XL+ through tube power amp vs monitors (bedroom/apartment levels)

R

ryanhathaway

New Member
Ok guys, after much deliberation i've decided to resist grabbing an Ultra and just hold off to get the newest, shiniest thing. I'm curious what people's opinions on how best to get sound out it go.

Right now i'm running a Laney Irt Studio tube amp. It sounds good, but not 100% what i'm after, so I'm considering using it as a power amp for the XL+. Mostly because I can run it in <1w mode, and still get tube power at reasonable levels. I have a 112 cab with a V30 in it.

On the other hand, I know a lot of people run their Axes through powered monitors, which is also an option for me.

I guess what i'm asking is, if you had a tube amp lying around, would you use that and a speaker cab for the axe or would you sell them and go full FRFR?

I'm curious if using the XL+ as just a preamp and FX unit and having an external poweramp and cab is selling the unit short.
 
At bedroom/apartment levels only, I would go w/ monitors (FRFR) vs. a tube amp and actual speaker cab. You'll get more versatility and variety between various amp models than you would running through a tube amp's power section and that one V30 speaker.
 
I just went through this process myself. I have a kit 5W tube w/ a 112 front ported loaded with a V30 versus a Yamaha HS8 monitor. I've tried 4CM and running through just the FX return, but the monitor is *much* more versatile. I'm selling the amp and cab ASAP and playing exclusively on monitors at home. You may lose a little "punch" that you can get out of a bigger cab, but especially comparing to a 112 you're better off with monitors (IMO).
 
Problem with your cab is that EVERY patch is going to sound like that speaker combo, which isn't bad per say, if you like that tone, but I personally enjoy having IR's of a bunch of different stuff, 4x12 Trad with v30's, Rola Greenback's, A 1x15, a 6" oval cab, a 4x10 tweed, etc etc. Lots of tonal variety with different IR's, all at the twist of a dial

Furthermore, I simply don't find low wattage amps to really give the same tone/feel as higher watt amps with big bottles, pushing a 100 watt quartet of 6550's vs pushing a single 12AU7 is very different.

On top of that, the Axe models the power amp aspect of lots of different amps very well, so its not like its a weakness of the unit.

last but not least, 1 watt cranked though an efficient speaker is still pretty darn loud, especially for an apt. At late night volumes though your not going to drive the speaker hard enough and its going to sound poor.

Axe through a monitor sounds essentially the same at any volume level and can give you the tone/feel of a cranked 100 watt amp through a 4x12, but at a volume people can sleep next door at
 
lqdsnddist said:
Furthermore, I simply don't find low wattage amps to really give the same tone/feel as higher watt amps with big bottles, pushing a 100 watt quartet of 6550's vs pushing a single 12AU7 is very different.
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Not that it matters, but fwiw, the OP's Laney IRT Studio is a rack mount 15watt amp, that also has an attenuated <1 watt option and runs 2 EL84s.
 
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