5 watt amps

**mikerbooks** · 07-27-2012, 10:35 AM

i'm at a loss to know how players perform live with such low level amplifiers, though i understand that most 'good' guitar amps are pretty low wattage. how do they make themselves heard over other players? the pubs i play in get pretty noisy (when there's an audience!) would the amp have to be fed back through the p.a?

**Bill C** · 07-27-2012, 10:44 AM

a lower wattage amp seems to be desirable for styles where you want "break up" in the sound, but if you're going for clean I can't see it working in a noisy venue or with a loud band unless as you say everything is fed through the front-of-house PA and you have good on-stage monitoring.

**feet** · 07-29-2012, 04:53 PM

... or you run it into an external power amp/speaker cab. which defeats the purpose of having a portable little amp to an extent. but my little vox ac4 was both clean and face meltingly loud when run that way. i guess you could think of them as little square guitar heads, if it helps.

**mr. beaumont** · 07-29-2012, 04:59 PM

I would not consider this common in the jazz world.

**pingu** · 07-29-2012, 06:42 PM

You need at least 15 watts of tube 2 x el84s or 2 x 6v6
for a clean enough sound with a drummer
Fender Delux , Blues Jnr etc

(A 5watt tube amp may be loud enough but will be too dirty ......)

SS you need at least 60 watts

I'll probably get shot down now for that !
but thats what I've found anyway

**Tom Karol** · 07-29-2012, 06:53 PM

Originally Posted by pingu

...I'll probably get shot down now for that, but that's what I've found anyway.

Not at all - I agree with your assessment.

**feet** · 07-29-2012, 07:49 PM

i think most 5 watters are designed for people who want to rock out at lower levels, but i just wanted a little tube amp to keep by the couch. tube and speaker swaps help, but headroom and low wattage are contradictory terms. but if miked, go direct or run into something else (maybe even those ehx power amp pedals) you can get away with it.

**Bushwackbob** · 07-29-2012, 08:42 PM

5 watt tube amps are great for practice and can be very loud. I wouldn't want that as my only source of sound for any "real" playing but they can be great for what they do.

**AlsoRan** · 07-30-2012, 08:52 AM

Originally Posted by pingu

You need at least 15 watts of tube 2 x el84s or 2 x 6v6
for a clean enough sound with a drummer
Fender Delux , Blues Jnr etc

(A 5watt tube amp may be loud enough but will be too dirty ......)

SS you need at least 60 watts

I'll probably get shot down now for that !
but thats what I've found anyway

I agree with you when it comes to tube amps. I have a 15-watt Super Champ XD. I ran it into an Epiphone Valve Jr. cab with a Celestion G-12H Anniversary 30 watt speaker in it.

When I plalyed with a drummer that was trying to be the second coming of Art Blakey and Keith Moon, I could barely hear myself. This is despite sitting directly in front of the speaker with everything at "10."

Not a good situation for my long-term hearing ability , either.

**cosmic gumbo** · 07-31-2012, 12:45 AM

I think those 5w amps are more for getting saturated tube sound in the recording studio, without using high volume. I don't see how they could be used clean outside of living room volumes with other musicians. They say the huge sound Jeff Beck got on his Blow by Blow album was from an old 5w tweed Champ.

**Clamps** · 07-31-2012, 12:56 AM

Speaking of champ legends..apparently Clapton used one on Layla and other assorted love songs with the dominoes...

I have a fender deluxe clone and it's impossibly loud...need to tame it

**Al_F** · 07-31-2012, 10:00 AM

A Vox ac4 is a great sounding amp, and cheap. But its hard to keep the tone clean even at low volume, especially with humbuckers. And then it sounds so good dirty that you end up there most of the time anyway. 5 watts is pretty loud as well so its not really a practice amp at least not in my small house.

**Jim Soloway** · 07-31-2012, 10:21 AM

I'm going to be the contrarian in the group. I've had a couple silver face Vibro Champs and they make a lovely practice amp for low volume playing. You can also remount them in a larger cabinet with an efficient 10" speaker and get loud enough for small solo gigs in very light weight package.

**pingu** · 07-31-2012, 10:27 AM

Small amps are great for solo gigs
The OP was talking about small group settings tho

**Strickland** · 07-31-2012, 03:13 PM

You guys play with drummers that are TOO LOUD. I use a Deluxe Reverb RI which sports 22watts, but I've played gigs with another guitarist using a Swart Space Tone Reverb 5 watt class A Tube amp and he cut through with the drummer just as well as I did, even on some outdoor gigs. Granted that amp was the discontinued style with the 12" in it. I'm not sure if something like a Champion 600 would suffice.

**Jim Soloway** · 07-31-2012, 03:21 PM

Originally Posted by pingu

Small amps are great for solo gigs
The OP was talking about small group settings tho

You're right. I guess I wasn't paying attention.

**Doctor Jeff** · 07-31-2012, 05:45 PM

I have an Epiphone Valve Jr. combo. It is VERY LOUD but pretty clean up to about 12 o'clock. Nice warm tube tone as well.

I am curently using a Fender SCXD with a mostly acoustic jazz combo (singer, piano, bass, drums). The drummer might be the second coming of Paul Motian, i.e., the opposite of Ginger Baker. If my amp wasn't loud enough for the small settings we play in, I think we would need a new drummer. And I might need earplugs.

**AlsoRan** · 07-31-2012, 11:19 PM

Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff

I have an Epiphone Valve Jr. combo. It is VERY LOUD but pretty clean up to about 12 o'clock. Nice warm tube tone as well.

I am curently using a Fender SCXD with a mostly acoustic jazz combo (singer, piano, bass, drums). The drummer might be the second coming of Paul Motian, i.e., the opposite of Ginger Baker. If my amp wasn't loud enough for the small settings we play in, I think we would need a new drummer. And I might need earplugs.

+1

**SamBooka** · 08-01-2012, 08:50 AM

Love my mid 70s Vibrochamp with a Weber speaker for practice but a little bored with it (and using a pocket pod now anyway)
Dont know if it could hang in a combo setting.
Some day I will try out my class 5 for jazz.. maybe Friday.

**Pothcra** · 08-01-2012, 09:05 AM

Well, I have a 1973 champ, and I'm in the process of doing this:

The Champ 10" driver mod

Still waiting for the speaker and very curious to hear the final product.

I find the champ is a great recording amp, a fine practice/jam amp, but I could use a little more volume and bass. Maybe the 10" speaker (10F150T) will make it a great amp. It would still be more then portable, which is my first concern. (tired of dragging the vibrolux for friendly house jams)

**markf** · 08-01-2012, 09:24 AM

I use a five watt amp, in a large 100 seat restaurant. plugged into two ten inch speaker cabinet.

It's more than loud enough for that setting. Swart space tone. Nice amp.