Recommend me a practice amp

Will · Post by **Will** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 7:57 am

I need something decent for dorm/apartment life - my night-owl tendencies require something quiet.
Here's what I'm thinking:
1. Well made = I tried some new Fender SS combos that felt like happy meal toys (Champ 600, too).
2. Super low-noise = I'm obsessive about noise; no hum, buzz, or hiss. A small amount of white noise is OK as long as it's not excessive.
3. Good cleans = never use distortion; mostly looking for Fender-ish or jazzy cleans
4. Don't care if it's tube or SS, but I definitely want analog

My budget is going to be $500 max, preferably ~$200. At least 90% of my playing is in my room, so I'm willing to spend a bit for something good. I was looking at the Weber kits, mostly the 5F2A Princeton, but I've heard varying reports about noise. I'm trying to track down a vintage champ/princeton to check out, but that's been slow going. Besides that, the general consensus is something like a new Vox Pathfinder.

Any suggestions?

blacktaxi · Post by **blacktaxi** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 8:27 am

if you need just quiet practice amp, i think you can get something like 10W Crate, for like 100$ i think.

Will · Post by **Will** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 9:02 am

blacktaxi wrote:if you need just quiet practice amp, i think you can get something like 10W Crate, for like 100$ i think.

Easier said then done, sadly. Most small amps are useless garbage - the biggest problem seems to be finding something that doesn't fart out and distort on the bass notes. I picked up a used Peavey Audition this evening that sounds good, but am returning it tomorrow because the buzz and hum is too much.

It's really defeating - I went through 3 stores today and couldn't find anything acceptable.

timhulio · Post by **timhulio** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 11:33 am

^^^ Me too, all of this. I need a cheap living room practice amp. Was thinking about the Champ 600 - there's a few mod kits available online. There's also a Gretsch branded version of this which looks way sexier:
http://www.gretschguitars.com/gear/inde ... duct=G5222

The Torres and Weber champ kits work out too expensive now due to the exchange rate, and I don't think I'm ready to build an amp yet anyway... basically I don't want my 31st year to be my last!

Did you try the Super/Vibrochamp XD. I know they're digital and evil blah blah, but do they sound any good?

More Cowbell · Post by **More Cowbell** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 2:34 pm

Epiphone valve jr. combo?

robert(original) · Post by **robert(original)** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 4:19 pm

!!!!!!! kustom makes a solid state practice amp with a tube pre-amp.
i can't remember what the modle number is or anything but i used it when i first went to st. lious and LOVED it!
it has an 8 inch speaker i believe, only like 15 watts.
has a few effects that are decent, the best is the reverb.
super small and compact but it sounds great! even the built in distortion is great, anything from low growl and overdrive to full on bawls to the wall high gain craziness.

Reece · Post by **Reece** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 4:30 pm

Champ 600 is alright but the lil speaker farts out on the bass at higher volume, way before I can get any decent tube overdrive out of it. I'm not sure if a new speaker would fix it or a 6" speaker simply isn't large enough.

Post by **Mike** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 4:41 pm

If I was getting a practise amp I would get:

Blackstar HT-5 Combo
or
Egnater Rebel 20 + cab.

robert(original) · Post by **robert(original)** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 4:51 pm

i guess you could always invest in some really nice headphones.

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 4:55 pm

Tech21 Trademark 10.

Super quiet, amazingly versatile, has a 3 spring reverb tank, you can literally play anything out of this. It's probably my favorite practice amp to date. I paid $150 for mine, used of course since they discontinued the 10 watt version (god knows why, it was the best sounding of the bunch)

euan · Post by **euan** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 5:06 pm

The Vox ADT that everyone has?

nomorebridge · Post by **nomorebridge** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 5:48 pm

Can't think of much better than a Roland cube (I've got a 60).

Jazz Chorus cha if your just into clean and jazzy sounds

Plus the second channel has acoustic/Blackface/vox/ac30/marshall/recto settings

plus some inbuilt effects and a headphone socket

The recto setting is absolutely outstanding I think....if you like that kind of thing which I do

If I could take the rectifier sim out of the amp and turn it into a footpedal I would..... but I can't but I digress!

Skip · Post by **Skip** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 6:21 pm

+1 on the epi valve junior

Will · Post by **Will** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 8:01 pm

I'm thinking Epi valve jr. or the Tech 21 trademark.

didn't care for the super/vibro champ XD. I had a Kustom tube 12 a few years back and it was a nightmare - every few weeks I was opening it up to fix a rattle or change the tube. The EVJ would be a nice choice just because there's so much information about mods.

I'm going hunting again today; I'll see what I can find.

vivadeluxxe · Post by **vivadeluxxe** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 11:39 pm

Zaphod wrote:Champ 600 is alright but the lil speaker farts out on the bass at higher volume, way before I can get any decent tube overdrive out of it. I'm not sure if a new speaker would fix it or a 6" speaker simply isn't large enough.

I've been thinking about getting one, I've seen a few for sale with a master volume mod and a mod that gets rid of the buzz... if i could find cheap enough I'd definitely pick one up...

Reece · Post by **Reece** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 11:43 pm

If you have an 4/8 ohm cab it sounds marvelous though one and on its own it's fine for practise really.

You have to like the tone though, not many tonal options.

Will · Post by **Will** » Sun Nov 30, 2008 6:15 am

Alright - I think I found it. I exchanged the buzzy Peavey for an Orange Crush 10.
It's really well made, looks ace, and is DEAD QUIET. It's absolutely amazing - there's hardly any "on noise"; even when you crank the distortion, the amp itself is buzz-free.

Sound is quite nice. Bass was a bit too much, so I popped the back panel off and that cleaned it right up. The distortion is fuzzy - kinda like a maestro fuzz tone on some settings. A nice effect, but not an all-the-time sound. Cleans are woody and stout - like a cross between a Vox AC15 and an old Champ. I'll try to record a demo in the next couple days.

Reece · Post by **Reece** » Sun Nov 30, 2008 6:27 am

Awesome-o. Cannae wait for demo.

How loud can those things go?

Will · Post by **Will** » Sun Nov 30, 2008 6:39 am

The 10 can't go extremely loud - even maxed out is comfortable in my small, reflective concrete room. It'll be loud enough when my friends and I sit around in a circle and play Johnny Cash songs with 1-2 dreadnoughts and someone playing "drums" on a notebook. Probably won't do real rehearsals or anything, though.

LimpDickCheney · Post by **LimpDickCheney** » Sun Nov 30, 2008 8:24 am

Fender Champ or Vibrochamp.