Best "apartment friendly" high gain amp?

[Blitzie]

hey guys-

So I have a Tremoverb head and I love it. But I have problems getting tones with it.

I live in an apartment with a roommate. I can get a decent tone out of it at a low volume (like TV-ish) but it sounds like shit when I finally get to turn it up. And when I dial in a tone that sounds good at a slightly louder volume (loud bedroom), it sounds like shit when I have to turn it back down.

This is just annoying. I'd like to not have to find a good middle ground between channel volumes and the master volume every time I play.

So I'm wondering what the best low-volume high gain amps are. Not necessarily the lower wattage, but amps that sound good at any volume. Or at least keep the same tones switching between low volumes and higher volumes.

I've tried the Mini Rec and the 5150III mini and didn't like them. I figure they'll be the first suggestions I get.

What you got?

 

[Grindspine]

If you didn't like the mini rec or 5150 III mini, the next suggestion would be the mesa mark 5:25. As a bonus, it has a built-in cab clone.

Mesa Boogie Mark Five 25

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

Randall T2 or V2.

 

[Shimme]

Randall V/T2s sound pretty sweet but apparently have serious reliability issues (feel free to correct me, I just see lots of stuff about them breaking down).

My vote goes to a Laney Ironheart. Maybe a studio version, as it has the standard attenuator but also has a second 1w input and direct, speaker emulated out.

 

[The omnipotent one]

I really dig my e530. Even hooked up to a 2x12 it still produces great tones at manageable volumes.

 

[Fenriswolf]

I haven't gotten a chance to play one yet, but I'm planning on getting a Randall Diavlo since it has the thing where you can just plug it into an interface. That's why I got a H&K Tubemeister, but I didn't really care for it that much.

To me that beats buying a tiny amp because I can plug it into my interface and have the amp up loud to drive the tubes and keep the volume on the interface down, and then if I need to I can still use it to jam with someone and still be able to keep up with a drummer/playing somewhere where your amp can't be miced.

 

[TeeWX]

I highly recommend a good modeler with some studio headphones. I currently use an Eleven Rack with Sennheiser HD650's and honestly it's a million times better than any tube amp I've ever played at low volume. You don't really beat it unless you're playing at gig/jam volume. The only time I'd rather be using my 5150 with a real cab is in the situation where I can actually push it.

 

[Yo_Wattup]

Blackstar HT series. I've owned the 5W and 50W version and both are equally good at low volumes. I completely understand your trouble with the 5150 at low volumes - they sound like BAAAALLLS at low volumes.

The distortion on blackstar's HT series is mainly preamp distortion. When you push the power tubes on a blackstar, it does change the voicing of it, but it really just adds mids, and if you look up the fletcher-munsen effect, this is a good thing.

You can't run 5150s, mesas, or marshalls at low volumes and have it sound halfway decent like you can a blackstar. Also had good experiences with randalls at low volumes; sound like balls at high volume, but quite nice and brutal in the bedroom.

 

[Wookieslayer]

Randall V/T2s sound pretty sweet but apparently have serious reliability issues (feel free to correct me, I just see lots of stuff about them breaking down).

My vote goes to a Laney Ironheart. Maybe a studio version, as it has the standard attenuator but also has a second 1w input and direct, speaker emulated out.

Randall V2s were on ocassion know to overheat, being tube and solid state preamp there is a lot of narnia going on in there Lol.

My T2 when I had it never had any issues or overheating even in tiny hot as hell jam spaces for hours. The only thing was it was sensitive to a few outlets in my house and the volume would drop. But I could never reproduce that issue in any other house or jam space. I tested the outlets in my house with a multimeter and the voltage would spike to 126-127 v or drop to 117v so I chalked it up to shitty electronics in my house.

They both sound killer anyway loud and practice volumes ( trick is to use the loop volumes).

Since this is your practice/backup head they'd suit you quite well and be a somewhat different tone towards a more saturated Recto tone.

The Laney's too are supposed to be good at all volumes. See what you can try and your budget of course. And yeah the Diavlos are supposed to work well but most tube amps always sound better to a degree when turned up.

 

[7stg]

A good modeler with 7 inch monitors plus a sub like Adam f7 with subf or Yamaha hs7 with hs8s. This setup is very versatile working with all instruments and recording. Plus you can play music and watch movies with them too.

 

[1b4n3z]

I run a boosted Blackstar HT-1 through a cheapo cab with two v30's and it sounds great for all kinds of metal and beyond. Really a marvelous apartment rig for under 250, I prefer it over my Dual Rec & 4x12 at home. The cab makes the difference really (the speakers).

 

[xCaptainx]

Laney Ironheart IRT Studio. Just got one myself and I love it.

15w amp (with 1w option)
DI speaker emulated out
USB out (with ability to record both dry guitar track and processed at the same time, great for reamping)
Dedicated reamping send
3 channels
Pre boost control
Footswitch
Digital reverb.

Heck of a lot of versatile and functional options for a crazy low price. Seriously love mine.

 

[Hywel]

Another vote for the Ironheart Studio!

- Sounds great clean and distorted
- Perfect volume control for bedroom playing with the <1w input (no problems at all into my 1x12 V30 cab)
- Great USB interface (1/3 the latency of the PodHD bean it replaced. Down to 5.3ms!)
- Plenty loud enough with the 15w input for proper playing and annoying the neighbors

The emulated cab on the amp is ok but pair it with 3rd party IRs and Cab sims and it gets even better.

A PodHD or other modeler would also work but isn't quite as versatile (for me, in my price range) and it took me ages to get a tone i liked out of my Pod and I was never really happy with it. Took a day with the Ironheart.

 

[Ænima]

i just got a 5150 50w head, running it in my 6505+ 1x12 cab w/ Eminence Governor speaker, this amp ....ing SLAYS it sounds fine at low volumes, but idk wtf everyone is talking about this amp being "the loudest ever", i guess i got the newer version of this amp because there is NO volume jump from green to blue, expect the natural increase of volume with more gain

im in an Apartment and i had it at 3-4 volume and it's just as loud as my 6505+ with a WAY more refined and detailed tone and it sounds awesome at non gigging volumes... best gear purchase ever.

 

[_MonSTeR_]

I went line6 when my son was born, it's so much more practical for the low volume setting of a family home. After all, it's easier to model a high gain amp at high volume with a modeller than it is with a high gain amp at low volume

 

[jrstinkfish]

I know this is basically a clone of the Blackstar HT-5RH, and that's it's also a Bugera, but the price is right ($249 shipped from Sweetwater), and it has an attenuator that so you can take it down to 1 watt or .1 watt (as well as emulated out):

BUGERA-AMPS: G5 INFINIUM

I think it's pretty new, so not much out there in the way of reviews or videos. Buuut, just look up videos of the HT-5RH and there ya go

 

[mr11]

I vote for a preamp/poweramp setup. I run a Mako Mak 4 preamp through a VHT 2/50/2 poweramp and it's great at all volumes. Each 50 watt channel of the VHT has a half power sort of switch (not actually half power in terms of tubes, works more like a volume cut) as well so you can get killer tones at low volume and just punch it into full power mode for band level. Plus 4 channels of versatile tones from the preamp. Can't beat it, relatively inexpensive too.

 

[DavidLopezJr]

5150s with the Resonance knob up.

 

[coldandhomeless]

I been using the ENGL E530 into a 2x12. The STEREO 1.5 watt built in poweramp is great. Quiet a mouse or almost loud enough for a drummer. Same tones loud or soft. Psuedo 4 channel.

 

[neurosis]

i just got a 5150 50w head, running it in my 6505+ 1x12 cab w/ Eminence Governor speaker, this amp ....ing SLAYS it sounds fine at low volumes, but idk wtf everyone is talking about this amp being "the loudest ever", i guess i got the newer version of this amp because there is NO volume jump from green to blue, expect the natural increase of volume with more gain

im in an Apartment and i had it at 3-4 volume and it's just as loud as my 6505+ with a WAY more refined and detailed tone and it sounds awesome at non gigging volumes... best gear purchase ever.

I think 5150s are the bees knees or whatever the cheesy thing you want to think about. The slay. And I agree with you that the volume increase is not as significant as say a Fender Twinreverb. That thing would sound shitty at low volumes in my house. It took more to break up... but then we are talking a pristine clean to rock gain versus a knife of tone.

I had an ENGL Fireball in my parents garage for a while and I would be embarrassed turning it up, it was so ridiculously loud. After a while I would leave the room with my head in a vacuum.

I say a used 5150 head is a great option depending on the size of the apartment. Thatá actually something we never talk about but worth checking out. I know my 15W Vox was way too loud for my room in Providence. But my Laney is just good for my place in Virginia. It all depends.