Let's see the tiny low wattage tube amps you love

Ohhhh Canada!
Toy Story 4 Pixar GIF by Walt Disney Studios
 
Feeling a tingle of interest in a Magnatone Starlite…

It's a cool little amp for sure!

Great to see that it's got an 8" Speaker manufactured by WGS, because the 8" Jupiters are known to be good; and of course the Jupiters are also manufactured by WGS.

Thankfully, we no longer live in a world where the 8" speaker options are shitty AF.
 
JSX Mini Colossal
1694105745396.png


I've never had one, but have kind of wanted one and turn it into a mini head. 5 watts, all tube, FX loop, simple controls and built in tremolo. I heard Satriani recorded one of his albums with this.

I ultimately got my JSX fix buy having Rob/Jaded Faith mod an MTS module into a JSX replica.

1694105667923.png
 
@miggelblast I only just noticed that what I thought was the base of your pedalboard... is actually a full sized Surfybear spring reverb.

If you wouldn't mind, could you tell us a little about that, and the sorts of tones that you get out of the DSL1?
 
@miggelblast I only just noticed that what I thought was the base of your pedalboard... is actually a full sized Surfybear spring reverb.

If you wouldn't mind, could you tell us a little about that, and the sorts of tones that you get out of the DSL1?

Sure! I'm using the DSL how a normal person propably wouldn't use Marshall amp; that is as a clean pedal platform. It's "Ultra Gain" -channel just wasn't for me so I get the dirt from pedals instead. Then there's all kinds of other abominations I practice with it, like play surf! That's what the Surfybear is for mostly. And it doubles as a pedalboard as you can see. :rofl I also play 60's-70's rock, funk, some jazz every now and then... and I think the DSL suffices for everything and works wonders with pedals. It's pretty loud for home even though it's only 1w, which is why I use it in the 0,1w mode. It still has enough clean headroom at least with Jazzmaster single coils.
 
Googles SurfyBear

Tom Hanks Quote GIF by Top 100 Movie Quotes of All Time


***hides wallet, logs off***

I've nearly bought a SurfyBear a number of times.

One of the things that stopped me is that there are a couple of guys on the internet that also own the UAFX Golden and say that it sounds pretty much the same.

I don't know if that's true, but I do know that the Golden's Showman spring (my fave) and the brighter Deluxe spring on that sound utterly real and amazing.

I can't deny the attraction of the SurfyBear though!
 
I've nearly bought a SurfyBear a number of times.

One of the things that stopped me is that there are a couple of guys on the internet that also own the UAFX Golden and say that it sounds pretty much the same.

I don't know if that's true, but I do know that the Golden's Showman spring (my fave) and the brighter Deluxe spring on that sound utterly real and amazing.

I haven't played the Golden but it seems to model the built-in spring reverbs in amps whereas the Surfybear is supposed to be a circuit based on the Fender Reverb Unit (6G15) only carried out without tubes. I can't really say how much that makes a difference since the Golden is regardless a pedal, but at least surf guitarists usually depend on outboard reverb tanks and run their 'verbs in front of the amp (as do I) since it makes the reverb more pronounced and "drippy". I find that many digital spring models are good for "amp like" reverb but don't do the over-the-top drippy sound that good. But tbh I haven't played many of the high-end digital reverb pedals. I had a Keeley Hydra for a while but didn't gel with it. It would be more practical to find a digital substitute for the Surfybear though since it's nearly a size of a surfboard lol. But then again, where would I put my pedals? :rofl:hmm
 
I like the Golden quite a bit, specifically because it's not one of the Strymon / Meris "Sci-fi" reverb pedals.
All the modes sound like actual studio reverbs like on a record, so it's probably my favourite sounding offering and very musical.
That said, I'm really intrigued by the UA Heavenly because it's got just the Golden's Plates, which is the only modes I used. Would save me some space on the board. (y)

Can confirm the Spring modes of the Golden sound awesome, though!
 
Still don't like the WGS ET10.

That speaker has been in and out 4 times now; only because I kept thinking "the problem must be with me and I need to give it another chance".

:blanket


GA10-SC64 is great though!
 
Last edited:
A few we've had through the years.

Cornford Harlequin - only 5 watts but between the large cab and 12" speaker it was the loudest 5 ever.
qwfepj7bxailzitv4p6y.jpg


Star Amps Nova by Mark Sampson - HATE MYSELF FOR SELLING IT!
nova-black.jpg


Carr Mercury - could run at 5 watts
CarrMercury.jpg


Brugera - there's a mod you can find online that turns these into screamers.
f15377b1-89d1-47e2-b981-a02b976409f8.__CR0,0,300,400_PT0_SX300_V1___.png

EDIT: found it. Right out of the gate upgrade the speaker and tubes before doing this.

1703521743395.png
 
Last edited:
Sitting in the Living Room yesterday evening feeling lethargic, and not wanting to move, but also wanting to
play a little guitar, I suddenly realized I need a small tube amp. :unsure:

I don't always want to go fire up a rig, or the computer. Be nice to have a nifty little amp that doesn't take
up a lot of room, and adds a soft glow to the room.
 
Back
Top