What was your best..................

[greb232]

practice amp. I need to get a small amplifier for my focus 6000. I live in an apartment so looking for a small portable amp with headphones. I can't decide on which one. I won't be gigging with this just practice and jamming on my own. I have been looking at the microcube, Vox DA5, and some others. I play mostly classic rock, blues etc. No death metal or anything like that. Any help would be appreciated. I can't seem to find a decent amp that sounds good at a low volume.

[atomicholiday]

Line 6 Spider III 75 combo. Hands down. They're EXTREMELY veratile. You can get one with less power if you need since you're in an apartment. And they're pretty cheap. Go check one out.:thumbsup

[JGB]

I have a Peavey Classic 30 combo. I paid $300 for it used and it was worth every penny. Nice clean tones, and distortion ranges from blues to 70's hard rock.
I sometimes put the TS-9 tube screamer in front of it and it breaks up beautifully. Small and quiet enough for the house and enough volume and tone for a small club gig.
It's 16" high and 19" wide.

[mike-o]

Get one of those Vox modeling amps. Or, if you're OK with headphone practice, a Behringer V-amp 2.

[JGB]

Sorry, you can't plug headphones into the Peavey...I just re-read your post. Marshall makes a few small amps in the 10 to 100 watt range that you can plug headphones into.

[mmmtacos]

I :thumbsup haven't found one that's solid state that sounds good. maybe a small tube amp...

[mmmtacos]

I never tried it but have you tried this one?
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Kustom-Tube-12A-Practice-Amp?sku=481230

[JGB]

The Peavey is a tube...I prefer the tube amps myself.

[mrcrazyhimself]

He said practice amp, I got a 15 watt spider II line 6, its good enuff for practice.

[spider94r]

Just want to play through headphones? Get a Line6 Guitar Port for your computer and enjoy about a million different tones and effects.

[bkeen]

http://www.keencentral.com/pub/RMSoloist.jpg

:D

:thumbsup

[xbolt]

100 watts (2x50) stereo...:D
Great units available as a Head or Combo...I got both used for less than 5 bills and I trashed the combo heavily for 15+ years :thumbsup

Combo has 6.5" 50W Pyle Driver speakers...Amazing sound in a "lunch-box" sized enclosure!!! :notworthy
Headphones sound great too!

Both have the same features:
- Headphone jack included!
- Use it with a mono or stereo cab
- Transistor so it's light
- Chorus, Delay, Compressor
- Direct Input
- Effects Loop

http://solarwinds.ca/tunz/GK205M5.jpg

http://solarwinds.ca/tunz/GK205R8.jpg

[matt3846]

Just want to play through headphones? Get a Line6 Guitar Port for your computer and enjoy about a million different tones and effects.

I second that. Although I got tired of having to be near the computer and went out and got a Pocket Pod this weekend.

--Matt

[kellcats521]

Guitar Port is the only way to go for practice - too many options available for it to even begin to compare it to any 'amp'.

Unless you're in a position to buy 4-5 amps, I wouldn't even consider a 'practice' rig - they're at best 'close' to a 'real' amp tone-wise, and even then you'll be putting pedals in front of it and fiddling more than playing. With the Guitar Port, you'll sound 'close' to 500 different 'real' amp rigs (rather than one or 2), and it won't cost any more $$.

[bkeen]

Guitar Port is the only way to go for practice - too many options available for it to even begin to compare it to any 'amp'.

Unless you're in a position to buy 4-5 amps, I wouldn't even consider a 'practice' rig - they're at best 'close' to a 'real' amp tone-wise, and even then you'll be putting pedals in front of it and fiddling more than playing. With the Guitar Port, you'll sound 'close' to 500 different 'real' amp rigs (rather than one or 2), and it won't cost any more $$.

Ladies and Gentlemen, hell has just frozen over! :D

Pat, I never in my wildest dreams would have thought you would be prop'n a digital system! :D
I know, for "Practicing" but still...
And I am leaning back towards tubes! :D
What's that all about!

Damn, you were my Tube pillar! The diehard tubester....

Just kidding you Pat!

I would love to hear your big rig though! I would settle for seeing a signal path at the moment though....

:notworthy :notworthy

[cc85]

For practice guitar port all the way...I cant put my guitar down after I bought one of these. The amount of tones is endless. I usually play through headphones but when I dont I use a spider III 15 W amp and it sounds great for practice.

[kellcats521]

Ladies and Gentlemen, hell has just frozen over! :D

Pat, I never in my wildest dreams would have thought you would be prop'n a digital system! :D
I know, for "Practicing" but still...
And I am leaning back towards tubes! :D
What's that all about!

Damn, your were my Tube pillar! The diehard tubester....

Just kidding you Pat!

I would love to hear your big rig though! I would settle for seeing a signal path at the moment though....

:notworthy :notworthy
Bruce - I've owned every amp made....:lol from Rockman to G-K to Seymour to Fender to Laney to Crate to Marshall to Epihone to ART to ADA to.... well, you get the drill. :whistle

Here's the deal - first, I'll get fired up for this, but I'll unequivocally say that all solid state amps sound like aZZ. I don't care who made it and what crappy, little speakers are in it or how many women pee'd in it - they all, at best, are 'close' to real amp tone. 'Close' enough to make you think that you should have spent more $$ on the tube rig....:banghead

Now, this guy is looking for an apartment-use practice amp. Keep this in mind thru my dissertation.

As you know, the ONLY thing that sounds WORSE than a solid state amp is a tube amp with a master volume and a gain/preamp vol control where the preamp is dime'd and the master is still on the zero stop - this is TOTAL AZZ tone - buzzy and basically shitty.... A tube amp has to saturate the power amp section to get you to tone heaven - there is no other way.....

So the next step is to up the master vol a bit and back off the preamp, then put a fuzz box in front - so now we get MORE solid-state, buzzy crap and still no power amp tube saturation. At this point, the 40-60W tube amp that you just spent 1.5K or more for new appears to be more effective as a boat anchor after you tie a guitar cord around it....(I will say, however, that a 'good' tube screamer is sonic bliss when put in front of a tube amp that has the master vol. above 8 :notworthy - the tone will simply envelop you right before your ears start bleeding :D )

Maybe a 5W tube amp is a good alternative (I also have one of these about 20' from me right now).....

Guess again, Batman - a dime'd 5W amp thru an 8-10" open back cab is TOO LOUD for every apartment dwelling on the planet (except the dorms at GIT :D ) Maybe a 1-2W tube amp would work???? It may, for about $1,200 with a suitable cabinet (actually you'll spend more, but we're just takling here :D ), but it's TOTALLY worthless for anything else (like a BAND, maybe??) unless your 'apartment' has room for that 12 channel 300W PA SYSTEM to mike that 1W sucker up over the drummer (this also apples to the Rockman and the G-K, both of which are 'trinkets' IMO, and I've owned both).

So, we're left with owning a 1-2W tube based (and I won't get into the class A vs. A/B debate, but 1-2W will be class A which IS a good tube tone when saturated, but I prefer the old-skol Marshall A/B tone which really puts you at a low end output of ~18W, which again is WAAAAYYY too loud for an apartment) amp AND a second 40-60W (or more) tube rig to gig. That means were spending 2 - 2.5K on amps.

We can also discuss attenuators (I gots 3 of these too:lol ) - they work, if you buy a good one (the bad ones, like the Marshall power brake, rank up there with the amp listed above that I wrapped a guitar cable around), but they're also expensive, and they have a nasty habit of blowing up amps....:arrg They blow up amps not because of what they do (they basically take the majority of the amp's signal and use it to do something else besides move the speaker's magnet), but because of HOW they do it - a good attenuator works SO WELL that you'll have your Marshall Bluesbreaker Reissue (nice tube amp at ~$2K) dime'd ALL DAY while you watch 8 hrs of sunday football and plink on the guitar. This is great until you understand that running any tube amp maxed out for that long for days on end WILL blow it up, irrrespective of whether your ears bleed all day or the attenuator jacks off with all of that output power :censored


Soooo...... Why not buy the guitar port, which with the riff tracker is also a very neat digital recording device, for less than $160, and then buy a good tube rig to gig with. Hell, you can plug the 'port into a mixer and A/B them for: a 'great' tube tone thru your tube rig, and a 'close' everything else thru the port.... :idea

[Lightningdan]

my recordings done with guitar port have fooled a LOT of people into thinking I used a tube amp.

[pel666]

I got a Tubeamp that takes the 6N1P tube and is about 2W...and cranked thru a 4x12 it is still way loud. You get good tubesound however at reasonable sound levels...AX84 has some good projects, I did the Hi-Octane...the firefly is also very cool, IIRC one of our forumbros has a sweet one, maybe he can chime in :thumbsup

[kellcats521]

I got a Tubeamp that takes the 6N1P tube and is about 2W...and cranked thru a 4x12 it is still way loud. You get good tubesound however at reasonable sound levels...AX84 has some good projects, I did the Hi-Octane...the firefly is also very cool, IIRC one of our forumbros has a sweet one, maybe he can chime in :thumbsup

Mies - you're confirming what I'm saying, in that even a 2W tube amp is too LOUD for an apartment when you crank it up enough to get tone..... And, an attenuator on that 2W rig will blow it up in a year or so if you run it dime'd for 8 hrs a day/4-5 days a year. Not to mention that your 2W rig plus an attenuator AND a cabinet is going to approach $2,000 new as this is all boutique stuff - I know you built most of your stuff, but I don't think our apartment dweller is equipped with a solder/work station where he can conjure up one of these....:help

And, shelling out 2K for an amp that can only be used to practice (assuming the typical garage band is not set up to mike/PA that 1-2W amp over the drummer when practicing) is hardly a wise expenditure.

[pel666]

Yes we are on the same track, just wanted to make a few comments...just for the heck of it ;)

My Amp was only about $400, incl. trannies and Tubes...single A 6N1P tube was about $10, so if you install an additional load resistor (to prevent any possible damage, which is unlikely anyways) you wouldn't mind to exchange it once a year :headbang And for little $$'$'s add an Octal socket to have about 12W which is quite decent to gig with on a 4x12 in clubs...

[KramerUK]

Just to play devils advocate, but if you're in your apartment, why buy an amp?? Just buy a good effects box, like the Pod, or guitar port. then invest in a good set of headphones, and a set of PC speakers with a sub, for when the neighbours are out???

Its for practice, and if your are not a tone nut who has to have it sounding perfect in the house, so do it on the cheap and save some money up for a good amp for when you are gigging.

All I use is an old Boss GT-3 through my PC with 2 little deskop speakers linked to sub under the table.

[kb7010]

100 watts (2x50) stereo...:D
Great units available as a Head or Combo...I got both used for less than 5 bills and I trashed the combo heavily for 15+ years :thumbsup

Combo has 6.5" 50W Pyle Driver speakers...Amazing sound in a "lunch-box" sized enclosure!!! :notworthy
Headphones sound great too!

Both have the same features:
- Headphone jack included!
- Use it with a mono or stereo cab
- Transistor so it's light
- Chorus, Delay, Compressor
- Direct Input
- Effects Loop

http://solarwinds.ca/tunz/GK205M5.jpg

http://solarwinds.ca/tunz/GK205R8.jpg

+1000 on that amp.. I have 2... great at low volume... can get one on flebay very cheap... I would highly recommend a G/K amp.. :thumbsup
you can also gig out with it.. I have.. lol

[greb232]

How is the line 6 pod. It is $129 at musicians friends. Or do you guys think that I need the PODXT for 299.99

[greb232]

By the way thank you for all of your advice. What a great response.

[Lightningdan]

you can get by with the regular pod but you can't use it with guitarport due to it not having USB. if you want to use it just at home just get the guitarport unit. if you want to go gigging get the pod xt live.. because its usb and you can write patches on your computer and dump them into the pod and share files that bruce and I write. (and a host of other people that have pods and guitar port)

[coolhandswrmhrt]

marshall 1 watt practice amp...35 bucks

Tom

[Swanutt]

I know you are going to think I'm pulling you leg on this but, go to Sam Ash and play through one of those RED amps called Guitar Research, no really, try the 1x12 combo that is 90 or 100 watts, it is a two channel clean and dirty w/reverb, CD and Headphone jacks, it is solid state with a 12AX7 pre amp tube which if have some different pre amp tubes they will change the character of the sound, I have one myself and play on it ALL the time and I'm a Marshall guy, I've had this amp 3 years and not one problem with it. the only thing I have done to it was swap the EH12AX7 out for a Tung Sol or Mullard and put a beam blocker over the speaker, The guys I play with have heard (dubbed Big Red) and laugh because they know I spent over $1500 on a 18watt kit put it together and loaded that with Celestion Blues and Big Red sounds better at low volumes.:arrg

[Breizman]

I use a pocket pod with headphones. The knobs are a bit tricky to achieve the sound you're after, but the sound is good, and to practice it's enough.

[isko]

Roland micro cube:thumbsup