Low Wattage Tube Amp Help

[Hammertone]

Hooray for small EL-84-driven guitar amps! Here's one - the Koch Studiotone - that's Class A, rated at 20 watts, with lots of functionality. Great value, IMO:

[Thumpalumpacus]

I guess. I've always loved the sound of EL-84 based amps. That's what runs in my Maz, and I don't think that amp sounds boxy at all. I've also had EL-84s in my Vox and Mesa amps. They always sounded good to me.

I've never played a Dr Z, though I've heard so many good things about them. No doubt design talent and quality execution have their place in tone, and I simply haven't heard the tubes in the right circuit with that level of build-quality.

I suppose it's just a matter of tone-chasing, and I'm not in the habit of begrudging others their quest. If it floats your boat, bud, my words -- well, they're worth every penny you've paid for 'em.

[Boston Joe]

I've never played a Dr Z, though I've heard so many good things about them. No doubt design talent and quality execution have their place in tone, and I simply haven't heard the tubes in the right circuit with that level of build-quality.

I suppose it's just a matter of tone-chasing, and I'm not in the habit of begrudging others their quest. If it floats your boat, bud, my words -- well, they're worth every penny you've paid for 'em.

LOL! True enough. I've just never heard anybody say before that a particular wattage of amp had anything to do with the type of guitar being plugged into it.

Dr. Z makes fantastic, and largely affordable amps. My advice is NOT to try one out unless you're prepared to fork over the cash on the spot. Because you'll want to.

(There's also a 40 watt version of the Maz. It uses a quartet of EL-84s instead of just two. I don't need that much juice, myself.)

[medblues]

Not low wattage, but Dr. Z EZG-50 is supposed to be a premium black face amp, I fantasized about the EZG-50 head version for a long while until a used George Benson Hot Rod Deluxe (40W) became available for trade.

[vintagelove]

Hi, a little late to the party with this thread, but if anyone is interested, I will soon be parting with a nice hand wired (turret board construction, no pcb's), walnut stained, 12w tube 1x10 combo. Its single ended, class A, 6l6 powered (can also run 6v6), tube rectified amp with classictone transformers and a 10" wgs veteran speaker. You can think of it as "the undefeated champ". Think an sf1 circuit with the necessary tweaks to run a 6l6 (improved psu, and upgraded transformers). The crunch you get out of this, is perfect. It also has a lovely warm clean sound, but man, at 6-7 this just gives up the goods. It's also a great amp if you're a pedal guy. The typical fender tmb blackface tonestack can sound thin with some dirt pedals. This amp has a tweed front end and a thicker sound, great for hitting with a boost (or full on high gain with the right pedal). So why would I part with it? I'm getting better at electronics, and the first amp everyone advises building is a champ, so basically, I would rebuild it myself (it was built by a professional amp builder, his name slips my mind right now) using the upgrades listed. That's the only reason I would part with it.
If someone wants it, pm me for pics/samples/info etc.

[Thumpalumpacus]

LOL! True enough. I've just never heard anybody say before that a particular wattage of amp had anything to do with the type of guitar being plugged into it.

Dr. Z makes fantastic, and largely affordable amps. My advice is NOT to try one out unless you're prepared to fork over the cash on the spot. Because you'll want to.

(There's also a 40 watt version of the Maz. It uses a quartet of EL-84s instead of just two. I don't need that much juice, myself.)

I guess I wasn't being clear, I don't care so much about the wattage, but that EL-84-based amps usually sound pretty nasal to my ears, moreso even than similarly-rated 6V6 amps. And that to my ears, large bottles (including my fave 6L6GC) have more headroom even in their smaller iterations.

Of course, I do think matching guitar to amp is not just useful but necessary, I just don't do it based on wattage, but rather, sound. Having read your posts, I'm pretty sure we agree that the entire signal chain is the instrument. I just find that for my own ears, 6L6s have the most utility.

Of course, I've never played a Mazzy, so there's that.

[mad dog]

Lots of good suggestions here. The two lower wattage amp types I find most useful:

• Tweed deluxe category. Mine is an EC Tremolux. Not cheap, but a very fine sounding amp. Fixed bias, ceramic speaker ... different in that way from the classic tweed deluxe. Might be loud enough. Maybe not.
• Deluxe reverb category. Mine is an amp by David Gries. The Gries 20, much like a DR, but with the addition of excellent master volume, excellent reverb (better than the old DR I used to own.

For semi hollows, hard to beat the 20 watt DR type amp with 6v6s. My old 335 and this Gries 20 are just about perfect. At home or on stage, that setup works for most gigs or situations that would come my way. The Frenzel sounds really promising in this way, but with different power tubes. Enough power to cover most situations. Set up for versatile tone options. I'd love to check that amp out. Seems like it's more a mini tweed bassman than 5E3 type. Which is really alright, as you could hardly do better tonally IMO than a tweed bassman.

MD

[Boston Joe]

I guess I wasn't being clear, I don't care so much about the wattage, but that EL-84-based amps usually sound pretty nasal to my ears, moreso even than similarly-rated 6V6 amps. And that to my ears, large bottles (including my fave 6L6GC) have more headroom even in their smaller iterations.

Of course, I do think matching guitar to amp is not just useful but necessary, I just don't do it based on wattage, but rather, sound. Having read your posts, I'm pretty sure we agree that the entire signal chain is the instrument. I just find that for my own ears, 6L6s have the most utility.

Of course, I've never played a Mazzy, so there's that.

OK, gotcha, and yes, I agree.

I would imagine there are people who wouldn't be wild about the Maz. (I can't imagine who, but I'm sure there are people out there somewhere.) I've always liked the sound of EL-84s, but of course there are different ways of using them in different amps, and with different types of guitars. George Harrison, Brian May, and The Edge all use(d) Vox AC-30s, and while their sounds share some qualities, they're quite different. Scofield uses them too, and he sounds very different.

I agree about headroom, but at the volumes I usually play at (i.e., low) it doesn't tend to be an issue. (However, I do think that overdriven 84s sound glorious)

I myself have never bonded with a 6L6-based amp. I had a Mesa Mark IV for a while, and ended up switching out the 6L6s for EL-34s. (Never liked that amp, though. Too finicky to dial in and very ice-picky if you didn't get it just right).

[Hammertone]

I like this old Budda Verbmaster as well. PTP wiring, great reverb, no master volume. Doesn't typically come in purple, but I know a guy. Y'know, with the thing.

18 watts, 2xEL84 power tubes, Class A/B, although mine is quite old and maybe has 6V6 tubes, hmmm….maybe I'll look…