Home Practice Amp

[warwick.hoy]

Call this Subscribed. I'm looking for a cheapish low watt tube amp for home and recording use as well. Trying to replace a Fender Frontman 15r that just sounds too weak and tinny to me. And I really want to join the ranks of the tube illuminati.

As a bassist I'm not really serious about gigging on guitar until I start getting into it more and becoming more creative. I do have an old Hammond A-111 that I intend to gut out and turn into a guitar amp (also got an old Peavey 2x10/2x15 bass cab that is unloaded, might be awesome to wire up two guitar voiced and two bass voiced speakers into it,....may not be the ideal cab for such a project,....but I like trial and error). I don't think it will be a gig worthy amp though but that's all for another thread.

I'm alright with getting loud as I live in a house. However; Loud = me time,....Quiet = when other folks are around and I'm trying to get some practice in while still being considerate.

The Pignose GV40V has been a contender in the past because of it's inexpensiveness (there is or at least was one sitting in a local pawnshop).

I had an Epi Valve Jr and it's loud,...probably would be fine for me since I live in a house now but at the time I was in an apartment,....but it's not exactly feature packed and sucks as a bass amp hich is what I was trying to do with it,...probably could have made it work with some modifications and using a bass cab. I'm not opposed to having another go with one.

The Bugera V5 is also something I'm interested in,....but being a Berhinger product has me a little meh. I guess it would be fine for light home use which is all a 5 watt amp is good for anyway.

Someone has an Vintage Silverface Fender Champ on the local CL; non original. I'd be keen on that considering they only want $240 for it.

Another potential home practice amp would be a vintage Ampeg B-15N Portaflex sitting in a pawnshop at the moment. Would be great for bass and I bet would be killer on guitar paired up with an appropriate cab. The only problem is,....I don't have a spare $1000 laying around :sadface:

I'm definitely gonna look into some of the other amps mentioned.

Good thread.

[Chankgeez]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8wR7atjB8g[/youtube]

[spitshaded]

I have a Silverface Fender Vibro Champ as my bedroom amp & adore the living shit out of it.

[madmax1012]

i've got an AC15 and a Pathfinder. great amps, and i can play both in my dorm room without pissing off anyone.

[Gone Fission]

Pathfinder is a good pick. It has it's limits, but the sucker just sounds good and works.

ZT Lunchbox is likely more spendy than you intend, is a touch overpowered for bedroom use ( you have to dial the volume pretty low), and has but a single tone knob so you like it or not. But it's small, fairly pleasant aesthetically, and also is a handy backup for rehearsal or gigs.

[coldbrightsunlight]

I love my laney vc15, pretty cheap (maybe less so in the us?), voxy sounding, sounds good at low volume and turned up it's sexy as hell. I tried a vox ac-15 and that was pretty similar, just more expensive and it has tremolo. Fender champ 600 is nice but a bit limited, fender blues jrs sound really good. That's about all I've tried I think...

[theavondon]

Someone has an Vintage Silverface Fender Champ on the local CL; non original. I'd be keen on that considering they only want $240 for it.

HABLMAHABAHAMBAHA GET THAT

[huggernaut]

I love my laney vc15, pretty cheap (maybe less so in the us?), voxy sounding, sounds good at low volume and turned up it's sexy as hell. I tried a vox ac-15 and that was pretty similar, just more expensive and it has tremolo. Fender champ 600 is nice but a bit limited, fender blues jrs sound really good. That's about all I've tried I think...

I've heard good things about the Laney Cubs too, but finding places to play them is always difficult here.


Also, Chankgeez... if only I had the cash.

[hclapp219]

I have a Silverface Fender Vibro Champ as my bedroom amp & adore the living shit out of it.

This describes my situation as well.

I previously had the Vox AC4Tv; it was a nice little amp but I prefer how the Vibro Champ handles pedals. It let's more off their character come through if that makes any sense.

[grindonomicon]

Also, Chankgeez... if only I had the cash.

Oh yeah.

Then you have to add in the Bad Cat Little Cat's and the Matamps Mini's + Little Rocks, etc... The small Matamps had two clean and two overdrive voicings, now I think they do seperate clean minimat and a high gain one.

In the affordable realm, a Blackheart Little Giant (or one of the other multitude of) - 5 watt amps with a half power switch might be a good compromise. I like the Ant and the Handsome Devil enough that I'll end up owning a Little Giant someday. The Jet City PicoValve looks interesting too.

[Chankgeez]

Also, Chankgeez... if only I had the cash.

Yeah, I've been wanting one pretty much since they first came out. I've never had anywhere near the amount of cash to plunk down on one of those amps.
Until then, I guess I'll have to keep playing thru my little Pignose.

Not as readily available as a new amp, but there are some nice small vintage tube amps that can still be had for not too many bucks. You just have to look around. A funky 5 watter from Kay, Supro, Alamo, Magnatone or some such brand may be just what you're looking for.

[jesterhead]

Home volume is pretty low

Since that's the case any low wattage amp you like the sound of would do just fine. No way you'll run out of clean headroom.

Although i can't see why someone needs low wattage amps for home use when we are talking about clean sound. I have a Fender silverface Bandmaster
and sounds just fine even in extremely low volume

[willc]

For the not so loud jamming I am running a Silvertone 1482 and a 68 Vibrochamp in stereo and it gives out some nice sounds.

[The4455]

I'd look into the new Acoustic lead series amps, they are solid state, but the clean sound is JC-120 esque, and alot cheaper. I played through two different ones, the 1x12 and the 2x12, both sounded really good, definitley worth checking out. Oh also, loud as FUCK, when turned up, but good at low volumes too.

[Birthday Boy]

I've heard good things about the Laney Cubs too, but finding places to play them is always difficult here.

I have a Cub 12r (15w 1x12). It's a cool amp for the price. Has a >1w input. Voicing is vaguely reminiscent of a Marshall Plexi.

Pros: Half the price of a Blues Jr. Pretty decent clean as well as dirty (has a master volume and the preamp gain sounds pretty nice). Regular bass/mid/treble controls as well as a tone knob with a broad sweep which is nice since I switch between a Tele and LP ( LP = hard right, Tele = 9 o'clock). Has an FX loop bur I've never used it. Fairly usable reverb. Borderline usable in a band situation. Takes pedals pretty well.

Cons: Sound is a bit boxy (higher volume = more so). The speaker efficiency does not seem optimal. The distortion can be fizzy, more so w/ singlecoils. No standby switch.

Worth noting: The 12r and head version are EL84 designs. The 8 is one 6v6 and the 10 is two.