I'm thinking of getting a practice amp. Small, no tubes & a headphone jack. Battery power and AC would be nice, but not a requirement. Thanks in advance.
Practice Amp Recommendations
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- Rated: 9 ↑
Nov 30, 2008 2:15 p.m. caliban335:
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- Rated: 41 ↑
Nov 30, 2008 3:22 p.m. bwallace1:
hi there, I got my daughter a little beginner amp not long ago. it's a Hartke G15R. it's a nice little amp. it has a clean/reverb channel and a overdrive channel. it was relativly inexpensive. here's the website for you www.hartke.com . I know that it's not a well known brand, but it'd probably be a good little practice amp for ya.
brent
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- Rated: 74 ↑
Nov 30, 2008 3:52 p.m. bonedaddy:
caliban335, are you going to play primarily through headphones? If so, have you though about one of these options:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/compare?base_pid=241197&base_pid=242037
I have the MP3 version of the guitar trainer. Some decent simulations, and you can remove most of the guitar from various tracks, as well as slow down songs without changing the pitch.
I've played it through computer speakers and it sounds pretty good.
I've gota DRRI, and Swart Spacetone Reverb for real playing
, but the little guitar trainer is a nice tool.
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- Rated: 15 ↑
Nov 30, 2008 4:00 p.m. AndyJ:
I've heard good things about the Vox DA5
If you are OK with straight AC, I've always liked the Vox Pathfinder 15R
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- Rated: 59 ↑
Nov 30, 2008 4:02 p.m. Bear:
I currently am using a Kustom '66 Dart (today's equivalent is the Dart 10FX) It is a 10 watt, 2 channel (clean & dirty) with built in analog reverb and echo (delay). I really like it. It is small (13 lbs.) but packs quite a wallop and it sounds terrific.
If you want to go a little bigger, the Kustom 12 Gauge is awesome. It has 16 watts, all the same features of the Dart and has a 12" speaker. If I had an extra $120.00, the 12 Gauge would be sitting in my den right now. I really am pleased with Kustom amps.
Here's a link for you.
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- Rated: 54 ↑
Nov 30, 2008 4:54 p.m. tartan phantom:
I'm a huge Kustom fan too. My '66 Dart is ideal for practice, and is very portable. But it still packs a nice punch!
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- Rated: 20 ↑
Nov 30, 2008 5:12 p.m. Mark G:
The Kustoms sound good. tartan phantom has mentioned the Coupe series before. Not too many dealers here though.
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- Rated: 212 ↑
Nov 30, 2008 5:13 p.m. Proteus:
I have a DA-5, and am well satisfied with it - but if I had it to do again, I'd probably go with the 5-watt Fender VibroChamp XD or its 15-watt SuperChamp XD sibling. http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=2331100000
Amazing-sounding amps, and the bigger one is plenty enough for small gigs (or mic'ed bigger gigs).
I haven't, however, heard the Kustoms.
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- Rated: 40 ↑
Nov 30, 2008 5:56 p.m. roadjunkie:
For what you are looking for +1 for the DA-5 or Roland MicroCube. My Roland had been my most played amp along with the Pod XT. My 4 watt Fargen has been getting a lot of time in but that's tube,no line out and no headphones. Sounds great at low volume and decent headroom with the 12 inch cab. I can't help myself I loves small tube amps!
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- Rated: 57 ↑
Nov 30, 2008 6:17 p.m. Curt:
G5222, I use it in the 'sitting' room and since the JB mods and the Weber it sounds strong.
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- Rated: 58 ↑
Nov 30, 2008 6:57 p.m. yettoblaster:
I recently grabbed a new Kustom 12A: it has a 12AX7 in the preamp, but does have a headphone jack. 12 watts, and a tweedy attitude. 8" speaker with a speaker out jack (and a separate line out). It drives my 1 X 12" cab nicely for more bass - less "boxy" sound. It was about 1/2 the dough of a G5222, not to bag on those - they're cool too (but the Kustom is louder with more headroom). Doesn't have reverb, but a $30 Behringer Reverb pedal works pretty good with mine.
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- Rated: 18 ↑
Nov 30, 2008 9:21 p.m. F107plus5:
I have both a VOX DA-5 and a Roland MicroCube and they're both great fun and have tons of effects and options. They both are battery powered as well as having Wal-Warts, and both have Phone outputs.
The DA-5 has up to five watts and more functions and control of those functions than the MicroCube, but the little Cube is built like a brick, and sounds like it puts out a whole lot more than the two watts that it's rated.
I like the Cube better for Jazz, and the DA-5 more for Country and(the kids)love it more for heavier forms of rock.
....but, oh well; I gotta have tubes again, so I have a spot ready for a Vibro Champ XD sometime next year.
Anyway; yeah; the MicroCube or DA-5 are sure bets for tons of fun with lots of options, and not horribly pricy for what ya get.
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- Rated: 1 ↑
Nov 30, 2008 9:26 p.m. Bear85:
I like my two little amps: a Danelectro Honeytone, which is so small I can clip it to my belt, and a Fender G-DEC (but that one can't be powered by battery). The Dano takes a 9V battery. Both have headphone jacks.
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- Rated: 30 ↑
Dec 1, 2008 1:13 a.m. greg:
I just plug my phones into my Zoom G1 multi effects pedal and bash away.It fits in the guitar case so you can take it anywhere and not bother anyone.
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- Rated: 7 ↑
Dec 1, 2008 2:16 a.m. fbama73:
I'm giving another thumbs up to the Roland Microcube. Until the holidays are over, it's the only amp we'll be using here. (Big Christmas tree + small living room = 60W Crate downstairs for the month)
Plus, after Christmas, I'm going to start work on the frankenbastard amp :)
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- Rated: 7 ↑
Dec 1, 2008 3:44 a.m. garageink:
has anyone tried those Vox amplugs? I got one and its actually pretty decent for a 30 dollar gizmo.
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- Rated: 6 ↑
Dec 1, 2008 5:30 a.m. ruger9:
It would help if you could tell us what kind of tones you're looking for...
I have a DA5 and it's great. I also just got a Dano Hodad... interesting/neat, but don't bother.
Something like the G5222 or Champion 600 might be an option, depending on the tones you want. Because anything other than "clean", and these amps can get loud (altho everyone's description of "loud" is different). I could play it clean in my living room no problem, but if I cranked it up to Keith Richards' levels, 5W is still too loud for the living room.
I am super happy with my DA5. I just wish it LOOKED like the Champion 600- it would be much more welcome in the living room!
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- Rated: 18 ↑
Dec 1, 2008 6:24 a.m. F107plus5:
Aw Bear; Doggon it.
Your "Christmas with Chet" album Avi brought back good memories of a fav album I had that was lost with all my other Chet and Duane albums that perished in the freight train succession of Hurricanes that came along in the summer of '04.
Bummer.
I can easily download all the songs of course, but the loss of that cover art is the major disaster.
...yeah, but I haven't had a turntable since about '73 either.
But anyway; the memory of that LP is well worth dragging out for the season.
Cool!
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- Rated: 9 ↑
Dec 2, 2008 9:43 p.m. caliban335:
Thanks to all for the input. I'm leaning towards the Vox DA5 @ this point.
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- Rated: 56 ↑
Dec 2, 2008 10:50 p.m. otterbean:
I've got a little DA-5. It plays well with my Gretsch guitars. Its no tube amp, but it makes up for that with its versatility and ease of use. It is tweakable. You can get a lot of sound without spending a lot of dough from these little amps. They are just loud enough for pllaying at home without bothering everyone. Just a little louder than a boom box.
I have a bunch of the little Kustom DArt 10 FX amps at school for my guitar students. They are also nice little amps. No onboard effects other than an overdrive and simple delay or reverb. They do sound quite nice. They also play well with the Gretsch guitars. They aren't as versatile as the DA-5 amp, but they are so inexpensive it isn't even funny. I think they run about 80 bucks or less.
I think the DA-5 I bought was right around 120 bucks. It was worth a little extra to have the effects onboard. My 3 year old loves to plug a microphone into the DA5 and play with the delay or rotating speaker settings.
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- Rated: 6 ↑
Dec 3, 2008 5:41 a.m. ruger9:
BTW, the DA5 is also capable of pushing a larger speaker quite nicely... you have to do a speaker out mod, which is simplicity, but this little 5W amp sounds like one of the big boys when put thru a 12" (or 2x12, or 4x12...) speaker. It becomes a "mini-head". Not so much giggable at only 5watts, but if you're going to a jam, or even if it's a small gig, as long as you move some air with a 1x12 or 2x12 cab, and/or mic it, the little DA5 can handle the chore NO PROBLEM.
All it takes is a "switching jack" installed between the speaker wire & the speaker, then put the jack itself right into the back of the cabinet (wood). Will handle 8 or 16 ohms no problem.
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- Rated: 13 ↑
Dec 3, 2008 7:32 a.m. farmerbrown:
I had a Vibro Champ XD for a while and traded it for a Super Champ XD, Proteus nailed it on both of these, I'd recommend either. I have played some small gigs at nursing homes, etc with my Super and it does a nice job, I love the delay, chorus, trem, reverb, etc., just a myriad of sounds can be gotten from it.
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- Rated: 15 ↑
Dec 3, 2008 9:05 a.m. Playboy:
The Vibro Champ XD is a great practice amp! The Super Champ XD was too loud for what I was looking for.
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- Rated: 25 ↑
Dec 3, 2008 9:32 a.m. senojnad:
I agree with ruger9 -- your best choice depends on what kinds of sounds you want and how you want to use it.
My suggestion -- take both your guitar and your headphones with you when you shop.
If you want to use headphones I think you are limited to a solid state amp -- no tubes.
I have a Roland Microcube and it is OK. To compare its sound with a quality tube amp is like comparing a table radio with a high-end surround sound system.
It works equally well with 6 AA batteries as with the wall wart.
It is very light weight (7 lbs.?) and easy to store.
For practice, it is fine. My primary issue with it is that the headphone jack ends up being useless. Even with the volume cranked, the sound via the headphones are barely audible.
It has several effect & model settings, but I don't use them. I can't offer much in that area. I get a decent clean sound with it set on "JC Clean", tone at full treble and all effects, etc., off.
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- Rated: 19 ↑
Dec 3, 2008 9:46 a.m. The Shetland:
I think a Pathfinder 15R would be the way to go if you want a vintage tone and I think they have headphone jacks as well...at least i think mine does...I'll have to check, but listening through headphones will defintely sound different than through the amp...unless you get something that's specifically designed to be heard through headphones...
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