Groove Tubes Soul-o-45 - usable for bedroom playing?

[rabbit]

I have the possibility to get a Groove Tubes Soul-o-45 combo, an amp that I have been wanting to check out for years. They are a bit hard to come by here in Europe.

Is it capable of apartment level/bedroom playing volume level yet retaining a good clean tone?

In my near future I likely will have to deal with a few changes in life, new job, maybe also moving to another city so I predigt some "bedroom playing only" time for me until I find a new band (if I have to break up with my current one).
Long story short I´d like a nice fendery pedal friendly amp that is capable of gig volume levels as well as bedroom levels. I´ve been trying to find a nice fendery low wattage head for months now to no avail (for bedroom playing only) and now I find the idea quite attractive to not buy a dedicated bedroom amp if the GT can do it as well.

The problem is: With some amps (like the HRD), you twist the volume knob just a tiny bit and it´s already too loud for bedroom playing.
Can you describe how the volume and gain knobs on the GT 45 work?

I am aware that normally 45 watts is way too much for quiet playing and I would have to go for the 5 watts territory but wanted to ask anyways. So this is just to find out whether it´s worth the hassle to drive all the way to the city where the amp is now to check it out.

BTW: By bedroom level I mean a DRRI on 2 maximum! All my distortion will be coming from pedals, so cranking the amp is not needed.

Would an attenuator make sense to turn down the amps, even only for clean tones?

Thanks so much for your help!

 

[nangillala]

Where do you live in Germany?
You can check the Amps out in Osnabrück at Guitars And Drums. Unfortunately I haven't played one of those amps, but I'm very interested in one as well. How much are they used?

 

[rabbit]

HI nangillala,

thanks, good to know that there is still a retailer for those fine amps. I think there is no need to go to OS to check out the amps at the moment, it´s even closer to check out the mentioned used GT45. :BEER

Anyone knowing these Soul-o-45 amps who can go into detail about the volume? Thanks

 

[Seegs]

rabbit I have played one many years ago the Musik Messe and if you have the chance to get one for a good price I would do it in a heart beat...it has one of the best clean tones I have ever heard...I remember seeing them going for around 750€ used on ebay.de...

regarding volumn...if I remember correctly I believe you can use different power tubes by just rebiasing the amp...so for quiet bedroom playing you could pop in some 6V6s and have a 20 watt amp...

with 6L6s the amp can get really loud...

Chow,
Seegs

 

[rabbit]

Hey Seegs,
great idea with the 6V6´s, but apparently this amp does not support being biased for those kind of tubes.

GT´s tube reference guide says "3 12AX7, 12AU7, 12AT7 Matched Duet of either 6L6, EL34, KT66, 6550, KT88
Bias depending on output tubes chosen".

So I must make up my mind whether I want it anyways or go for a low(er) wattage amp. Thanks very much, though !

 

[PSaulino]

I have the possibility to get a Groove Tubes Soul-o-45 combo, an amp that I have been wanting to check out for years. They are a bit hard to come by here in Europe.

Is it capable of apartment level/bedroom playing volume level yet retaining a good clean tone?

In my near future I likely will have to deal with a few changes in life, new job, maybe also moving to another city so I predigt some "bedroom playing only" time for me until I find a new band (if I have to break up with my current one).
Long story short I´d like a nice fendery pedal friendly amp that is capable of gig volume levels as well as bedroom levels. I´ve been trying to find a nice fendery low wattage head for months now to no avail (for bedroom playing only) and now I find the idea quite attractive to not buy a dedicated bedroom amp if the GT can do it as well.

The problem is: With some amps (like the HRD), you twist the volume knob just a tiny bit and it´s already too loud for bedroom playing.
Can you describe how the volume and gain knobs on the GT 45 work?

I am aware that normally 45 watts is way too much for quiet playing and I would have to go for the 5 watts territory but wanted to ask anyways. So this is just to find out whether it´s worth the hassle to drive all the way to the city where the amp is now to check it out.

BTW: By bedroom level I mean a DRRI on 2 maximum! All my distortion will be coming from pedals, so cranking the amp is not needed.

Would an attenuator make sense to turn down the amps, even only for clean tones?

Thanks so much for your help!

I used one for many years - gigging and home.

They have 3 volume controls - on the front - gain and master and on the back return (loop level acts as an overall master).

If you run the amp with the gain and master at about 1:00 pm each and adjust the overall volume with the return level, you can achieve a much fatter tone than if you just used the master. Something about running both of the controls higher up the dial. It's not overdrive per se, maybe a tiny bit, but it is much warmer like you turned it up.

Paul

 

[Seegs]

Hey Seegs,
great idea with the 6V6´s, but apparently this amp does not support being biased for those kind of tubes.

GT´s tube reference guide says "3 12AX7, 12AU7, 12AT7 Matched Duet of either 6L6, EL34, KT66, 6550, KT88
Bias depending on output tubes chosen".

So I must make up my mind whether I want it anyways or go for a low(er) wattage amp. Thanks very much, though !

oops sorry didn't know about the 6V6s...you could always get the tonebone pentode (7-9watts) or triode (4-5 watts) converters which let you run EL84s at a very reasonable volumn.

Chow,
Seegs

http://www.tubeampdoctor.com/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=&products_id=669

 

[rabbit]

oops sorry didn't know about the 6V6s...you could always get the tonebone pentode (7-9watts) or triode (4-5 watts) converters which let you run EL84s at a very reasonable volumn.

Chow,
Seegs

http://www.tubeampdoctor.com/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=&products_id=669

No problem at all. I thought about those tonebones earlier, too, but then somehow forgot about them. So thanks for reminding me of those.
Did you ever you them yourself? Do they act like TAD says?
I think I would go for the pentode ones since they don´t change the tone of the amp, which I am sure is brilliant on its own.

So NOW I need to find out whether they would fit in back of the amp, which is a pita since there is not much info about this amp on the net.

For now, THANKS a lot for your help, guys. I will do my homework about this amp and then report back

 

[rabbit]

I´m sorry to bring this up all the time but wanted to add that I eventually bought the amp.

Plesase bear in mind that the following statements are my very early findings about this amp...

So far im quite happy with it. It may be because I am used to closed (or almost closed) back cabs but I find the amp to be tweaks towards the bright side a bit. Still a wonderful blackface clean tone, though. Distinct and shimmering.

I can fully agree with Paul´s recommended setting of the gain and volume up to 1 o´clock. At least the gain has to be turned up a bit to achieve a full and round clean tone.

Now to all you GT45 experts out there: How do you like the speaker?

I like it very much for clean tones but whenever I stomp on one of my pedals (Menatone Red Snapper and KotB, Xotic BB, Zendrive inspired pedal), the sound gets sort of thin, "raspy" but also a bit midrangey and lacks bottom end.
I mean, wasn´t this amp advertised as THE amp for pedals? Maybe its my ears being so used to my Mesa 2x12 cab I used to use at home before with another amp. When I hook the GT up to that cab it helps it, but the more transparent/uncompressed pedals of the bunch (especially the RS) still don´t sound the way they used to before.

Have to do some tweaking! I will most likely put TAD Tonebones in it, like Seegs recommended, which will alter the tone a bit.

Which speaker would you guys recommed if I´ll decide to change it?
The speaker should provide a good bass response to even out the amp eq wise. Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[Seegs]

No problem at all. I thought about those tonebones earlier, too, but then somehow forgot about them. So thanks for reminding me of those.
Did you ever you them yourself? Do they act like TAD says?
I think I would go for the pentode ones since they don´t change the tone of the amp, which I am sure is brilliant on its own.

So NOW I need to find out whether they would fit in back of the amp, which is a pita since there is not much info about this amp on the net.

For now, THANKS a lot for your help, guys. I will do my homework about this amp and then report back

Congrats Rabbit...did you get this off of Guitardome?

if so it was at a nice price...I looked at it as well but he wouldn't ship the amp...

speaker wise it kinda depends on what sounds you're looking for...if I remember the amp had a high power Celestion speaker in it and it sounded ok...if I didn't like it...personally I would stick a 65watt Scumback H75 in it...

if in the end you find it is not the amp for you please let me know...I'm close to Frankfurt...

Chow,
Seegs

 

[therhodeo]

I've been using a Soul-O 45 head and Avatar 2x12 cab for the last couple of years and I would describe my OD tones as anything but thin. My cab is open back and has a G12H30 and Vintage 30 in it.

 

[Gtrman100]

I've had a Soul-O 45 head for many years and use it for gigging. It is a bright amp, speaker matching is critical. The stock GT Classic Clone(Celestion G12K85) is a decent match, but I find that the amp is really helped with a larger cabinet. An Eminence Swamp Thang or similar darker speaker might be what you're looking for.

For home use, the stock combo is probably OK, if it's too bright, you might want to try out Myles' mod which tames it a bit. Here' the link(the mod is about 1/2 way down the blog)
https://www.thegearpage.net/board/archive/index.php/t-351315.html

I'm using the really deep GT EX112 and it adds tons of low end thump with mine.

 

[WahmBoomAh]

i put a weberc12-65 in mine to darken it up...eventually parted ways with the amp though

 

[rabbit]

Congrats Rabbit...did you get this off of Guitardome?

if so it was at a nice price...I looked at it as well but he wouldn't ship the amp...

speaker wise it kinda depends on what sounds you're looking for...if I remember the amp had a high power Celestion speaker in it and it sounded ok...if I didn't like it...personally I would stick a 65watt Scumback H75 in it...

if in the end you find it is not the amp for you please let me know...I'm close to Frankfurt...

Chow,
Seegs

Hey Seegs,
no, I bought it from a shop in Northrhine-Westfalia. I´m not going to give up soon, since I somehow feel that it´s the right amp for me with so tweaking. And thanks for directing me to guitardome, didn´t know the site before, a lot of nice stuff there. I can only find a soul-o-75 and -30 there, though.

I've been using a Soul-O 45 head and Avatar 2x12 cab for the last couple of years and I would describe my OD tones as anything but thin. My cab is open back and has a G12H30 and Vintage 30 in it.

I've had a Soul-O 45 head for many years and use it for gigging. It is a bright amp, speaker matching is critical. The stock GT Classic Clone(Celestion G12K85) is a decent match, but I find that the amp is really helped with a larger cabinet. An Eminence Swamp Thang or similar darker speaker might be what you're looking for.

For home use, the stock combo is probably OK, if it's too bright, you might want to try out Myles' mod which tames it a bit. Here' the link(the mod is about 1/2 way down the blog)
https://www.thegearpage.net/board/archive/index.php/t-351315.html

I'm using the really deep GT EX112 and it adds tons of low end thump with mine.

i put a weberc12-65 in mine to darken it up...eventually parted ways with the amp though

Thanks guys for your speaker recommendations! I will look into the mod also, but speakers would be my first try.

 

[Seegs]

Hey Seegs,
no, I bought it from a shop in Northrhine-Westfalia. I´m not going to give up soon, since I somehow feel that it´s the right amp for me with so tweaking. And thanks for directing me to guitardome, didn´t know the site before, a lot of nice stuff there. I can only find a soul-o-75 and -30 there, though.

it's great amp and I'm sure with the right speaker and tubes it will give you what you want...

Guitardome is cool...the Solo 45 is about 2/3's of the way down the page between the Goodsell 17 and the Solo 75...the guy lives in PLZ 48 and won't ship...

Chow,
Seegs