Aha, that makes sense. I thought a looper would only work in an effects loop.
Interesting.
Iāll have to reconsider based on this.
Thanks Keith and Richard!
1 Like
When we start learning guitar it can be hard to know what kind of player we will end up being. What we like to listen to may not be exactly what we want to play at all times. Thereās no shame in acquiring gear as part of your journey. Personally I like to play all kinds of music, and I enjoy being flexible. People over taken with GAS tend to have gear duplication syndrome, those of us that acquire gear as we grow and learn are simply explorers. 
Players that donāt have at least one tube amp donāt know what they are missing. The way that notes bloom and the way they move air and sound waves can be inspiring. My 15w Monoprice attenuates down to 1W, and cost me like $200 US (I canāt remember exactly now). It is an OEM version of a Laney amp, and it has nice cleans and can rock. Harley Benton has an OEM version of this amp as well. Since it has an FX loop you can plug in a pre-amp pedal such as the Joyo American Sound and get a wide range of Fender tones. Itās the best bang for the buck tube amp out there.
Here is a link of some plinking on my MP 15W, and me throwing a bunch of different pedals at it. The backing track is playing in the FX loop from a looper: Prerecorded āTelecaster of Disasterā Zoom Session
2 Likes
Okay, your amp may still work and make a passable sound but the tech has accelerated on in 20 years substantially.
1 Like
@Lefteris
If you donāt have an fx loop on your amp and your amp has an aux in socket, there is a bit of a workaround if you want a clean loop. Create your clean loop then plug your looper into the aux in socket of your amp. That way the loop bypasses any amp fx settings. You can then add whatever fx you want to the other parts of your song. Those parts will have fx and the loop will be clean.
2 Likes
Indeed!
I didnāt know that trick Gordon! Thanks for sharing!
At the risk of kicking off a kerfuffle, I love that word, Iām just going to state for no reason in particular, that the BOSS Katana is not a modeling amp. There, Iāve said it and Iām not sorry. 
Now that that is out of the way. . .
The Two Note Captor or the Captor X is the road to tube amp happiness at volume levels that will not peel the paint from your walls and cause your pets to run away.
If I went that route (valve amp and attenuator), Iād select an attenuator with more flexibility on the attenuation levels.
Itās entirely possible to have a killer tube tone at low volumes - BUT, in my opinion it will require a bit of investment. For quiet/tv/speaking volumes youāll probably want to go the route of getting a tube head + some sort of load box + IRs + headphones or studio monitors. Note; a loadbox is different from an attenuator, although the product linked above - the Torpedo - is a loadbox AND an attenuator.
I think the cheapest option (I could be missing some new piece of gear) is a tube head - for example one of the 20W Marshalls - plus either a Torpedo X or Suhr Reactive Load IR. This will give you a setup where you donāt need a computer, and can play with killer tube tones over headphones. If youāre OK with having to use your computer, then you can get a loadbox without the ability to host an IR in the hardware and run the IR as a plugin in a DAW. Both Torpedo and Suhr has such products as wellā¦
In the end itās probably total around 1000 GBP. Very hard to get such a (good sounding) setup for less I thinkā¦
If your budget is significantly lower than this, then I would suggest plugins or modelling units for silent playing.
1 Like
I think your making an assumption that a valve amp is fundamentally better and worth more than a solid state amp.
Both have advantages, and orange is a somewhat boutique brand (if a large one) with their own thing going on
2 Likes
There are more choices aside from just the Two notes options, and some very good ones too like the Rivera RockCrusher, though the prices on some will rival the cost of the amp itself.
I also should have qualified what I wrote by saying that āin my experience, the road to tube amp happiness,ā as the Captor X is the only loadbox I have experience with. When I purchased my Bassbreaker 30R the fellow I bought it from had it set up with a Two Notes and a pair of Yamaha HS8 monitors and it sounded amazing in that configuration.
1 Like
With the concern you are expressing over the price have you considered the second hand market? I got my amp in excellent condition at half of new price.
Hi Tony,
Yes, Iāve been keeping an eye on the used market. Iāve seen some good deals around and Iāve bought some gear over time in really good condition at bargain prices.
Iām just quite puzzled as to the retail prices as they donāt make much sense to me.
Hi @Lefteris,
Iāve been using a Yamaha THR since I started out but a few months had a similar hankering for a valve amp having played through a few in store when picking up my guitar from being repaired. I went properly wow at the tone, especially from a Fender Blues Jnr. But I have the issue that I canāt really crank one up at home.
So a good bit of research and YouTube watching later the Blackstar HT5R mk2 kept on popping up. 5W but can be reduced to 0.5W whilst still pushing the valves as they should be. So I went for a play and it ticked pretty much what I needed. Added bonuses that it has USB out to go direct to PC, 3.5mm line in jack for backing tracks and a headphone socket for silent practice. I was smitten as it sounded awesome, the overdrive channel is pretty immense, even in the 0.5W setting and clean is a significant difference to the Yamaha. The THR is still very useful with all the effects available but Iām using the Blackstar for practice most of the time now. Itās not cheap at Ā£550 but for what I wanted itās fantastic. If (one day!) I ever end up gigging I canāt see how it wonāt do the job and yet itās great for house use. Sure thereāll be some in the second hand market.
As always do your own research but just wanted to share my experience 
PS - also has a FX loopā¦.and includes foot switch.
1 Like
Hi Mark!
You are right, Iāve tried the HT5R mkii and it does sound good. Like you said, it ticks all the boxes. And I like that it comes both as a combo and a head so you can pair it with anything.
Initially, I liked the DSL5 as well, that also goes to 0.5W. But it sounds a little dull at 0.5W unless you again turn the volume up a little.
I think, Iāll try to be patient and make do with what I have for now. Become a little better guitarist and revisit the issue in a few months againā¦or weeks! Lol
1 Like
I was looking at some options earlier and I came to the same conclusion. I was looking at a different attenuator though such as the one mentioned by Richard here.
Iāll start saving!
Thatās right. Either implicitly or explicitly, consciously or subconsciously, I think I have made that assumption.
Iād argue itās informed though as I did try some valve amps at their proper volume at stores and I was blown away.
do attenuators just not waste a lot of power and produce a lot of heat?
I think so yes. As Iāve also seen quite a lot of DIY ones soā¦ I wonder whether even they are worth their money!