Practice amp suggestions

[Armando Cordero]

Hey guys looking for a new practice amp soon and would like to see what you guys like out there. Looking for 15 to 25 amps with reverb. Effects added would be ok too so if you have any suggestions please list them so I can make some final decisions.

Amp will be used primarily for a little of everything and style so distortions, cleans ,reverbs and all that is important. Will use for gospel, country , rock and some blues. So list them all or a few with pros and cons.

Armando

[JVal4]

I really enjoy the GNX-3 (or 4) as a practice amp. It has a ton of sounds/ effects and it's pretty simple to edit/ store patches. The manual is VERY easy to understand. It's got the built in recorder and a drum machine, as well as the phrase trainer.

The drum machine has a click track/ metronome which is essential for musical development.

With these, you've got the option of using headphones as well.

I've also been really impressd with the new Roland practice amps. A HUGE sound (clean or distorted) and very inexpensive.

JV

[supermau]

I picked up a Roland Micro Cube last month. It fits the bill nicely for me. It's got some great amp models from acoustic to high-gain metal. It's got reverb as well as other effects. I don't find that I use the effects all that much but they're nice to have (although not extremely tweakable), especially on the cleaner settings. It's totally portable, plenty loud enough for a practice amp and very inexpensive.

Now I believe this thing is only rated at 2 watts with a little 5 inch speaker but I'll tell you it packs a wallop for such a small package. I almost bought a little Marshall MG10 before I saw this Roland. The Rolands flexibility sold me. Don't expect to jam with a band on this thing of course, but for a practice amp I think it's great.

[markg5150]

I would suggest

Roland Cube
Tech 21 Trademark 10
Vox - the cheap ones I can't remember the series - AD15 I think

[Batchimp RG]

Hey, I've been using the new little Fender FM series amp....MY GOD was I shocked at the quality! I've got the 15W to play through when I'm at home....

It has a amp modeller with many different classic amp sounds (incl 2 Marshall sounds), it has effects like reverb, distortion, delay and variations thereof.

My 2 cents: Do not buy a little 15w amp until you've tried this little thing. It fecking rocks.

Peace out

Edit: It has 2 seperate inputs for your stereo aswell. I plug my ipod straight in it and jam to tracks....sometimes through my headphones.

[S-man]

Conford Carrera...that would be sweet. Not cheap though.

THD head into a 1x12 cab would be pretty sweet too.

There's nothing like low wattage tube amps for @ home/practice/recording.

Personally, I use a EQ GE-7 > TS-808 > Tonelab SE > Solid State 90watt PA/Keyboard amp w/integrated Graphic EQ (K900FX).

This covers alot ground for me.

You can gig, play at home (reasonable volume), and record with it.

It's not perfect, but pretty darn good for not being a 100% tube rig.

Then again, it's about a thousand dollars worth of stuff. Though,I'd wind up spending alot more to get something else that does all that it does as well as it does.

I had a AD15VT recently ($179). I used a TS-808 in front of it. I also had the optional foot switch. I really liked the sound I could get from it for jamming at home. But, it didn't have an effects loop. So time based effects sounded like crap in front of it. If they made a foot controller to acccess all of the built in effects I may have kept it. Two channels and one effect wasn't cutting it for me. When I practice/play at home. I like to practice with the appropriate effects. To me, that is part of practicing.

[markg5150]

Originally Posted by S-man

Conford Carrera...that would be sweet. Not cheap though.

It certainly would !!

For simplicity and fun you can't beat a Pod straight into your PC

[S-man]

You could run the Tonelab straight to the PC too. (Same concept, differant product.)



Which is basically what I do to record. I just use the EQ to tweak things, the TS-808 as a boost, and run lineout of the Keyboard amp, Post EQ, to record.

If I want to get fancy I'll manually mic the cab and/or Mix 2 differant guitar signals, at the same time, through the 3 channel keyboard amp, then to the pc.

It's nice to have a Graphic EQ both pre and post in almost any setup.

That being said, I am a fan of keeping things simple too.



BTW...It is not my intent to start a POD vs Tonelab thing.

[jwoods986]

I'm in the market for a practice amp too. I just went to the local shop on my lunch and played a Cube 20X, AD15VT, and with Neverland's suggestion a FM (it was the 25). The guys gave me an EVH to use (sweeeeet!) with them. I tried the cube first. I ran through all the different sounds from acoustic to metal and it was ok but didn't "grab" me in any way. Next was the Vox. I've played through these before but never back-to-back with other amps. I really like these, they sound good from clean all the way to the US high gain (SLO model). Then I tried the Fender. The acoustic sim was good and the cleans were great (as expected) but the distortions didn't sound good to me. They also still have some Spider IIs left on clearance ($199 for the 1x12 75 is a steal). I'll have to take one of my guitars in and try them all again. Or just pick one and if I don't like it, they have a 7 day return policy. But so far, the Vox AD15VT is looking good to me.

[S-man]

I think part of the thing with the VOX is that it's a VOX. Alot people want what's "cool". I played the comparable crate, marshall, roland, line 6 etc., etc amps. I thought the Vox AD15VT sounded the best. Never thought I'd walk out with a Vox, but I did. It's one of the reasons I went with the Tonelab later.

In the end, It's all subjective.

[elcid]

Fender GDEC hands down. Amp models, effects, cd input, phrase sampler, backing tracks, heaphone jack, tuner,. The only drawback is it's a little pricey for a practice amp ($250ish) but it does everything and more.

[Moibanez]

I have the vox ad30vt, and for a 200 dollar practice amp, I dont think there are too many out there better, and the ad15vt sounds as good and you can find them used for 100 bucks....................mo

[red5]

Digital is okay for practice.... the Vox digitals, the Tonelab I think they are called seem to be the best...

You could also grab a Fender Blues Jr. and I'm sure you'd find uses for that other than practice -- they sound good enough to record with.

[rummy]

Roland Cube 30/60.