Does boogie make a good quiet practice amp that gives good distortion and clean? that doesn't wake the world up? I love my roadster during the day and for playing shows, but I need something for low volume playing (practice) during the midnight hours.
Quietest Boogie?
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venaleschatology
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+1 Boogie don't make 'practice amps'. I wish they would. I imagine them doing wonderful things with 1-5 watt amp. I have a custom made 4 watt amp that takes all kinds of valves (sort of a simplified univalve clone) and that's still a little too loud, when it sounds good, for nighttime playing.
There is a whole subculture of techie/guitarists involved in amps that are rated in tenths of watts. I used to read a bit about them and I always wanted one but I just couldn't afford them, being a student, and I didn't really have the connections to have one made (I bought my four watter off ebay for a steal). I'd definitely look into micro wattage amps. Being able to get a cranked set-it-to-11 sound while still only just pushing the limits of bedroom volume is amazing with my univalve clone, I'd love to be able to get the same tone at nigh time levels. That's if the other more obvious option of headphones and a pre/fx/modeler doesn't float your boat of course.
There is a whole subculture of techie/guitarists involved in amps that are rated in tenths of watts. I used to read a bit about them and I always wanted one but I just couldn't afford them, being a student, and I didn't really have the connections to have one made (I bought my four watter off ebay for a steal). I'd definitely look into micro wattage amps. Being able to get a cranked set-it-to-11 sound while still only just pushing the limits of bedroom volume is amazing with my univalve clone, I'd love to be able to get the same tone at nigh time levels. That's if the other more obvious option of headphones and a pre/fx/modeler doesn't float your boat of course.
MJ Slaughter
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For very low volume playing I use an overdrive pedal, MI Crunch Box and/or Xotic AC+ into the clean channel of my DC-10 and have great control of volume from the pedals. It's not Boogie overdrive but they sound very good for practicing and I can play as low as I need.
metallicat
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well you might wanna look into a little modeling amp. i like the peavey vyper alot
MusicManJP6
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metallicat said:
I was going to suggest the same thing. If it's just for practice at home then it doesn't have to have that 'killer tube tone'. I have a little 15 watt Line 6 Spider III that I use to practice sometimes when I don't wanna turn the DC on. It can get very low volume and still sound decent. I would also suggest a Roland Micro Cube or Cube 20X or something. Any little modeler would do the trick. I think the Peavey Vypyrs sound great after some tweaking, but their first runs' reliability was not up to par last I checked.
Tube amps are just loud but most can still pull off very good tone at low volume IMO.
I'm actually finding my line 6 pedal (M13) is helping get great tone from my Roadster at extremely low volume with the heavy distortion, tube comp channels, and little reverb set to channel 2 (fat mode). I didn't think it was possible, but I went through my M13 and tweaked, and found something that works. It's amazing that the Roadster is so deadly, but could also sound gentle with some help. Thanks for the input.
MesaGod666
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I use an old Marshall 15-watt amp with a Boss MT-2. Great low volume practice while the new baby sleeps. Mesa 20/20 with a Triaxis does the trick as well...
Silverwulf
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I have stacks of Mesa's for normal use, but I have a Crate GFX-15 (1X8 15W amp) right beside my computer downstairs for late night jam sessions... :lol:
venaleschatology
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Addendum to my previous post.
Vox's new amp with 4, 1 and 1/4 watt settings.
http://www.voxamps.com/us/modernclassic/ac4tv/
Vox's new amp with 4, 1 and 1/4 watt settings.
http://www.voxamps.com/us/modernclassic/ac4tv/
screamingdaisy
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Roland Micro Cube here.
It's my experience that if you need midnight levels, you want something with a headphone jack. The problem is that no matter how low you turn an amp your wife will still be able to hear it, and thus ***** about it. Headphones at least let you hear things at a decent volume.
It's my experience that if you need midnight levels, you want something with a headphone jack. The problem is that no matter how low you turn an amp your wife will still be able to hear it, and thus ***** about it. Headphones at least let you hear things at a decent volume.
MusicManJP6
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When I still lived with my parents several years ago I would come home late and play through a J-Station with headphones. I thought I was being quiet but they could hear the guitar itself!
I have a Mesa Subway Rocket, the foreruner of the Express series. 20 watts tube and it can still get loud, but it can be turned down for practice.
I found a POD PRO with pedal board on Craigs List for $200 last year. If I want to practice quietly I just put on headphones. The Rec settings in this thing are horrible to my ears, but there is a JCM 800 setting that you can tweak that is awesome. In fact Im using it these days for rythym tracks when I record. So if you really want something quiet to practice with maybe a preamp and headphones are the way to go.
Most tube amps no matter how small the wattage are going to be loud.
On the other hand I can get a pretty good low volume sound out of my Roadster Combo.
I found a POD PRO with pedal board on Craigs List for $200 last year. If I want to practice quietly I just put on headphones. The Rec settings in this thing are horrible to my ears, but there is a JCM 800 setting that you can tweak that is awesome. In fact Im using it these days for rythym tracks when I record. So if you really want something quiet to practice with maybe a preamp and headphones are the way to go.
Most tube amps no matter how small the wattage are going to be loud.
On the other hand I can get a pretty good low volume sound out of my Roadster Combo.
This subject comes up a lot, so I'll just emphasize again some type of head phone sytem will give you a percieved higher volume without waking the neighbors, I also realized that my Rocket has a quiet headphone out that silences the speaker.
Just my 2 cents.
Just my 2 cents.
MesaGod666
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I use a Marshall MG 10 watt amp with a Boss MT-2 Metal Zone pedal and it sounds surprisingly sweet.
Even a 1-watt tube amp (a 12AU7 in a current amplification configuration will put out about this much power) will be too loud for bedroom-level use when it's turned up. Power to apparent volume ratios are on a logarithmic scale -- in order to get half the volume of a 100-watt amp, you need a 10-watt amp.
Now, big tube amps with Class AB push-pull power stages can usually be turned down to very low levels, but when you do that, they become Class A amps, and a lot of players don't like that sound -- it's looser in the low end, and there aren't as many odd-order harmonics, so the amp won't sound as big and punchy as it does when it's turned up. A quieter amp won't anyway -- part of the sound of an amp up loud is actually in your ears.
There are some suggestions to use a solid-state practice amp. That's not a bad idea, as your problem is what those are meant to solve. A solid-state amp will sound pretty much the same no matter where you set the volume knob, but it's going to sound more like your tube amp turned down low, but without the even-order octave harmonics. My suggestion would be to turn down your amp's preamp gain, and turn up the bass, midrange, and treble as you decrease the master volume. It won't sound exactly like it does turned up, but it'll be close enough for practice if you're not too worried about the tone.
Now, big tube amps with Class AB push-pull power stages can usually be turned down to very low levels, but when you do that, they become Class A amps, and a lot of players don't like that sound -- it's looser in the low end, and there aren't as many odd-order harmonics, so the amp won't sound as big and punchy as it does when it's turned up. A quieter amp won't anyway -- part of the sound of an amp up loud is actually in your ears.
There are some suggestions to use a solid-state practice amp. That's not a bad idea, as your problem is what those are meant to solve. A solid-state amp will sound pretty much the same no matter where you set the volume knob, but it's going to sound more like your tube amp turned down low, but without the even-order octave harmonics. My suggestion would be to turn down your amp's preamp gain, and turn up the bass, midrange, and treble as you decrease the master volume. It won't sound exactly like it does turned up, but it'll be close enough for practice if you're not too worried about the tone.
MesaGod666
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I did check out a small stack Blackstar amp at Guitar Center not too long ago. It was all tube and sounded great at bedroom levels. Stick a Boss distortion in front of that thing and I think you may find what you're looking for.
In fact, I'm going to look into getting one myself.
In fact, I'm going to look into getting one myself.
