mmorse
New member
I had a Winfield Thomas "Winfield" which is a NMV head that is 30 watts but has a half power switch. You could dial in both Marshall and Vox tones because of internally jumpered channels and two volume controls. I ended up selling it because it was WAY too loud for home use. Even at the 18 watt setting.
I've found that 1-5 watts is plenty for bedroom levels. I either use my 2204 set to very low volume and clean with a 2 channel tube based OD pedal or a Vox DA5 (.5-5 watts) plugged into my 212. The Vox is set to clean2 and I use the same pedal for OD. At very low bedroom levels, the tone of a SS amp is comparable for what you will get from tubes. Tubes lose a lot of their mystique when run barely above idle.
The achillie's heal of the little SS practice amps IMO, are the crappy little speakers in crappy little enclosures and the modeled OD tones. Use a good cab, set the amp for clean tones, go through a good OD pedal and you will be surprised how good the little suckers can sound for in home noodling.
When I run the little DA5 through my 212, I put the master around half way up and still you can easily hear me outside with all the doors and windows closed.
I'm not advocating going the little practice amp route, just trying to point out that an 18 watt amp will need to be attenuated in some fashion and when the volume gets below a certain point, the line blurs between tubes and SS.
The Rebel looks like it may be just the ticket. Since it's power scaled, volume should not be an issue. I plan on picking one up myself when the initial feeding frenzy subsides.
I've found that 1-5 watts is plenty for bedroom levels. I either use my 2204 set to very low volume and clean with a 2 channel tube based OD pedal or a Vox DA5 (.5-5 watts) plugged into my 212. The Vox is set to clean2 and I use the same pedal for OD. At very low bedroom levels, the tone of a SS amp is comparable for what you will get from tubes. Tubes lose a lot of their mystique when run barely above idle.
The achillie's heal of the little SS practice amps IMO, are the crappy little speakers in crappy little enclosures and the modeled OD tones. Use a good cab, set the amp for clean tones, go through a good OD pedal and you will be surprised how good the little suckers can sound for in home noodling.
When I run the little DA5 through my 212, I put the master around half way up and still you can easily hear me outside with all the doors and windows closed.
I'm not advocating going the little practice amp route, just trying to point out that an 18 watt amp will need to be attenuated in some fashion and when the volume gets below a certain point, the line blurs between tubes and SS.
The Rebel looks like it may be just the ticket. Since it's power scaled, volume should not be an issue. I plan on picking one up myself when the initial feeding frenzy subsides.