one of the BEST guitar tones i've ever heard..
 
was someone using a pignose as a 'pedal' or preamp, into a raging Ampeg V4 half stack.
 
awesomeness.

tlw
I've done gigs using a pignose mic'd into the PA or even a spare channel input on the bassist's amp before now - I took to carrying one years ago as an "emergency amp" in case my main amp decided to die at the wrong time. It's also a surprisingly good harmonica amplifier and I know several people who use them for that.

By the way Beepster, if you're looking for a domestic-premises friendly amp 10 watts is about 10 times the power you'll need. Using the same cabinet, a 5 watt amp cranked flat out is about half the volume (in dB) of 50 watts. I've an Epiphone Valve Junior (with Phillips valves and a Jensen speaker) and in the house I rarely open it up more than about a third, at which point it's already pushing 85dBA at a meter.

True enough and I know I SHOULD probably be looking more in the 5 watt range but a) I'm concerned that the speaker/housing on those aren't going to throw as well and b) after so many years of playing through stacks and 400w bass amps (yes... on guitar) it weird me out thinking about such "tiny" amps.
 
What I need to do is go try a bunch out at a music store and take over their homerecording area for a while to see how they respond on "tape". I'll have to probably do some sweet talkin' to make that happen. lol
 
"Here... let me drag all these tiny amps over there, and borrow a bunch of mics, and load up whatever DAW you've got installed on your demo machine, and jam out... oh and can I load up these waves I brought from home?"
 
No problem, roight? Heh heh.

Beepster
True enough and I know I SHOULD probably be looking more in the 5 watt range but a) I'm concerned that the speaker/housing on those aren't going to throw as well and b) after so many years of playing through stacks and 400w bass amps (yes... on guitar) it weird me out thinking about such "tiny" amps.

 
While we're on the subject of guitar gods doing weird ****, I read that Duane Allman often played through a bass amp and cabinet to  get that rich tone. I have a version of Blue Sky from a show in New Orleans where his tone is so rich and full, it had to be with that bass rig.

Kamikaze
I'm loving the Mark Studio on my new Jazzbass. I can see myself setting up a sound from it just to play and record, but once a mix is in place, it provides so much flexibility on changing the sound of mix, so I should just concentrate on getting the lines down at first.  

My thoughts exactly!  The flexibility to choose between a lot of great tones after the part is recorded is a very cool feature.  As far as choosing cabinet speakers (or really any other variable) - it really is important to just listen to the options and go with what fits that mix the best.  As others have already said, getting a big sound doesn't always translate to the size of the speakers or the initial recorded volume.
 
I was lucky enough to review the Mark Studio a while back for Bass Musician Magazine.  If interested, you can read the review here:  http://bassmusicianmagazine.com/2014/09/mark-studio-2-amplifier-modeling-software-review/

ward s
While we're on the subject of guitar gods doing weird ****, I read that Duane Allman often played through a bass amp and cabinet to  get that rich tone. I have a version of Blue Sky from a show in New Orleans where his tone is so rich and full, it had to be with that bass rig.

I kind of fell into that by accident (well more out of being broke/cheap). For a couple years the only band I was playing I was on bass so I bought an old Traynor Bassman and Ampeg 4x12 bass cab. Then I got asked to play guitar for another band but didn't have the cash to buy a whole new rig so plugged in through the bass rig and just tossed my Metal Zone onto it. It was punk/thrash type stuff so it sounded nice and meaty and worked. Over the years every now and then I would use guitar amps for that project (equipment sharing with other bands or in the jam space... whatever) and it just didn't sound right unless I was using super powerful and expensive 100watt stacks (like 5150s or JCM 2000s). Eventually after I completely destroyed the bassman (which was tube powered and a pain to maintain) I discovered a neat little bass amp that worked great for my tone that was wicked cheap. The Yorkville 400b. It was a compact 400w bass amp with a ten band EQ section and one big 20" speaker (well around 20"... I forget exactly the size). It was LOUD, had a really nice clean tone for adding stompboxes, the EQ section let me really dial things in, the speaker barked like a pack of dogs, it was solid state and pretty much indestructible, it was heavy but compact so I could move it easily (fit in the back of a cab or was easy to dolly around), etc.
 
Considering a lot of time those gigs were not mic'd (small dive bars) I needed that extra power and really the extra bottom end and lack of break up when cranking it (which is no good when you are using super thick distortion like the MT-2) made that amp and most bass amps great for the stuff I like to do. Totally influenced my sound.
 
Still clean tones are a lot fuller through a bass amp too. I like Fender and HiWatt for clean tones but they are missing that bottom end roundness to an extent. There is of course a reason for that (don't want to interfere with the bass) but I like those lower freqs. Cranking them on a guitar amp makes things sound muddy. Getting them from a bass amp (without cranking the bottom) just sounds nice and clear.

Has anyone used an amp isolation box for recording? Something like this? 
 
http://www.clearsonic.com/amp_isolation.htm

Not me, but I've watched some Pete Thorn videos done in his studio with it. I've always done blankets or cabs in another room.
 

Seems like something that wouldn't be that hard to make yourself, but those ones do look like they're pretty good quality. 

I was looking at the Primacoustics Go Traps and thought they would serve me better and you can sit on them! LOL
http://www.primacoustic.com/gotrap.htm
 
Don't know how much they are, yet, but it seems like a very useful item. I like that you can stack them, build a box or sit on them.
Michael
ps
$399 street and $380 @
http://www.avalive.com/PrimAcoustic/Z840-1120-03/129743/productDetail.php?utm_source=googleBase&utm_medium=feed&utm_content=Z840-1120-03&gclid=COyUnZjtgMQCFYc6aQodYjwAhQ