5-Watt Tubemeister Announced

Hughes & Kettner have confirmed my suspicions by adding another model to the Tubemeister range – but they’ve surprised me by going even smaller and making a physically tiny 5-watt amp.

The Tubemeister 5 strips the concept down to the bare minimum – a single 12AX7 pre-amp tube and 12BH7 power tube pump out 5 watts on one channel with a switchable drive mode – just 5 knobs (3-band EQ, master and gain) and a drive button on the front panel. The glowing perspex front is still present and correct, of course.

In keeping with the bigger model, you still get the built-in Red Box DI, but the power soak is limited to full power and silent recording modes, there’s no choice of wattage. You still get the carry bag, making this 25x15cm (10″x6″) box a very portable bit of kit at only 3.5kg. Given how much volume is on tap when the Tubemeister 18 is running at 1-watt, I’m not sure this will make the greatest practice amp – H&K seem to be aiming this at studio and rehearsal use, the ability to run the Red Box output into a PA system makes stage volumes possible, but the lack of a footswitch and shared controls mean it’s more of a set-and-forget amp for nailing a specific sound.

I’m interested in seeing where they can go from here, this is clearly aimed at a perceived gap in the market but given how tiny this model is, I wonder whether they’ll now look at adding features rather than going even smaller. Perhaps the delays in getting the Tubemeister 18 stocked indicate a supplier constraint on components, and this is Hughes and Kettner’s solution.

The Tubemeister 5 will be available as a head and 1×10 cab, and a 1×8 combo – neither model has reverb this time.