but the car with the bigger engine wont even bat an eye doing it. Same with the 100w amp. In reality your maybe using 40w max at gig/ rehearsal volumes. Youve got 60 more available watts that the power section and power supply can produce. A 100w amp isnt even trying at that point, your sound will be as clean as can be and feed back wont even be that much of an issue. With a low wattage amp, it will be struggling to keep up and youll be pushing the power section and the available voltage to run it at its peak or beyond. When it goes beyond, thats called power supply slump and youll end up with overly clipped, overly compressed tone, or as we like to call it, mud.

And Ill throw this tip out there, when using an amp with a master channel volume and a global master volume, crank the shit out of the global master and use the channel master to control your over all volume. This lets the power amp do the amplifying and lets the preamp run cleaner since its not producing as much output. This helps immensely in controlling feedback and lends to a little more dynamics since youre not pounding the shit out of the power section input with signal from the preamp. Kranks are really affected by this technique. The PB, not so much other than for controlling feedback issues.

[markD]

+1

good explanation!!

added to that....i could NEVER gig with my band using the egnater. even though i am using the 120 watt rivera at a lower wattage setting, it still has the pair of MASSIVE transformers and EL34 tubes. the amp never really reaches a point where the power section is suffering like twitch described. the egnater has a TINY transformer and a pair of 6V6 tubes. it reaches it's maxium volume much earlier and the power section begins to sound like it is melting down - especially if you have the preamp dimed....

also, if i am gigging with the rivera and i notice that i am losing headroom on clean parts, i can walk over between songs and change the power configuration on the spot to increase the headroom. i could NEVER do that with the egnater.

[tonemonster]

I still cant believe Ingway played a crate!

[Twitch]

+1

good explanation!!

added to that....i could NEVER gig with my band using the egnater. even though i am using the 120 watt rivera at a lower wattage setting, it still has the pair of MASSIVE transformers and EL34 tubes. the amp never really reaches a point where the power section is suffering like twitch described. the egnater has a TINY transformer and a pair of 6V6 tubes. it reaches it's maxium volume much earlier and the power section begins to sound like it is melting down - especially if you have the preamp dimed....

also, if i am gigging with the rivera and i notice that i am losing headroom on clean parts, i can walk over between songs and change the power configuration on the spot to increase the headroom. i could NEVER do that with the egnater.

Exactly. In this instance, youll get 20 completely clean, usable watts out of the Rivera because even though its in a lower wattage mode, the power supply and tubes are designed to be able to produce much, much more. In the case of the 20w amp with 6V6s or EL84s, youll maybe get 15 clean, usable watts, but more than likely closer to 10 to 12.

[horns666]

Next time I get all uppity on rigs and shit..someone kick me square in the taint.

I had a rant that does justify why can't we play the gear of heroes..guitars and well as amps. Someone will dish out a fortune for their hero's guitar and plug it into a Pignose..even a Gorilla perhaps..slammed with a Metal Zone!

I was humbled in an insatnt by this fuggin' guy..>>>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3nfB...eature=related

[horns666]

busy dialing in a sound on your new mini rectifier??

That made me spit out a bean...and I didn't even eat beans.

[Larz]

How is it that they can engineer a dual rec to fit into a fucking lunchbox but they can't make a quality hands-free blowjob simulation device that I can use at work or while driving my car?

[horns666]

How is it that they can engineer a dual rec to fit into a fucking lunchbox but they can't make a quality hands-free blowjob simulation device that I can use at work or while driving my car?

Oh, that doesn't mix for me. I almost had a hard on collision. I can NOT drive and recieve oral. I was all over the road and had to pull over on the freeway. These are facts!

I vividly remember a school bus with a thousand excited kid faces smooshed against the windows.

[tonemonster]

How is it that they can engineer a dual rec to fit into a fucking lunchbox but they can't make a quality hands-free blowjob simulation device that I can use at work or while driving my car?

this has been puzzling scientists for years. since the dawn of man. we have made progress, how the hell do you think electricity got invented?

trust me, as soon as modern man figures this out, the world is gonna be a much better place.

[tonemonster]

Oh, that doesn't mix for me. I almost had a hard on collision. I can NOT drive and recieve oral. I was all over the road and had to pull over on the freeway. These are facts!

I vividly remember a school bus with a thousand excited kid faces smooshed against the windows.

I have a friend that has some funny stories about a few nights after bowling league. a chick he was tappin was good to go pretty much anytime, anywhere. so they are driving to his place, and she goes down. he is driving and not paying much attention, a deer jumps out, and he hits the deer dead on, and just keeps driving. she asks with a full mouth....."what happend". he says "hit a deer, no big deal, keep going".

then the week after that, he returned the favor to her. she was driving. he got her so flustered she drove through the city hall lawn spinning donuts. he told me the story the next day, and sure enough, I saw the frickin skid marks in the lawn the next day!!!

[chrisolson]

My Friedman modded JCA20H would hold its own against most of the big boys...just sayin'...