The vagaries of tube amplification are such that these amps often need to be played loud – with those power tubes operating in the aerobic zone, so to speak – to get the best out of them. That’s when they’ll naturally compress, and you’ll find those harmonic sweet spots as the signal breaks up into overdrive. Players talk of the amp ‘opening up’, and when you dime an amp with valves in the power stage, you’ll appreciate this phenomenon.
With that in mind, guitarists who are going to be playing at home and don’t wish to upset the neighbours should look at smaller tube amplifiers, or those that have onboard power scaling that allows you to take the amp down to 5W or less. That way, you’ll be able to access that tube magic without taking the paint off the walls. For the home, a 2 or 1W setting would be ideal.
The other side to the size argument surrounds the issue of headroom. If you’re playing with other musicians and want to keep your tone clean, you’ll want a tube amplifier that can get loud without going into overdrive. Those wishing to integrate their pedalboards often prize amplifiers with plenty of headroom – again, it’s like a blank slate; basecamp for building a sound.