The Ultimate Practice Amp?

Hey guys!

So, I'm in the market for a a practice amp. My main, and live rig is complete, and when I have the opportunitty to crank up, my Mesa will still be my amp of choice!

But, at low volumes, the amp doesn't have very much life to it....figures, it's a 100 watt tube amp.....Not to mention hauling it around can be quite the pain.

So, I'm looking for a small combo. Peak Wattage doesn't really matter, as it will never compete with a drummer. The most it will do is playing with another guitarist. Budget is being kept open...I'll save if I have to, but also keep it within reason.

Tone, I need clean and overdrive....not too heavy, but it needs to be able to get into hard rock/high gain territory...no metal, but some agression in the playing.

So, tube, solid state, whatever...I need good tone in a mobile package, that I can acheive without pushing it too much. I'd like 2 footswitchable channels, but will settle for one channel if it fits the criteria.

Obviously, the Valvetronix and Cube come to mind. The new Peavey combo (the really little tube one....I think it's a JSX actually) also looks very intriguing....

All opinions are welcome! Thanks guys!

Hmmmmm........





































Mark IV!!!!!!!!!

u culd give the roland cube a try. i bought a guitar off a guy who had one. sounded alright, considering its a 1x12 (i think) combo. best to go solid state if you really want to, considering its only a practice amp. you would want it to sound clear, so it doesnt make you sound crap, even though you are playing good. back to the topic. randall combos, either 1 speaker or 2 doesnt matter, sound pretty good good. nice and tight. give those a try

Practicing = zoom + phones !

:shock: :shock: :shock:

Check out any of these

Line 6 flextone combo's
Valvtronix
Tech 21 combos
POD/podxt.

Now if you want to spend more, check out:

Line 6 Vetta combos
Axe-fx . This last piece is a rack unit, but it has amp simulation, top of the line effects, and cab simulator. so it's not cheap, 1500, but it's a lot of equipment. But with the cab simulators you can just us that straight into your PC for recording or into a pair of speakers for jamming. You can also use it into a poweramp and cab too. Plus, you could also use it as a multi-effects unit with your live rig too, it has 2 loops, so you could place one before the preamp and one after. Anyways Go to the website (google it) and you'll find some clips.

But for practice, I'd just go for something cheaper, like some of the first suggestions or try and stay under 500. The vetta and the axe-fx you can use for practice, but both cost around 1500, and for that price you can get close to a new boogie head. Then again, those last 2 suggestions are also cable of a lot of things (can use as backup, use it live, go straight into the PA with them etc).

Just thought of some more to try out, although not sure if these will get you those kind of sounds.

But maybe look at the orange tiny terror, it might still be pretty loud given that it's tube and only goes down to 7 watts. Never seen one but would think it'd be cool to try it out. Also Zvex makes a half watt head, called the Nano, but that doesn't give you heavy tones, but it can drive a 4x12 cab too. I think they have a video on their site showing the sounds, it's more classic rock I think. But Maybe with an OD pedal it'll get you there. That thing is tiny, it can fit in the palm of your hand.

I been wanting to get the Epiphone ValveJr. tube head. Reviews are excellent on it. Where else can you pick up a brand new head with EL84/12AX7 power for $99.00.
Plus there are mods that can be done to it for under $50.00.

Oh one more to check out..

Crate Powerblock. They're only 100 bucks now, and I have one that I use as a backup in case something goes down during a gig (it's 150 watts mono bridged) and use it for practice (I practice in a small room where hauling my head and cab is not really an option or worth it). With the gain maxed it gets decent amount of gain, I could see someone wanting a tad bit more, but not necessarily 'needing' more. You can find those easy at guitar center, and they have a 5 year warranty. Only one channel but responds surprisingly well to volume given it's a solid state. I'd say it sound something like a marshal JCM800, in that vein.

Peavey transtube amps are great sounding and actually retain some tube character when pushed. My first amp was a peavey blazer 158 with reverb. They are small lightweight combos that will get the job done for just goofing around at home or low level jams. There are many different versions of the transtube series along with many different models. You can probably find a used combo for under $100 and it definitely will provide years of trouble free use.

I'd suggest the Zoom Fire 36M or the Roland Cube 30X.

I had a Traynor YCV50Blue for about 14 months and it's a good sounding amp, especially for the money used (around $500ish). 2 channel EL34's, reverb, 50 watts with a great master volume that dials in gradually. sounds good at low volume and the power is there when you need it.

I would have to second the Peavey combo, its the defacto practice amp that doesn't sound too bad at all. I know you can find just about any model from the early 90s to current for $100 to $150 used. Some are enough power to keep up with a drummer. I just had to buy a little Peavey Renown 112 from around '93 for nostalgia's sake (I had one back in the day). It sounds decent, 160 watt, three channel, and digital reverbs and delays. It isn't a Mesa, but it cost me $140. Its great to drag around the house, or to throw in the car.

what about the laney vc 15 ,its all valve ,2 channel and very portable, iuse one for practice all the time and save the valves in the boogie.
its got a great tone and is loud enough to cover the drummer.and retails for 249 uk pounds it might be cheaper in different places though

Anomaly said:

Epiphone Valve series amp.. Not sure how they sound like? but I own a epiphone galaxie 10 before.. very lo-fi sound, very vintage..great for Jazz.. but I wanted to learn shred that time, so I trade it for a Peavy XXL..

Click to expand...

i hear the epi valve junior is sweet. i tired one at the store about 2 momnths ago. its onyl 1 channel but i hear they are a modder's dream, you can do anythign to them. u can get decent heavyness(no where near a boogie though) with an OD pedal. and tis only 5 watts. tube.

The Laney 15 with reverb - the best for the money anywhere. el84s, I believe -also put in into a cabinet as big as you want. very portable flexible and cheap amp!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Traynor YCV 20. All tube 15 watts.

look for an old silverface champ ($200-300) and use a stomp box because the clean is really nice

Check out the new boogie express 5.25 0r 5.5 on their web sight

I love my Behringer GM108, best bang for the buck (IMO, 50$ new). It's a copy of the Tech21 Trademark21 and it works excellent. 15watts, SS modeling, very tweakable, controls are really responsive etc etc. I love it and I plan to put an external speaker jack on it.
I prefer this amp to the Roland Cubes, Laney HCM series, all those little marshalls..
Here are two clips that i made with it

GM108 test

Whisper- note, I connected the behr to the mesa vintage blackshadow speaker(not so fond of it, really) to make this clip.

I'm using, Epi. Valve Junior to study and practice with. I feed that into my MESA 1x12 3/4 back widebody extension or speaker of my Torres Eng. Moded Fender Blues Jr. , with Jensen (C12 series) special edition?
Very nice for the Price $99 Valve Jr.
Usually use extension with Mark IV