Looking for very organic and warm low volume Blues amp

[Dr. Gonzo]

I'm looking for a low volume amp (under 20 watts and lower) that has the most organic, warm, bluesy sound possible. I'm trying to avoid a preamp gain sound, too much bite, or any other artifacts in the sound. Basically I just want it to sound like you're plugging into the tubes. A pure blues tone, if you will, as I'm looking for distortion. I'm leaning toward an Alessandro Black n' Tan, or maybe a Siegmund Midnight Special. I already have an Alessandro English, though, and am worried a Black n' Tan would be too close to the sound of the English. Any suggestions?

Gonzo

[Bearded]

Carmen Ghia. Two Rock Ruby 12/18. Bogner Metropolis.

[cnardone]

I was about to suggest the Beagle until I got the Allessandro part. I've spoken to George and he says the BnT is pretty different from the Beagle/English sounds. I want one myself. I'd say get the BnT. I can't image something being more plugged into the tubes than an Allie.

cmn

[mrmojorisin]

I owned a TR Ruby 18/12 for a while and would not recommend that to meet your expressed desires Gonzo..its a high gain machine IMHO and lacks the clarity and definition I think you are looking for...I found it hard to get a crisp blues tone out of the amp.

What I recommend to you is the Nick Greer Underdog 15 with his Mod 1. Its a tweed deluxe clone with LOTS of mojo. Ask Scott and Woodshed Guitars. He had my old one for a while, maybe stills does. It was a fantastic blues amp and has wow'ed everyone who has heard it. I probably should have ket it but you know how the gear craze goes...

Carl

[Dr. Gonzo]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys!

I've got a Two Rock Ruby 35, actually. I love the tones from it. Great Trainwreck Express, and VERY sweet bluesy Dumblish tones when the master volume is involved. Actually, the bluesy Dumblish tones are pretty close to perfection in what I'm looking for. However, I'm looking for something a little bit more like an overdriven Deluxe than a Dumble. A little more small amp output tube OD thing, and as warm and organic as possible, if that makes sense.

For tonal reference points, say the tones on the Mark Knopfler "Shangri-la" album and the sound clips of the Komet 60, especially the 335 clips. I know that Knopfler used a Komet 60 and a Fender Tweed Deluxe on that album. Since I want to crank this amp up at low volumes, I was kinda ruling out the Komet 60. I was hoping that the Alessandro Black n Tan or the Siegmund would give me that tube swapping, bluesy goodness at low volumes--a low volume Komet 60 if you will.

Gonzo

[Glaze]

Originally posted by Dr. Gonzo
I'm looking for a low volume amp (under 20 watts and lower if possible) that has the most organic, warm, bluesy sound possible. I'm trying to avoid a preamp gain sound, too much bite, or any other artifacts in the sound as much as possible. Basically I just want it to sound like you're plugging into the tubes as much as possible. A pure blues tone, if you will, as I'm looking for distortion. I'm leaning toward an Alessandro Black n' Tan, or maybe a Siegmund Midnight Special. I already have an Alessandro English, though, and am worried a Black n' Tan would be too close to the sound of the English. Any suggestions?

Gonzo

Gonzo

Fender Tweed Champ would be perfect. Find a 50's original, a Clark or a Victoria copy. When it comes to Tweeds my favorite is the Bassman, but those little Champs are cool.

Mike

[voxworld]

Harmony combos with 1x12 and 2 6V6's are excellent soundiong amps, very overlooked. And can be had for really great prices.

[riverastoasters]

Originally posted by Dr. Gonzo
I'm looking for a low volume amp (under 20 watts and lower if possible) that has the most organic, warm, bluesy sound possible.

30 Watt Bogner Metropolis Reverb with an attenuator? I'd guess the 15 Watt version but I have never played one.

[gep]

The Gries 2-6v6 amp w/reverb and master control has great blackface sounds. Great for blues.

[riffmeister]

Originally posted by Dr. Gonzo
I'm looking for a low volume amp (under 20 watts and lower if possible) that has the most organic, warm, bluesy sound possible. I'm trying to avoid a preamp gain sound, too much bite, or any other artifacts in the sound as much as possible. Basically I just want it to sound like you're plugging into the tubes as much as possible. A pure blues tone, if you will, as I'm looking for distortion. I'm leaning toward an Alessandro Black n' Tan, or maybe a Siegmund Midnight Special. I already have an Alessandro English, though, and am worried a Black n' Tan would be too close to the sound of the English. Any suggestions?

Gonzo

You might like the Midnight Special. I had one for a while and indeed, it is a warm bluesy sounding amp, esp with 5Y3 rectifier & 6V6 power tube.

[jokerjkny]

Originally posted by Dr. Gonzo
I'm looking for a low volume amp (under 20 watts and lower) that has the most organic, warm, bluesy sound possible. I'm trying to avoid a preamp gain sound, too much bite, or any other artifacts in the sound. Basically I just want it to sound like you're plugging into the tubes. A pure blues tone, if you will, as I'm looking for distortion. I'm leaning toward an Alessandro Black n' Tan, or maybe a Siegmund Midnight Special. I already have an Alessandro English, though, and am worried a Black n' Tan would be too close to the sound of the English. Any suggestions?

Gonzo

Clark Lil Bit LTD.

with only 6 watts to its name, i cant get over how incredible this little guy sounds night after night. cleans are lush and sweet, while the overdrive just kicks into some raunchy yet fun territory.

mine came preloaded with a Red Fang, but swapping over to a Celestion Blue really brought out a rounder sweetness that i just cant get over.

http://www.clarkamplification.com/premuimtweedreplicas.htmhttp://home.earthlink.net/~jokerny1/clarkltdlp.jpg

the black 'n tan's another great amp, but honestly, i say go for something a bit different. :p but if you want a plexi like raunch meets a vocally voxy like upper mid, cant go wrong with the BnT. loved mine soo much, went with its bigger bro, the Blue Tick for my higher powered gigs.

[Hipster Dofus]

Tone King Comet 20

[Tag]

Bruno UG 15. (2 EL84s)

[Timster]

Star Nova
Pro Junior

[MikeyG]

Point Blank Tweed 1x12. Fits all your criteria. Warm, bluesy, low volume. Nice breakup at reasonable volumes.

[JonF]

Originally posted by voxworld
Harmony combos with 1x12 and 2 6V6's are excellent soundiong amps, very overlooked. And can be had for really great prices.

I agree! I have a little 1x10 with a single 6v6 that is a little tone machine!

[Dave Orban]

Beagle...

It is an awesome amp...! :dude :dude :dude

It's really nothing like the English, and is my favorite of George's amps (I have both a low-end Beagle and a high-end English)...

[trisonic]

Allessandro Plotthound (just to get them all in) or Tweed Deluxe - I believe you have already answered your own question. I like Jokerjkny's "Blue Tick" a lot too.

Best, Pete.

[Blueser]

Anyone know the difference between the Greer Underdog 15, and the Mod 1 version?

[papa taco]

Dr Z Z28 seems to fit your requirements quite nicely.

[bbarnard]

Originally posted by MikeyG
Point Blank Tweed 1x12. Fits all your criteria. Warm, bluesy, low volume. Nice breakup at reasonable volumes.

+1

[Shemp]

The Handwired Marshall 20 watt 2061 through the 2061 cab. Others willl sound great, none will sound better.

[johnny5]

the allesandro with the $50,000 solid gold chassis upgrade. tones in the gold.........

is that for real?

[Shea]

Gibson GA-40.

Shea

[54GT]

The Midnight Special will fit the bill, especially with an EL37.

[thesedaze]

+1 Midnight Special

[dm4501]

I just picked up a used Clark Lil' Bit LTD. It's an incredible amp. There are several incarnations of this amp. Mine has reverb, a Celestion Blue and 2-6v6 power tubes with a GZ-34 rectifier. It's a hybrid of a Tweed Deluxe and a Tweed Champ. I really like it. It really sings with single coils or humbuckers. Point of reference, I also own and like my Divided by 13 SJ 10/20, Z 28, and Aiken Invader Mark 1, but for a truly organic blues tone, my Lil Bit Ltd is really special. Hats off to Michael Clark.

[henryjurstin13]

My main amp is a Fender Blues Jr. Relic. I really liked the amp a lot with the Jensen in it, but I replaced it with an Eminence Cannabis Rex..... YES!!! YES!!!! YES!!!!!

I shall call it my 'poor-man's Carr' amp.

It may be less point-to-point, boutique, class-A, etc.... but, I love it. I strongly suggest this combo for a warm tone. The Cannabix Rex really opens the tone up. Takes out the bite & the harshness. I would have liked to tried a Tone Tubby, but they are just too expensive for my current budget.

[grantster]

A Stephenson LJ-10, or LJ-15 is an awesome blues amp. It is also power scaled so you can vary the output of the amp from less than 1 watt all the way up to 20 watts for the LJ-10. A nice feature because 20 watts can be too loud in a small gig. The amp is also very responsive to gain changes with the guitars volume control. If you like a basic great sounding amp then an LJ-10 might be worth looking into.

[tfire]

A Matamp C7 (http://www.matamp.co.uk/MATAMPC7.htm) willl do what you asked for.

Which you can get in pretty much any style you can dream of. This is mine, all mine (http://tfire.fotopic.net/c461933_55.html).

[Birdseye]

Originally posted by Glaze
Gonzo

Fender Tweed Champ would be perfect. Find a 50's original, a Clark or a Victoria copy. When it comes to Tweeds my favorite is the Bassman, but those little Champs are cool.

Mike


I agree with Mike on this one. The tweed champ is about my favorite amp for at home and studio playing. But honestly, I also have a Pro Jr and it will get very very close to the tweed champ low volume clean tones and will also do so much more; it's loud enough to gig with if you don't need loud and clean. The Pro Jr tone is right there with all the vintage and boutique stuff. I wouldn't spring for a tweed clone over a Pro Jr. I wouldn't hesitate to buy the real deal old Fender tweeds though; the Champ will hold its value and sound great.

[Bob Arbogast]

Originally posted by Dr. Gonzo
For tonal reference points, say the tones on the Mark Knopfler "Shangri-la" album

I recently built an Allen Amps Hot Fudge (no Nuts), 1x12 version, with concertina PI and 6V6 pair. It's loaded with an Eminence Red White and Blues speaker. With my Guild Starfire I get all kinds of Knopfler-esque (Shangri-La) tones: warm, creamy, and touch-sensitive. I imagine a Cannabis Rex would nudge it even closer. Definitely worth a look.

Bob Arbogast

[mainsale]

Maven Peal Tuskadaro through a 1x15. Turn down the output wattage and turn up the Sag and you get a wonderful thick, syrupy blues tone that I absolutely love!

[tonedaddy]

Originally posted by johnny5
the allesandro with the $50,000 solid gold chassis upgrade. tones in the gold.........

is that for real? Sure.
If you buy it, George will build it.
:D

I'll second the Beagle and Midnight Special recommendations. Nice blues tones from both of mine. Both have all octal base preamp tubes, which gives a nice wide range of tones.

I'd probably tip the scales to the Siegmund, just for the flexibility of output tubes (6V6,5881,6L6GC,KT66,EL37,7581,6550), and single-ended Class A operation which I really like for low volume blues tones.

[TIG]

princeton reverb!!!!...I'll sometimes put a sparkle drive in front..gain all the way down,volume up..pushes the amp just right.

[tthompso7]

The Star Nova is a cool little 6v6 amp. It's 5 watts w/dual 12ax7 preamp...very cool. The Mini cat (EL84's w/single 12AX7 pre) sounds about the same and you can find them used for $500-600 on Ebay.