Which practice valve amp?

[mingincorn]

Just wondered if anyone has any sugestions as to which small valve amp i should get, I curently have a marshall AVT50 but as i am only a bedroom player i feel that it is to powerful to get it to its sweet spot without defening myself. I am considering a CORNFORD HARLEQUIN which is a 6watt all valve combo which is intended as a recording amp, this is the only good quality low powered valve amp i know off , does any one else make any similar amps? so i want a top quality low power valve amp with all of the tone but without stadium volume levels that i can use only as a bedroom amp.

[microdmitry]

Harlequin doesn't have an effect loop. And it costs way over a thousand bucks.

Good and cheap candidate is Mesa Subway Rocket. I actually owned one, and regret selling it. I've heard a lot of good stuff about Ashdown Peacemaker and Reverend Hellhound, but never played them.

Unfortunately, all these amps are WAY too loud for a bedroom. Go my way. Build yourself a low-power tube power amp, and buy a good preamp. 2+ watts is still pretty darn loud, but 6AK6's start to compress when volume is around 12 o'clock which is a good volume for practice.

Here's the schem:
http://www.winisp.net/dmitriy/pa.pdf

Here's a working amp:
http://www.winisp.net/dmitriy/x88r/pa.jpg

Here's the layout:
http://www.winisp.net/dmitriy/x88r/pa_guts.jpg

[microdmitry]

BTW, 6W is not that much quieter than 50W. Loudness is measured on logarithmic scale, so if you have 100W amp and pull 2 tubes out of it, you shouldn't be surprised that it's still every bit as loud as it was (in a room). And tube watts aren't the same as solid-state watts. Solid state amp should not compress or distort, because it distorts abruptly which sounds "raspy". Tube amps can distort and compress, so for equivalent loudness your SS amp should be at least twice as powerful than tube amp, because this distortion and compression is subjectively perceived as increase in volume (and tone change).

[NickFlyMan]

wow microdmitry... that is one cool amp. how much would it cost to build one of those little babies? and is it possible for an... uh... 'ameteur' to build one? oh, one more thing, is it possible to make one of those small valve amps that run off a battery? ive always wondered about that and i thought it would be cool. thanks

-nick

[Globbits]

That's good stuff dude!

If you want a commercial alternative, i think the fender blues cube is a good alternative (2pre 3power amp valves) at 15watts, a bit loud to go full blast on, put should be alright with volume around 12o clock.

[microdmitry]

Originally Posted by Stuck In The 80's

wow microdmitry... that is one cool amp. how much would it cost to build one of those little babies? and is it possible for an... uh... 'ameteur' to build one? oh, one more thing, is it possible to make one of those small valve amps that run off a battery? ive always wondered about that and i thought it would be cool. thanks
-nick

Lesseee....

Transformers will cost you around 55-60 bucks, tubes - 15 bucks, all other parts - 20-25 bucks, chassis 15-20 bucks, sockets - 5-7 bucks. On top of that you should add the shipping charges, because you won't be able to buy all this from just one supplier. It's pretty easy to build, but it's not cheap as you can see (except if you build lots of them).

If you decide to build this amp, PLEASE don't do anything with its guts when it's "live". These tubes have 250 volts DC on their anodes, and this is lethal. No kidding.

[mingincorn]

That looks pretty nifty, i might have a go at making that as i like making stuff. I not very knowlegable on power amps and pre amps, i'm just a combo type person so could you recommend a good and not to expensive pre amp. Thanks for the help.