t8bloom wrote:
I'm on the precipice of jumping into my first amp build. I've managed my way through 4 pedals thus far and am interested to try the bigger task to build my own tube head. I don't have any experience with vintage style Marshall amps, so I'm not as familiar with what differentiates these two amps besides the obvious "more watts". I currently have a Blackstar HT-20 2-channel and it's plenty loud enough, so I think 18W is probably fine from a loudness perspective, but I'm interested to understand is there anything else but more output wattage that matters here in this choice? Thanks much!
There are some similarities. The TMB tone stack is the same basic Marshall tone stack in both. So that one preamp channel is the same. There are a few gives and takes between the two, however, in terms of objective "versatility" I think the 18 is the clear winner.
The 45 has high and normal inputs, so you have those two flavors and you can bridge the two. But you can still bridge the two channels on the 18, you'll just need a longer patch cable.
The 18 has a master volume on the TMB channel.
The 18 also has a second channel that doesn't share a tone stack with the other (although it's only a singe tone control), so it can offer you more of a second flavor than just the bright and normal inputs.
Subjective differences are obviously the difference between EL84 and KT66. KT66 is objectively the superior tube when it comes to frequency range and output, but that doesn't necessarily make it better.
I personally prefer the 18. It's an easier build. It's cheaper. It's lighter. Subjectively speaking, I prefer lower wattage amps. I don't know if I like EL84 better than KT66...that's a tough one.
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*patience is a virtue*
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keith@buildyourownclone.com
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