Torres Engineering Boogie Mite

[ctoddrun]

So I'm reading a small amp review in Vintage Guitar magazine last month since I've been looking for a nice tube amp to practice at home with.

In the closing arguments of the article the editors gave glowing reviews to the Torres Boogie Mite. Essentially telling the reader that its Carlos Santana's tone in a 3.5 watt package.

Sounds perfect for what I'm looking for, so I go to the Torres website looking to get more info.

They dont offer much more than the magazine review did, but I decide I'll give it a try (noting before I order that they have a strict NO return policy - WTF?). Oh well, nothing ventured...

So it arrives a week later and I haul butt home to try it out.

All I am left with is a disappointing taste in my mouth.

PLENTY of volume (out of 3.5 watts - which was a big concern of mine), but the thing is, there is such a midrange "honk" to the tone that it sounds as if I've got a wah engaged in a mid position and left on. But I dont.

I set all of the tone knobs at 50% and begin tweaking. I feel confident in my abilities to dial in a tone, I use a Mark IV for chrissakes, yet nothing will tame that midrange and give me a sustaining distorted sound.

I guess the midrange MAY be partly caused by the Recto 2x12 I have been using with it. Tonight I am lugging my 4x12 cab home to see if I can tame that midrange with a different cabinet.

I think, in retrospect, I should have picked up a little digital combo amp and been done with it... **** the lure of tubes!

Signed,

Suckerborneveryminute.

 

[redmax61]

I tried a Torres kit a while back and was also sorely dissapointed by what I ended up with. They have a few great ideas, but when the rubber meets the road, they aren't very good deals. The fact that they don't give refunds makes them all the more shady to me. It seems like everyone I know who's tried them ends up feeling like they've been suckered.

I was the sucker born back in 1996.

 

[ctoddrun]

Well, I tried it through the 4x12 last night.


The sound was a bit fuller, but the prominent mids were only slightly tamed by the bigger speaker cab.

Still unhappy with that purchase.


After fooling around with it for a while, I plugged in my Stiletto (for the first time since I picked up the Mark IV).

Stiletto is easier to control in "home" situations (the volume knob isnt nearly as touchy as the Marks), so that was good.

Sad thing it, I bet no one knows anything about Boogie Mite on Ebay and I'm gonna end up taking a beating on that deal.

****.

 

[dante]

This thing ROCKS.

It has a clean tone of a Fender Bassman, at a REASONABLE volume. The tubes are running hot all the time (class-a style) and they sound great quiet or loud. And yes, it gets pretty dang loud. I'm playing through a single 1x12 now, but I plan on using 2 once I put another speaker out jack in the back of this thing.

I tried virtually every little tiny tube amp on the market for a couple weeks; Mesa, Orange, Fender, Crate, Vox, Marshall, etc. Nobody beat the Torres. The Orange (Tiny Terror) and the Vox (AC 15) were the only things close. I personally think the Tiny Terror from Orange was modeled directly after the Torres Boogie Mite. The similarities are many, but the Torres has more features. Two inputs, high and low gain for tonal variations. Pull-bright EQ knobs...Low, Mid and High, to further shape your tones. And lastly, a direct out jack and line level, for running without a speaker...into a mixer, ideal for recording.

For recording, practicing, and probably gigging, this baby has tone from quiet to loud. A luxury not afforded to my old 100w heads. I (like many others) have grown accustomed to practicing with my amp sounding like it's buried under a wet blanket because the tone sucks at a low volume...NO MORE! I have seen the light and it is small.

 

[Pinweaver]

So you registered to bump a 2 year old thread, and your post reads like an ad. How much do they pay you?

 

[dante]

So sorry I caught the boutique bug later than you, Pinweaver. Why so bitter?

Why did I "bump a two year old thread?" I wasn't feeling the love from the non-believers out there. I wrote my glowing review because I mean it...I spent a LOT of hours trying other amps. It truly sounds the best.

I'll admit, the Vox, THD, and the Orange were just as nice sounding, but lacked many of the EQ tweaking capabilities. This one gave me the most bang for my buck.

The guy I bought it from called me the next day to ask if I would change my mind. I said no, why? He promptly told me he would be ordering another one after hearing it through my cabinet, with my Tele. Nuff said.

 

[Charlie]

I bought the Tiny Tone kit from Torres Engineering a few years ago. The main reason I bought it was for the fun of building my own guitar amp. It's 1.5 watts and sounds really good through my marshall 4x12. 1.5 watts is a lot louder than you would expect. Not much bass out of it though.

That's a real bummer that you don't like your amp. People seem pretty hot and cold when it comes to buying stuff from Dan Torres. Either they are thrilled with their purchase or they hate it.

Have you tried contacting him to see if there is some sort of mod you can do to tame the midrange on the amp? It's all point to point wiring so changing a resistor and/or a pot really shouldn't be that tough to do.

 

[dante]

I've been using this little head for a few months now, and I still love it.

I own the hi-watt version (switchable between 7 & 15 watts) and have found it to be loud enough to keep up with a drummer. It could be louder, but it couldn't sound better. I read somewhere that someone else was having a tough time getting a loud clean sound out of it. Since I pretty much run the amp clean all the time & use stomp boxes for distortion, here's what works for me:

Input: Hi Gain
Gain: 3

Volume: adjust to taste
Low: 6
Mid: 6
Hi: 6
Master: 10
*Note* I don't pull the EQ knobs (for the optional "bright" setting) because, while they boost the signal, they also can account for some overdrive.

 

[phyrexia]

Tiny Terror is an AC15 with another gain stage, not a Boogie Mite. Although a Boogie Mite might be an AC15 with another gain stage...

 

[MikeyV311]

...I ordered a boogie mite 3w kit to build last summer as my first tube amp project. Luckily I know enough about electronics to make it through shoddy instructions, but I was still successful on my first try! Although it was buzzy and noisy in general, it worked. Anyway the head had just been sitting around bc I got my first boogie (rectoverb s2)... but a couple weeks ago I decided I should ressurect my lil 3w head with better wire and soldering! (I've gotten better over the past year... hehe). So I finished it today... and this thing fuckin rocks. In terms of tone it gives my rectoverb a run for its money. I got the torres kit for 500 and the recto for 700. I still ccant believe I got that RoV so cheap. But here's what I found... I decided to take the line out of the boogie mite into the instrument input of my mesa... and it is THE BEST thing I've ever heard. Instantly addicted. Sorry for the long post I'm very excited. Ill post some pics and hopefully some clips soon!

 

[Vogelsong]

...I ordered a boogie mite 3w kit to build last summer as my first tube amp project. Luckily I know enough about electronics to make it through shoddy instructions, but I was still successful on my first try! Although it was buzzy and noisy in general, it worked. Anyway the head had just been sitting around bc I got my first boogie (rectoverb s2)... but a couple weeks ago I decided I should ressurect my lil 3w head with better wire and soldering! (I've gotten better over the past year... hehe). So I finished it today... and this thing f%&# rocks. In terms of tone it gives my rectoverb a run for its money. I got the torres kit for 500 and the recto for 700. I still ccant believe I got that RoV so cheap. But here's what I found... I decided to take the line out of the boogie mite into the instrument input of my mesa... and it is THE BEST thing I've ever heard. Instantly addicted. Sorry for the long post I'm very excited. Ill post some pics and hopefully some clips soon!

Some pics and clips would be nice.

 

[MikeyV311]

I know I'm bringing to life an older thread here, but some pictures/and or sound samples were requested concerning my Torres Boogie Mite 3W Build..

SO Here are some pictures of my completed build. (hoping that this link will work...) Also I plan to upload some audio clips for anyone who might be interested. I plan on using a self-built TS808 Clone from DIYGuitarGadgets with the samples, and of course there will be samples of guitar direct to amp. =)

http://s749.photobucket.com/user/MikeyV311/slideshow/Torres%20Boogie%20Mite%203W%20DIY%20Build%20Progress%20Pictures

 

[gonzo]

half of santana's old classic sound, was sheer volume being pumped thru 12" speakers breaking up from the volume.

it's impossible to cop that sound without moving air.

 

[Vigo1999]

for 450-ish i rather go with one of these:


http://www.pedroneshop.com/amplificadores/titan.html#

more features
more power
and way more beautiful 8)