Lower wattage high gain tube amp for home use...

[dbyrne23]

Hey there sorry for another one of "these" threads however I just have a question. I just purchased a new 7 string and I am looking for an amp to use at bedroom levels however I still want a decent amount of volume.

I am planning on getting a randall rd5h as all I am really looking to is play a long to songs and develop my playing further. A local shop has a used Jim Root 15w orange head for about 160 more. I am leaning towards just going with the randall, however is the jim root a lot more for only 160 more? I live alone in a house so I want a decent load of volume...maybe I am just underestimating 5 watts of tube power.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Cheers

 

[wheelsdeal]

I used to own the Jim Root Terror and i have tried the Randall RD40 combo of the RD series.First of all they are very different amps soundwise.

The Jim Root is warm,articulate with rounder mids and slighly darker.It has all the gain you need and the cleans are nice and warm.Also it has a 3 band eq which is a big plus for me.It has 7/15 watts mod to choose and it can go really loud if you want.

The Randall RD sounded to me more dry,cold with a sharper and much more tighter attack.I found it lacked a bit of bottom end,but it was the combo version and the speaker kinda sucked.The whole RD line seems that is made for modern detuned stuff so low end and gain is pretty moderate.Really tight and not very forgiving.The RD5 has one shape knob for eq which i dont like tbh and gainwise you might need a boost for heavier stuff.Also the one channel RDs (1w/5w) doesnt clean so well as the 2 channel versions.

I gotta say i am very intrigued by the new Randall RD series but if i had to choose between the RD5 and the Jim Root i would get the JR.More versatile,has 3 band eq and definately gigable.Or if you like the more modern tighter sound of the RD maybe look at the 20w.2 channels,3 band eq + presence and onboard boost.

 

[will_shred]

Blackstar HT5M

 

[warpedsoul]

I love my Jim Root. If you want more of a modern sound add in a Green Rhino.

 

[MetalDestroyer]

I love my Jim Root. If you want more of a modern sound add in a Green Rhino.

I agree with this. I haven't tried the Randall, but I have tried the Orange and it was very nice.

 

[Serenity]

Can't comment on the 2 amps as i've not owned either, but i do have a Marshall Class 5 and at only 5 watts is easily loud enough for home use. In fact it's too loud for me to crank it up, i rarely get above 3 on the volume. Maybe the new Randall Solid State RG's would be the way to go.

 

[Wickedout2014]

The Randall RD5C Diavlo gets my vote.

 

[mniel8195]

the diavlo 5 watt makes the blackstar sound like crap

 

[vick1000]

JCA22H

 

[Devyn Eclipse Nav]

^SO MUCH THIS

It's one of the few low wattage amps that really blew me away. Feature wise, it's not amazing, 2 footswitchable channels, 20 watts, Shared EQ between the channels, with independent gain and volume controls. That and the lack of a master volume control, makes it not ideal if you're like me and you use the clean channel a lot, and like a very fender-y, sparkly clean.

However, THAT ASIDE, this thing ....ing screams. It's essentially a low wattage, poor-man's Soldano SLO-100, and I'm not joking. I A/B'ed it with an actual SLO, both through a Mesa Oversized cab with a tube screamer in front, using some sort of 3-humbucker Gibson SG and a blue Ibanez J-Custom 7 string, same settings between the two amps and honestly, I was hard pressed to tell the difference. Granted, this was a little less than a year ago, so the details have since left my mind, but the point remains - if you want a high-gain, low wattage head that's small and sounds amazing, and you like that SLO-100 sound, YOU NEED TO GET THIS HEAD.

I'm very, very tempted to pick up one with 2 Orange 1x12s, and make that, along with my HD500X, my rig. Have a cab at home, and a cab at the practice space, and just bring the head, guitar, and POD back and forth, and haul along the other cab for gigs to have it on the other side of the stage.

Arguably the best part is the price, it's $400 brand new, and can be found used for $200. Throw in a set of your preferred tubes, and you're ready to go.

 

[Sleazy_D]

the diavlo 5 watt makes the blackstar sound like crap

RD > HT all day.

 

[sage]

If I were in the market for a home use tube amp, I'd be looking at the HK Tubemeister 18. On board power soak allows you to dial it down to 5 or 1 watt or defeat the speaker out entirely and use the Red Box DI for direct recording. I've goofed around with one at a music store and was really impressed with its modern high gain tones. Comparatively, the Root Terror sounded a little sloppy and more suited to rock than metal.

 

[VBCheeseGrater]

^^^ The 5 watt tubemeisters are on sale lately too at various online stores, dirt cheap for a nice little tube head.

Based on the title of the thread, hard to beat the Diavlo stuff for that. I've had both the HT and RD series in 20 watt versions. I'd say the HT probably performed better at very low volume - like wife watching TV in the same room volumes, but anything over that the RD wins, for both cleans and high gain.

 

[warpedsoul]

If I were in the market for a home use tube amp, I'd be looking at the HK Tubemeister 18. On board power soak allows you to dial it down to 5 or 1 watt or defeat the speaker out entirely and use the Red Box DI for direct recording. I've goofed around with one at a music store and was really impressed with its modern high gain tones. Comparatively, the Root Terror sounded a little sloppy and more suited to rock than metal.

I can assure you that if you add in a Green Rhino (can't speak on others as I haven't tried them), it will tighten your sound and give you all the metal you can handle.

 

[dbyrne23]

Thanks for the feedback....now time for what I hope is not the most retarded question of all time on here...If I bought a head, can I somehow use my Egnater Tweaker 15 tube combo as a cab somehow?

 

[VBCheeseGrater]

^ probably- if the combo's speaker does not have a 1/4" jack on the end of the wire going to the amp, you can always solder a jack on there so you can plug the speaker into another amp head.

Then if you wanted, you could solder a female jack onto the tweaker's old speaker wire coming from the amp portion of the tweaker so you could still reconnect the tweaker speaker as needed.

 

[AndrewFTMfan]

Anyone have any more suggestions that they swear by?

 

[RadDadTV]

The Orange blew me away when i tried it, I'd recommend it to a bedroom player for sure.

 

[UnderTheSign]

I'm a big fan of the Orange sound so Orange Tiny Terror/Dark Terror/Jim Root are some of my top picks. I shelled out a little bit more and got a Hovercraft Dwarvenaut which despite being 20 watts might even be too loud for you...

 

[warpedsoul]

I'm a big fan of the Orange sound so Orange Tiny Terror/Dark Terror/Jim Root are some of my top picks. I shelled out a little bit more and got a Hovercraft Dwarvenaut which despite being 20 watts might even be too loud for you...

Still loving my Orange Jim Root Terror. I use the 7w mode at home and can't get the volume past 3 with the gain at 1 o'clock. Don't let the low wattage fool you. These things can get LOUD. I have it in a Carvin Legacy 4x12. I would put money on it doing a good sized gig without a mic.