big amp or little amp?

[abarroso]

i have often heard it said that using practice amps (little 15 watters or so) while recording an instrument can get better results than using a full sized cab. I know this doesn't apply to all situations, but I can't exactly plug in a Marshall stack where I'm living, so pushing a little amp to its limit should logically sound better than most large setups being run at minimal level. That being said, I'm contemplating buying a small collection of practice amps so as to have a variety of tiny sounds, as opposed to buying one big amp for the same amount. Any words of advice?

[Regular Guy]

In my very limited experience, a bigger amp does not equal a bigger sound. More often than not, huge amps are just a nuisance. They hurt my ears and my back. I went from a 100 watt JCM 2000 halfstack to a Dr. Z Mazerati 38 and the difference could bring a tear to my eye. It has me on the lookout for more small amps with even lower wattage. Fender Champs, AC15s, stuff of that nature.

[floid]

find you a tape deck w/ 1/4" inputs... those things can really do some shit. my favorite marantz does this weird thing where if you max out the gain and knock the shit out of the strings, the signal cuts out and farts its way back in about half a second later.
and a PV Rage

big amps are fun too, and they actually can sound huge if you don't try to mic them like you do small amps.

[djimbe]

Microphone's got no eyes. He don't know how big that amp he's in front of is. I've gotten huge sound out of one of those Silvertone guitar case amplifiers. I don't have any real big amps in the studio but the SVT. I like the small ones.

One of those Music Man 2x10's, or something from the Gibson Crestliner series, or a Silvertone 1484, something from Valco like a Supro or a National, or maybe a Reverb O Rocket is more your style. Lotta cool little amps to be had. There's threads here devoted to them...

[madtho]

My Blues Junior (15+ watts) was too big for my life, so I canned it, got more than I paid for it (300$), and have bought 5 old tube amps (3 working), an external speaker cabinet and a 50's tape recorder. I've learned a ton about electronics (thanks Brian and DIY forum) and have actually repaired/recapped and turned over a couple things at a profit. I've been at it for a year or so.

Everything that I've gotten has a completely different character, so I play differently, and have more fun.

-mad

[abarroso]

here's a follow up question then: can i utilize my small army of amps for a live performance by somehow splitting the from my guitar to go into...oh say...four 15 watt amps?

[treble king]

I use an Airline 12" two channel, and a Gibson GA-6. Both weigh about as much as my guitar (Silvertone, ha!) and together they sound fantastic. I use this rig live. The Gibby has the bass, and the Airline has the tremelo and treble/mids.

In the studio, by far the best amp sound I get is a one knob Airline 8" - identical to the little Gretsch amp that people go all crazy about. Made by Supro. Overdrive is sweet, and it's crazy loud for a teeny amp.

I've also got an Ampeg twin 12" VT22. Louder than loud, heavy as the sun, and can make drums 'disappear'. Can't use it, can't lift it. It's gathering dust.

I highly recommend the little guys. A pal is having good luck with a couple of blues jrs., you should check 'em out.

[BluesRockGuitar]

Another vote for smaller amps.

At school, I did a recording where the guitarist used a twin reverb wide open for the basics, and a li'l ol' vibro champ for the overdubs, also wide open, with a clean boost pedal in front. The champ recorded fatter, more defined and was just easy to handle, while still maintaining that big sustaining sound. THe guitarist walked out and bought one on eBay that night.

[dirk_v]

here's a follow up question then: can i utilize my small army of amps for a live performance by somehow splitting the from my guitar to go into...oh say...four 15 watt amps?

If you don't mind bringing a few amps with you, there's no reason why not. I've seen a few guys do this (Matthew Good, Radiohead) with combos like an AC-30 with a Fender DeVille (Best of both worlds!) and a footswitch, although this is most often done for switching A/B as opposed to A+B.

These switches are also handy for, say, setting up a few amps in a live room and switching between them while you track guitars from the control room.

-dv

[Blade]

Here is my advice......

Get one of these!!!!

http://www.randallamplifiers.com/produc ... /index.asp

Small amps are cool, but there is no little amp that sounds like the big boys out there.
No Silvertone/Airline amp can sound like a Marshall.

The iso cabinet is awesome!

[RefD]

the way i tend to do things anymore is

small amps -> recording

big amp -> performing

you can get a huge and at times blistering sound from a little 5 watt amp.

you can also (quite easily) get mosquito tone from a cranked 100 watt half stack.

i find iso cabs in general to be no fun cos you can't play with feedback...i mean what's the point of having a loud amp if you can't do that?

and you can definitely get feedback out of a 5 watt amp without loosening fillings or rattling windows.

[mikeyc]

Small amps rock!
I love my little crate vc508. It's a beautiful little Class A 5-watter and you can get them ridiculously cheap used. I got rid of my 100 watt Twin Amp in favor of the 508.
I've also recently re-discovered (read: found in a drawer) my Little Smokey cigarette pack amp. These things are just great. Sometimes I plug it into a Mesa 4x12 to smooth it out a bit. Very cool.
Also check out the little battery powered epiphone amps that come in those pee-wee packages.

[mjau]

Little amps rock the house. My 20 watt Hiwatt w/ an Orange County alnico speaker is as valuable to me as any of my limbs.

[UXB]

here's a follow up question then: can i utilize my small army of amps for a live performance by somehow splitting the from my guitar to go into...oh say...four 15 watt amps?

I often pondered this, as when one is on a big stage, it is better NOT to hear your amp directly, and better to hear yourself through the wedges (time delay, etc). If you were to bring a small amp, and a powered monitor, you could easily get amazing tone, and monitor what is going to FOH.

I love small amps. There is nothing a big amp can do that a small one can't, with the caveat that any design will have a character. Having a variety of cabinets and speakers is really a boon as well.

Cheers,
H

[yardleyone]

On my last birthday my wife bought me a 1964 Silvertone 1472. It's pretty damn sweet and I ended up using it on about half of the last record we did. I'd recommend checking the old silvertones, airlines, valcos, supros etc. If you track them on ebay and youre patient you can get a really good buy.