There’s nothing like a great tube amp, when the valves are glowing and the speakers have loosened up and are pumping out thick, warm sound waves. Sorry, didn’t mean to wax rhapsodic there, but man, there’s just nothing like a cranked tube amp screaming in anger.
Unfortunately, there’s nothing like the volume level that most tube amps put out when they’re cranked to the point of no return. (There’s just no way around it; to get the tubes glowing, the transformer saturated, and the cabinets resonating, it takes a certain volume level.) And, there’s nothing like the size and weight of a big tube head/combo and a stack of cabinets. I’ll admit, I didn’t mind hauling around a pile of gear back in the day, but today, my dream rig fits easily under one arm and can be hefted without danger of back strain.
Obviously, I’m not alone in the desire for a smaller solution to the wrath of a tube amp. The popularity of compact, low-power tube amplifiers has exploded recently, and manufacturers have delivered a wonderful array of options to choose from. This new breed of amps offers light weight, reasonable amounts of power — as little as 1/4-watt — compact size, and manageable volume levels that won’t offend your family or your neighbors and that are easy to record in any size studio. Best of all, you can wind them up to the point of no return without fear of hearing damage.
There are many options for smaller tube amps, reaching all the way back to the original Fender amps of the ’50s — many of which have been reissued or reborn, such as the Princeton Reverb, the ’57 Champ, the Vibro Champ XD, the Champion 600, and the ’57 Deluxe, as well as newer Fender models, including the Pro Junior and the Blues Junior.
Vox also has a long history making small amps, dating back to the 1960s and including the original AC15 and AC4 amps, both of which have been reissued and re-created. New designs such the Custom Classic series and the brand-new Night Train have pushed Vox to the top of the small-amp heap. (See sidebar for more on the Night Train.)
Epiphone started a veritable small-amp-modding frenzy with the release of their Valve Junior combo and head a couple of years ago — some feel it’s the ultimate amp for modding. Peavey also has entered the arena with the Windsor Studio, a small tube combo amp that cranks through a 12-inch speaker. Bogner even has 12- or 15-watt custom-shop versions of their powerful Duende model.
Laney’s Lionheart is a single-ended class A design that puts out five watts using a pair of EL84 tubes. Gretsch has two models in the race: the 5-watt Electromatic and the 15-watt Playboy.
Randall’s RM20B puts out 15 watts and offers an unusual twist: as a member of the MTS series, the RM20B accepts a wide range of preamp cards, each of which is tube powered and offers a unique tonal color.
Finally, Marshall, long-time purveyor of some of the most crankin’ tube amps of all time, has stepped into the arena with their new Haze 15-watt head. (See sidebar for a preview on the Haze amp head.)
Any of these small amps would be perfect for grab-it-and-go gigs, worship services, small clubs, home- and project-studio use, rehearsal, practice… you name it. Manufacturers have done a stellar job of creating amps that offer the tone of the big rigs, but in compact forms. Check one of these amps out; you’re going to enjoy the portability, the volume levels, the weight, the responsiveness, and — above all — the tone!
SIDEBAR I
Vox Night Train
There’s been a lot of buzz out on the streets about the new Vox Night Train 15-watt all-tube amp head. The amp has begun shipping in limited quantities, so it should be widely available very soon. I had a chance to sit down with a Night Train for a preview session and to put it through its paces. The Night Train is a single-channel amp, but with a twist: there are two operating modes. In Bright mode, you have gain, bass, middle, treble, and volume controls; this mode definitely has that Vox vibe — chimey top end and plenty of ring, though there is more gain on tap than a traditional Vox design. You can get nice clean sounds with this mode, then push up the gain for thick, rich crunching tones. Speaking of “thick,” flipping the Bright/Thick mode switch moves you to the second mode, aptly named “Thick.” In this mode, the tone stack is completely bypassed, sending the signal directly from the gain stage to the power stage. The result is more gain; beautiful, singing sustaining tone; and plenty of low-end chunk. Control-wise, there is just one other option: a half-power switch that puts the normally pentode power amp into triode operation, and that drops the output power to 7½ watts.
The amp is very responsive to touch, with great sensitivity. At 15 watts, there’s enough volume for a small gig with a band, and at 7½ watts, you can crank it up at home without driving the neighbors nuts or shaking the walls down. I played it through both a Vox 2×12 loaded with Blues and a Marshall cabinet; though the tones were very different, they were both excellent.
There’s a lot of great tone in this little chrome-plated monster. My verdict? I’ve already ordered one for myself!
SIDEBAR II
Marshall Haze
At this writing, the recently announced Marshall Haze 15-watt all-tube amp head and matching 1×12″ cabinets aren’t quite shipping in quantity yet. But I did get my hands on a head and cab for a brief preview. The head has two channels: clean and dirty. The channels share bass, mid, and treble controls. There are also built-in digital effects, including reverb, delay, and chorus/vibrato. Three ECC83 tubes drive the preamp, while a pair of 6V6 tubes handle output power. This isn’t an over-the-top high-gain monster, but for me, there’s plenty of crunch, sustain, and breakup available. I was able to dial in crisp, clean tones; crunchy rhythms; and rich, singing lead sounds — quickly with a few twists of the knobs. If you’ve run a Marshall before, then you’ll feel right at home with the controls and the sound. I had my doubts that the compact 1×12 cabs could punch out real Marshall depth, but I was pleasantly surprised. These cabinets sound great! The built-in effects are the icing on the cake. The reverb is useful, and having delay or chorus available at the same time broadens the palette substantially, and may mean you can leave your pedalboard home for some gigs.
For me, the Haze head is the Marshall recording amp I’ve been waiting for. It can definitely crank out some volume, but it’s manageable for home and studio use, without sacrificing tone. Based on my short preview time, I’m looking forward to getting a nice long stretch of time to sit down and really get to know the Haze inside and out. If I were a betting man, then I’d say the odds are that one of these will be taking up permanent residence in my studio and small live-gig rigs.