djByron [Dan Byron]husband, father, christian, musician & technophile ( but not a dj )

This is funny… Guy hacks a baby monitor to function as a wireless guitar amp. I wonder if a mom would ever think of doing such a thing?  Leave it to us dads.

My quest for my first guitar amp finally came to an end a couple weeks ago when I finally found and bought a Mesa Boogie Lonestar Special!  Man this thing is awesome…  Now granted I haven’t been playing for years and don’t have a ton of amps to compare it to but this thing sounds amazing.  I’ve been playing it for a few weeks now and I’m blown away by the tone.  As of now I’m using my Vox Tonelab SE with the fx loop (all modeling turned off) for delay, chorus, reverb, wah, volume & tuner.  It remains to be seen if I end up selling the Tonelab and move to individual stomp boxes (we’ll see).  The selectable output wattage is an awesome feature of the amp allowing me to choose from 5,15 or 30 output watts.  So now I’m able to get great tone using my Sennheiser E609 mic in a small to medium size venu with out deafining those around me (and keeping the sound techs happy).

I had the chance to play the 1×12″ version of the Mesa Boogie Lone Star Special today at a local music store.  Very nice amp with killer tone.  Not sure it’s worth the money in the scheme of things but we’ll see after I have some other amps to compare it to.  Great tone and two channel design.  One of the things that drew me to the amp was the output wattage switch that allows you to choose between 5,15 or 30 watt configurations.  However, as I had previously read in a couple of other posts, this really doesn’t do much other than give you options when it comes to head room.  The 5 watt setting is very close in volume to the 30 watt setting.  I’m begginning to think that I won’t find exactly what I’m looking for with out going to something like the Maven Peal (and I don’t think that’s even an option due to price).

Ok, so here’s my dillema….
I want to get a tube guitar amp to take my tone to the next level as any guitar player does.  However, the majority of where I’ll be playing will require a low to medium volume level.  As any quitar player can attest you’ll get your best tube tone when the tubes are breaking up at high levels which is where the dillema comes in.

FIND AN AMPIFIER THAT HAS GREAT 100% TUBE TONE WITHOUT MODELING OR SIMULATION.

Here’s what I’ve come up with so far…

1. A friend of mine turned me on to a botique company in VT called Maven Peal (http://www.mavenpeal.com) that created circutry to not only control output wattage but also a “sag control” that…  Well you’ll just have to read about it to fully grasp the concept.  I think if money were’nt an option this is what I’d do based on the reviews I’ve read alone.  Great tone at as little as one watt but a lot of money..
2.  Fender just released a new “recording” amp called the Princeton Recording Amp.  This amp is also 100% tube and uses their patented circut to cut output volme…“The trans-impedance power attenuator lets you crank up the amp for full output tube overdrive and set the speaker volume as low as you want (even silent for headphone use)!” - Fender WebsiteThis may be an option but I have some initial doubts before even hearing it…  1) It’s a 10″ speaker so I’m not sure if you’d be sacrificing tone as compared to a 12″ setup.  2) The combo is $999 so we’re not talking chump change here. 3) And finally, they toss around the dreaded term “speaker emulated” in the description so I’m wary.  Not sure if this is just for the recording aspect of things or what.
3. One of Mesa Boogie’s newest additions is the Lone Star Special.  Other than the fact that output wattage can be toggled between 5,15 and 30 watts this is your typical amp.  Concerns here are… 1) That at it’s lowest output of 5 watts we may still be looking at a pretty loud amp.  2) It’s a boogie so is it going to have a very signature sound? 3) Price?I guess I’ll just have to track one of these puppys down and play it to find out.
4. Zvex Nano Head…  Uhhh Yeeeaaaa  You’ll just have to see this to believe it.  There’s a demo video but the long and short of it is that it’s a half watt amp that will fit in the palm of your hand AND power a 4×12 cabinet.  From what I’ve read this is a great little amp for getting a screaming marshall sound at low levels but isn’t that great at a clean sound.  Not to mention the fact that it’s over $400.  Once again I’d have to play one to see if it’s even an option

So this is my current quest…  Find an amp that will produce the tone I desire at tollerable volume levels on small stages and at home.  Add a comment if you have any suggestions otherwise I’ll keep you all posted.