Tube amp volume

King_Cardboard

I play with a five piece band with bass, two guitars (including me) bass and two horn players. Noisy bars , outdoor gigs etc.

the other guitarist uses a bugera v22.

my question is how much tube power do I really need to play these gigs. I’d like a smaller tube amp but I want to make sure I have enough volume to play most gigs where we wouldn’t have the option of a PA.

Also would love to hear what tube amps everyone’s using (even though I know this forum has talked amplifiers to death)

mac63000

I'd say anything between 15-20 watts would be sufficient, especially if you're in a setting where they might have a PA system and mics. Otherwise, a lot of jazz tube amps in the 30-40 watt range (Rivera comes to mind) will give you the most clean headroom to really cut through. That might be overkill for your setting, but if you find something switchable with lower watt selections you'd probably be pretty happy.

I know a lot of folks like the fender blues Jr, which has 15 watts I believe. For the price they have decent tone and volume. I personally don't care for them, the quality isn't the best and the components won't last long if you're actively gigging. You also have to try a bunch of them to find a "good one" which is indicative of their overall quality. I've tried other classic fender tube amps like the Princeton and Deluxe, but for my guitar they are way too bright. I generally like those amps but would need another level of EQ between my guitar and the amp to get a warmer tone with my pickup.

I am going to buy a Mesa Boogie California Tweed, which is probably more expensive than I'd like to pay ($1899...) but it's probably the best sounding amp I've ever played, to my ear, so it's worth it lol. It's got a 5-way selector for wattage, from 40 down to 2, and sounds amazing at each level. I also like being able to control the preamp gain and master volume, which comes in handy when you can't control the volume of the guitar (without a pedal). Obviously, Mesa is more known for their high gain amps but as the saying goes, if you can't get a good jazz tone from a Mesa, you're probably using it wrong!

Buco

I very occasionally use my Hughes and Ketnner 20th anniversary combo. I still have their 100W head from my punk rock days but it's been very lonely for a very long time. 20th anny is a 20W 112 combo. It's still a chunk to schlep around even though it's a big step down from the 100W ( I used to use that in a full stack arrangement, because you know only that would cut it). It's a beautiful sounding amp but the the weight of the smaller solid state amp I usually use outweighs the tubes niceness. I don't know if anything less than a 20W would cut it in the absence of PA making sure you can be loud enough in every situation. And you need to find the amp that's not going to start to break up at the high volume. That's something that H&K has done really well, it stays so clean (on the clean channel) even when cranked up. That's why as Mac said you might need to go with even higher wattage amp for a good clean headroom. Does the V22 the other guy is using always work out?

Chiefbigeasy

I own a Fender Super Champ X2 and a Shertler David.

The Fender is affordable, and versatile combining digital accuracy and versatility with a couple of tubes thrown in to boot. It comes in a standard black, but you can get a tweed version and a wine red version with a Celestion speaker for about 500 bucks. The base model is 400 bucks. It’s light, plenty loud, and a workhorse.

The David is my Cadillac, expensive, beautiful, versatile, clean and loud, compact, and light. If you’ve got the bucks, it can be the last amp you buy.

Check em’ out.

Jon

I've got a Blues Junior, an AER Compact 60, and a Fender Champion 600. The Champion sounds great (really great) and just has the one volume knob. It's 5 watts, and often can be pushed a bit too hard, equally can do fine in smaller venues and actually sound cool when it breaks up on slightly raucous gigs. Plus it's tiny and easy to take on public transport. I've used it more than any other gear I've owned. Replaces the speaker with an Eminence Patriot - big improvement. If there's a PA, it's a no brainer.

The Blues Junior (with Cannabis Rex speaker) is amazing also, and I've never had a problem volume wise - and I have played some big loud rooms with it (within reason). Plus it's got a master volume so you can dial in your breakup. Good amp.

The AER (no tubes, so sadly no breakup) I've been using more and more lately. Sounds surprisingly good even with my Guzz, and surprisingly great with my P90 equipped '56 ES150.

Slightly OT, but I just got this ToneDexter preamp thing (check it out) for a more acoustic sound - in which case the AER would be the go. Don't have a guitar with any contact style pickup yet, which it requires, but will have to get one fitted to my Dupont, as it - the ToneDexter - sounds great on my upright bass...so many options...too many... :)