The main thing to remember is that even if you use a pod or something in the effects loop to give you a headphone out, you still need to have a load on the output of the amp. Without it you'll fry your amp pretty quick. Solid states don't have that problem, hence you see them with headphone outs a lot more commonly. Some tube amps will let you do the effects loop setup by keeping the amp in standby but YMMV. You also need to remember that your tube amp won't sound nearly as good with low volume as it will when it's being pushed a little...or a lot depending on what you play. If you need something just for 2AM practicing, and your amp for other times, I'd really suggest getting a cheap modeler. It won't be the best tone, but you won't make anyone mad or ruin your amp trying to do work-arounds.

 

I didn't know that about having the load on the output of the amp. Seems the more I play, buy gear, and read Jemsite, the less I know. LOL

My solution was to get a Peavey JSX Mini Colossal. 5 watt, all tube, class A, and it has a power sponge feature that allows you to get that overdriven tone at lower volumes. I love it. There are other options, too, there's an Egnater that you can turn from 20 watts down to 1 (the Rebel I think it's called).

I like the cheap modeling amp solution, many many choices and you can get decent-to-good sound for late-night, low-volume playing.

Or just get a $40 plug-in headphone amp? Good luck!

 

Remember that wattage equals clean volumes more than overall volume and that something that is 1 watt is only a quarter as loud as something that is 100 watts. With amps, what you want is something like the JSX that has a master volume to allow you to reduce your amp's overall volume while keeping the pre-amp gain in there. Unfortunately, even those aren't perfect as amps, especially higher watt ones, need to move air to get their sound and it won't be quite right at low volumes. If you really just plan to use it for late night, I would go with the cheap modelers because they're cheap. If you want a different flavored amp that can do a lot of things, is easily portable and can be a late night solution,the JSX is a great option. One other amp worth looking at might be the Blackstar HT-5. The combo would be loud and portable enough to take to jams (not real rehearsals, that's what the Engl is for) and could do late night bids. I've been looking at the head as a possible home recording amp and the few times I've played it, I've come away smiling...now if I could just get my funds together. It doesn't have a master volume but the levels seem pretty reasonable unless your walls are paper thin.

 

You could get an attenuator or something. I don't personally know too much about them, but they let you more or less crank the amp and not pop your eardrums.

http://www.amptone.com/powerattenuatorfaq.htm

According to that, the only problem is 1) burning out the amp and 2) the way the speakers react to it.

 

Attenuators are an acceptable solution in some cases and you won't burn your amp out using them any faster than you would if you didn't have the attenuator in the chain. As I said before though, some amps need to push air and when you divert some of that energy into heat instead of pushing the speakers, some of your tone will be affected. There are attenuators that have EQ compensation for this to some degree, but attenuators are really best at taking an insane volume down to loud rather than a loud volume down to whisper.

 

As I said before though, some amps need to push air and when you divert some of that energy into heat instead of pushing the speakers, some of your tone will be affected. There are attenuators that have EQ compensation for this to some degree, but attenuators are really best at taking an insane volume down to loud rather than a loud volume down to whisper.

Would you not have this same problem playing the amp at a relatively quiet volume without an attenuator?

 

If you looked at the Blackstar HT-5 it has a speaker emulator that you can plug in headphones, or put it through to a PA/mixing desk or even your PC. I run mine through to the PC sometimes when my son is asleep so I can crank up the amp, but turn down the volume using my PC's speakers.

 

Yeah, I think you said elsewhere that the Blackstar's headphone output mutes the speaker out. It's too bad they just jacked the price of those up $100 across the board.

 

I use a weber mass with my Laney GH50L and it works great. In my experience you don't really have to crank the amp to get good tone. I put the master volume on 3 and turn the weber mass down to 1 and that produces a big full sound.

I bought the weber mass at http://www.eurotubes.com/. Mass lite 100 is what I have.

I used to use a POD 2.0 and it's not bad either, but I prefer the Laney + weber setup. Good luck!

 

I use a Weber Mass 100 attenuator, and I chose the option of having them put a headphone tap on it. It solves the problem of late night volume obviously, but as mentioned before, the tone suffers a bit - it's definitely usable, though.

 

As for the question about an amp turned down vs an attenuator, Phil's right in saying that by turning the amp down you lose the power tube distortion aspect of your tones. As part of that, you lose some tube compression and sustain as well as the distortion properties.
You probably wouldn't have posted if you were satisfied with your amp's tone even when turned down. An attenuator can help maintain cranked tone at more reasonable volumes, but it still has limitations. It basically boils down to if you think you'll be able to play your Engl during the day without problems from the neighbors, I'd go with the Engl and get a cheap headphone amp for those 2AM sessions. If you can't play your Engl at any time of day, an attenuator on top of the Engl is worth considering, but you might want to look at something cheap to get you through until your living situation allows for a meatier amp.

 

Wow! 100 Watts in your bedroom? Yeah, the neighbors will certainly be screaming... I have a lot of experience with attenuators and have tried and owned several. I recently wrote an article on my blog about the effect a really good attenuator will have on how you approach your tone. Here's the link: http://wp.me/p3yWp-yL

Mind you, power attenuation is all about ratios. In that article, I used a 22 Watt amp, and could get down to 0.04 watt with my Aracom PRX150-Pro. Not sure how far you can take a 100 Watt amp down, but you can get it down pretty significantly may be in the 2 - 3 watt range. Mind you that sonically, 2 - 3 watts is pretty loud, but it's much more manageable than 100 Watts.

 

100 watts in no way means that you can't play it quiet.

 

Not cranked you can't. There's so much clean headroom with a 100 Watt amp, to get to where it really grinds is incredibly loud. The OP did say he was going to mainly use it in his bedroom. So to get a cranked tone, you need something that will limit the output power, and that's typically accomplished with an attenuator of some sort. I suppose you could get just pre-amp overdrive by cranking the gain, and turning the MV down, but there's really nothing like the sound of both pre-amp and power tubes driving in concert.

 

So if I'm to install a power soaker, it's much easier to do it with a head and cabinet as the soaker just plugs in the middle right ? No need to open a combo and fiddle inside as it'd be needed with a combo ? Cause I'm really not an electronics techie...

 

Yes if your combo in question is closed-back (though it still can be done). But it's a pretty simple procedure with an open-back cab so long as your combo has an accessible output jack from the amp to the speaker. Most combos that I know of have this. Only thing that you'll have to get is good speaker cables.

If your speaker hooks up to your amp with a 1/4" plug, you'll have to get a speaker wire that has male/female ends to plug into the attenuator, then a regular male/male to run from the amp to the attenuator.

As far as attenuators go, there are several out there with varying prices. The best ones will run you anywhere from a few hundred dollars to several hundred. Here's a list to check out - from lowest to highest transparency quality (based upon my own and others' observations):

THD Hot Plate (don't really like this, but it's popular)
Ultimate Attenuator (~$300)
Dr. Z Airbrake ($299)
Sequis Motherload Elemental (? - UK product)
Faustine Phantom ($799)
Alex's Attenuator (~$400)
Aracom PRX150-Pro ($649)

I haven't tried out the Sequis, Faustine, or Alex's, but know of people who have, so based upon their comparisons, I've ordered them accordingly. I personally own the Aracom, and it is incredible. It uses a completely different approach to attenuation than the traditional reactive or resistive load attenuators, and not only that, unlike other attenuators, it has both input and output impedance matching, from 2 to 16 ohm.

And no, I don't work for Aracom... But I do know a great product when I use it.

 

I have a carvin legacy and a laney GH50L and play them both at home with great results. Best thing to do is get one of these little jems. http://www.amazon.com/M-Audio-US44010-Interface-GT-Player-Software/dp/B00061ZM2Y . plug that in to your computer, run a mic to the XLR jack on the back and your set. Get a perfect low volume tone.

I also have a EQ so that allows me to bring the volume even lower, im able to run the volume lower then a tv so i can play till all hours of the time....this is all without sacrificing tone too.

To many people say tube amps can't sound good at low volumes, its crazy, you just gotta have a little knowledge lol.

I say just get the ENGL, don't let the 100w make you not get your dream amp!

 

Why buy a 100 watt tube head knowing its insanely loud??

To play how you want you need a 50watt or less..

Especially if you live in a apartment or duplex.. even during the day you will have to crank it to get it humming like it is meant for.. And an attenuator is a must with a tube amp in small spaces..

 

I have been told some guys remove power tubes to decrease the output power of the amp without needing power attenuators ? I was also told this doesn't damage the amp (removing power tubes) although I somehow don't trust it too much

 

If you've got an amp that uses 4 tubes, you can usually pull 2 of them (inner pair or outer pair) to half the output power. Halving the output does not equal halving the volume and this will not work with push/pull amps that only have 2 tubes in them. Refer to the amp's manual to see if the manufacturer says not to do this with that particular model, or if it says which tubes can be safely pulled to lower the output.

 

ROCKMAN Power Soak.... 'nuff said.