Low Watt Tube Amps

[junkemail86]

Hey everybody,
I've been looking at cheap low watt amps, seems that there are a million these days.  I've seen a lot of love for the Egnater Tweaker here.  What do you recommend?  I'm intrigued by the VHT Special 6.  I don't have time to build one right now.
Thanks!

[jimilee]

I love my eggnator tweaker head , my brother swears by his bugera combo


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[Haberdasher]

if you want to leave it clean & use pedals in front of it, the tweaker is great (I have the 15w head).  it is a sweet sounding amp once you have some decent tubes in it.

if you just want to plug straight in & jam I'd look elsewhere.  the top end crunch is a bit lackluster and there's no footswitch to change channels.

[jimilee]

if you want to leave it clean & use pedals in front of it, the tweaker is great (I have the 15w head).  it is a sweet sounding amp once you have some decent tubes in it.

if you just want to plug straight in & jam I'd look elsewhere.  the top end crunch is a bit lackluster and there's no footswitch to change channels.

That's why it's so important to have 2 or three laying around. my black star has a great clean channel.

[Haberdasher]

if you want to leave it clean & use pedals in front of it, the tweaker is great (I have the 15w head).  it is a sweet sounding amp once you have some decent tubes in it.

if you just want to plug straight in & jam I'd look elsewhere.  the top end crunch is a bit lackluster and there's no footswitch to change channels.

That's why it's so important to have 2 or three laying around. my black star has a great clean channel.

LOL, yeah most of us are probably covered in that regard, right?  Just wanted to point out the limitations though.

The tubemeister 18 from h&k has a nice clean channel too, it's kind of hi fi.  when you turn the gain up on it, you are in edge of breakup heaven.  i thought it was pretty awesome sounding the times I played it.

[Mojo Fandangle]

I use a Blackstar HT-5 Mini Stack. Sounds great, has an fx loop and an output for recording or using headphones.
It gets great reviews, and is probably one of the best for it's price range.

It comes in a regular combo version but the Mini Stack is great for me because it takes up so little floor space and is nice for playing whilst standing up.

[culturejam]

Define "cheap" and also "low-watt".

From what I've read, the VHT Special series amps are all quite good and designed with modding in mind. There are some great mods out there, including a very simple bias-on-a-switch mod that allows for alternating between the stock 6V6 and 6L6/EL34. And they have that adapter to use EL84s as well. I've been tempting many a drunk night by the Special 6 Ultra. 

[raulduke]

A fender Tweed Champ clone would be my choice.

If you are in the UK/EU, Ampmaker sell a really nice kit (WF-55) at a cheap price.

Really easy build and you end up with a really nice amp (that is ripe for modding) at the end of it.

[Jebus]

If you are in the UK/EU, Ampmaker sell a really nice kit (WF-55) at a cheap price.

Really easy build and you end up with a really nice amp (that is ripe for modding) at the end of it.

I got one of these. I can highly recommend! I added a tone control to mine. With good speaker it can be extremely loud.

[thesmokingman]

new: the blackstar does sound nice. got a lot of ICs in there doing some of the heavy lifting, but it does sound nice.
used: vht is much cheaper to buy used(I feel you're getting hurt buying one new due to no good resale value)
out of production: I like the blackheart little giant even if it doesn't have tons of gain
vintage: silvertone 1481, the one with the round speaker baffle hole.
diy: supro s1606/gretsch 6150 from watts tube audio
avoid: valve jr, bugera, fender champ 600

[culturejam]

avoid: valve jr, bugera, fender champ 600

Never played the Champ 600, but I have had a ton of fun modding and playing the Valve Jr. Actually, the Blackheart Little Giant is just the next iteration of the VJ. From what I've read, the same guy designed both, and took the mods people were doing to the VJ and the best ones in the Little Giant. I'm actually about to start modding my last virgin VJ very soon.

Also, I think the current Bugera amps are pretty good. I had a V22 head and it was awesome.

[thesmokingman]

sure, the valve jr is well documented as a mod platform and I've done a number of them but overall I like to remind people that the price point of that new was less than what Sears sold the Silvertone 1481 for (inflation adjusted) and it sounds as cheap. even after all of them I've worked on, I still don't think of them as easy to work on compared to others. the silver lining is that you can take that gift you didn't ask for or that insane bargain you beat someone up on via craigslist and turn it into a number of different amps, reverb unit, etc. I just wouldn't actively seek one out as an amp or a project.   

re the blackheart: its what the valve junior would have been at a realistic price point. it was designed with modification in mind, it was a completely better design, and unlike the valve jr sounds just fine stock.

re: bugera ... I don't have an opinion outside of the few I've worked on having heat issues leading to power tube related component failure. I should have been more specific that I was referring to the old bugera v5 and that's because I wasn't exactly bowled over on the sound.

I think most of these went away when the fad was over.

[culturejam]

Fair enough. I suppose there is no accounting for taste. 

[jtn191]

For a tiny low watt head, I recommend the Wangs VT1H. It's like a Vox/Matchless 1 watt head!

[thesmokingman]

its all good, I'm as stubbornly opinionated about turning vintage pa amps, organ amps, and heath kits into guitar amps vs starting with a kit ... "ITS A TRAP!" which isn't well received either.

as an aside, I just couldn't play an amp named "Wangs".