[Almost Enough]

This whole thread is ridiculous.

I don't mic my rig at all, and, though it's rather directional, I'm pretty sure it's directed at over half the congregation at once:

[BillSPrestonEsq]

Originally Posted by daddyo

I guess this means I'm out of the click. Oh well.

When I cited amps...

I own a good half dozen low watt amps. They just do not sound like each other at all.

I have a couple old gibson amps. (A 1950 Br-9, and a 1964 skylark) I have a fender musicmaster bass, a baron snotwatt, and a frenzel champ pro, and a couple old no name amps that were converted from PAs.

All are tube and all have sounds across the board. I have over the years owned or played practically every small low wattage amp on the market.

My snott watt is a high gain monster. If you heard a clip of it, my guess is, you would think it was a hundred watts by your descriptions. But it isn't. It has 3 12ax7s and a tiny push/pull power amp.

The champ is a low watt, classic blackface design. I think we all know what that sounds like. The musicmaster has a full, fender clean and a high level of headroom. If you need a killer low watt pedal amp or clean amp... thats a good choice. The gibsons are their own things.(sound more like delta blues) So are the PAs. (Rather plexiish)

I like the tone of my clean tube amps, and I doubt you could find a decent solid state in the price points I paid for them.

I like the option of playing clean or dirty with one amp. And yes, when I played in church I needed 2 channels and pedals. I don't play at one level of distortion. I vary things up a lot.

I have a nice 30 watter, 50 watter and a hundred watter I can also use. (Yes, I know, I have a ton of amps) Generally speaking, I prefer push pull amps with no negative feedback loop, or the option to switch it off. If an amp is too loud, I slap an attenuator on that bad boy.

I also generally play into 1x12 cabs or a 2x12. I am a huge fan of Thiele cabinets with evm12ls and also celestion Golds in a standard cab.

I just don't think you can label amps as having a sound based on wattage.

[Rainer.]

Originally Posted by daddyo

Just curious, If you like clean amps why not use solid state? Something like a Peavy Bandit or a Roland Jazz Chorus. Jazz players like them.

When I want clean for acoustic guitar I use a 50 watt solid state amp and like it. Tube amps are triple the price of solid state amps.

Because I don't generally like playing squeaky clean amps either.

The deal is, there is a serious fundamental tonal difference between the way a low-wattage class A tube amp breaks up and a 50-100W class AB amp breaks up at high volume. The tone of most small amps I've played just doesn't jive with my playing. The power amp on my 50W tube Peavey and Yamaha combos break up around 7-8 on the dial, where I'm usually running those amps. And trust me, the volume just about cuts over the drummer, but not that much more, and I still mic the amp, though this is usually through the house at the venue. I run those 50 watters plenty hot, with the tubes really cooking, I guess you could say the smaller amps just don't cook hot enough for me.

Note that I'm not really a church/worship guitarist in my main music gig, but I play around at venues around town with a handful of rock, soul, and R&B groups. It's a pretty different world, equipment wise. I'd be much happier using a Twin than, say, a Vox AC15.

[BillSPrestonEsq]

Originally Posted by Rainer.

Because I don't generally like playing squeaky clean amps either.

The deal is, there is a serious fundamental tonal difference between the way a low-wattage class A tube amp breaks up and a 50-100W class AB amp breaks up at high volume. The tone of most small amps I've played just doesn't jive with my playing.

I seriously wonder what you would think of my baron. It is a little class a/b high gain amp. It is the first lunchbox amp I played that can hang with an SLO tonewise.

Personally, for some things I dig that single ended sound. More for lo-fi punk though with a p-90.

[Rainer.]

Originally Posted by BillSPrestonEsq

I seriously wonder what you would think of my baron. It is a little class a/b high gain amp. It is the first lunchbox amp I played that can hang with an SLO tonewise.

Personally, for some things I dig that single ended sound. More for lo-fi punk though with a p-90.

Truth be told, I tend to like more amps than I dislike, only amps that don't fit my needs/style.

You should let me play it sometime.

[BillSPrestonEsq]

Originally Posted by daddyo

Oh, that makes sence. Worship is a different kind of power. I have gone out to bar type gigs and that was the reason I bought that awful 135 watt silverface Twin. When I was appointed to worship I had to rethink a lot about the purpose of my guitar playing. But after evaluating what this forums responces were I am considering maybe something like a 40 watt Blackstar combo, of coarse my church seems to like the Pro Jr. Modeling just doesn't set well with me so Line 6 is not an option. The Vox AC30 and Fender Blues Deluxe I think are a bit much as the worship guys that use the have their volumes set at about 1 or 2. I am looking for another different sounding amp to go along with the Pro Jr. Maybe a Blues Jr or an Ac15. I have about a month to make up my mind.

My advice would be to check out vox, and fender, and I would also say Jet city. I like their stuff, and while it has a ton of gain, nobody said you had to use it all. There is nothing wrong with a pro jr. My point was that sound is a function of a lot of things, and wattage is not something I even consider. Blackstar makes some mighty nice stuff, but I tend to think of them as a little harder edged than most services are going for. Then again, so is soldano or jet city. I like my bassman a lot too.

Another option is that if you get an amp that is too loud, throw an attenuator on it and knock it down maybe 6db or something.

I would recommend micing if you can. It will give a much more even sound to the house, as the PA can reproduce your tone throughout a building better than a few directional cones on stage.