Harp Study
26 posts
Apr 02, 2014
9:48 AM
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I have found a special 6 at a pretty good price (even better than their regular price, which is already good). However, most of my playing is at my house which isn’t all that big and my wife isn’t a huge fan of the harmonica (or at least my playing anyway). Actually I think she just gets tire of hearing me play the same thing over and over when I am trying to work stuff out, but I digress.
I’ve never had a tube amp, but from what I’ve read it would seem that in order to get a tube amp to provide tube distortion they have to be cranked up pretty high which even for a 5W-6W amp is typically too loud for practicing at the house. Would most agree that this is true?
I like the idea of a power attenuator, but don’t know how well they work or if I would be able to install one on the VHT. Because of the built in attenuator I’ve also consider both the special 6 ultra and the bugera V5.
Also would most agree that a 10” speaker is better for harp than an 8” speaker or does the speaker type/brand make more of a difference than the size?
Thanks for any help you can provide.
H.S.
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Bass410man
16 posts
Apr 02, 2014
10:20 AM
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I had a Special 6 and really liked it, its great for home use and small jams. If you want to crank the amp up to get distortion out of it, you should just get a volume control on your mic, or an inline. That way you can set the volume on the amp at whatever level you want and play at whatever volume you want. That's my thought anyways, hope this helps.
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HawkeyeKane
2451 posts
Apr 02, 2014
10:39 AM
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"Also would most agree that a 10” speaker is better for harp than an 8” speaker or does the speaker type/brand make more of a difference than the size?"
This really is more of a matter of taste when it comes to small single-speaker amps. Fender Champs and a great many of their derivatives use 8" speaks, and they sound phenomenal. Others like the VHT, the old Kalamazoos, and Ampeg GVT5 use 10" speakers, and also sound wonderful. Heck, the Champion 600 RI and Gretsch G5222 use 6" speakers, and while they can often have trouble projecting, they still deliver a great harp tone on a budget.
Yes, the speaker brand, magnet composition, power rating, and cone construction all have a bearing on any given speaker's tone. In the end, the surefire way of ascertaining your taste with a given amp is to try out different speakers with it to see what you like.
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Hawkeye Kane - Hipbone Sam
Last Edited by HawkeyeKane on Apr 02, 2014 10:41 AM
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Barley Nectar
343 posts
Apr 02, 2014
10:59 AM
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Well, if your wife is not liking the acoustic harp, she will HATE it amplified!!
I don't like attenuators, to many amps get blown up using them. These are like holding the gas pedal and the break pedal down to the floor at the same time! You may be better turning the amp down and using a pedal to get your distortion. A VC on the mic is not going to give you what you are looking for, quiet distortion.
I prefer 10" speakers. Good luck...BN
Last Edited by Barley Nectar on Apr 02, 2014 11:11 AM
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HawkeyeKane
2452 posts
Apr 02, 2014
11:16 AM
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"A VC on the mic is not going to give you what you are looking for, quiet distortion."
Be neat if someone could devise a mic with a master volume knob the way guitarists use them on their amps.
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Hawkeye Kane - Hipbone Sam
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6SN7
433 posts
Apr 02, 2014
11:32 AM
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A 5 watt amp is perfect for the house.
You just need to make some more $ so you can send your wife out to the movies/dinner when you play!
Take the plunge and buy it! Good luck.
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Tuckster
1401 posts
Apr 02, 2014
12:01 PM
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You should be fine with that amp. It has a low power switch that cuts the output to more "wife friendly" volume.
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dougharps
596 posts
Apr 02, 2014
12:34 PM
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If she doesn't like hearing you play harp without an amp, she will hate it when amplified, even if there is a low power switch.
I suggest you do as I do with my spouse, practice with the amp when she is out! You can't learn how to manage the mic and minimize feedback if you are turned way down.
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Doug S.
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Kingley
3564 posts
Apr 02, 2014
12:44 PM
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A VHT Special 6 is fine for use in the home. I have mine on the high power setting with the volume around 9 o'clock and that's more than loud enough at home. I live in a flat (apartment) and the walls are very thin. My neighbours haven't complained about the volume once. If I get the urge to crank the amp up, then I just wait until my neighbours are out.
Last Edited by Kingley on Apr 02, 2014 12:44 PM
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MindTheGap
421 posts
Apr 03, 2014
2:27 AM
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I bet it will be a bit loud. But I think you won't be happy until you've got one and tried it eh? I'd go for it. They have a good resale value I think, so if push comes to shove you can sell it on.
I'd feel a bit better about the volume if I could play better - Kingley that maybe why your neighbours don't complain, because it sounds so good :-)
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mtg
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Harp Study
28 posts
Apr 03, 2014
10:04 AM
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Thanks everyone for the help. Right or wrong I just ordered the amp, so we'll see if it is too loud or not when it gets here. I appreciate everyone's opinion and help; as always.
I loved the idea of the bugera V5, but ultimately had a good deal on a special 6 and had to go with its solid reputation as a harmonica amp. That way when I sound awful I know it has to be me and not the amp!
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MindTheGap
423 posts
Apr 03, 2014
10:26 AM
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That's the way - positive thinking :) I hope it goes well, and you will let us know how you like it.
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Greg Heumann
2671 posts
Apr 03, 2014
11:02 AM
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You don't need an amp at all. Take one of the little amp simulators (I use a Korg Pandora PX Mini but I don't know if that's current). Plug your mic into the input, your CD player into the auxiliary in (if you want to practice to jam tracks) and headphones into the headphone jack and you can hear amplified tone - no amp required, no noise beyond what's escaping from your tight cup......
The above is how I let people demo my microphones at shows like SPAH where it is not possible to let everyone come up and blow through an amp - kinda irritates the other vendors. I DO add a battery powered headphone amp to the mix to get a little better power to the headphones.
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***************************************************
/Greg
BlowsMeAway Productions
See my Customer Mics album on Facebook
BlueState - my band
Bluestate on iTunes
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HawkeyeKane
2454 posts
Apr 03, 2014
11:15 AM
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Greg has a point. Another way might be to get a mini-amp like a Dano Honeytone. If you have a home stereo with an input, you could run your mic through the Honeytone, the Honeytone headphone jack into the stereo, and jam along with your tracks with your headphones on.
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Hawkeye Kane - Hipbone Sam
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Harp Study
30 posts
Apr 04, 2014
2:32 PM
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Greg & HawkeyeKane-
That is good advice. I've thought about a little headphone amp before. I have a little micro cube amp that has an aux in and a head phone out which works great for quiet practice times. I just recently ordered a descent pair of headphones for that set up, but haven't gotten them yet.
The micro cube is probably hard to beat for a quiet practice rig; which I suppose makes me wonder why I was so worried about the volume of a tube amp. I guess I just wanted to make sure it wouldn't be too loud for me ever to be able to use. We'll see soon enough.
Thanks again everyone. I will report back once I get the amp. Of course with a new toy I will have to crank it up and see if I can't blow my windows out of my house; regardless of how it sounds at lower volumes.
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SuperBee
1894 posts
Apr 05, 2014
3:16 PM
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Opinions vary about the relative importance of the amplification function of an amplifier. I personally feel it's integral to the sound quality. 'Quiet distortion' is not really an idea that holds appeal to me; there's something I find counter-intuitive about it.
I do understand that you need to practice with mics and amps if you want to play in situations where natural acoustic volume is insufficient. And I suppose a quiet amp may be useful for learning about holding the mic, and to a degree it may teach about how the sound changes when you use an amp...but I don't know how useful such lessons really are when you move to a stage with amps at stage volume. I do think that in order to really learn about using a tube amp with a mic, you need to be able to turn it up and find out how everything interacts.
To that point, using a 5 watt amp will teach you some general things about relatively low-powered amps, and some lessons which are specific to the particular amp. You'll find plenty examples where the consensus is that a particular amp is not much good for harp, but a minority of people like it. Generally those folk have found themselves with access to such an amp and through experimentation found a way to make it work. Some amps are easy to get along with, others take a bit more time.
My point is, your vht will no doubt be 'too loud' to play in the house. When there are people you care about who will hear you and be annoyed by the noise. 'A noisy noise annoys an oyster'.
For it to be worth having, if practice is your initial aim, you'll have to create situations which allow you to turn it up. Playing quietly is not what it's designed for.
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FreeWilly
416 posts
Apr 05, 2014
3:34 PM
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Funny. I tried headphones and harp via my danelectro hodad. I prefer just playing with the amp at low volume. To be able to hear the amplified signal over the direct sound of the harp (if you close your ears you still hear the harp direct - that's how we find a key on a jam right?) I had to turn the headphonesignal up so loud that it hurt my ears.. Interesting that it seems to work for others..
VHT on half power mode on moderate volumes should work anywhere... and then you'll turn it up anyway and hope the neighbours don't complain, haha.
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Dr G
5 posts
Apr 07, 2014
8:34 AM
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I have the special 6 head and a separate speaker cab. I was having volume issues as the neighbours have a young baby that has some health issues. To add to this I live in an outback mining town where the houses are thin walled transportables and 4 people in 5 are shift workers. I ended up getting a Rivera Rockcrusher load box and speaker simulator for practice and low volume acoustic gigs at the local cafe.
Pros it works well and has a line out with 11 band eq which allows you (with a lot of fiddling) to get a good "speaker sound" direct from the pa. Even on the highest attenuation setting it still doesn't mush your sound too much.
Cons it costs twice as much as the amp/speaker combo.
In the end I wasn't that bothered by the price as it has got a lot of use and works well. Also with the line out setup for bigger shows I now use the VHT as a stage monitor and the rest of the sound out through the PA. It also lets me get a nice amped tone with an acoustic guitar and drummer on a cajon at the local cafés Sunday afternoon session.
Very civilised and chilled
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Harp Study
32 posts
Apr 08, 2014
7:17 PM
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For those interested.. I got the amp yesterday and noodled around the last couple nights for a bit and so far I really like the amp. The low power setting seems to work just fine in my house. The high power setting on the other hand seems crazy loud for such a small amp.
I really dig the amp. Thanks to everyone for any advice that was provided.
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MindTheGap
430 posts
Apr 09, 2014
12:05 AM
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Phew! Glad it's working out. And what does your wife think?
Now if you like you can get into the whole world of swapping tubes, changing capacitor values... :-)
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mtg
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Harp Study
33 posts
Apr 09, 2014
5:53 AM
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MTG.. The wife doesn't seem to mind it. Said she didn't notice it being any louder than when I had my micro cube cranked, but that is likely cause I intentionally kept it at a reasonable volume.
My fear was that I wouldn't get any descent tone at reasonable volumes which I don't feel is the case. Of course she thinks it is a waste of money just like all my other harmonica/music gear and for the most part she is right on that one.
One day after the new wears off I plan to do some tube swapping and possible other mods. There is a lot of info out there on this amp for making it an even better harp amp, but for right now I am gonna sit back and enjoy my first tube amp.
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MindTheGap
431 posts
Apr 10, 2014
1:28 AM
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Harp Study - would you mind sending me an email?(Address is in my profile), I've an idea I'd like to run by you.
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mtg
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