Tell me about your ultimate practice amp

[phaeton]

No this isn't a poll, and there are no wrong or right answers. But i'm curious about what *you* folks find valuable in a practice amp.

 

Maybe some of you have just one amp that you lug around all the time and are just as happy with it in the bedroom as you are on the stage.

 

But what would you look for in a "practice amp"? What kind of power are you looking at? Do you feel that keeping up with drums is mandatory?

 

What would you use it for? Do any of you "practice" during the week with your band using a practice amp, and then ship your huge rig out to play the show?

 

What sorts of features can't you live without? 3 channels? Reverb? built in effects like chorus or phaser? Footswitching? Effects loops? Preamp out for the mixer board?

 

What sorts of things do you see in other practice amps that you like? Do you need tubes front and back, or Solid-State ruggedness? Or tubed preamp and SS power amp? How about an SS preamp and EL34s in the power amp?

 

What sorts of stuff do you *wish* you could see in a practice amp? Built-in leslies? Built-in attenuators? 2 separate channels for 2 separate instruments (for that stereo chorus pedal you just can't part with)? Stereo effects loops? How about low-watted all-tube amps? A 10 or 15 watt single channel amp with only a volume control and an effects loop?

 

Have any of you ever modified an amp to do something against its will?

 

I'm willing to bet that we'll start seeing a pattern here. Things that people want that the industry doesn't deliver for whatever reason. Or maybe things that the industry does but nobody likes.

 

Just curious

[Blue Strat]

I like to keep things simple, so a classic four knob amp like an Ampeg Jet or a Fender Princeton would be ideal for me. 2 x 6V6 power tubes for around 10W of power, tremolo with speed and depth controls, and volume and a tone control (four knobs).

 

If you want more distortion, crank it up or use a stompbox. Simple setup.

[Guitarzan]

the ultimate pratice amp would sound like a nice tube amp up loud, but deliver that tone and feel at a low volume. speakers that were removable so you could spread them and put them up high so they were inline with your ears. maybe a line out for recording. i would pass on headphones. i want speakers. it would need a nice clean as well.

say 3 channels.

jazz chorus, fender clean and marshall plexi.

no extra switches or bells and whistles,just plug in and play.

[Werewolf by Night]

Right now, my ultimate "practice amp" is a Johnson J-Station digital modeling preamp and D/I gizmo through a pair of AKG K-55 headphones (they have an inherent bass-emphasis that is great for guitar and bass duties). It sounds even better for bass than for guitar, so I will probably keep it for a long time, no matter what else I get; too much of a "Swiss Army Knife" utility to ditch!

 

For an amp, in the usual sense of the word? I've got a little solid-state Danelectro "Nifty Fifty" (fifty what, I wanna know, it sure ain't watts!). It sounds pretty good for fat, full, clean tones; but for overdrive or distortion, using its onboard "Dirty-Sweet" knob? FORGET IT!

 

I've also got a strange little somewhat Champ-like Silvertone amp from the '50s, somewhere around here, that sounds great in a bluesy and rootsy rock 'n' roll way when good tubes are in it. It needs an overhaul sometime, like a cap-job and all new tubes (and they're some oddball ones, to boot). Little 8" Jensen in it! But the cab is made from some kind of compressed paperboard stuff, it imparts a mushiness to the overall sound, for sure.

[phaeton]

Yes! Tremolo!! I forgot about the Blessed Tremelo!!

[Blue Strat]

Hey Krazy K!

 

Send the Silvertone to me, I'll get it screamin' for ya! It might be one of those amps with no power transformer if it uses tubes like 50L6, 35W5, and a 12AU6. The heaters are in series with a resistor across ~120V. They can be a health hazard if plugged in wrong (chassis at +120Vac ).

[Werewolf by Night]

Hey, blue'!

 

I'll get around to doin' it myself, I just tend to put things off (but I really do eventually get around to 'em, I swear!).

 

What I definitely will do is dig it up, and send you the schematics for it (they actually included a print on the back-panel of the cabinet!) for your studious perusal.

 

I can;t remember off the top of my head, but I believe that it does include a power- as well as an output and "choke" inductor- transformer. It uses a 6V6 for the output, and a 5Y-somethin' or GZ-somethin' or 'nother for the rectifier, and a couple of oddball 6-somethin' tubes (I think) for preamp/driver duties; I believe that they're single-triode tubes.

 

There's a metal canister type of multi-capacitor dealey for filter-cap duties in the power supply, too.

 

That cab $uck$! The only really bad thing about the whole thing. Well, the "chassis" is a cheesy bent piece of sheetmetal, but it works. Blue and grey with "cream-o'-chickenhead" knobs; beautiful little tiny alnico Jensen!

 

Someone gave it to me, long story, involving association with memories of unfortunate bad-blood between two brothers decades ago, the guy just wanted it out of his house! I did tell him I'd never sell or part with it, in case he ever changed his mind. (I wish the two of them could see eye to eye over stupid things!)

[BillWelcome Home Studios]

I've mentioned it before... I'm mostly using the Brian May Model Vox.

 

Bill

[michael saulnier]

My practice amp is my THD UniValve.

 

It's got a lot of nice "practice" features.

 

With its ability to change tubes, I can get a bunch of great sounds.

 

With the built in attenuator, I can reduce the volume while still cranking the amp...

 

I have a Randall Iso Cab also... so for "quiet" practicing, I can still get decent tone at nearly inaudible levels.

 

In an ABSOLUTELY CAN'T MAKE A PEEP situation, I also have a Line6 POD.

 

Doesn't sound as great as my UniValve, but it works.

 

guitplayer

[BlueZet]

I bought a Laney LC15 some time ago to use as practice amp - the only practice it's seen so far is 1 (ONE) rehearsal with the band, the day I got it. It's WAY too loud to play in the house, especially with the baby, so it's just sitting there, next to my desk... I guess I'll keep it as an "emergency" amp, just in case something goes wrong with my Hotrod Deluxe...

[Teahead]

http://zvexamps.com/images/Nanoinhand_med.jpg

This will be my practice amp one day! Possibly paired with Celestion Blue Alnicos, maybe even just one would suffice.

 

I want a small, "Champ sized" rig that I can use at home, but can also be mic'd up when needed for a small gig. The Nano into a 1 or 2x12 would suit me perfectly, big sound with plenty of crunch and bottom end at reasonable volumes.

 

Tea.

[phaeton]

Excellent!

 

I'm seeing a minor pattern starting to develop. Anyone else?

[NMcGuitar]

Wait! You mean I'm supposed to PRACTICE?!?!?!?!?!?

 

For practicing at home, I rarely use an amp at all. Two reasons: 1) It's quieter, so I don't bother the wifw as much. 2) It really makes me focus on the guitar, the strings and my hands - and nothing else.

 

Certainly there are times when I do use an amp for home practicing/playing, but that'e usually more for tweaking the amp/guitar relationship, or sometimes when I just want to blow off some steam.

 

To this end, my "practice" amp is my regular gigging amp (a Fender HotRod Deluxe, these days), or one of my older (and not so often used) gigging amps.

[Funk Jazz]

fender tweed deluxe... i could still play a lot of gigs with it too.

[cosmo115]

For some odd reason my neighbors don't care for it and they also stopped talking to me, but my favorite little practice amp has to be:

 

http://img3.musiciansfriend.com/dbase/pics/products/48/482704.jpg

 

Actually, I love my little Roland Cube 15 and DigiTech RP80 set-up for fooling around with. I know everyone says this about their amp, but "this sucka is LOUD!". I can't put the volume past 3 or so without looking like my avatar.

[Blue Strat]

Originally posted by FunkJazz:

fender tweed deluxe... i could still play a lot of gigs with it too.

Another fine choice!

[BiC]

Besides my JCM 900, I still have my Laney Linebacker I bought back in 1986. That's my main practice amp.

 

I stuck a new celestion in it about 10 years ago. Besides a little static with a turn of the knobs, it's still a great sounding amp.

 

Peace

[Gifthorse]

I use my Line 6 Guitar port to practice with cuz I can play along with songs and control the mix. It has many of the same amp models as POD XT and a variety of effects. You can slow down music trax so you can figure out parts better.

 

As for a practice amp- Peavey classic 30 or Peavey bravo.

[Darklava]

Originally posted by flagshipmile:

I use my Line 6 Guitar port to practice with cuz I can play along with songs and control the mix. It has many of the same amp models as POD XT and a variety of effects. You can slow down music trax so you can figure out parts better.

 

As for a practice amp- Peavey classic 30 or Peavey bravo.

A friend of mine has a port,cool practice tool.

Gotta get me one of those mofo's.

[jazzalta]

Behringer GMX110 and Ultrasound AG-50D

[jbote]

I really like my Fender Blues Jr...nice and clean at low volume, but also way loud when I want to crank it on weekends when the neighbors don't mind. Versatile little amp.

[phaeton]

So how many of you use effects with your practice amp? I notice a lot of the amps mentioned don't really have much in the way of built in effects.

 

Or are most of you just going:

 

guitar-->cord-->amp

 

?

[Reverse the Curse]

i use my line 6 spider II set up on top of my woodstove to put it at the right height. I like to keep it quiet when I practice guitar (im a drummer too, so go figure) but I do like to have space to roam around in. I dont really care wat my neighbors think, but I'm sure they are not too happy with me because my buds and I jam in my basement nearly every day. LOUD!! too

[Jedro]

For me, a practice amp should be fairly simple. I had a '65 Blackface Princeton for the longest time and really liked it. The only think was it stayed clean the whole time, even if you put it on 10 - though I know that's usually not the case with Fender amps. So, I think I'd like a low wattage (10w or less) 2 channel amp. The clean channel should break up when you get it up around 6 or 7. Then you've got the 2nd channel for a dirty overdrive tone.

 

I like EQ, too. So at least low, mid and high controls. I've had the idea of maybe having a switch on the mid control so you could isolate it to only one of the channels if you want. I tend to boost mids for dirty sounds and keep them flat for clean sounds.

 

And a nice sounding reverb.

 

Oh, yeah, A low price, too.

[shredmasta666]

I look for many things in a practice amp. I like a little bit of power (10-20 watts or so) so you can hear yourself if your playing with drums. I also like it to have nice gain with a little tone. Also maybe a few effects like reverb or delay to throw in some variety. Crate makes some great practice amps

[tchipman]

Vox Brian May. PodXTPro or Johnson J-Station with headphones. Or no amp in front of the TV just noodling. Has anyone here ever heard the Carvin sweet 16, or something like that. It can run at 16 watts or 5watts and does have reverb, but no trem. A bit pricey for practice but maybe you could record with it too. I think Joe Walsh uses a Carvin combo of some kind.

[Werewolf by Night]

I use 'verb and delay, since they're there. And pitch transpose sometimes, most often for an octave-down or -up. I don't use chorus or flange or phas shifting very often anymore. Compressor/limiting? Yeah, guilty!

 

If few or none of these were available, but the tones were really good, I wouldn't complain too much, though.

 

I also use a noise-gate a lot, not only for noise control, but sometimes set for a touch-sensitive attack-delay volume-swell effect.

 

All of these are there already in the J-station; I need to find improved versions of some of these effects to use with a "real" tube-amp, either in front of pedal-style, in a "loop", or fed by a GT Electronics Speaker Emulator connected to the speaker output of said tube-amp.

[Blue Strat]

Originally posted by phaeton:

So how many of you use effects with your practice amp? I notice a lot of the amps mentioned don't really have much in the way of built in effects.

 

Or are most of you just going:

 

guitar-->cord-->amp

 

?

I'll either crank it up or use a pedal depending on how loud I can get without disrupting others. If I could, I'd probably crank my '61 Princeton up 90% of the time. For when I can't crank it, I'll use either my DOD Mystic Blues pedal or my Big Muff Pi or another fuzz. If I don't want to drag all that out, I usually opt for my Peavey Studio Chorus 210, which has two channels, chorus, and reverb; all footswitch-able.