Cheap, Reliable dorm room amp?

westtexasred · Post by **westtexasred** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 5:50 am

light rail coyote wrote:old musicmaster bass amp is the clear choice

Or maybe one of these.

Freddy V-C · Post by **Freddy V-C** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 4:58 pm

hotrodperlmutter wrote:pathfinder 15. or 10 if you don't want or need a footswitch/reverb/trem option.

► Show Spoiler

bang for your buck, the 15 is one of the greatest solid state amps i've ever played. in fact, it is the greatest solid state amp i've ever played under $300. you can get them for like $60 if you hunt right. plus, you can hook them up to a cab, or not, and still jam in a 3 piece. LOUD.

10's are about the same money, but still sound great.

This.

I played the Pathfinder 10 in a shop the other day and it sounded awesome! The gain channel left a lot to be desired but I really really liked the cleans, and that's what pedals are for I guess.

Post by **Doog** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 5:11 pm

Honestly, I can't recommend a small modelling amp enough. Lord knows I wouldn't want to be sinking cash into valves and maintenance for an amp that I'm just tooling around on at low volumes.

Even tiny tube amps need to be cranked to make them worth while; digital modelling will do a good enough approximation of those sounds but at low volumes and on headphones.

Post by **Mike** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 5:13 pm

True that man. That Zoom Fire Doog has is very nice, as are the following:

Vox Valvetronix
Fender Vibro Champ XD

Freddy V-C · Post by **Freddy V-C** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 5:15 pm

Mike wrote:True that man. That Zoom Fire Doog has is very nice, as are the following:

Vox Valvetronix

Agreed. But don't make the mistake of getting one of the high-gain versions like I did (I think they're called XL Series or something). I assumed after owning one that all the Valvetronix amps would be that bad, but then a friend bought one of the regular versions and it sounds sexay.

Post by **Mike** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 5:17 pm

yeahyeah, just the original ones.

johnniespring · Post by **johnniespring** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 12:17 am

i have a vox cambridge 15. it sounds good for a small amp.

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 12:26 am

i miss my cambridge 15

Skip · Post by **Skip** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 3:21 am

JJLipton wrote:No amp at all. Honestly, after dorming for a year in a cramped room with a roommate i can tell you playing any instrument at any volume is likely to disturb your neighbors. Go for an FX processor with headphones, the much better and more considerate solution. If you're a music major, or even if you're not you can use the schools practice rooms if you really wanna pump out the volume.

this ^^^^

lorez · Post by **lorez** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 10:27 am

I can say that the valvetronix are great little amps and the new models have the power switch thing on them so you can crank it at lower wattages. The headphone socket is great as well. I really liked mine a lot and if it wasn't for space and needing the cash I would of kept it.

tomin8r · Post by **tomin8r** » Sat Mar 20, 2010 12:22 am

Alright, thanks gents

It's down to the valvetronix and the bugera right now.

I'm prob gonna get the vox, but I have always been curious about playing through a tube amp.

Thanks again

Cheers

riotshield · Post by **riotshield** » Sat Mar 20, 2010 2:55 am

You can always give a try to the vox ac4. The built in attenuator will give you tube breakup at low volumes. And its not that expensive either. Not to mention that u can do small gigs with that thing as long as its mic'd

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Sat Mar 20, 2010 3:25 am

acoustic 260
can be loud as fuck, or quiet as a mouse
headphone input, aux output, yeahh
could use for gigs or bedroom usage, just buy an overdrive pedal.
and you can run a bass or guitar through it!

or this'll do

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Sat Mar 20, 2010 4:29 am

you have one of those acoustic 260's josh?

i'm curious to hear what they sound like.

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Sun Mar 21, 2010 10:11 pm

yes i do!
they're pretty good, i'll have to demo it...

MikeG · Post by **MikeG** » Sun Mar 21, 2010 10:14 pm

The little Vox Pathfinder amps are fantastic.

Oh, and a +1 for Doog's Zoom amp. It's versatile, too!

jumbledupthinking · Post by **jumbledupthinking** » Wed Mar 24, 2010 2:36 pm

I personally really like my Champion 600...The woman downstairs from me is super-lairy about noise & this allows me to practise whatever time I like without her kicking off & sounds pretty good for my needs. Also, 1st post - been lurking a while, but too scared to post before now, as I'm picking up that loads of people are spamming this forum to get to the classifieds. Rest assured that (whilst I am interested in the classifieds), I'm not into that