Your opinion wanted

[SimpleMind]

Hei guys. My last amp broke down so i wanted to buy me a new one -as
maybe some of you read in my earlier threads. In the meanwhile a friend gave me his old amp a small Vox transistoramp. I have a Boss GT 6 and with that i really can get some good sounds out of the amp. I really GASed for a high end amp and found out i wanted to buy myself a Mesa Stiletto which i after all consider the best suited amp for my purposes. Since i already got an amp now which gives me a pretty ok tone for playing at home i am not longer sure if the investment in the quite expensive Mesa would be a waste of money since i at the moment just play at home. On the other hand i am still GASing for that Stiletto. So what do you say. Do i get a better sound from that also at apartment volume or should i safe my money. Thanks for every well-meant comment!

[David McCarroll]

Doesn't that depend to a degree in what you'd ultimately like to do with the amp?

Stilettos don't sound that great at low volume (most tube amps don't - they need to be running reasonably hard to "open up") - like all Mesas they are LOUD - they are designed for stage usage in pretty loud applications..... you could spring a little bit extra and get a THD hotplate or Marshall Power Brake to tame the beast a little. If you only intend playing at home, then maybe you'd be better looking at the little Koch's Dr Zs and Matchless amps - mind you, even at 5watts or so, they really aren't that quiet! (The Orange Tiny Terror, which pumps out a whopping 7 watts is loud enough for small gigs)

But, if you intend to play in a group at some stage in the nearish future, the Stiletto would be a great choice, hugely versatile, built like a tank, sounds the way Marshalls are supposed to - don't forget also that you also have to spring for a speaker cabinet (unless you are intending to get the combo), and a Stiletto and Quad Box actually take up a lot of space!

Cheers

David

[satchboogeyman]

Save your money for when you start gigging. Once you hear that amp fired up and burning anything less would just be a drag. If you notice you see gigging musicians complaining all the time about club owners bitching cuz they are too loud. Just my 2 cents BTW I have 2 tube amps and mostly play my vox da 5 in the house.

[SimpleMind]

Thank you for the help!!

[lynchfan6]

I don't know.........I mean, if you can afford the amp you really want, be it a tube head.....it will still sound pretty decent at low volume....you will get to stare at it, spend time with it, get excited to play it at gig volume,,,,,maybe be inspired to form a band, etc. As for me, I wasn't able to afford my Soldano SLO100 until I hit my 30's, had a wife and kids, and had just got out of the "gigging every weekend" life a few years earlier. But I can honestly say that I will never regret buying my dream amp,,,although I do get to crank it in my basement. And I do intend on reforming an "originals" band soon. But I say go for the Mesa now, if that's what you want. Get the amp of your dreams,,,it will only inspire you,,,,and it will still sound good enough at low volume. Anyway, just my thoughts from my experience. And you can always make use of a small transistor amp for very quiet playing, too.....I still have my Crate G60 from the late 80's that I use a lot yet for the living room, etc.. What I'm saying is, it is never to early to get "the amp" you long for. You just won't regret it.