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Decent Practice Amp Options, VHT Special 6 Combo Ultra
Phil66
Sep 16 2015, 08:34 AM
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I have the Blackstar HT-1R head on two 4x8 (just for show smile.gif) and that is plenty loud enough. You wouldn't crank it if the kids were in be laugh.gif
It doesn't have a loop but I did find a mod for it somewhere on the www, I'll see if I can find it.

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Mudbone
Sep 17 2015, 12:42 AM
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QUOTE (bleez @ Sep 16 2015, 03:34 AM) *
Im not too bad for volume. I only have neighbours on one side, I cant crank an amp mega loud but I can get away with a bit of noise.
the VHT that is currently at the top of my shortlist has a switch for adjusting the watts, the theory being you turn that down and are able to crank the amp without needing too much overall volume to get it overdriven. How that works in real life, I dont know but I like the idea of that.


I was just looking at the VHT, and I kinda want one now laugh.gif It seems like a good deal, especially if you can get one used. I like that the circuit is wired using an eyelet board. Not really because of tone, but for the fact that it will be easy to service and/or mod. I'm not completely sold on the clean channel, but I would have to try one myself to make a final judgement. The Ultra channel sounds decent however.

One thing I now look for in an amp is a gain knob on the clean channel. I want an amp where I can go from clean to crunch with the guitar's volume knob, and use an overdrive for more saturation. The VHT doesn't have that in the traditional sense, but it seems like you can turn down the wattage and turn up the volume. I'm not really sure how the guitar's volume knob works with that, but it would be great if you could let us all know laugh.gif

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Todd Simpson
Sep 17 2015, 08:10 AM
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Have you thought about the VICTORY amps? Rob Chappers sig brand.

http://www.victoryamps.com/v30-the-countess.html

or how about a Hughes and Kettener?

comes as head or combo

http://hughes-and-kettner.com/products/tub.../tubemeister-5/

or heck, how about just a power amp and a cab? Put whatever you like in front smile.gif



QUOTE (bleez @ Sep 16 2015, 03:34 AM) *
Im not too bad for volume. I only have neighbours on one side, I cant crank an amp mega loud but I can get away with a bit of noise.
the VHT that is currently at the top of my shortlist has a switch for adjusting the watts, the theory being you turn that down and are able to crank the amp without needing too much overall volume to get it overdriven. How that works in real life, I dont know but I like the idea of that.

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bleez
Sep 17 2015, 08:46 AM
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QUOTE (Todd Simpson @ Sep 17 2015, 08:10 AM) *
Have you thought about the VICTORY amps? Rob Chappers sig brand.

http://www.victoryamps.com/v30-the-countess.html

or how about a Hughes and Kettener?

comes as head or combo

http://hughes-and-kettner.com/products/tub.../tubemeister-5/

or heck, how about just a power amp and a cab? Put whatever you like in front smile.gif

Im not keen on the victory amps for what Im after at the moment however that Hughes and Kettner small combo looks interesting, Decent price as well. Im gonna check that one out, thanks Todd smile.gif

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bleez
Sep 17 2015, 08:50 PM
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guys, Ive noticed that for about £30 more I could get the VHT special ultra in a head / cab. Other than looking cooler, would there be any real difference from the combo amp?

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Mudbone
Sep 18 2015, 01:52 AM
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QUOTE (bleez @ Sep 17 2015, 03:50 PM) *
guys, Ive noticed that for about £30 more I could get the VHT special ultra in a head / cab. Other than looking cooler, would there be any real difference from the combo amp?


One may be open back while the other is closed. The separate head and cab should be a slight bit more reliable, because the tubes don't share an enclosure with the driver blasting away.

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jstcrsn
Sep 18 2015, 12:06 PM
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QUOTE (bleez @ Sep 17 2015, 08:50 PM) *
guys, Ive noticed that for about £30 more I could get the VHT special ultra in a head / cab. Other than looking cooler, would there be any real difference from the combo amp?

In my op, anything with a closed back designed sounds far superior

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Darius Wave
Sep 18 2015, 12:35 PM
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QUOTE (bleez @ Sep 13 2015, 12:09 PM) *
Im thinking about getting a small amp for home use. Has anyone tried the VHT Special 6 Combo Ultra?
I wanted an amp which would be different from the all digital sound Ive been using so far and this is tube driven with an effects loop. I have a couple of overdrive pedals, cry baby at the moment and I'd like to add a few more pedals later on.

I tend to play 70's style blues rock and stoner rock mostly, any thought on this amp good or bad?


I had a head version of it (basicly the sam amp module). It's a cool amp but I would not recommend it for home purposes (that's why I sold it). It's a typical situation where you get overdive but cranking up the volume. Unfortunately before you get the type of drive close to AC/DC, you are already loud enough to play with drums (seriously). I took it for a jam session a few times. WAs cranked up at full volume and was sounding great but...with drums, on a pub stage. At home I would go for something that can bring you some useable distortion at small volumes as well.

Personally I would search for something that has already good distortion so I would not have to use any additional distortion pedals that would partially kill the dynamics and idea of having "hjard top handle" tube drive that simply demands more from the player and I suppose that's the purpose of practicing smile.gif

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Phil66
Sep 18 2015, 12:39 PM
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If you go for a head and cab you can always try to get a Marshall Powersoak. There are usually some home made ones on Ebay though I don't know how good they are, in fact I don't know how good the Marshall one is but it's an portion to look into wink.gif

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bleez
Sep 18 2015, 12:55 PM
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QUOTE (Darius Wave @ Sep 18 2015, 12:35 PM) *
I had a head version of it (basicly the sam amp module). It's a cool amp but I would not recommend it for home purposes (that's why I sold it). It's a typical situation where you get overdive but cranking up the volume. Unfortunately before you get the type of drive close to AC/DC, you are already loud enough to play with drums (seriously). I took it for a jam session a few times. WAs cranked up at full volume and was sounding great but...with drums, on a pub stage. At home I would go for something that can bring you some useable distortion at small volumes as well.

Personally I would search for something that has already good distortion so I would not have to use any additional distortion pedals that would partially kill the dynamics and idea of having "hjard top handle" tube drive that simply demands more from the player and I suppose that's the purpose of practicing smile.gif

Interesting points, Darius. I was actually thinking about getting the head + cab version instead of the combo cool.gif
so did the watts knob not help with the volume?
I thought that feature was supposed to allow you to reduce the watts and crank the amp more but without making it too loud. I can make a bit of noise smile.gif

I was planning on using a couple of overdrive pedals, rather than distortion ( I dont know if that would make a difference ) I was also going to use a 70's style fuzz box occasionally for some stoner rock type sounds. I thought they would be cool through a small tube amp, do you not think they would be?

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Darius Wave
Sep 18 2015, 01:24 PM
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My opinion in that field should not be taken objectively since I'm not a fan of overdrive or distortion pedals at all. The only one i think i tolerate is a plextone by carl martin. It's mostly because the fact that most of those keep sound descent if you turn on your guitar volume kno to 10. Otherwise they start to sound sort of like a chewing gum. Reaction of those is way different than amp's built-in overdrive.

These days not many people imagine different things saying distortion or overdrive...let's treat it the same por the topic purpose.


Yes - watt switch did not make enough difference for distortion level on the power amp of vht. But if you plan to use external distortion/overdrive devixes than it should not make much difference. Volume scale works fine at home.

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bleez
Sep 18 2015, 03:17 PM
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QUOTE (Darius Wave @ Sep 18 2015, 01:24 PM) *
My opinion in that field should not be taken objectively since I'm not a fan of overdrive or distortion pedals at all. The only one i think i tolerate is a plextone by carl martin. It's mostly because the fact that most of those keep sound descent if you turn on your guitar volume kno to 10. Otherwise they start to sound sort of like a chewing gum. Reaction of those is way different than amp's built-in overdrive.

These days not many people imagine different things saying distortion or overdrive...let's treat it the same por the topic purpose.


Yes - watt switch did not make enough difference for distortion level on the power amp of vht. But if you plan to use external distortion/overdrive devixes than it should not make much difference. Volume scale works fine at home.

thanks Darius. One thing you cant get from demo videos is the real volume of an amp so it's helpful to get feedback like this.
Its actually good to know that you chose the same amp because you certainly know how to get amazing tones so, for me, that is a great advert for the amp smile.gif

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Darius Wave
Sep 20 2015, 08:27 PM
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You're too kind bleez wink.gif Anyway I was satisfied with the tone of this amp. It's a beast for the price and size smile.gif

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Todd Simpson
Sep 21 2015, 10:11 PM
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Does the amp have wattage setting so you can get drive tones from it without killing the neighbors and such? I watched several vids and it seems like a great blues amp but not "high gain" sort of thing? I saw you posted about using pedals, but then saw Darious say he didn't like using pedals the amp?

QUOTE (bleez @ Sep 18 2015, 10:17 AM) *
thanks Darius. One thing you cant get from demo videos is the real volume of an amp so it's helpful to get feedback like this.
Its actually good to know that you chose the same amp because you certainly know how to get amazing tones so, for me, that is a great advert for the amp smile.gif

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bleez
Sep 22 2015, 07:02 AM
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QUOTE (Todd Simpson @ Sep 21 2015, 10:11 PM) *
Does the amp have wattage setting so you can get drive tones from it without killing the neighbors and such? I watched several vids and it seems like a great blues amp but not "high gain" sort of thing? I saw you posted about using pedals, but then saw Darious say he didn't like using pedals the amp?

yes indeed, to all of the above smile.gif
there are a couple of features on this amp which I like and havent seen on the other amps which Ive compared. The adjustable watt switch and the fx loop. In theory you should be able to turn down the watts and increase the volume on the clean channel without being 'too loud'.
I wouldnt really say it was a metal amp though but Im looking for a more blues type of thing.
I was planning on using a few pedals. Darius wasnt a fan of using overdrives ect and I'll definitely be experimenting without them but the plan was for an overdrive, delay ( the amp has no reverb ), an obnoxious 70s style fuzz and if I can afford it Id love to have a rotovibe smile.gif

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Mertay
Sep 22 2015, 12:18 PM
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QUOTE (bleez @ Sep 22 2015, 06:02 AM) *
...


Looking at the thomann link, that Jet city JCA2212 seems more and more logical to me as you describe your needs. Did you search the amp on youtube? seems it can do bluesy and get rude fine.

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bleez
Sep 22 2015, 12:54 PM
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QUOTE (Mertay @ Sep 22 2015, 12:18 PM) *
Looking at the thomann link, that Jet city JCA2212 seems more and more logical to me as you describe your needs. Did you search the amp on youtube? seems it can do bluesy and get rude fine.


the jet city looks and sounds good.
I thought maybe it would be too loud at 20 watts compared to the 6 watts of the vht ( plus the adjustable watt switch on the vht ). Its a bit more expensive that the vht combo ( roughly £60 more ) Although I had considered upping my budget to get the vht head / cab, I can get the head/ cab combo for a little less than the jet city combo - thats not a dealbreaker, it's just a consideration.

Its really tough not being able to actually play them! I think both sound fantastic TBH. I like the reverb on the jet city but I had initially thought a 20 watt amp might be too big.

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Mertay
Sep 22 2015, 01:44 PM
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By the way, I can't see reverb on jetcity?

Any amp if not cranked losses something, there are few options but none work perfect.

As for the watt control thing (though never tried VHT) I'm not much of a fan of it but in a way how Darious commented on pedals. It really narrows down the dynamics (compress) of the amp for the listener, maybe you watched the toneking demo where he uses it slightly near the end of the video. Not saying its simply bad as again I don't know the amp but I wouldn't depend on it too much.

I prefer decreasing the master volume on the 2 channel amp I have (65 watt transistor based Peavey amp), on extreme low it gets muddy but just around the level of I guess speaking volume I can't complain. My friend has a Fender Hotrod Deluxe (40 watt tube amp) and its the same with that too.

The nice thing is the jetcity offers this master volume option and being 20w my guess (!)would be positive that the neighbors won't complain. Also it has like 7 tubes in it so that can't be bad biggrin.gif

But finally no one here can advice you with comfort an amp you can't play, as I see there is no rushing for this amp anyway isn't there some musicshop close to you to demo some amps? if not, maybe a weekend trip to the biggest city near you with a friend might fun to test amps?

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bleez
Sep 22 2015, 04:04 PM
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QUOTE (Mertay @ Sep 22 2015, 01:44 PM) *
By the way, I can't see reverb on jetcity?

Any amp if not cranked losses something, there are few options but none work perfect.

As for the watt control thing (though never tried VHT) I'm not much of a fan of it but in a way how Darious commented on pedals. It really narrows down the dynamics (compress) of the amp for the listener, maybe you watched the toneking demo where he uses it slightly near the end of the video. Not saying its simply bad as again I don't know the amp but I wouldn't depend on it too much.

I prefer decreasing the master volume on the 2 channel amp I have (65 watt transistor based Peavey amp), on extreme low it gets muddy but just around the level of I guess speaking volume I can't complain. My friend has a Fender Hotrod Deluxe (40 watt tube amp) and its the same with that too.

The nice thing is the jetcity offers this master volume option and being 20w my guess (!)would be positive that the neighbors won't complain. Also it has like 7 tubes in it so that can't be bad biggrin.gif

But finally no one here can advice you with comfort an amp you can't play, as I see there is no rushing for this amp anyway isn't there some musicshop close to you to demo some amps? if not, maybe a weekend trip to the biggest city near you with a friend might fun to test amps?

ah, no reverb!my bad, I was watching an andertons demo and didnt notice they were playing a different model rolleyes.gif
I'll need to check the availability of the jet city as they are not in stock at thomann. The vht heads are back in stock at the end of october ( if I want to go for the head / cab ) so I have plenty time cool.gif
The biggest store I can get to is 'Guitar Guitar' they have a lot of stock, no jet city or vht but I would at least get a feel how loud certain amps are.
buying guitars is sooo much easier biggrin.gif

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Mertay
Sep 22 2015, 04:19 PM
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QUOTE (bleez @ Sep 22 2015, 03:04 PM) *
buying guitars is sooo much easier biggrin.gif


biggrin.gif

Keep in mind as usually the stores are bigger than the room in your house you play guitar, it gets difficult to understand the loudness. Also not to forget if the store is crowded that day think the same loudness there gets doubled at home.

Stores are also cool as you can try stuff you never had in mind, me and my friend 2-3 months ago went to the store to buy an ibanez amp but walked out with that Fender hotrod I mentioned biggrin.gif he's still quite happy by the way with his unexpected choice smile.gif

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