Playing a clean tone / higher watt or lower watt amp best? Thoughts..

[sjsamaha]

So I was thinking about what amp best to use for my practice / home volume .. All of mine are Tube (Valve) models, ranging in power from 20W to 50W..

IF I'm wanting to play a clean, undistorted tone, at a volume for indoors.... what amps are best to use? I feel like the higher watt amps have more "over head" and even though the volume setting is very low, the tone is cleaner.. Or am I over thinking it.. Or taking this to an extreme... a 5W amp or a 100W amp for low volume use?

 

[DISTORT6]

Sorry. I can’t help you with this.

 

[Greywolf]

Higher watt amps do typically have more headroom , but that depends on the amp design/tubes used.

The trick to clean is simple .. don't over saturate the pre amp. Run the gain low and use the master for volume..

 

[sjsamaha]

Higher watt amps do typically have more headroom , but that depends on the amp design/tubes used.

The trick to clean is simple .. don't over saturate the pre amp. Run the gain low and use the master for volume..

yeah, that's sort of what I'm doing.. it's that fine balance between a good tone and a volume that won't upset the people around you.. And yes, I find different amps behave differently... my Class A seems to work better at lower volume than my AB's..

 

[Senor Verde]

I've always been in the higher Watt amp camp. Recently I started noticing that a high wattage amps can sound weak and thin if the volume is turned down too far. These days I use 20-30 watt amps and gig out, plus use the same amps at home. To me, even if you aren't getting distortion from the amp, it still needs to be turned up to a certain level to get a nice, full sound.

 

[LaxActium]

I have the Marshall JTM Studio and the Friedman Little Sister.
With the Marshall, I run it in 5w mode. Even then it can get very loud and getting to edge of breakup is deafening. So I have to use pedals for it.
My Friedman has a Master Volume and a Gain knob. And I can have the Master at 2 and still get breakup and gain with the Gain knob or the 3 way gain switch!
Not all Master Volume amps are equal. Some Master Volumes are better than others.
But yes 20w is very loud.

 

[sjsamaha]

I have the Marshall JTM Studio and the Friedman Little Sister.
With the Marshall, I run it in 5w mode. Even then it can get very loud and getting to edge of breakup is deafening. So I have to use pedals for it.
My Friedman has a Master Volume and a Gain knob. And I can have the Master at 2 and still get breakup and gain with the Gain knob or the 3 way gain switch!
Not all Master Volume amps are equal. Some Master Volumes are better than others.
But yes 20w is very loud.

All my amps are 27W+

I currently have / getting:

Tone King - Sky King
Magnatone M80 Super 59 playing thru a Friendman 2x12
Supro 1695 27W
Matchless Chieftain 40W 2x12 (coming in a few days)

My question was answered by Greywolf tho... basically gotta run low gain, which might cost something in tone, but not much as I'm looking for the most part to keep a clean tone.

 

[Maertl513]

Ha!
My demand regarding a custom made cabinet in terms of the selection of the speakers was, that they would not colour the tone of my 100 Watts amp, when I crank it in the clean channel.
Therefore I paired a Celestion Neo 250 Copperback (12", 250 Watts, 8 Ohns) with a EVM-10M (10", 200 Watts, 8 Ohms).
To me it's the proper speaker to the amp.
My recommendation is, that the speaker need to handle way more power than the amp could emmit.

 

[sjsamaha]

Ha!
My demand regarding a custom made cabinet in terms of the selection of the speakers was, that they would not colour the tone of my 100 Watts amp, when I crank it in the clean channel.
Therefore I paired a Celestion Neo 250 Copperback (12", 250 Watts, 8 Ohns) with a EVM-10M (10", 200 Watts, 8 Ohms).
To me it's the proper speaker to the amp.
My recommendation is, that the speaker need to handle way more power than the amp could emmit.

I think that pretty much applies in Audio in general. Do you want your speakers rated to handle the full power output of the amplifier.

I’m not so much concerned about this issue as the speakers are very well paired for my amplifiers, I was just trying to get the best quality clean sound and tone while having the volume below 2 for example.

 

[Bogner]

Sorry. I can’t help you with this.

Exactly! Who In Their Right Mind Wants A Clean Tone?

Everybody Knows That High Gain, The First 7 Frets And Wound Strings Only Are Where It Is At.

 

[sjsamaha]

Exactly! Who In Their Right Mind Wants A Clean Tone?

Everybody Knows That High Gain, The First 7 Frets And Wound Strings Only Are Where It Is At.

Yeah? Tell that to George Benson or Mark Knopfler

 

[Maertl513]

@sjsamaha, the best clean tone is depending on personal expectations, and there are further considerations. Is the guitar (with its pickups) appropriate enough to support that, the amp? Just to take two factors from the chain of sound.

 

[Bogner]

Yeah? Tell that to George Benson or Mark Knopfler

I Have Never Heard Of Those Ladies. (Kidding)

In All Seriousness...For Me It Comes Down To What Type Of Tone I Am Wanting And If I Am Using Any Other Effects Pedals Along WithThe Core Amp Tone. A Roland JC-120 Is A Tough Clean Tone To Beat But It Doesn't Have That Bounce And Squish That Some Other Beautiful Clean Tones Have. For Me...The Wetter My Sound Is The Less Picky I Can Be On The Clean Tone Type/Amp. If I Am Going Clean And Dry Then The Right Amp Is Crucial. I Can Make Most Anything Work Regarding Low Or High Wattage With The Right Guitar And Volume Rolled Off. The Headroom/Wattage Issue Is Primarily Driven Again By Clean Tone Type. A Clean Jazz Tone In Comparison To A Pedal Steel Player Compared To Mark Knopfler Is A Pretty Significant Difference...All Clean...All Beautiful To My Ears.

 

[LaxActium]

All my amps are 27W+

I currently have / getting:

Tone King - Sky King
Magnatone M80 Super 59 playing thru a Friendman 2x12
Supro 1695 27W
Matchless Chieftain 40W 2x12 (coming in a few days)

My question was answered by Greywolf tho... basically gotta run low gain, which might cost something in tone, but not much as I'm looking for the most part to keep a clean tone.

My Marshall has no Gain knob. My Friedman does. I keep it at 2 or below and just use the Gain stage toggles if I want some dirt. No effect on tone.
It is all in the design of the amp.

 

[DreamTheaterRules]

Exactly! Who In Their Right Mind Wants A Clean Tone?

Everybody Knows That High Gain, The First 7 Frets And Wound Strings Only Are Where It Is At.

Do you even lead, bro?

 

[László]

I'm generalizing here, but more power is not only more headroom, but tighter bass. Bass uses a lot of amp power, which is why some low powered amps get flubby on the low end, even at moderate volume.

When I want to play super-clean (which is unusual for me) I play through a 100 watt amp. However, I usually set my "cleans" closer to the edge of breakup. So they tend to have a little hair.

On the other hand, I'm not a high gain or metal player. I kind of live in that in-between a...uh...rock and a hard rock place!

 

[Rider1260]

Yeah? Tell that to George Benson or Mark Knopfler

Mark Knopfler Plays with more gain that you think

 

[Rider1260]

Any amp can be clean but smaller amps have a smaller window of great sound IMHO , it always there but three is just less leeway.
My two newest amps the HDRX 20 and Orange OR15 have tons of gain but I like them better clean and then hit them with pedals of hot pickups and make them push a bigger cab.

 

[Tony M.]

Disclaimer:
Remember, I know nothing.

Clean sound?
Practice at home / Bedroom volume?

Fender Princeton Reverb?

Roland JC-22?

The Roland has a bonus.
It has one of the best sounding choruses in the business, IMHO.

 

[László]

Roland JC-22?

The Roland has a bonus.
It has one of the best sounding choruses in the business, IMHO.

And it's the amp used by The Cure on the phenomenal (and seminal) "Seventeen Seconds" album, one that has one of the most spare, articulate and recognizable clean tones ever.

That alone makes it a classic in my book.

And it's not even a tube amp - go figure!