# What is your favorite super low wattage amp?



## pickslide (May 9, 2006)

Thinking about getting something that is relatively cheap...say around $350 and can do 2-4W. Just something to keep in the living room and wont be too loud, but still sounds pretty good. 

What do you guys use?


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## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)




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## Wiser (Jan 6, 2010)

I use a Vox AC4TV.


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## blam (Feb 18, 2011)

I've tried the following:

Blackstar HT-5 combo (10" speaker) - nice amp. great bang for the buck. personally, too modern sounding for my liking. 
Fender Champion 600 - the stock speaker is TERRIBLE. it's definitely a bedroom level amp though. wasn't too blown away by it though.
Vox Lil' Night Train and 10" Cab - I like it. if you have a cab already you can get some great tones out of this amp. no head room for cleans though.
Vox AC4TVH on a 112 Cab - i want one. this is my favorite of the bunch. i wish it had the adjustability of the LNT though.
Vox AC4TV (10" speaker) - very nice as well. when you crank it however, the speaker breaks up a lot and sounds a quite brittle imho. 
Vox AC4TV8 (8" speaker) - speaker sucks. see above, except the speaker breakup happens much sooner.
Tiny Terror on 7 watt - way too loud for a bedroom setting. sounds fantastic. a bit on the dark side.
Marshall Class 5 (didn't use it overly much) - too loud once you get a good crunch going. nice Marshall tones though.

IF the class 5 had attenuation or a master volume I'd give it more consideration. i hear the new ones have have a low volume switch.


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## NB_Terry (Feb 2, 2006)

The Vox Pathfinder 15R is a great sounding small amp. You can find them used for less than $100.


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## ezcomes (Jul 28, 2008)

this is SUPER low wattage


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## blam (Feb 18, 2011)

technically, that's 0 watts....


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## pickslide (May 9, 2006)

Pete...I dont have an iphone lol. 

ezcomes - ha ha, but that does not allow me to play my new esquire now does it? lol

I have been reading a bunch about the VHT Special and Ultra 6 - seem like cool amps at a good price...anybody try one?


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## gtone (Nov 1, 2009)

For a little practice amp, I bought a 5F1 clone circuit made by Tino Zottola out of Montreal on E-Bay (his acc't is "radiocorner") for $85. For those unfamiliar with Tino, he wrote three different books on tube amp building, so has a pretty good handle on things. From time to time, he dissects vintage radios, P.A.'s, etc and builds up Champ and 18W circuits out of the chassis, trannies and other components and lists them on the 'Bay. I put this in an old cab I had kicking around and have experimented with a couple of different speakers in it. It's pushing about 4-5W with a 12AX7 driving a 6V6 with a 6X5 rectifier, takes pedals very well and sounds very good. Vintage Tweed tone at a bar-goon price - gotta love that!


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

I recently picked up a Vox AC4TV with the 10" speaker. It's freaking awesome. Absolutely perfect for living room jamming and gives you a _very_ nice overdriven sound. So nice, in fact, that I'll probably use it for recording here and there. It also helps that all full tilt, it's loud enough to play small gigs. I took it to an open mic and had no trouble keeping up (though the drummer wasn't a meat-fisted masher). Highly recommended! Sounds great with singles and hums, but it sounds REALLY great with my LP Jr.


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## ezcomes (Jul 28, 2008)

blam said:


> technically, that's 0 watts....


that is Super LOW wattage...no? it's quieter than those amps that can go to 0.1W


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## jammers5 (Mar 26, 2010)

pickslide said:


> Thinking about getting something that is relatively cheap...say around $350 and can do 2-4W. Just something to keep in the living room and wont be too loud, but still sounds pretty good.
> 
> What do you guys use?


I use a Marshall Class 5 for a low volume jam with a Wampler Paisley Drive or a TS clone overdrive and love the sound. sure the Class 5 has awesome natural tube of but at levels that are too loud for the setting I am using it in. This amp takes pedals well and it's as light as a feather! Highly recommended!

Didn't I hear Marshall was coming out with a new class 5 with attenuation or a master volume? 

J5


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## washburned (Oct 13, 2006)

Fender Vibro Champ XD: 5watts full out but has onboard emulation and effects so you can get a good sound at really quiet volume. And it will hang in at a jam if you don't go crazy...I used mine with another electric player with a blues junior, an acoustic player with a 60watt acoustic amp, a bass player and a drummer. Everybody could hear.


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## blam (Feb 18, 2011)

jammers5 said:


> I use a Marshall Class 5 for a low volume jam with a Wampler Paisley Drive or a TS clone overdrive and love the sound. sure the Class 5 has awesome natural tube of but at levels that are too loud for the setting I am using it in. This amp takes pedals well and it's as light as a feather! Highly recommended!
> 
> Didn't I hear Marshall was coming out with a new class 5 with attenuation or a master volume?
> 
> J5


I believe the combo has a switch that cuts the wattage down. the head version does not if i am not mistaken


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

Mine is a Blackheart Killer Ant. It's less than a watt. I use it with an Avatar Traditional cab. I can add a pedal if I want some really high gain. It only has volume control so you can crank it and just use your guitar volume knob for going from clean to overdrive.


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## Guest (Jun 9, 2011)

Currently this:



Soon this:



But if you said it had to have tubes, then this:



Though truthfully I think the Slant 6V is Carr's best amp -- is 14W's too many?


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## pickslide (May 9, 2006)

Not only is 14w too many, but the price is way over $300...but thank you for the suggestions anyway. I have heard great things about the Carr, but not the little quiet type amp I am looking for. 

After doing some research I believe I will try out a Vox AC4TV with the 10 inch speaker. If the Marshall Class 5 had some kind of master or at least variable wattage I would definitely try that too.


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## Guest (Jun 10, 2011)

The Carr Mercury, the one pictured above, will do as low as a half watt. But not for $300.


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## pattste (Dec 30, 2007)

I owned a Fender Champion 600 for a while and never really liked it. In my opinion, small amps sound small. I have never played through one that I really enjoyed. These days I use a Line 6 Pocket Pod Express, which is the cheapest model in the line up (<$100), set clean with a bit of reverb. I plug into my pedalboard and out to the Pod. It is completely quiet (great for late night practice when the wife and two small kids are in bed) and very portable. With good headphones, it sounds pretty good and is a lot of fun to play. In fact, I often practice through it even when playing through an amp would be ok.


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## Wiser (Jan 6, 2010)

I have one complaint about my Vox AC4TV. When it gets beyond a certain volume there is some noisy vibration in the amp. I don't know if that is common in amps, or if mine is just special, but it's something to listen for when trying one out.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

pattste said:


> I owned a Fender Champion 600 for a while and never really liked it. In my opinion, small amps sound small. I have never played through one that I really enjoyed. These days I use a Line 6 Pocket Pod Express, which is the cheapest model in the line up (<$100), set clean with a bit of reverb. I plug into my pedalboard and out to the Pod. It is completely quiet (great for late night practice when the wife and two small kids are in bed) and very portable. With good headphones, it sounds pretty good and is a lot of fun to play. In fact, I often practice through it even when playing through an amp would be ok.


The Fender 600 actually sounds pretty nice if you run it through a decent cab, but then you lose portability. I never liked mine either, but it _did_ sound great through my 2x12 with a V30 and G12H30 in it.

To my ears, the Vox AC4TV trounces the 600 in every way. It _is_ a bit more expensive than the Fender, but definitely worth it!


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## blam (Feb 18, 2011)

hollowbody said:


> The Fender 600 actually sounds pretty nice if you run it through a decent cab, but then you lose portability. I never liked mine either, but it _did_ sound great through my 2x12 with a V30 and G12H30 in it.
> 
> To my ears, the Vox AC4TV trounces the 600 in every way. It _is_ a bit more expensive than the Fender, but definitely worth it!


i agree on both accounts. the fender is a decent amp. but not very versatile. the vox is hands down the winner there.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

blam said:


> Vox AC4TV (10" speaker) - very nice as well. when you crank it however, the speaker breaks up a lot and sounds a quite brittle imho.





Wiser said:


> I have one complaint about my Vox AC4TV. When it gets beyond a certain volume there is some noisy vibration in the amp. I don't know if that is common in amps, or if mine is just special, but it's something to listen for when trying one out.


I do find the speaker to get a bit fizzy on this amp sometimes (I run the volume at 3 o'clock with the tone at roughly 1 o'clock in all 3 power modes), but I haven't encountered any rattling that I've noticed. Then again, my amp sits on a fairly thick carpet. Maybe a couple screws just need tightening?

In terms of the speaker, has anyone tried a different 10" in there? What worked?

I just got this amp, so I'm not really looking at upgrading anytime soon, but I likely will drop something new in there down the road.


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## blam (Feb 18, 2011)

hollow: I've tried it on my 12" egnater cab and it took higher volume setting a lot better than the 10".

having said that, my egnater cab can also get a touch brittle at high volume. its a celestion GH30 i believe.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

I'm fortunate enough to have my amp in our living room.

It's a 100W halfstack, but the output knob does it's job - I can play and talk at the same time. No low wattage stuff here!

If you don't need the absolute best tone, I'd look at the Peavey Rage or Blazer 158.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

Why is nobody saying 'Silverface VibroChamp'? OK, let me be the first: SIVERFACE VIBROCHAMP. Unless you need more gain, then I would understand a Marshall or ????? I have a Vox AC4TV with the 8" speaker and it is good, but essentially very little headroom - though nice flexibility with the 1/4W-1W-4W power switch. But nothing has beat out my beat up old SF VC, as it does everything I want - beautiful Fender clean, cranked it grinds very well, takes absolutely every pedal extremely well (so well, I can't use it as a test platform for pedals I'm selling because EVERYTHING sounds fantastic thru it). At 6W, it is possibly a bit on the loud side when cranked, so I suppose there's that. Can be had off ebay probably around $350 landed.


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## blam (Feb 18, 2011)

Keto: I have my ac15c1 if I need headroom 

I'm personally not a fender guy. Don't get me wrong, the cleans are nice, it has a nice blues crunch, but that's about it for me. I'd have to go Vox, Mesa, Marshall, Fender.

I wish Mesa would make something smaller scale and affordable.


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## Jim Netzlaw (Jun 15, 2011)

I tried the Egnater Rebel 20, which had a fantastic sound, dial between 1 and 20 watts, and between 6l6 and el34.....great sound, perfect size, but I already had a 60s Gibson GA15rvt, and the tremolo circuit is so creamy you can taste it. I use a MESA Formula guitar preamp when I want to get growly, but the rest of the time, I let the guitar do all the work.


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

"I’m a Fender Princeton fan. I have three of them and they seem to be ON all the time. Two 1964 blackface Princetons live in my studio, built into the cabinet /counter top / work station where I write, practice, arrange, jam with fellow guitarists and occasionally teach. The third one, a Silverface ’67, lives in the garage as a go-to amp for smaller sessions that require an overdub or two. It fits in the trunk and always delivers the goods. On important record dates (especially on my own records) I’ve mic’d a stereo pair for a truly gorgeous clean tone. With the volume on 3 or 4, these amps have a tone that blooms in a way that only a pair of 6V6 tubes can do.
But I rely on the Princetons for another important reason: tweaking. I consider this model amp to be “ground zero" for electric guitar. The way electric guitar was intended to sound, as per Leo and possibly God. I can sit directly in front of one and really hear what the guitar is doing. A Princeton is a reliable window to the rest of my amp collection, too: If I get pickup heights, tone controls or the action on my guitars sounding good through a Princeton at home, I can be assured it will sound good through the big amps on stage.
Recently one of them was getting a bit brittle sounding in the top end. I had my amp repairman take it home and when it came back it quickly became Princeton #1. It needed some new caps and tubes, so I gave him a second one and once again, he improved the tone so much I had to lay the third one on him, too. Each one came back sounding better than ever and I’m inspired once again to call the early sixties Fender Blackface Princeton my desert island amp." —_Carl Verheyen_


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## hardasmum (Apr 23, 2008)

+1 on the AC4TV 10

Still pretty loud on the 1/4 watt setting. There is one issue with the older models, I forget exactly what the problem was, they would die in the 1/4 watt setting. Fuse related? You can find some threads online about it, seemed like a cheap fix anyway and didn't stop me from buying a used one.

I haven't modded it yet but there are pages and pages online devoted to it.


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## blam (Feb 18, 2011)

I'm waiting on a local shop to bring in the Marshall for me to try out. if its too loud i think I'm going with an AC4TV head.


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## ryandignam (Aug 29, 2011)

blam said:


> I'm waiting on a local shop to bring in the Marshall for me to try out. if its too loud i think I'm going with an AC4TV head.


I'm also looking into a ac4tv looks like a great little amp


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## CSBen (Mar 1, 2011)

Possibly to coolest, baddest, 5w SE amps you can get your hands on - Swarts !!!

Swart Space Tone Reverb Tweed ~ STR-Tweed

Swart Space Tone Atomic Jr ~ 5w Class A w/Reverb!


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## blam (Feb 18, 2011)

I've been loving my ac4tv since I got
It. 

I tried a swart space tone last week with the 8" speaker. I wasn't that impressed to be honest. The AST however was very nice.


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## urko99 (Mar 30, 2009)

Fender Super Champ "Rivera Era". Aye Carumba!


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Chito said:


> Mine is a Blackheart Killer Ant. It's less than a watt. I use it with an Avatar Traditional cab. I can add a pedal if I want some really high gain. It only has volume control so you can crank it and just use your guitar volume knob for going from clean to overdrive.


How do you like it? I just traded some pickups for one of these. I should have it late this week.


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## 4345567 (Jun 26, 2008)

__________


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

I have one of the Mack Gem 2G amps and it's really nice. Cleans are very nice. 4 watts switchable to 0.4 watts. Two channels as well 

Light and portable for sure. The little sucker can get pretty loud


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## iblastoff (May 14, 2011)

nkjanssen said:


> Love my Vox Pathfinder 15R, though I pretty much just use it for clean tones. Perfect size. Solid state. Weighs almost nothing. _Very_ nice trem and decent reverb. About $125 brand new.


yep i love the pathfinder 15r too. nice little solid state amp for sure.

as for my favourite low wattage amp, i would have to say the orange dual terror (its not SUPER low wattage but gets down to 7 watts). in fact its actually my favourite amp EVER and i definitely have a few amps to pick from in my arsenal ranging from other orange amps to vox ac30, etc.


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## 4345567 (Jun 26, 2008)

_____________


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

GuitarsCanada said:


> I have one of the Mack Gem 2G amps and it's really nice. Cleans are very nice. 4 watts switchable to 0.4 watts. Two channels as well
> 
> Light and portable for sure. The little sucker can get pretty loud


How do you like the Mack? I'm thinking of going for one of their 18 watters.


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## Guitar101 (Jan 19, 2011)

I'm quite surprised that no one has mentioned the Epiphone Valve Jr (5 watt)..... With a 12" cab "Greenback" speaker and a TS9 Tubescreamer, I absolutely love the sound for recording the guitar parts? Less than $400 buck for everything.


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## CSBen (Mar 1, 2011)

blam said:


> I tried a swart space tone last week with the 8" speaker. I wasn't that impressed to be honest. The AST however was very nice.


I have the AST Pro w/ an Celestion Heritage in it and its simply amazing. 

Would be interested in knowing what kind of guitar you used w/ the SST too.


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

blam said:


> technically, that's 0 watts....


who knows, mebbe he's measuring a static charge from the movement of his fingers as they speed along, from one note to the next.


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## blam (Feb 18, 2011)

a gibson historic with Lollar P90s and my tele. I'm not saying its a bad amp. I just expected more out of it. I'm sure it would sound great through a larger cab.





CSBen said:


> I have the AST Pro w/ an Celestion Heritage in it and its simply amazing.
> 
> Would be interested in knowing what kind of guitar you used w/ the SST too.


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## CSBen (Mar 1, 2011)

blam said:


> a gibson historic with Lollar P90s and my tele. I'm not saying its a bad amp. I just expected more out of it. I'm sure it would sound great through a larger cab.


Yeah no fair enough! I thought it sounded great with a Strat, but that speaker had a good 100hrs on it Would have to doublecheck which one it was - makes a world of difference. I think it was a RedFang.


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