relix63
Junior Member
Scream for me Long Beach!
Posts: 67
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Post by relix63 on Apr 5, 2008 12:13:47 GMT -7
I've been reading on this forum for some time and recently registered so I guess this is my 1st post.
I'm obviously looking for some low watt options to consider besides the Mini. Yesterday I had the pleasure of playing a Savage Macht 6 and a Carr Mercury and both sounded great. The Savage with a 6v6 had a little clean headroom, an incredible overdriven tone and cool on board tremolo. The Merc also has some clean headroom when used on the 8 watt setting and had the 2, 1/2, 1/10 watt settings for more overdriven stuff. It's something to get power tube saturation at only 1/10 watt.
The Savage was used so was less than 1/2 the price of the Merc. Still, I can't help but think the Merc could be the ultimate bedroom/studio solution.
What other amps did you folks consider before settling on the Mini? With the built in attenuator, it would seem to do the low volume overdrive thing much like the Merc. I can afford any of them so price is not the primary consideration. I really want an amp that I can play and not bother my family too much. It would be used for recording and practice. At this point in my life, I gig about once a year but I would still like to be able to use my new purchase in a small group setting if necessary.
I know everyone here is probably biased towards the Z. That's why you're here. The problem I'm running into is that I will have to buy the Z without playing it 1st so I want to consider all of my options. Thanks
Don
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relix63
Junior Member
Scream for me Long Beach!
Posts: 67
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Post by relix63 on Apr 5, 2008 12:17:48 GMT -7
One more thing. My preference in music is in the classic rock vein. I'm a huge fan of The Black Crowes and similar music. I play a old beat up hardtail Strat, a 62 RI Thin Skin Tele Custom, and a PRS Korina Soapbar. Btw, korina and P90's go together like peanut butter & jelly.
Don
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Post by mojotwanger on Apr 5, 2008 12:24:15 GMT -7
My eprsonal experience is that even with the attenuator on full on the Mini Z, it's a lot of wonderful things = but whisper quiet as the official website suggests is not one of them
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relix63
Junior Member
Scream for me Long Beach!
Posts: 67
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Post by relix63 on Apr 5, 2008 12:55:27 GMT -7
That's why this is a tough decision. So many amps that do different things well. To be honest, the Macht 6 doesn't do quiet either. 6 watts can be loud and it sounded best dimed. Possibly one of the best tones I've ever gotten out of my Tele. My family wouldn't appreciate that however. I'm sure I could buy the Savage with no regrets but I want to consider all of my options. I played through a Ghia 2-10 combo a few years back and it's the reason why I'm looking at Z amps now. The downside is that it may be a little loud for my purposes. I also wish I could try the RxJr. My understanding is that is has a very good master volume. Clearly a MV is not the same as running full out but it might sound good. Don
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Post by mojotwanger on Apr 5, 2008 17:57:26 GMT -7
There's no way the RxJr could sound bad The Carr Mercury is on my list of amps to acquire soon...
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Post by bluesdog on Apr 6, 2008 6:44:30 GMT -7
I looked at a bunch or low wattage amps before I purchased my mini. The largest issue being that 5 tube watts wide open is loud in a home type setting. During my "quest" I talked to Curt Emery at Emery amps and he indicated that most of his Superbaby customers use an attenuator of some sort.
I built a kit from Guytronix Gilmore that is 1/2 watt. IMO that is about the max power(un-attenuated)in a home setting you can have without disturbing others. My Mini accomplishes the same thing with the volume at about 11:00 and full attenuation.
What made me purchase the Mini head was the fact that I could use any speaker set up I wanted and that the attenuator was built in. The later meant alot to me because I it eliminates the guesswork from selecting the "right" attenuator to make it sound good, the Doc has already done that.
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Post by mojotwanger on Apr 6, 2008 9:02:00 GMT -7
1. welcome! 2. 1100hrs + full attenuator doesn't break up yet all that much, though, so I keep finding myself with the knob at 1300hrs, and attenuator at 4. It's a lot louder than I expected, but holy crap, lovely tones... no complaints here
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Post by bluesdog on Apr 6, 2008 9:15:59 GMT -7
I should clarify: 11:00 + full attenuator with LP/ humbuckers
What speaker(s) are you using? That will make a big difference on volume. If your speaker is really efficient (100 -103 db) it will be alot louder than one rated at 97-98 db at the same given amp setting. Just a thought.
I am using a G12M heritage and it has much less (but a whole bunch better, imo) output than a Private Jack, which is Eminence's version of the greenback. Well, that's been my experience anyway. As they say.......YMMV
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Post by mojotwanger on Apr 6, 2008 11:04:36 GMT -7
Ah yes, that could be it right there, because I mostly only use single coils
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Post by bluesdog on Apr 6, 2008 19:01:18 GMT -7
Ah yes, single coils.......say no more. I usually end up stepping on my Fulldrive 2 when playing my G&L Legacy.
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Post by mojotwanger on Apr 7, 2008 17:57:22 GMT -7
I have a BoR, but I think I don't need it anymore now that I have the Mini Z...
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Post by bluesdog on Apr 7, 2008 19:08:00 GMT -7
I use the FM setting on the FD2 and it's just enough to make those single coils start to cook. Don't give up on your BoR, you'll be amazed at how many different sounds you can get out of the Mini with a pedal in front of it.
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Post by mojotwanger on Apr 8, 2008 19:18:21 GMT -7
I actually haven't tried any pedals for OD purposes in front of the Mini. I may have to try that. I used it on the Carmen Ghia prior to receiving the Mini
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Post by paulski on Jun 27, 2008 9:26:32 GMT -7
I use the hellatone G1230. I do find the mini z head even with full attenuation loud when I was using 50 watt speakers. With the hellatone volume is more manageable and the break up is just there when you want it and dont want to play too loud. I now find myself exploring the attenuation knob at 3 which gives it a fuller and sweeter sound. I use the attenuator to find a sweet spot depending on how loud I want it to be and it just because of the speaker.
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Post by gheston on Aug 7, 2008 1:06:22 GMT -7
I'm lucky enough to have a nearby dealer who is a Z-Zealot.
I have had the pleasure of trying many different Z's at my leisure.
They are all of superlative quality, and unquestionable value.
If I were to recommend just one, it would be very easy.
The Maz Junior Non-Reverb, with an Alnico Blue speaker.
It slices, it dices, it chops and cuts.
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Post by Jan on Aug 7, 2008 18:57:25 GMT -7
I'm lucky enough to have a nearby dealer who is a Z-Zealot. I have had the pleasure of trying many different Z's at my leisure. They are all of superlative quality, and unquestionable value. If I were to recommend just one, it would be very easy. The Maz Junior Non-Reverb, with an Alnico Blue speaker. It slices, it dices, it chops and cuts. And a Greenback. I am just saying...
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Post by azatplayer on Sept 3, 2008 5:59:47 GMT -7
I'm lucky enough to have a nearby dealer who is a Z-Zealot. I have had the pleasure of trying many different Z's at my leisure. They are all of superlative quality, and unquestionable value. If I were to recommend just one, it would be very easy. The Maz Junior Non-Reverb, with an Alnico Blue speaker. It slices, it dices, it chops and cuts. And an airbrake gives it a little more control too
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Post by azatplayer on Sept 23, 2008 13:56:27 GMT -7
Swart 6V6se or STR. Both 5 watts, the STR has verb and lucious verb! I have the AST 20 watter and its very beautiful. Theres a STR in the buy and sell right now for cheap money. Im gonna order a new STR Tweed soon as i need a new amp... like a hole in the head..
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Post by daynwarren on Sept 29, 2008 10:27:17 GMT -7
I have had the Mini Z combo and head (prefer the tone of the combo), Kendrick Roughneck (2 of them with numerous speakers), Star Nova (2 of them), Lovepedal 2 watt Plexi, Epiphone Valve Jr., and have played many other single-ended low watt amps including the Carr Mercury.
THey all are voiced so differently that I think it is hard to pick a favorite...wish I could have afforded to have them all simultaneously.
As far as the Z's: I much prefer the sound of the Mini Z combo over the Mini Z Head. Not a big fan of the attenuator and what it did to my tone, and I think the 8" speaker is great in the combo.
I am now curious about the Killer Ant sub-1 watt head.
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Post by dustyfakebook on Oct 25, 2008 20:33:57 GMT -7
I DEFINATELY don't want to suggest that you can beat a Z, but if you can find a tweed Fender Champ from the mid/late 50's, it will give it a run for it's money. I mean, an 8-inch speaker, and a single knob that turns it on and goes to "12" is a beautiful thing.
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Post by asattwanger on Nov 2, 2008 14:50:21 GMT -7
Swart 6V6se or STR. Both 5 watts, the STR has verb and lucious verb! I have the AST 20 watter and its very beautiful. Theres a STR in the buy and sell right now for cheap money. Im gonna order a new STR Tweed soon as i need a new amp... like a hole in the head.. 100% blown away by the Swart STR. It's unreal how great this amp sounds. The sound clips on the Swart site do nothing to sell this amp.
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dany06hd
Full Member
the santa's effect: as long as you believe in, he exists...
Posts: 131
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Post by dany06hd on Aug 22, 2009 4:12:50 GMT -7
the best low wattage amp I've never owned is an old tube radio that I moded to plug the guitar into the phono input...
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Post by mtlrecords on Dec 27, 2009 17:00:40 GMT -7
The Swart AST MKII 20 watt amp is the best whisper quiet amp I have ever heard, hands down.
You would think that 20 watts would be too loud, but the master volume on that amp is pure magic. I have NEVER heard a master volume work like the Swart. At even the lowest settings, it is pure tone heaven. You have to try it. Plus, if you want it to be loud, you have plenty of headroom and volume for gigs. My next $2000 is going towards one...
As far a Z amps go, I don't own a Mini, but I like the sound. Still a loud amp. In fact, most of the low wattage amps out there are still pretty loud around the kids, so a Mini or an Rx Jr. with a brake light might be a cool alternative and a way to stay in Z-land.
A few other ideas- Greer Thunderbolt 30- 30 watts, but again, a pretty great master volume- add an attenuator Fargen Mini Plexi- still kinda loud, but great Marshall tone and you could add an attenuator Carr Raleigh- 3 watts and the quality of Carr is insane- I used to have a Hammerhead MK II, but sold it to get an EZG-50 (more clean headroom).
Best of luck!
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Post by buddy on Dec 29, 2009 7:26:33 GMT -7
I have a mini head and a combo. I used to run the head with the attenuator on 4 and also had a brake lite on it so my wife would not complain.
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