I'm a metal player, I don't even look at amps with less gain on tap than a 5150, but I had a guitar I bought shipped to guitar center once, and picked it up right before closing so I didn't have time to look for the perfect metal machine to plug the guitar into to test it, so I just grabbed what was near me, a little ole Supra Delta, and there I was pickin' away having all the fun in the world with my ridiculous matte black pointy jackson, just jamming away on the little aim who's max gain was a clean channel of what im used to XD
I play metal as my primary style as well and I was extremely surprised to find that playing with clean tones for me was still fun as well I just need to work on my chords and phrasing
@lachairamusic Have you seen videos from an explainer named Colin from Scotland ? (His channel’s name changed I think, but 100% sure his name is Colin, he’s Scottish, and he’s an expert, and he has mad talent for explaining stuff.) I mention because he did a video about “headroom.” I DO play aggressive music (hardcore, punk, metal) and with these aggressive musics, I DO use dirty sounds and distortion and high gain. But, I play other musics too: musics where I want a clean signal. So I think of headroom now with that saying or slogan some people say regarding fire-arms: “better to not need it and have it, than to need it and not have it.” Anyhow, Colin explained that big, big, Marshal amps & cabinets were made so powerful because in “ye olden tymes,” you play a HUGE venue, the audience is hearing your amp: you’re not depending upon a house PA. Now I get it. My buddy’s rig that I played through a few times… I’m not sure about this, but I remember it being a half-stack that perhaps was meant for bass ? Because the head alone (it countnt’ be built as a compo amp !!) I couldn’t lift the head safely by myself. So loud that no NO guitar friend could or would be heard during our jams, no matter what combo amp he’d bring over. I’d get a sweet crunch when those tubes’d heat up, so the desirable tone ain’t nothin.’ But, guitar players: we’ve held onto our desire for more watts while we’ve forgotten why that situation became a desirable thing. It’s not just distortion: you NEED multiple Marshall stacks if you’re playing a big baseball stadium, and if you’re playing a huge sports arena chances are you’ve achieved some level of success with your band. The audiences of yesteryear would be hearing you through YOUR amps !! Because the baseball field was built for BASEBALL !!
Love your channel Mike. When I was.like.14 years old, which was.many.long years ago (roughly 57) had a small SUPRO.amp. If I remember correctly, it had an 8 inch speaker, a couple tone controls and tremolo. It was all tube and a cool amp. I played my Harmony Silhouette guitar through it. Nice, but not enough oomph for gigs. But I wish I had it now.
Just discovered the vid and channel. On a journey of "5w amps" and all that baggage that comes w it. Great vid that addresses the need for say a 1w or a 15w as well. Besides stage presence or a nightmare gig this is all you need (most likely)
Hey Mike, ever thought about being a writer, storyteller,? You great at Both!! Your channel is great to watch. All us guitar and amp nuts are waiting on your next post.👍
So many great amps and so many great tones. Like guitars, pedals and pickups, there are a zillion different amps because there are a zillion different ways to build, mix, match and use them. I do have personal favorites for certain purposes and the question is usually whether we're live or recording and where; along with what style we're playing. However, one constant for me is that I'm pretty much all analog all the time with the exception of digital delay (though I do have a tape delay and use it frequently) and a Neo-Ventilator Leslie pedal. Early silverface Vibrolux is my choice for live blues, funk and country (mine is a '66 with solid state rectifier and a couple mod's in the tone stack). I A/B switch the Vibrolux with a Twin Reverb (I prefer silverfaces, pre master volume) for the sparkling live cleans. In larger venues I like to replace the Vibrolux with a Bassman and a 2x12 cab (50w blackface head w/ss rec., which I think is a '64). For live jazz/country gigs that require super dialable cleans across a wide dynamic range, Roland Jazz Chorus 100 can't be beat. For live and recorded rock/pop/metal, or pretty much anything high-gain, a Carvin V3 head and baffled 2x12 cab is my.go-to. I also have a '71 Fender Dual Showman with matching cabinet in the closet, just in case I need to wake someone up in another time zone, though I mostly just threaten people with the possibility. For recording blues, funk and country, an early 70's silverface Princeton and a '67 Supro VT-16. For recording jazz, back to the Roland JC; it does the same predictable solid state thing all day at any volume. This doesn't even begin to address how (and which) different pedals I set up for each amp and/or for each use (and why).
Mesa Boogie Mark V with fixed bias and a built in attenuator that allows you to play it at 90, 45, or 10 watts. Then I paired it to a Vader 4X12 because of the sound and because of the metal grill ( I have a cat that loves to scratch speaker cloth ) . My signal is carried by a 20 foot Mogami platinum cable. I find myself using it at 45 watts more often than most. The problem with a Supro amp is that you need to have it biased by an amp tech, not a Mesa Boogie. Also , Mesa Boogie amps hold their value better that other amps out there, and only increase in value over time. So much so that they have reissued many of their original amps again to spec. Save your hard earned cash.... Get a Mesa Boogie amp and make money when it's time to sell it and upgrade to another Mesa Boogie amp.
I have a 5 watt tube amp and it is more than enough volume for my bedroom and recording. The speaker cab sim output is perfect for silent recording (still works with the Standby turned on). My only issue is getting that mild breakup tone, since there isn't a ton of headroom.
Wattage is mostly an indicator of headroom. Basicly how much clean volume can you get from the amp. High output>high headroom>high clean volume. Basicly lower wattage amps break up sonner than high wattage amps.
It took me almost 40 years to finally find and purchase my secret weapon, it is a late 1990s Marshall 50W Mk II, it sits atop a Bluesbreaker style speaker cab with a pair of Greenbacks. I can plug straight in and let it rip. It is simple and sounds exactly how I've always imagined it should. Secret Weapon #2 is a 1947 Magnatone 13W amplifier with a single 12" speaker, like the Marshall you can plug straight in and crank it.
The fender blues junior is an amazing amp. Although it may be small, it cranks. I mean it CRANKS. I own a fender deluxe reverb as well and I honestly think the blues junior is a step up. It has a lot of options that the reverb doesn't have and it's lighter too. Just goes to show that size doesn't always matter.
I LOVE THE TONES FROM THIS AMP. I have to hear it with a preamp/drive pedal first though. I do dive into heavier music in my style so it needs to handle that well.
Gotta have that attenuation for the neighbor nation LOL. I have a GTX100 and it's perfect. Attenuation, MANY amp and FX models, headphone jack if I gotta go full stealth mode. I got kids bro! That supro sounds totally sick! great video! I am inspired to check out the Supro tones on my amp now. Gonna be a good afternoon.
I’m not sure if you’ve reviewed Adrienne Lenker and Big Thief yet, but I’d love to get your take on their Capacity album because it’s a perfect rock album to me and it seems like the big industry didn’t give it the love it deserved.
Marshall head, ultra gain channel 5/10, mids on 9/10, treble 7/10, bass 5/10. A little reverb and let's go Maiden! Pickups type doesn't matter that much, they all sound good IMO. All the volume, all the tone, you don't need the neck pickup. But in a band I play bass, so scoup them mids a little for my guitar player, add boss DS1 with plenty gain and some tone. Sounds thin solo, but with guitar... We are like thunder.
The Supro Blues King 12 is my dream amp. For now, my Roland Blues Cube Stage is pretty good. I kind of miss my Hughes & Kettner Tubemeister 18 (with an attenuator and "Blue Box" for direct line to recording device).
Wattage is about how loud you can push the amp before it breaks up not just raw volume. That’s why country players like high wattage amps, so they can get lots of clean spank and twang without it sounding distorted at high volume
I have a one watt (yes one) Marshall combo from 2012. It’s from a 50th anniversary series using the preamps of the classics from each decade but with a one watt power amp. I have played it daily since then and have never had one issue. Made in Britain and there’s 5 tubes in this bad boy which sounds like a cranked Marshall (it is!) at volumes that won’t cause death. The clean channel cranked with a bit of overdrive is the sound of 70s rock. I will never part with it in spite of the going price increasing yearly
Yeah, great amp! It does everything I want an amp to do and it has a volume setting for every situation I could find myself in. Looks and sounds killer, so... what's not to like?
I have a supro Delta king as well. Excellent amp, but when you throw some nice tubes in it, it becomes like an amp That’s double the value it really opens amp up and unlocks it and unlocks all sorts of great sounds.
My “secret weapon” is a 12at7 in v1 on my Hot Rod Deluxe. It tames the volume and even makes the overdrive channel usable. I know it’s a well known mod, but I waited years to try it and after I did I wished I had done it a decade earlier
Technically, power amp attenuation is different from 'traditional' attenuation where the fully amplified signal is dissipated between the amp and the speaker. It's closer to downsizing your power amp than to really attenuating the signal that comes out of it. I have not tried the Supra, which I suppose is a good amp considering its price of 1,2k. There is certainly a use and an audience for both approaches. In my studio I have gone the cranked 50W tube amp into Captor X and monitors route, and I kept a small 5W practice tube amp that I use when I really want to hear an amp speaker vs a 'recorded' version thereof. But even 5W is loud. And I no longer play my Hot Rod other than through attenuation because it' so freaking loud that even band mates complain when it's turned past 3.
Amazing tone at begginning. Reminds me the tone from My Favourite mistake by Sheryl Crow. Unfortunelly that tone is too expensive over here. Almost 800bucks. But i’d love to try a supro someday.
I'm a metal and prog player, but also love my clean tones. I think I just have to buy every Supro amp. One for each room. It's the only logical thing to do.
You want a great amp get a Hendrickson Bud 6. Best tone you can get great pedal platform. Both electric and acoustic. Effects loop, 2 channels, lime out to board, and Bluetooth connect.
I bought an amp w/ power soak for different rooms and it's quiet enough to do what you're doing (also @ 1W), but then I've got 5W, 18W, and 36W. I do notice a tone difference on the speaker and I really like playing loud with earplugs though
But you have the Ox now. So why not a 500 watt Marshall? In all seriousness though, Marshall made a combo I saw Paul Gilbert playing once. I think it goes from 5 watts to 1 watt in a small combo. Sounded fantastic. It was miked up of course, but still. I use a Princeton reverb and overpriced boutique pedals to play at reasonable levels. Also a THR 30II which I bought when I had a kid. Great little digital "modeling" amp for those that don't want to spend the money on a Kemper and monitors or a nice cabinet.
I dont really look at wattage as how loud an amp can get. The speaker has alot more to do with that than people think. Wattage does play a role, but its more about clean headroom. A 1 watt amp being played through two 12's can still be very very loud. It wont stay clean worth a damn though.
@@GizzyDillespee I would never think to throw a drive pedal on electronic drums, but I can certainly see the appeal. I love how responsive the bass knob is.
In the last few years I wonder why all these guitarists are shaking the neck,like it’s supposed to make a vibrational statement when you finish a song .Are you doing it because it’s cool or because you see every one else doing it?
I got my gretsch 6228 a fender vibro reverb 68 reissu ... i never had such a good guitar sound, i can hear every single mistake i need to practice, as i can hear details of what i do goos
maybe this is an unpopular opinion but i feel like everyone who is looking to buy an attenuator would be very happy with a compressor (either a pedal or in post) instead
I bought the Amulet and sent it back One day it was unbelievably loud with a very harsh tone.. The next day it was quieter and the sound was lush and beautiful. Maybe a faulty tube? Problem is, you gotta take the amp apart to access the tubes.. So what? If you loose the guaranty because you opened up the amp? I didn't want to take the risk.. A brand new amp.. Problems the first day, it made horrible cracking noises the first day by the way, that disappeared a few hours later This should NOT happen on a new amp in the 1000€upper range Kinda disappointed with Supro. One little detail, many stores say built in the USA. Not true, made in China since 2020 /07.. Just saying
You shoud do a video about the tone in your fingers instead of always guitars and amps! A great player can play every guitar and amp and let it sound great!
I had one for about ten minutes. I couldn’t read the dials because Supro must think guitarist stand behind their amps or something. I passed, ended up with a Princeton instead.
Back in the day guitarists did in fact stand behind their amps. They did this as a throwback to the vintage supro amps. It is a bit awkward at first, but I’m so used to it I don’t even notice anymore.
@@redhatpenguin1241wow! Thank you! I didn’t realize. Very interesting. Still, I’m a at home player and much prefer to be able to read the controls. I probably would have gotten used to it over a long enough time frame but it just annoyed me so I sent it back.
I start watching everyone of your videos for the content and then realise I've got to sit through an enormous, long winded story and turn off. I kind of wish I had the patience to sit and listen because you seem like a really nice guy but I don't. I feel bad about that for some reason.
This guy flipped from making cool/funny videos to being a Gear Shill in only two months. Seriously, look at the hard 180 he took into copying the guitar gear youtuber affiliate cliche.
Probably hard not to go that route when Sweetwater is throwing gear at ya all the time. Look at other creators turned PRS peddlers! It’s hard to blame them! Gear rules!
