Metal amp for bedroom

[HeavyMetal4Ever]

When you run just the Blackstar you get the Blackstar tone stack into the Blackstar power section. If you put the Pod in the fx loop you bypass the Blackstar tone stack and use the Pod as the tone stack into the Blackstar power amp. This is a common method for using a modeller, and should give you great results with a little tweaking, even at low volumes.

Rock on!

 

[danesp]

And then that would also be able to go a lot quieter aswell? or would the volume not really differ? What is the genral opinion on the new Laney Ironheart studio? its 15w that can also go down to just 1w, really good price aswell

 

[danesp]

Ive also found the blackstar id 60 modelling head. It says 'loud as valve' but sure the whole purpose of modelling amps to to be able to play at any volume and keep the same tone? Does anyone have any experience with these amps.

 

[nowhere]

can't the blackstar be used only with cab simulation DI, without using the actual speaker? if so, and you are happy with the amp, get an interface and some good monitors, and you'll be alright.

i have the ironheart studio 15w all tube (2+2) which i use without cab, with a DI to my interface (scarlet 2i2) and then to my monitors or headphones. and i am able to crank the amp's gain saturating the preamp section -at least- hard. you can also deactivate cab simulation and run it through leCab for instance with the cab sim of your choice
i would also recommend this amp for metal

 

[NinjaRaf]

Even a 1 watt tube amp is probably gonna be too loud. Id get something like a peavey vypyr 15 watt for practicing at low volumes. Or some kinda headphone dealie like the vox amplug.

 

[danesp]

As ive only just got the cab aswell i would prefer to get a head. Maybe solid state would be the way to do? Nowhere, im not very technical when it doesnt to these things so all you just said kinda just went through one ear and out the other haha. If you use the ironheart through a cab on the 1w setting is it still really loud?

 

[CD1221]

1W is still freaking loud. Don't be fooled. Most guitar speakers are reasonably effiient, around 95-98dB/W. That is goddam loud in an apartment, bedroom or garage. Your ears will be ringing. An amp at full volume on a 1W setting WILL have the neighbours on the phone.

It will be easier to manage as the volume control will have more sweep to it compared to a 100W head at the same volume. But yes, it will be loud.

 

[mnemonic]

I'm not sure if you're clear on the different parts of an amp, so;

A head is just a preamp (the part that makes the distorted sound) and a poweramp (part that makes it loud, and adds some coloration/distortion to the sound aswell) built into one box. You then need to plug this into speakers (your cab).

Both the Line6 podHD and the Engl E530 are preamp only, you need a seperate poweramp to make them loud. The Engl is tube and a bit more limited, where the podHD can be used direct for recording, has loads of amp models, effects, etc. If you want to do some recording aswell, I'd lean toward the line 6 podHD.


Since you'll need to do performances, and I would assume you'd like to play in your room through your cab (not just headphones), you'll want a poweramp. Solidstate may be best for you if volume is gonna be an issue. I've been researching cheap solidstate poweramps lately and the ones that keep coming up are the Rocktron Velocity, Marshall 8008, MosValve, etc. They will perform just as well quiet as they would turned up loud, unlike a tube poweramp. That being said, don't expect super heavy tones at whisper-volumes, or bedroom volumes to ever sound like a cranked amp, because our ears just respond differently at different sound pressure levels.

 

[mindwalker]

Dude I tried the Engl Ironball at 1watt and it was freaking loud.. Louder and more difficult to control than the Blackstar! Although I didn't spend a whole lot of time with it! To get bedroom volumes with the Ironball you have to play with both the channel volume and the master volume so that's why it's more complicated to set up than the Blackstar which has one volume knob per channel.

I have the Blackstar myself and honestly if that is too loud then the Ironball isn't much better. I get very good bedroom volumes with the Blackstar with the volume around 8 o clock. Mine is the 12 inch version

 

[danesp]

Thanks for the info mnemonic, that was really helpful . A solidstate power amp might be the best idea . Im still quite keen on trying the ironheart studio, as it has a setting that is >1W, For the moment ive managed to cover my cab in bubble wrap and the box it came in which has muffled the sounds but doesnt sound as good. Yeah its just the shape of the room to be honest its weird, small and slanted. I keep fiddling about with it and ive found a tone i like, but yeah its just a tad loud. What about an a Attenuator? would that be something to look into?

 

[danesp]

Hey mindwalker, yeah the issue im having with the blackstar is when i turn the gain up, even if the volume knob is on 0 its just so loud. Ill have the gain on lik 1/2 o'clock, volume on 0 and its too loud already ;/

 

[donray1527]

Morning guys,

This is my first post so sorry if its in the wrong place.
Basically the story so far is I have recently purchased a Blackstar ht-5 head and a Harley Benton 2X12 cab. However The Blackstar is WAYYY to loud for where I am practicing. So its back to the drawing board of finding a metal amp that sounds good at very low volumes.
I play through esp eclipse and a Fender Telecaster both of these have active pickups, EMGs and SD and i also have a Keeley ts9+ modded pedal. I mainly play hardcore/metal so bands like counterparts, verse, defeater, As I lay dying, a day to remember etc etc
I am completely open to any suggestions as long as I can get a good tone for these genres.

I have been looking at the Engl E530 but i have next to no knowledge of these types of things so any help with explaining what exacally it is would be helpful also. Unfortunately due to where i live i am not really able to try any amps out so i will be relying on you guys.

Cheers

dude i just saw defeater and they were running old block letter 5150s... so maybe 6505+ 112?

 

[oniduder]

diezel herbert sounds great at bedroom volume,

i honestly dont' know what else to say

le douche OUT!!!

 

[danesp]

I think a 6505 would be way to loud, which is such a shame. I think its either get a attunator for the black star, what would peoples opinions be on that? Or get ART SLA power amp with a Engl e530?

 

[oniduder]

sorry honestly the e530 is killer, is quite versatile and of course can be dialed in for quietness,

some of the sounds i got out of the e530 sounded similar to my NATAS, so yeah it's win win

as for power amps, there's millions to choose from and i'm not privy or up to date really on any of them

i would stay stick with tube, like a fryette 50/50 or something like that

find those relatively cheap like 550 on up, which is about what you'll spend on the e530 i figure

so yes indeed the herbert by el diezel is very quiet when necessary but overkill in many respects,

peace

 

[danesp]

My only issue with buying a tube power amp is that surely i would still be having the same problem of it being too loud? How does the Engl e530 sounds plugged straight into a cab?

 

[Sephael]

Simplest solution and probably the cheapest: Leave your Blackstar ht-5 in standby, and get a set of powered computer speakers and a 1/8''female to 1/4" male trs adapter. If you already have the computer speakers you are looking at a $2 fix to play at much lower volumes.

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

My only issue with buying a tube power amp is that surely i would still be having the same problem of it being too loud? How does the Engl e530 sounds plugged straight into a cab?

AMT makes some low-wattgae power amp pedals, and EHX makes a 22W solid state power amp pedal.

Or you can use the Engl's built-in headphone amp plugged into your 2x12. Don't remember exactly how to do this, but it's possible, and it sounds pretty good.

 

[MF_Kitten]

If you want to be able to run through a cab AND direct, you should look into the Laney Ironheart recording amp. it's rackmounted, and it has all sorts of cool reamping features and stuff, and you can record direct as well as use the power amp on it to power a cab.

Alternatively, the Pod HD500 or HD Pro are both great units, especially if you use impulse responses instead of the built-in cabs (although you can make those sound good too).

 

[mindwalker]

Simplest solution and probably the cheapest: Leave your Blackstar ht-5 in standby, and get a set of powered computer speakers and a 1/8''female to 1/4" male trs adapter. If you already have the computer speakers you are looking at a $2 fix to play at much lower volumes.

this

I do something similar if I want to be absolutely silent with my HT-5. I leave the amp in standby and then I run a 1/4" TRS cable from the FX-loop send into the 1/4" TRS line in of my sound interface. From there, I just run the signal into my DAW and apply a series of plugins, normally a cabinet impulse and eventually some overdrive sim (TSE 808 for example, and for the cab sim I go sometimes between ReCabinet or Torpedo PI-Free which also has a power tube sim section). I just monitor the whole thing with headphones although you could use some normal computer speakers at that point.

some people say that running the amp in standby for extended periods can lead to cathode tube poisoning which would kill the valves faster but I haven't seen any hard proof of that. I wrote on Blackstar's forums (and I believe to Blackstar themselves) about it and got no answer! But I assume they have designed for it since the headphone out is precisely meant to be used with the amp in standby for extended periods, eventually.

Using the FX-loop > sound interface > DAW with plugins yields way better sound emulation than the standard headphone out of the Blackstar, obviously