Questions for Gries 5 Owners

[TMock]

I'm looking for a really low-powered Fender-style amp for around the house. I have three questions:

1. How effective is the Gries master volume? I don't need to choke the amp to death, but does it still sound and feel good with the master at half?

2. I am a tweed lover at heart, so I imagine I would generally run the mid control high to remove the tone stack, recover some gain, and hopefully get into Champ territory. With the mid control up, can you really get this amp to sound like legit tweed amp, or is it still something different?

3. With the mid control up, can you still access clean tones through the volume controls (on the amp and the guitar)?

[TerryE]

Sounds like you might want a Gries Minnow - I have one and love it.

Terry

Originally Posted by TMock

I'm looking for a really low-powered Fender-style amp for around the house. I have three questions:

1. How effective is the Gries master volume? I don't need to choke the amp to death, but does it still sound and feel good with the master at half?

2. I am a tweed lover at heart, so I imagine I would generally run the mid control high to remove the tone stack, recover some gain, and hopefully get into Champ territory. With the mid control up, can you really get this amp to sound like legit tweed amp, or is it still something different?

3. With the mid control up, can you still access clean tones through the volume controls (on the amp and the guitar)?

[rubbersoul]

I'd agree...I think you might like a Minnow. It is a FANTASTIC little Champ derived amp!!

[TMock]

Yeah, the Minnow seems great! The problem is that I'm looking for a compact combo and the Gries website says the Minnow only comes in a head/cab configuration. Unfortunately, that's a deal breaker for what I need.

I might just truly go old school and grab a Tungsten Mosaic.

[GTRJohnny]

What about the Gries SeaHorse or the Carr Raleigh?

[TMock]

Originally Posted by GTRJohnny

What about the Gries SeaHorse or the Carr Raleigh?

The Seahorse is a more "evolved" amp than I want. If I remember right, it has both reverb and a Twin tone stack. I didn't think about Carrs. I'll have to look at those a little bit.

[Steeltoe]

Yes on all 3 counts. And with the master, vol, and gain controls, and the 12" speaker, it's like a champ on steroids. Give one a whirl if you get the chance.

[timryan257]

I had a Gries 5 for about a month. I think it delivers nicely on both the blackface and tweed fronts, with some cool in betweens, but ultimately didn't work for me as a combo due to what I thought was a flabby low end. Could never find the right balance of overall tweedy breakup end and distinct low end notes, even with a 12". I have had a similar experience running silverface champs through 1x12 cabs. Awesome tone, but muddy low end. I think maybe a 5 watt amp through a 1x12 just has trouble down there ? . I went back to my Richter Tweed Deluxe and just added an Egnater Tweaker, definitely works better with the band.

[slagg]

I've found that a low power amp like a 5 watter needs specific tweaking if it's gonna be run at full throttle,dif coupling caps ect..

[Dan S]

Originally Posted by TMock

Yeah, the Minnow seems great! The problem is that I'm looking for a compact combo and the Gries website says the Minnow only comes in a head/cab configuration. Unfortunately, that's a deal breaker for what I need.

I might just truly go old school and grab a Tungsten Mosaic.

Adam is having a sale on them right now. Think it is in the R and M emporium.

[TDJMB]

The 5's flabby low end might come from the Tonkerlite speaker. A Celestion G12H30 sounds great but then the weight increases.

[Steeltoe]

I bought my 5 sans speaker, and installed a Celestion Blue. It is a bit bass heavy, so I just turn down the bass control. Sometimes I wish for a bit more treble though. I don't know what the tonkerlite sounds like, so I can't compare. There must be a perfect-fit speaker out there somewhere.
Still, I love this amp.

[TMock]

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

The low end is always going to be a little loose in a tweed. It's part of the character of the amps.

[zenfreud]

I liked my Gries 5 combo, a dang good amp. But it seemed slightly more rooted in scooped BF territory, already had that type of tone covered with a different amp.

[jojokit322]

Does it work well with humbuckers? I read many reviews and most of the users are using Strat and Tele. I'm going to pick a Bad Cat mini II or Gries 5 for my PRS CU24 for home use. Please let me know which one is better.

Thanks!

Joe