Amps and weight

From my experience I need at least 30 watts to get a loud and heavy cruchtone with some headroom.
For my ears it is a "dynamics-thing". A low-wattage amp usually feels a bit squasched and compressed to my ear in a live-situation.

 

That`s really strange. I experienced it the other way round.
Maybe I simply tried the wrong small amps?
Maybe I listen to other things/details in my personal tone?
See what I mean is that you can make a lot of amps with lighter iron inside sound good at bedroom-levels. When they are played in a loud band-context they lose that openness whereas my big amps seem to open up at these levels and make a sound that I like to hear and feel in my hands. All my one-channel affairs are highly sensitive for my guitar volume-pot. I am constantly fiddeling around with it . Like the trottle on a motorbike. I really enjoy that.

 

ok a few of the one's I listed are 30w or more and the rest are 25w.
I never found the 25 watters I listed compressed sounding but I know there's still a lot of players who demand big wattage live.

If you're one of them - enjoy heavy - that's your trade-off for the tone you want

 

I guess that`s the price of it, friend. Although I really hate it.
I recently befriended myselve with the 150 watts of my Mesa Stiletto Trident. Mesa is providing brilliant stuff to niche customers like me.
There is an extra benefit when playing these one with a sevenstring or deeper-tuned guitar (which I`m coming to like lately): Super-tight lows which do not muddle with your bass player.
I understand that many modern guitarists love that ultra-headroom. Think Djent tones. You cannot do this with a 5E3.
You are are a brilliant recording guitarist and I really enjoy your stuff.
But in my world I rarely do that today. The last time I recorded an album is 20 yers ago.
I had the priviledge to play a lot of loud and rowdy rock-gigs throughout the last two decades, though.

If I would do what you are doing I would choose the same cool setup that you use. (Or I would go even further and use my Spark or a good modeler for recording.)
In my situation the too-heavy-amp is more and more less of a problem but the cabs. My Mesa 2x12 weights a lot more than the head. And it has only one handle.

 

Thanks for the kind words and I've got friends just like you.
They still swear by their 100 watt Marshalls and old Marks.
I understand it and agree when cranked live they do sound more open and huge.

I decided to compromise my tone just a touch and go to low watt/light weight.
Most of our decisions are a trade-off and the key is knowing exactly what those trade-offs are.

What I find difficult to understand is people with very heavy low watt amps.
They've done the tone trade-off but got no weight improvement.

 

That`s idiotic.
Tone and feel is the way to go. I always went that way. No compromise. And I was willing to pay the price. Even in times I could not really afford it.
Everything besides is second grade.
I would love to lose some weight on my equipment.

But I found a solution: My solution is a well built and super sports-affine son that carries my weighty equipment. God bless him.

 

You cannot discuss religious things, friend.
What works for you is completely o.k. with me.
Most of my beloved guitarist friends are on the low-wattage side. And it is totally o.k. because they play roots-rock, blues, jazz. It works for them .
I love it.
But I am doing something different than them. I play heavy Rock. And I need different stuff. Easy as that.

 

It don't think he means worship, so much as it's an article of faith.

 

No worries man!

 

Ever mic'ed a low wattage amp and run it through a PA, work around the compression problem that way? Just curious is all.

 

Yes, I tried that. I even found a way to get some feedback by using a Vibesware Resonator. But it felt a bit like a prosthesis.
I use my amp as my monitor on stage. It is miked up for the p.a. but not for monitor use via the p.a..
I hate it when it is mixed up with the vocals or other instruments. I play rather loud to get my acoustic feedback. So in-ear-monitoring was never an option for me.
I have a Mesa 2x12 wedge pointing away from the crowd directly towards me. I can move it around a bit so the "sound beam" will not bother my fellow musicians.
That`s a time-proven recipe that works for me brilliantly. If only the weight-problem wasn`t there.

 

You'd probably like this new Badlander.
Another example of MB innovation.

They don't make re-issues as such, every new version they make of an old series amp is a significant improvement on the previous ones

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They're very different actually.

Mark V 90 has either 6L6 tubes or can be converted to EL84.
And Mark V is more versatile with nine different switchable amp voices.
It has 3 channels with 3 voices in each channel.

Mark V collects all the best channels/voices from Marks 1-4 and puts them in 1 amp.
Mark gain tones are a different flavour from the Rectifiers too.
I prefer the Mark V myself.
Here's a good rundown of how Mark V 90 works

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