Small valve amps

[David B]

I tried out a Blackstar ht1 recently.

It is a small, 1 watt, valve combo. I expected it to sound puny but got a pleasant surprise when it sounded great.

I am looking for a valve amp that I can use for home use only. Something that can get the valves cooking without getting an ASBO or hearing loss.

Do any Orgers have any other suggestions or observations.

[Phoebus_Apollo]

Having just invested in the Cornford Harlequin (http://www.cornfordamps.com/harlequin.htm) at 6 Watt (EL84) it might be just what your looking for - quaility hand-built, P2P wired, pure tone in a bucket.

[Jeid]

Blackstar do an HT5 which is really good. But again, it's going to be very loud in the house, despite it only being 5watts

[Green_not_greed]

I've got a Fender Champ XD - 5 watts and its very loud in the house. I play it through 2 x 12" speakers and that is loud enough to play a small gig with! Depending on the drummer, of course....

But the tone is absolutely superb.

[BigKev]

I doubt you will find one that can be played at acceptable, or social, volume. you do get some fancy very low wattage amps, but i've never seen one for less than 1 watt for a sensible price.
Solid state for low volume i reckon. . . . . . .

Or, if you are flush, buy a small valve amp, say 20-30watts, and buy a power soak to keep it low
(also i chose a 20-30watt one so that it can be used for gigging)

You can even get power soaks that have headphone ports in. . . .

[Jeid]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSQ69APkwOA

This thing is awesome!

[burstbucker]

Fender 600 champion, 5 watt valve amp, ideal for a home practice amp, clean fender tones and early break up.

[David B]

Got my Blackstar today.

May only be one watt but plenty for the house.

Unlikely I will ever be a gigging guitarist so a louder amp is pointless (I remain a "bandless" drummer meantime).

Combo sounds really good. Reverb doesn't add much to the gain channel but useful for those quieter strummy/picky moments on clean.

It would be interesting to see what it sounded like if it was driving a big cab rather than an 8" speaker.

Next on my list is another guitar. Think I'll start another thread.