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I scored this one from a fellow JCF'r. It is a Crate VC508. All tube, class A wired 5 watt amp pumped through a Celestion 8" speaker. This amp smokes. The mid control can achieve anything from Marshall to Mesa with ease. Tons of gain and great tone. It is my 1st low wattage tube amp and I can't get over how loud it is. For the money it is a great value. I also have a Crate DXJ112 modeling amp that is a fantastic home practice/recording amp. Crate is a fairly underrated company IMHO. Made right in the good ole USA and priced so that normal folks can afford it.
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Re: A great 5 watt tube amp
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Amazing how loud a few watts can be... just try plugging it into a 4x12 and you'll crap your pants! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]Originally posted by jgcable:
I scored this one from a fellow JCF'r. It is a Crate VC508. All tube, class A wired 5 watt amp pumped through a Celestion 8" speaker. This amp smokes. The mid control can achieve anything from Marshall to Mesa with ease. Tons of gain and great tone. It is my 1st low wattage tube amp and I can't get over how loud it is. For the money it is a great value. I also have a Crate DXJ112 modeling amp that is a fantastic home practice/recording amp. Crate is a fairly underrated company IMHO. Made right in the good ole USA and priced so that normal folks can afford it.
My biggest beef with Crate is that the VC series sound great, but weren't built real well... I taught at a Crate dealer, and we'd see the same amps in ALL THE TIME for service.
Pete -
Re: A great 5 watt tube amp
I bought the 10 watt (SE F2) version from Pete. Through a 4X12, it is loud enough to p*ss off my wife and/or the neighbors. Very clean straight through, I'm still trying different pedals/settings/etc for the distorted tone I prefer. I'm also switching cabs (Fender to a Genz Benz G-flex) and hoping to improve the bottom end a bit. Now I just need the time to play!
Also, I'll be switching out tubes to see what the differences are and to find the tone that I like. More to report later on...
All in all, a great little amp! [img]graemlins/headbang.gif[/img]Comment
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Re: A great 5 watt tube amp
this is a little bigger but same outcome:
we played saturday night at our local rock bar. i was using my 50. cal (EL84) and my lead guitarist was using his fender rock pro. i started out with my stage 1 (clean but sets overall input)vol on 7, master on 4, and lead vol on 9. we were getting volumes and i had to turn his 100 watt hybrid all the way up and then had to turn my master down to 3 and still had a hard time hearing him on stage. its just funny how well build tube amps just cut through at half the power of other cheapo's at 2ce the power.
disclaimer: and i do like the sound of the cheap rock pro. its just not a boogie, or a bogner, or vht etc. etc. etc....Comment
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Re: A great 5 watt tube amp
That is one of the few amps I have never owned but have always wanted one. The RocPro 1000 gets great distortion I am told. The 50cal Mesa is my favorite combo of all time. They rip for sure.Comment
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Re: A great 5 watt tube amp
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Sweet! Brian, have you tried playing with the attenuator settings? You can crank the front volume and then use the attenuator by the speaker out to keep the powertube overdrive in there and cut the volume. Derek (oklastar) and I found some sweet spots running the output from his Vetta into the poweramp and adding JUST the right amount of poweramp dirt.Originally posted by Swillmaster:
I bought the 10 watt (SE F2) version from Pete. Through a 4X12, it is loud enough to p*ss off my wife and/or the neighbors. Very clean straight through, I'm still trying different pedals/settings/etc for the distorted tone I prefer. I'm also switching cabs (Fender to a Genz Benz G-flex) and hoping to improve the bottom end a bit. Now I just need the time to play!
Also, I'll be switching out tubes to see what the differences are and to find the tone that I like. More to report later on...
All in all, a great little amp! [img]graemlins/headbang.gif[/img]
PeteComment
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Re: A great 5 watt tube amp
I here you Pete. The DXJ112 modeling amp had a rattling speaker that I fixed by adding 3 more screws. The VC508 has a fairly cheap cabinet but for the money it is still a nice value. I heard that they also have a VC508H that has a nice hardwood cabinet. Yea... 5 watts can get pretty loud. It is very surprising. How are your custom low wattage amps working out. Did anybody on the board get one yet. Judging the way you respond to amp related questions it certainly appears that you are the amp "guru" around here.Comment
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Re: A great 5 watt tube amp
I used the attenuator a bit, but was limited by the wife bugging me with projects. [img]images/icons/frown.gif[/img] Man, you go outta town for a week...
Did I mention that the amp was loud? [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] I'm really looking forward to the G-Flex cab and the wait is killing me. Also want to do some tube experimenting.Comment
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Re: A great 5 watt tube amp
jgcable,
I've been thinking of checking out a VC508 or VC1512. Can you post some clips?
Thanks
DRH
[ May 28, 2003, 09:05 PM: Message edited by: DRH ]Comment
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Re: A great 5 watt tube amp
I can't post any clips at the moment but I can tell you that it is a GREAT recording amp. Throw a mike in front of it and crank it and you would never believe you weren't listening to a wall of stadium amps.Comment
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Re: A great 5 watt tube amp
It's crazy how loud even 1 watt can be. I have an amp that runs at 2.5 watts. One that runs at less than 1 watt. They are both loud enough into a 2x12 enclosure that my neighbor will complain if I play them at night.Comment
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Re: A great 5 watt tube amp
Spent some time last night dialing in a sound that I prefer. Also changed tubes: JJ ECC83S / Electro Harmonix EL34. Nothin' fancy with the setup, Guitar/MXR Double Shot/Twisteramp/4X12 Fender cab. With the attenuator at about 2/3 it still p*sses off my wife and makes the neighbors cringe! (could be my playing [img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] )
Now if that GFlex cab would arrive...
If you are looking for a killer low wattage amp, talk to Pete. [img]graemlins/notworthy.gif[/img]
[ May 30, 2003, 05:36 PM: Message edited by: Swillmaster ]Comment
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