What Is A Good Livingroom Amp....

mongooz

mongooz

.
in an apartment living room.
i'm looking at the VHT Special 6 hand wired ($230). ( don't need a combo, i have a 1x12 cab)

i've got my Blues Deluxe sitting there right now, but that thing is so DAMN loud that i have to put it on 2 and then us a pedal to choke it down to apartment volume, and even tho it sounds ok, i'd really rather "hear" the tubes a little bit.

i'm thinking with the hi/lo power switch on the VHT i could use at home or at rehersal (presuming that happens again).
i'm also trying to stay under $300.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/VHT/Special-6-6W-Hand-Wired-Tube-Guitar-Amp-Head.gc


what say ye??
 
The Special 6 Ultra has a built-in attenuator. I don't think the regular Special 6 does. Even with the high/low switch on low, and the attenuator not engaged, it's still a fairly loud amp.
 
Grant Gross said:
The Special 6 Ultra has a built-in attenuator. I don't think the regular Special 6 does. Even with the high/low switch on low, and the attenuator not engaged, it's still a fairly loud amp.
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thanks. i'll look into the Ultra too.
i presume you've played one, how is the tone? i play mostly blues (texas style) and some R&B, etc. i DO NOT need big gain/distortion, and from what i've read so far, that's what this little amp will do.
 
I have a Yamaha THR in my living room but I'm just looking for a clean sound.. I don't play with any of the models.
 
Take a volume pedal and put it into the effects loop of the amp. Problem solved.

I have my Peavey Bandit in the living room.
 
mongooz said:
thanks. i'll look into the Ultra too.
i presume you've played one, how is the tone? i play mostly blues (texas style) and some R&B, etc. i DO NOT need big gain/distortion, and from what i've read so far, that's what this little amp will do.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the Special 6 has kind of a Fender Tweed flavor, at least when you're not on the ultra channel. They have quite decent tones, especially if you change the chinese-made tubes. Someone else here had one and wasn't impressed, so your mileage may vary.

The Yamaha THR series is worth exploring as well if you're not wed to tubes.
 
Grant Gross said:
The Special 6 Ultra has a built-in attenuator. I don't think the regular Special 6 does. Even with the high/low switch on low, and the attenuator not engaged, it's still a fairly loud amp.
Click to expand...
mongooz said:
thanks. i'll look into the Ultra too.
i presume you've played one, how is the tone? i play mostly blues (texas style) and some R&B, etc. i DO NOT need big gain/distortion, and from what i've read so far, that's what this little amp will do.
Click to expand...

The Ultra is crazy loud too, especially if you're trying to get any hard rock toanz out of it.
I had one for a minute, but I had to return it because I was killing my ears.
I got a Super Champ instead--it does everything, even at bedroom volume.
 
The problem you're going to run into is that most guitar speakers just sound bad at low volumes. You'd be better off with a preamp that has cabinet emulation (like the Blackstar HT pedals) plugged into bookshelf speakers.
 
The other thing I've been looking into is a tube amp with a headphone jack. I had a Bugera V5 for awhile, and it had a headphone jack, but I traded it away.

Before my recently layoff I was looking into a U.S. amp builder called de Lisle that custom builds amps, and a headphone tap is on of the optional features.
 
jp_nyc said:
The problem you're going to run into is that most guitar speakers just sound bad at low volumes. You'd be better off with a preamp that has cabinet emulation (like the Blackstar HT pedals) plugged into bookshelf speakers.
Click to expand...

i've got a 1x12 TL-806 cab, with a EVM-12 in it and it sounds fantastic at low volumes, believe it or not. plenty of low end at almost conversation volume levels.
like i said, i need the amp to also be able to play some rehearsal levels (with a drummer who knows how to play quietly) and the VHT sounds like it just might do that.
 
wagdog said:
Fender Mustang II - has a Marshall model as well (not real keen on it, but it's there).
Click to expand...

i appreciate the suggestion, but i really don't want a modeling amp. just tubes and good tone. i don't need a bunch of different sounds, just really, one.
 
I have a Blackstar HT-1 (SE) that is for me the perfect living room amp. It gives me clean-as-a-whistle to total dirt at any volume from a whisper to a roar, and IIRC it cost $99.95...
 
Grant Gross said:
A lot of people are more enamored with the Fender Mustang amp than I was. Decent enough sounds, stupid controls.
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I own two of them and I don't like either one. I have a Mustang I and a Mustang II that I got on clearance when Best Buy closed their music department here. I use the Mustang II in my office but its set just to a clean sound. The Mustang I is just hanging around somewhere in the building. I like the Yamaha much better.
 
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