Most High Gain Apartment-Friendly Amp: EVH or ???

[fusedbrain]

I've got a bunch of 100watt heads, and I used to struggle with low volume, late night practicing and skittish master volume's until I made up a little volume box to go in the loop of my amps.
It's just a small Hammond enclosure with input and output jacks and a 100k pot. The send ( or input ) connects to the top of the pot, the return ( or output ) connects to the wiper, and the grounds of the 2 jacks and the pot are all connected together. The amp's fx send see's a constant 100k load, and the fx return gets the attenuated signal.
Works like a charm.
I was just using it with my EVH 100watt head while the wife was asleep upstairs. I had the masters on the Blue and Red channels up around 11 o'clock, and the control on my little volume box at around 3 ( or 9 o'clock ). It makes the low level volume extremely easy to control with a wide sweep in the "TV" volume range.
Total cost was about $15 and a half hour to fab it up.

 

[Meeotch]

That's cool, but you can also use a volume or EQ pedal to do the same thing. Fish n chips will run you $30 but with more control of your tone.

 

[Beandust]

I'd be more interested in posting a thread searching for apartments that allow metal amps. Apartments 2ithout headphones is probably a pipe dream. Walls are thin and someone is on top of you

Well, he's in a house, but sometimes he needs to keep it low, but other times wants to crank it up a bit. More importantly, it has to have a LOT of gain, so that's why I suggested the EVH.

We also looked at the Driftwood Mini Nightmare; great features!

Ahh. I have to keep my volume low or play my 15 watt ss amp when someone's home. I only play the BE100 when house is empty. It sounds great at lower volumes with a sat switch engaged. However what's the point. It sounds closer to my practice amp at those volumes. I'll save the tubes for what they are meant for. Not necessarily ear bleeding volume , but not practice amp volume either. Maybe a better alternative is another amp not a tube metal amp that's made to sound loud for loud type music. Sorry for the differal but to many choices to play metal amps at Lawrence Welch sleepy time send off

 

[peterc52]

I have a studio here at home in a separate house in my garden. Can play loud without anyone noticing but my ears can't stand HIGH volumes for too long anymore. Would love to crank my tube amps whenever i practice but thats not a possibility anymore.

Diezels has a good master volume, Friedman too. My Wizards were even good. The PRS MT15 is okay too. The Mark III is good. I also have a Powerstation for leveling the volume down. But most of the time when i practice I use a axe-fx.

 

[romanianreaper]

Although i’m not in an apartment, I do have your children in the next room. Save some money and get he EVH 2x12 or 1x12 combo. The power scaling on them is incredible. I have the 2x12. Although it’s heavey, but not as heavy as a 4x12. I love it and can get so many great tones. You don’t need a load box with it

Listen to this man, I've known him for years and he had my Splawn at one point.

Seriously though, totally agree with the EVH combo. I just played one last weekend and was blown away at how great it sounded and I was playing a whisper volumes because it was a small little Mom and Pop store. That watt adjustment feature is awesome.

 

[MetalHeadMike]

The MCII sounds sick at low volume
Uber sounds sick at low volume
Engls sound sick at low volume
Splawn QR sounds sick at low volume
KSR Ares sounds sick at low volume

All IMO & to my ears...but my definition of low volume may differ than most.

 

[romanianreaper]

The MCII sounds sick at low volume
Uber sounds sick at low volume
Engls sound sick at low volume
Splawn QR sounds sick at low volume
KSR Ares sounds sick at low volume

All IMO & to my ears...but my definition of low volume may differ than most.

I agree about the Splawn. My Competition amp from years ago sounded great even at the lowest settings. My ENGL Fireball was ok but I'm sure the newer ones are great.

 

[Thunkful]

Amps that have a lot of preamp gain and a master volume such as the EVH 5150 imo have always sounded really good with lower volumes too. Of course some people are more critical about what sounds good and what doesn't but that's what i think. Not to mention that they feel good to play also.

 

[romanianreaper]

Amps that have a lot of preamp gain and a master volume such as the EVH 5150 imo have always sounded really good with lower volumes too. Of course some people are more critical about what sounds good and what doesn't but that's what i think. Not to mention that they feel good to play also.

I think that is why so many people with no tube amp experience get so frustrated. I have seen it so many times (and myself included), people hear an awesome Marshall or stage ready amp, buy it, and then are playing at home and are like "there is no gain, it sounds thin, and can't capture those tones I heard!!". Over time they realize that those amps have to be pushed.

It is nice having some amps that can capture some great tones at lower volume and even sound better at high volume.

 

[Thunkful]

Amps that have a lot of preamp gain and a master volume such as the EVH 5150 imo have always sounded really good with lower volumes too. Of course some people are more critical about what sounds good and what doesn't but that's what i think. Not to mention that they feel good to play also.

I think that is why so many people with no tube amp experience get so frustrated. I have seen it so many times (and myself included), people hear an awesome Marshall or stage ready amp, buy it, and then are playing at home and are like "there is no gain, it sounds thin, and can't capture those tones I heard!!". Over time they realize that those amps have to be pushed.

It is nice having some amps that can capture some great tones at lower volume and even sound better at high volume.

Exactly, and not to forget the fact that when people buy an amp based on what someone they hear on records and then wonder why it doesn't sound exactly the same. Studio work really does magic.

The quicker you figure these things out, the less likely you'll be disappointed when you're buying a new amp.