Best At Home Amps - With Keith Williams 

By far Carr Amps make the very best home & studio amps: Carr Super Bee for classic Fender tones & Carr Mercury V for classic Vox & Marshall tones!

I bought a Vox Pathfinder in 2014 and never regretted it. It has a beautiful clean/off clean sound. Great pedal platform. You can pick them up all day long for $100 or less used.

I fine that Swart offers a number of nice home amps, especially the models with a master volume. I use their 45 w heads with the master volume on 3.5 and the 2.5 -3 on the volume and its a nice tone at a low volume. Wonderful product for natural overdrive at low volume. Great reverb and even a nice vibrato built in.

I have to make a plug for Steve Carr's Mercury V. This is a great sounding amp at home because of the 0W-4W switch. You can play anytime and not bother anybody in the house or apartment at whisper loud volume. Or, flip it to the 16 watt mode and you have a great gigging amp, plenty loud, with a ton of ways to dial in tone. ALSO, Steve has added a DI line out for recording. I've used this amp in all 3 configurations, live gig, low volume practice amp, and recording amp, no mic needed. It performs really well in all three situations. This is not a cheap amp, but I don't know if there is a more versatile amp out there. So, you get a lot for your money.

Love 5 watt world & Keith but JEFF is the man & because of true fire and his lessons( which have bought them all! And you should too! Excellent teacher!) I have became and learned even more after decades and now I know he has his own site and RU-vid channel I am excited..Keep rocking Jeff & thank you 🤘🏻🎸🤘🏻

Yanaha THR10X...the best sounding solid state amp I've ever played through

Deluxe reverb Tone master is doing it for me. Very convenient.

Glad to hear you say something positive about the Spark. I use one at least 2 hours every day, exclusively with headphones. I can play along with instructional material and backing tracks as loud as I want, and no one hears a thing. I don’t know why this amp isn’t the universal solution for home practice.

Keith...I started playing guitar at 8. By the time I was 12, I was a kid who was raised in the woods south of Mt St. Helens who had no social skills. I was very afraid of people my age. I got into an all black blues band to escape the possibility of being in the crowd. Noticing girls came a few years later after joining the U.S. Army. So, I am not lying. BTW... I enjoyed the presentation tonight with Jeff!

I had a Blues Jr, and thought the speaker sounded dead. I was at the point of putting a new speaker in it when I just sold it and moved to a Tone Master Deluxe…23 lbs, attenuator that goes 0.2 to 22 watts, and an XLR out. I’ve played small venues at 0.5 watts, volume up, and pushed by my pedalboard…sounds fantastic.

This is an excellent discussion. Absolutely chock full of wisdom and great ideas. Thank you very much gentlemen.

The Vox Cambridge 50 is my swiss army knife and one of the best combos Ive ever played through. Super lightweight, giggable, on-board effects, built-in attenuator etc. Its amazing.

You two have great chemistry 👌excellent show

Probably 90% of my playing is through a Fender Champ.

I’ve owned a supro delta king 10 for almost a year now it’s the perfect home tube amp for me

I own the Laney super cub 12 inch 15 watt tube amp and this holds up well as a practice and gigable.

Great to hear your recommendations. I own the Tone King Imperial mkII with the built in Ironman attentuator, tube driven reverb and tremelo. My dream amp would the Two Rock Bloomfield

Don’t get smaller amps just get a bigger bedroom ;)

Yamaha THR models are fantastic!

I just retired my ‘69 Princeton Reverb to home use which has to be one of the best sounding Fender amps in that light weight category. I recently picked up a Blues Jr. in Western Tolex which is a nice home or small stage amp. But the most surprising amp purchase I’ve made recently is a Blackstar HT20R MKII. It only weighs about 33lbs., has clean tones that range from Fender glass to Vox chime & grit, dirty channel ISF switch that dials in Boogie-ish to Marshall crunch and a useable reverb. It has direct out w/ spkr simulator, effects loop, digital out and 3.5mm aux in, - but one of the best parts: it has an attenuator switch to go down to 2w for glorious bedroom crankage - it’s so loud, I was almost able to rehearse w/ a 4 piece cover band in a small converted garage. Technically, it was loud enough at 2w to be heard enough (I sing Ld and play rhythm gtr) but I had to adjust to the point where I didn’t like the ultra responsive attack. But if I was into that feel, the amp was loud enough at 2w to compete w/ drums. And for the money, I don’t think you can go wrong. Heck, I could’ve bought the Blackstar 10w studio model (which attenuates down to 1 pretty damn loud watt) and that would work for my home, rehearsal and stage needs (you can always be mic’d and put in the house & wedges). Don’t get me wrong, there’s no substitute for the ‘68 Twin Reverb I also own but the only ones who are happy that I used that as a gigging/home amp for years are my chiropractor and physical therapist. Small amps rule!!🤘🙏

I own a an Allen Sweet Spot. It's a 'PR on steroids'. All tube, PTP with 1 x 12" speaker and slightly larger cabinet. Takes both 6V6's and 6L6's for 18 or 25 watts. For home use, I have an OX Box. Great amp!

Marshall SV20 sounds really good too. It can be super aggressively loud, but also scales down to 5W for more manageable volume at home. Though it's still pretty loud. They're priced pretty well, if you're in the UK / EU. Around 900 or under. But, I think I'd go with the head version. Get a small 1x10" for home, and something bigger/more efficient for gigging, like a vertical 2x12". Vox AC15H (Head) also can scale down it's power. So it's a good flexible option, I think I'd pick over the AC10 which is nice, but ultimately more limited. For the at home small cabs to pair with these heads, you can deliberately choose a less sensitive 10" speaker to make the amps work harder, even scaled down to 5W. or even 1.5W with the Vox. Something like Celestion G10L35 (94db).

Jeff could you do a show on how you did the cocktail gig with “pseudo jazz standards”? I am interested in looking for gigs that and would appreciate some pointers.

I have a Yamaha THR10ii for home use. I think it sounds pretty nice overall and has a good feel for a solid state / digital amp (nice tube like sag on some settings). Like many of these desktop amps, it really benefits from putting an EQ and/or boost pedal in front of it.

The Waza Headphones are awesome. Im tube amps all the way... but at home at times (with kids and other family around), youd be surprised how good a tone you can dial in on the Wazas. You can also dial in heaps of bad tones... but once youve got your tone... your set. Also you can experiment with how you position the headphones.. the smallest change can make a big difference... in a good way.

The best home amp, is the one you can take anywhere. ;-)

I have a Marshall DSL5cr, with a celestion creamback speaker upgrade. I also put a tung sol 12ax7 in the #1 preamp tube, and I think it made it a little quieter. At the lower wattage setting it is perfect for my basement jam room. The five watt setting is almost, but not quite loud enough to keep up with a drummer, but that’s without a boost or overdrive. It can get eat piercing loud with something pushing the signal! It works with pedals, but is very different than a fender amp. It took me a while to get used to it, but I can get a lot of good sounds out of it, with and without pedals. I don’t know that it sounds like a “real Marshall” but it’s definitely in the ball park, with clean super compressed on the green channel, and British overdrive all the way to too much gain on the red channel. The cab is somewhat lacking at high volume. I would like to make a clone cab out of some pine to move the chassis and head onto, maybe make it slightly bigger. I had a blues jr years ago. Didn’t like how it sounded at low volume, and it wouldn’t cut at high volume to be heard over drums and bass, unless they were playing quietly. Had a twin before that, which weighed 85 pounds, and was way too loud!

Yamaha THR30II is the ideal at home amp and takes pedals really well. Other option is a pedal amp like the DSM Humboldt Simplifier into a power amp pedal or the FX return of another amp

I go to a jam every other week, 2 people bring Sparks. 1 uses hers for steel guitar, the other for humbucker guitars. They are plenty loud when playing with a drummer. They carry their own in an environment with drums, PA, and other players with Hot Rod Deluxes and such.

You glanced over the pedal amps but I think they are a great option for home. Buy yourself whatever great 1x10 or 1x12 cab you want. There are great options from Blackstar, Victory, Laney and BluGuitar. Super versatile and sound great.

my current rig is pedalboard and 2 amps(5150 Iconic combo and Vox Pathfinder 10). I need to get another Pathfinder to complete a wet/dry/wet rig. The smaller Pathfinders are limited with a 6.5 speaker but the cab will hold an 8 with slight modification. There are also mods you can do yourself that DRASTICALLY change the character of the amp. Pull a couple LEDs and the gain channel gets less harsh and sounds a bit tube-ish. Pull the C12 capacitor and overall volume has a drastic increase. I havent swapped the speaker out yet, but as the secondary amp with the EVH it does surprisingly well. I keep the power setting of the EVH in the low wattage mode(10 or 12.5 watts).

My alltime favourite amp is my trusty JCM 800 100W. Used to play this back in the day with 4x12. Last 10 years or so i prefer 2x12 closed box. Yeah i know, its very loud. Therefore i purchased the Fryette PS-100. Does not matter to use it at home or for a live gig. ✌🏻

For most hobbyists; which I am one; you have to play through the years of; “what do I want?” Any modeler will help you navigate this journey for cheap. Once that is settled; it’s pretty much a budget check and a space/practicality check; I think the mystery that plagues hobbyists is; when I jump from modeler to snob gear; … for just my ears; is it worth it? I would submit the answer is no. Thank you also for the discussion covering 12” speakers for home use, I agree just overkill there.

loved wrapping the pedal board in clear plastic ! i spill enough beer at home to where that could be in play...

I love the UA deluxe reverb and ac30 pedals. They are really very nice and very portable.

I have tried several solutions :valves combos with an attenuator (Toneking Falcon, Fender Vibro Champ EC, ...), solid state amps (Quilter MicroPro, Roland Blues Cube or Vox Mini SuperBeetle). Finaly, I found the best results (imo) with a Fender Monterrey Active speaker and preamps such as the Ethos, the effectrode Blackbird or Tech21 Flyrig. If you wish to purchase a TO DO ALL combo, I highly recommend the Koch Jupiter Junior : great sounds at low volume and powerful sounds enough to gig with a small band.

Fargen MIni Plex. You can find used ones in the $1200-1700 range or less…. 12 watts of Marshall tone; 6 watts at half power. Very reasonable volume levels. Mine has London power scaling which allows for very low volume playing.

They were made by Crate but discontinued shortly after..Blackheart Lil Giant 5 watt mini stack with a 112 cabinet. Perfect pedal platform for a bedroom blaster.

9:00 Okay, nit picking time, the BOSS Katana is NOT a digital amp, it is NOT a modeling amp, both the preamp and the power amp are analog and only the effects are digital.

Any love for the Yamaha THR?

I love my Marshall class 5 and my Orange dark terror. princeton still in heavy rotation.

I AM CURRENTLY USING 2X VOX VT40 AMPS. THESE TAKE TIME TO LEARN BUT OFFER SUPURB TONE AND POWER FELEXABILITY BEDROOM TO SMALL CLUB. THESE RUN THE DIGITAL PRE AMP INTO A 12AX7 VALVE THEN INTO THE POWER AMP.

What a fantastic video have a good night

Two Notes Captor X has been my solution. Tried the Waza Air and the Strymon Iridium first.

My Marshall dsl 40 c twin combo is the bees knees. You just need a good clean amp which takes pedals well.

I've got a Quilter Aviator Cub UK. Sounds great at low volume, then there's the headphone input when you need to be real quiet.

Hey Keith, I assume the person who corrected you about the Canadian Tuxedo isn't aware of the Salmo Dinner Jacket or the Bunny Hug? (Local lore from north of the border.)

Henriksen Bud is a terrific pedal platform and so versatile re low to very giggable.

Overdrives? Try the Wampler Andy Wood signature Gearbox dual overdrive. AWESOME. And it has the best noise gate I’ve ever heard…it quietens noise with no perceptible loss of tone.

Hey guys, a full (2x 4x12's) Marshal stack makes a great bedroom amp... ...it's own bedroom that is

I don’t understand where Jeff stands on Two Rocks at home: he loves his as a home amp BUT also seemed to say that playing loud amps quietly doesn’t do it for him. Did I misunderstand?

Replaced the stock speaker in my AC10C1 with a Greenback. More better!

I’d love a recommendation for me. I love the Matchless DC-30. For me, no amp comes close to the actual verbal sparkle, clarity, amazing on the edge of breakup tone. Loud as hell tho. What does a guy like me do? Honestly, hard to hear myself say this, but money is not the issue. I’ll pay $4509 for the Matchless and get an attenuator if that’s the only way to get that sound.

Good talk 😎

Fun conversation. Jeff have you ever/will you ever make a video showing how you use your amps up to decent volume but with pedals to keep it from being too loud? I think I know what your doing, but am not sure.

Hey Jeff, I am curious as to your thoughts on a good practice amp. Specifically the Boss Katana Mini versus the new Positive Grid Spark GO. Also curious as to any thoughts on the rest of the Positive Grid Line (Mini and Spark). Thanks again for the great content.

Fender Pro Junior IV. 🎸🎶🎵🔊☠️

Do it with AUTHORITY..!💪🏼

If you can't turn the volume on the amp lower than 3, what is the sound of a tube amp if you have the volume higher but lower the volume knob on the guitar?

How's about a "5 Watt" pocket protector (?)

I am looking for an amp for at home (have a pedal board, so pedal friendly would be nice). Considering, Supro Amulet or Fender Princeton Reverb or Vox AC15. If the Princeton is the best option then which '65 or '68 ? The Supro has the attenuator which seems like a possible good idea?

10s have a wider frequency response than 12s.

Anyone besides me loving a Fillmore 50 Boogie?

Looking for a volunteer to lug my 79 Peavey Deuce 2x12 around for me, lol

Do anybody have any experience of the BOSS Katana Air?

Excuse me, I jus wanna say, if 6 was 9, I don't mind.

Way too looong!

Meh.Tried to listen to this. But, with the bouncing all around and name dropping and flashing all of your other gear that has nothing to do with the current topic…drove me to the edge of insanity.

Way too long