Tube Power Amp Pedal Suggestions?

JRod4928

JRod4928

Power User
As an alternative to hauling around my 5150 amp head (which I use simply as a power amp for my cab), can anyone suggest a good tube power amp pedal? I like the pedal format for it's ease in transportation and setup. I'd also be OK with a small footprint tabletop unit, but at that point it would probably be almost as large as the 5150 LBX that I already have. I don't want a rack unit.

I'm already aware of some of the Solid State options that people prefer - wanted to see if anyone has good tube options that they have experience with.
 
There's the KSR Bad Cat powersoak(?) ripoff looking thing. Not a pedal. There is the boutique 1(?) watt thing somone always tries on TGP to put in a rig that makes absolute zero sense. I believe it's a pedal? Crowther or Kingsley something or other? There is also the Gurus 5015 thing which is a 50 watt micro amp thing. No pedal sized tube power amps that I am aware of.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ESW
Budda said:
Does anyone make that?
Click to expand...

OrganicZed said:
I don’t think this type of product exists right now. The Fryette Power Station is the closest thing I can think of and that is not a small unit.
Click to expand...

JiveTurkey said:
There's the KSR Bad Cat powersoak(?) ripoff looking thing. Not a pedal. There is the boutique 1(?) watt thing somone always tries on TGP to put in a rig that makes absolute zero sense. I believe it's a pedal? Crowther or Kingsley something or other? There is also the Gurus 5015 thing which is a 50 watt micro amp thing. No pedal sized tube power amps that I am aware of.
Click to expand...

My search also came up kind of empty too. There are some like... 'lets put a preamp tube in it and call it tube power amp' products, but nothing that I could find that is a true tube power amp pedal.

That's why I was also asking about tabletop options, or simply just much smaller amp heads that can be put in a travel case and lugged around easily.
 
The Fryette and the Gurus are about as friendly in smaller form factor as you are going to get, with a significant amount of power. Gurus thing seems hard to come by and haven't heard many reviews on it. So Fryette kind of owns this particular niche.
 
For any sort of usable power a tube amp will require power tubes, transformers and capacitors, which are the majority of the size and weight of a tube amp.

Think of a Fender Champ without the speaker, and the power output it has, and how well it would perform in a band setting if stuck on a pedal board. It’s much larger than a standard pedal, much heavier, more fragile, and seriously underpowered.

The solid-state equivalent would be much smaller and lighter and more able to handle shock and vibration.

BTW, this is the wrong forum for the question, it should be in General Topics > Amps and Cabs.
 
Greg Ferguson said:
For any sort of usable power a tube amp will require power tubes, transformers and capacitors, which are the majority of the size and weight of a tube amp.

Think of a Fender Champ without the speaker, and the power output it has, and how well it would perform in a band setting if stuck on a pedal board. It’s much larger than a standard pedal, much heavier, more fragile, and seriously underpowered.

The solid-state equivalent would be much smaller and lighter and more able to handle shock and vibration.

BTW, this is the wrong forum for the question, it should be in General Topics > Amps and Cabs.
Click to expand...
^ There's no pedal-sized tube power amps because it's not as simple as throwing a tube in the circuit and done. Why not get a decent FRFR solid state poweramp pedal that is known to be good, and use the poweramp simulation in the III? It makes more sense in virtually every way, especially in gigging scenarios.
 
Repartee41 said:
^ There's no pedal-sized tube power amps because it's not as simple as throwing a tube in the circuit and done. Why not get a decent FRFR solid state poweramp pedal that is known to be good, and use the poweramp simulation in the III? It makes more sense in virtually every way, especially in gigging scenarios.
Click to expand...
The only solid states in my price range and form factor are the Seymour Duncan and the Orange Pedal Baby. I've read they lack the tube feel that I'm trying to achieve. So at that point, I wouldn't be gaining anything over the solid state tech 21 power engine 60 amp that I'm currently using in a live setting.
 
If someone makes a pedal version of my Simul 2:90, that would make my day. In the meantime, any "tube power amp in a pedal" is going to have to compete with all of our expectations for what makes a tube power amp great. If "tube sound" isn’t your concern, there are pedals, EH 44 Magnum for example, but I think you’ll get better mileage out of high quality, powered FRFR cabs.
 
JRod4928 said:
Tube sound isn't my concern. AFX does that great.
Click to expand...

That's why Im asking why you want a tube power amp. What is it providing that solid state/class D doesnt?

Grab a sd powerstage 170 and a/b with your tech 21. Return/sell the one you dont like.
 
I'm comparing to a 5150, not the tech 21.... If you A/B the tech 21 vs the 5150, the 5150 is much much better.

The powerstage would be an improvement on the tech 21 probably, but based on reviews and my experience with a true tube power amp, I don't think it'll be worth the investment for my application. The only time I'm using the tech 21 is on stage as a monitor, when feel/tone is lost in the stage mix/volume anyway.

Every other instance, I'm using the 5150 as a power amp. Don't truly need a tube power amp for my stage monitor... this is a nice to have, not a need to have, which is why I am saying I got the answer I needed :)

Edit. There's a logistics aspect to this too. The incremental increase in feel and tone with the 5150 isn't enough for me to want to haul it around and risk damaging it when it's main benefits are being diminished by stage dynamics.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom