Amps that sound good at bedroom volumes

[BrettT]

Was just fiddling around with my EVH, and have the volume on 0.5 (between off and the first notch). This amp sound surprisingly good at very low volumes...moreso than any other amp I've played. I have to bump the presence up to around 3:00, but all other settings are the same as normal.

My Rectifier sounds like total ass at the same volume, regardless of settings, and really needs to start moving some air before sounding decent..this has been my experience with prettty much every other tube amp I've played.

Any other amps able to sound killer at really low volumes, in your experience?

 

[reneisgod]

Engl Fireball (60 watt version)
my jcm800kk always sounds decend at moderate levels.

The only amp i can think of that is seriously impossible to play at bedroom
levels is my Krank Krankenstien.

 

[BrettT]

In my experience, most tube amps sound really fuzzy/fizzy at low volumes, and you really need to bring up the volume for the junk to disappear. I would imagine that the Krankenstein would be a fizzy mess at low volume.

 

[JeffTD]

Most Peaveys, really. 5150/5150II, JSX, XXX (maybe not as much as the others), and while not a Peavey, it's certainly Peavey like - the 5150III, as you've found.

 

[Lasse Lammert]

Earforce Two!

 

[MindMunch]

Mesa Mark IV. Some people prefer to use it with the volume as low as "conversation talk level".

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

I would imagine that the Krankenstein would be a fizzy mess at low volume.

Your insights serve you well. They do you credit, but they could be made to serve the Emperor.

 

[Sacha]

ENGL, Diezel, most amps with lots of preamp gain and relatively clean poweramps, smooth master volume taper helps as well.

 

[53Crëw]

Bogner Ecstasy's do pretty well at low volumes. Depending on the options installed, you can select an output power of 7 watts, as well.

 

[Wolfeman]

ENGL, Diezel, most amps with lots of preamp gain and relatively clean poweramps, smooth master volume taper helps as well.

Absolutely right about the MV. When you have more control over that lower end of the pot, you can achieve great bedroom level volumes. That's why I've installed a 'focus' switch on all my amps now, it basically pads down the level before the pot, giving greater control. Basically takes what would normally be 0-2 on the MV, and lets the whole pot range control that small section.

 

[BrettT]

Absolutely right about the MV. When you have more control over that lower end of the pot, you can achieve great bedroom level volumes. That's why I've installed a 'focus' switch on all my amps now, it basically pads down the level before the pot, giving greater control. Basically takes what would normally be 0-2 on the MV, and lets the whole pot range control that small section.

That's a really cool feature!

 

[Wolfeman]

That's a really cool feature!

Sure is. When you need it louder for band practice or live, you simply flip it off and it's back to normal.

 

[kvoid]

My JVM is killer at bedroom volumes I think...

 

[RichMinerva]

Why has nobody mentioned the jet city's?

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

Why has nobody mentioned the jet city's?

Definitely, the 20-watter is a beast. It screams for a booster, but it's an awesome amp nonetheless. Mine is currently sitting on top of a 5150, but it still gets a lot of love from me!

 

[TheDude]

DAR FBM-100

 

[Fragle]

the 60w engl fireball is probably the best sounding low volume amp i've played so far....interestingly, the 100w version needs a shitton of volume to get *that* sound (and the 100w FB is LOUD), so i guess not all engls are alike there.
the mesa DC-5 i used to own was pretty nice too.

 

[CronosBeyond]

My Engl Steve Morse works great on low volume levels. Also made good experiences with the Marshall JVM410 and the Engl Powerball II.

With the Mesa Dual Rectifier I had big problems and had to drive my LoadBox real hard to get a decent sound out of it. Without a LoadBox... no chance for me to get a nice sound at bedroom levels.

 

[guitarguru777]

I hate getting my 5150 past bedroom volumes. Even on stage I dont turn the post gain past 2! I just use the monitors the sound guy provides to hear myself