Tophat ClubRoyal, TO LOUD!

[Jay-]

I have a tophat club royal from 1997, 100% tube.
100% plane Jane, a phat boost and EQ.

Admit, I dont have an amp room and playing in a guest bedroom "Studio"

I called Brian at tophat amps, he suggests its just not the correct amp for me and they can do mods on the volume to what ever push pull master volume or some such.

The amp has a number of flaws, including its in the older smaller narrow case.

My first thought is toss it out and get a 1x12 Dr Maz Z or 1x12 Mesa boogie.
Something I can ~CRANK~ and turn down the master volume and get some breakup with out ear damage.

I also have a 1979 Tube screamer I used as a booster, but still not the tone over loud.

Further Brian said the older 2x12 tophat was is not going to work with my single coil stratocaster and would be happy if I had a Telecaster.

Do I stack two boosters? Get a new amp with more features?
I had a Jenz benz black pearl that was ~Loaded~ with features suitable for home use, and granted I think I have the perfect amp for a larger club that wants to play with a loud drummer.

Ideas or sugestions? Tophat guys said the amp wont take boosters as well as just moding the amp or getting the newer tophats, he said they had design issues back in 1997.

[mu6gr8]

If you *crank* a master-volume amp, then turn down the master volume pot, you will be getting a preamp-driven tone, which is different than a power-section-driven tone. In case you don't know the sonic difference, an oversimplification would be to say that preamp clipping sounds thin and fizzy, while power tube clipping can sound warmer and more elastic. That's why low wattage amps are so popular in recording studios--you can crank them without blowing the roof off the joint.

My suggestion for you is to try a power attenuator between the amp and the speaker. Clamp it down to about 20% output, and find out if the Top Hat will work for you, as-is. If you dump it, check out a Mesa TransAtlantic TA-15, which sounds very groovy and can be played at 5W, 15W or 25W at the flick of a switch.

[llmonty]

Sounds like you don't like your amp and in a bedroom setting it is def not the amp for you.

There are a number of low wattage amps out there today, old and new, that will work for you. The Dr. Zs and Mesas will also be very loud, depending on the model.

Vox, Orange, Fender, and lots others have small amps where you can get power amp distortion. And of course, there are a tone of boutique makers worth considering here. Some of these amps have 1-5 watts - and even at those levels the amps can get uncomfortably loud. Other amps have 1/2 or 1/4 power switches if you play live with a band and need something louder than can be turned down for bedroom playing.

[nedorama]

If you only play in your bedroom, the top hat is way too much amp.

5 watts is plenty in a bedroom small studio - you can get roaring tones without getting evicted. It's why I bought my Dr. Z Mini Z - 5 watts, volume and attenuator knobs and that's it. Sounds great. For quiet cleans, I have my Princeton.

My other amps below are for playing out, either indoors (Bandmaster) or outdoor shows (Showman).

Amps to look at: Dr. Z Mini Z, Reeves Custom 6, Fender Pawnshop Greta + ext cab (sounded very good at NAMM.

Either keep the Top Hat in case you play live, or realize that it's not the right amp given your needs and get the right one for you.

FYI - I have an attenuator - the Dr. Z Brake Lite - in my Bandmaster. It's helpful for getting some power tube distortion , but I don't use it more than 1-2 clicks and as a room fills up, will turn it off. It may work for your top hat, but a lower wattage amp will be a much better solution.

[litepipe]

Yeah there is no way you're going to get that thing to open up in small spaces. I can't even dime my 5watt champ in my apartment.

I'm a believer in having multiple amps. Different situations require different tools. I have everything from 1/2 watt to 100 watts. I rarely need 100watts unless I want perfectly clean headroom. I usually hover in the 25-35 watts area.

Live 5 watts doesn't cut it unless its an acoustic act or drummer with brushes.

[nedorama]

Originally Posted by litepipe

Live 5 watts doesn't cut it unless its an acoustic act or drummer with brushes.

Or if your playing at a venue with an excellent PA and decent monitors. I've done 2 shows with my Mini Z, an e906 and a good PA. No problem with stage volume!

Having a good PA and guys running it though is critical; otherwise you're totally correct.

[krusty]

Jeez, why does everyone always need epic tone when rehearsing by themselves in a bedroom? Just turn the darn thing down. In my bedroom studio I have the following amps; Mesa 2:95, Mesa 2:90, Mesa 2:100, Mesa 20:20. They all have volume knobs that work just fine.

[popmann]

The problem is they buy tone purist amps...which are always going to map preamp and power amp linearly like classics. They read that ampX is da bomb, they buy...they realize how LOUD amps are.

You need to buy amps that are about getting good tone at moderate volumes. I can be as loud as I want in my studio, but I prefer moderate volumes, as it's easier to dial in and get recorded, IME.

Anyway...I've got a custom el84 amp, Reinhardt Storm33 w/power scaling, a VVT Fralin...and my old 59BM RI with a pedal board full of colors.

Why would you want to install a master? Just buy a nice drive pedal. They're really nice these days.

[Jay-]

Originally Posted by popmann

The problem is they buy tone purist amps...
Just buy a nice drive pedal. They're really nice these days.

I only have my 1979 Tube screamer.

I got this amp because its Green! No other reason!

Hay I thought 18 watts it would break up easy, no this amp is for medium sized clubs!

[krusty]

I remember when I was a teenager, my parents had a very basic all-in-one stereo system in the basement that I swear is responsible for the hearing damage I suffer today (not the 27yrs in a loud industrial environment). I played that thing day and night a full volume. It put out a grand total of 5W (peak). I can't imagine what my neighbors would say if I unleashed my dismal skills using all the capabilities of my Mesa 2:100 Rectifier. A boutique tube amp without a master volume is a remarkably loud creature when turned up enough for decent breakup.

[Jay-]

Well to be fair, I think in 1997 when tophat built this amp they were going after the lets play loud at the club guys.

Im guessing its one of the first amps out for tophat, brian said they had many mistakes with that amp that prevents it from doing much other then going balls out, he also said any effects to boost wont do the trick and it will in my findings turn to mud tone with tons of boosters.

[popmann]

I'm saying, I've played 2 watt amps with 12at7s as power...it's still loud enough for a small club.

There's preamp and power amps saturation. Preamp is usually the more important, IME, which requires a preamp BUILT to be driven and a GOOD master volume design (not typical)...if you have an amp that's design NEEDS power tube squish, like an old Marshall (or My Reinhardt), you need a power scaling solution or attentuator...but, honestly...it's nuance, in the grand scheme. The thing that you need is to be able to turn it up enough to get the speaker moving well...and a preamp section that SOUNDS like you want it to. The problem with some amps (take a JCM800) is the preamp sounds like dogshit...until you crunch out the power tubes--then it's thin, icepicky preamp is smoothed out into the beast of a sound that is a JCM800.

I can't stand low wattage amps myself. They are one trick ponies...so unless THAT trick is the one you like, it has no headroom (though still loud as piss)...so, again...get a nice pedal, or an amp with a nice preamp section--"nice" defined as "the sound you want".

Barber drive pedals are the beezknees, IMO. Fulltone OCD is also nice, if a little...less my cup of tea sometimes. I have three drive pedals--the OCD, Barber Small Fry, and an old vintage black box Bluesbreaker. Three very different sounding drives. rarely use them since my small amp collection has grown, but...they do fine into a nice sounding clean amp. Take the TopHat into a local music store and try out pedals--all about matching the proper pedal drive to your amp.

What you'll find is...find a good match...it will work at relatively any volume...AND sound kick ASS when you crank the amp, TOO.

[Jay-]

This is what I had that produced some great staged gain,

1979 TS-808 into the Maxon Pue5 tube.
Maxon PUE5 Multi Unit Japan 80S /Ibanez #1P089 | eBay

The Pue5 has two gain sttages, the TS-9 clone and a tube screamer, thats a total of three screamers and the gain from my single coils was just singing high, almost ambient guitar.

My big problem is we get into crazy distortion when the TS-808 is cranked, or mad volume but not that lead screaming tone.

Wish me luck!

I also had a boss GT10 but fell out of love with a $400 non vintage gear that was masking my tone with millions of whammy bars mario brother style patches.