Sick of not being able to crank my tube amp
- Thread starter lucadia
- Start date
penta-tonic
New member
so far from what ive heard thd hotplate isnt the best out there but u could always search on soft forums cos there are a few moving around. im in good mood so ive done some searching for u.
http://soft.com.sg/forum/guitar-amp...otplate-attenuator-8-ohms-mint-condition.html
http://soft.com.sg/forum/guitar-amp-buy-sell/74568-wts-wtt-epi-vj-combo-roland-cube.html
hope this helps bro.
Jireh
http://soft.com.sg/forum/guitar-amp...otplate-attenuator-8-ohms-mint-condition.html
http://soft.com.sg/forum/guitar-amp-buy-sell/74568-wts-wtt-epi-vj-combo-roland-cube.html
hope this helps bro.
Jireh
subversion
Moderator
you might wanna consider a non-drive booster to emulate a cranked-up performance.
lucadia
New member
Hey!! many thanks to the quick reply.. actually i'm looking for a 16ohm thd hotplate as it matches my speaker impedance. So i will head down to tymc to check it out.. as for employing a non-drive booster to emulate a driven tube sound.. Subversion, how does that 'emulate' the tonal quality without blowing my house apart.
subversion
Moderator
as with any 'emulating' process, it's a hit/ miss thing...
adding a booster (eg: MXR's Micro Amp) at the final stage of your FX chain, helps you pump up the gain without adding drive/ additional volume in the mix.
if anything blows, then it'll be your amp first, then your house...
adding a booster (eg: MXR's Micro Amp) at the final stage of your FX chain, helps you pump up the gain without adding drive/ additional volume in the mix.
if anything blows, then it'll be your amp first, then your house...
PatheinRaindropMoe
New member
if theres effect loop on the amp, just need to get a volume pedal, chuck inside the effect loop send/return jack.
Pump up the volume knob of the amp to drive it hard, use the volume pedal in the effect loop as master volume to control the final volume.
If theres no effect loop on the amp, then forget bout the above
Pump up the volume knob of the amp to drive it hard, use the volume pedal in the effect loop as master volume to control the final volume.
If theres no effect loop on the amp, then forget bout the above
penta-tonic
New member
heres one for sale thats 16ohms tho its been months since was put up. but no harm asking if its still for sale:
http://soft.com.sg/forum/guitar-buy-sell/38336-wts-thd-hotplate.html
http://soft.com.sg/forum/guitar-buy-sell/38336-wts-thd-hotplate.html
funktastic
New member
man. you sure are lucky. i happen to saw one thd hotplate being sold in the guitar amp section. posted like 4 days ago.
http://soft.com.sg/forum/guitar-amp-buy-sell/80425-thd-hotplate-attenuator-8-ohms-mint-condition.html
http://soft.com.sg/forum/guitar-amp-buy-sell/80425-thd-hotplate-attenuator-8-ohms-mint-condition.html
lucadia
New member
Blackheart little giant, which sadly doesn't have any gain or drive knob.. so i have to do it the old-school style.. GETTING IT UP TO 11!
Phil
New member
Hmm, so you don't use the Little Giant with any drive pedals? In that case, even at 11, it'd be at most overdriven, at best.
So I hope you're not expecting lots of dirt and grit with just cranking the Little Giant alone.
If I remember correctly, isn't the Little Giant switchable between 3 and 5 watts? You can try cranking it at 3watts, daytime.
So I hope you're not expecting lots of dirt and grit with just cranking the Little Giant alone.
If I remember correctly, isn't the Little Giant switchable between 3 and 5 watts? You can try cranking it at 3watts, daytime.
The little giant is a 5/3w (single-ended) SE amp. I'd tried it on at 5w, and I gotta say the clean headroom is amazing. Thing is, the amp really shines only when the power amp tubes are saturated; that's when you get that 'tube' sound. Not so much of preamp distortion/overdrive.
When you use pedals to drive, that's pretty much gonna get you a preamp distortion/overdrive. To get that nice saturation, you gotta crank it up.
So the ultimate solution for you, I'd reckon will be to use an attenuator. Although, you gotta understand that when you run your tubes hot, *which you will, with an attenuator*; the tube life will be shortened significantly.
Power tubes are not cheap to replace; but you can rejoice as SE amps don't need rebiasing! I never knew this as when I was still in Singapore, I played through mostly preamp, and never really cranked up the amps enough to get that 'tube gain'.
with 3watts, you may be able to crank it up without blowing up walls.... but then again, the clean headroom will be compromised (it will break up earlier).
all in all, my 2cents is that you should get an attenuator (THD, powerbrake, or other varieties out there). This might just help you with volume levels, BUT you will be missing out on other factors such as having the speaker/cabinet characters being brought out; and you will be having shorter tube lifespan.
if you're more than happy with 3watts, get an overdrive pedal (decent one), and then pump up the volume to that of an acceptable level and rock on!
The THD is a more viable option IMO if you need the headroom; just remember to save up and set aside cash to service the power tube when you need to!
Cheers
When you use pedals to drive, that's pretty much gonna get you a preamp distortion/overdrive. To get that nice saturation, you gotta crank it up.
So the ultimate solution for you, I'd reckon will be to use an attenuator. Although, you gotta understand that when you run your tubes hot, *which you will, with an attenuator*; the tube life will be shortened significantly.
Power tubes are not cheap to replace; but you can rejoice as SE amps don't need rebiasing! I never knew this as when I was still in Singapore, I played through mostly preamp, and never really cranked up the amps enough to get that 'tube gain'.
with 3watts, you may be able to crank it up without blowing up walls.... but then again, the clean headroom will be compromised (it will break up earlier).
all in all, my 2cents is that you should get an attenuator (THD, powerbrake, or other varieties out there). This might just help you with volume levels, BUT you will be missing out on other factors such as having the speaker/cabinet characters being brought out; and you will be having shorter tube lifespan.
if you're more than happy with 3watts, get an overdrive pedal (decent one), and then pump up the volume to that of an acceptable level and rock on!
The THD is a more viable option IMO if you need the headroom; just remember to save up and set aside cash to service the power tube when you need to!
Cheers
Bitmo Attenuator
Can try this cheap attenuator from Bitmo, can buy off ebay.. getting one myself for my blackheart little giant head.
http://www.bitmomusic.com/brochure.htm
10-uator - Get great cranked tone at studio or bedroom levels
Gives you control of the post-amp speaker volume. Also includes a variable level, speaker-voiced line output so you can plug directly into a mixer for recording or live performance. You can also use the whole amp as a pre-amp into a bigger guitar amp. The 10 watt model can be configured for 4, 8 or 16 ohm operation.
Can try this cheap attenuator from Bitmo, can buy off ebay.. getting one myself for my blackheart little giant head.
http://www.bitmomusic.com/brochure.htm
10-uator - Get great cranked tone at studio or bedroom levels
Gives you control of the post-amp speaker volume. Also includes a variable level, speaker-voiced line output so you can plug directly into a mixer for recording or live performance. You can also use the whole amp as a pre-amp into a bigger guitar amp. The 10 watt model can be configured for 4, 8 or 16 ohm operation.
lucadia
New member
many thanks again for the input.. i am planning to crank the little giant into a crunch tone and boost in it with BB preamp infront for lead playing.. all at bedroom level of course. Therefore i have decided to go with a attenuator.
i have tried cranking it up at 3watts though.. i get a nice smooth overdrive. but still way too loud in my room.
i have tried cranking it up at 3watts though.. i get a nice smooth overdrive. but still way too loud in my room.
