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Post subject: Small Travel/Practice Amp ?
Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2011 10:44 pm
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Location: Occasionally
I’ve been playing for more than 50 years, and a crippled fretting finger is forcing me to finally work on my slide-guitar skills. That means that my weekend practice “gigs” near my camper are going to have to go “electric” – which means that I need to get a tough, reliable, small amp that is truly a “practice amp.” Small storage space demands a physically small package; heat, dust, and dog slobber all beg for a non-fragile unit.

I don’t need the versatility of my Egnater; I don’t need the true tube sound of my ‘60’s Fender amp. Did I mention that the Mesa Boogie can stay home, too? Still, I really don’t want to spend my target $100 / 15-watts on something that replicates the all-plastic sound of an early Crate “solid state” amp from the mid-‘70’s.

The bulk of the low-power “entry level” amps seem to have loads of “features” at the expense of quality: both sound quality and build quality.
Fewer have decent quality -- actually sound like a "real" amp -- with virtually no extra “features.”
Rarest of all are the actual practice amps that do more than the bare minimum, and do what they do well.

Models I’m attracted to so far are the Fender Frontman 15R (dang! – actual Reverb?), the Roland 15-L Cube, and maybe one of the low-end Line 6 amps. (A bit outside the price & features range are the Vox Valvetronix and the Fender Mustang, but they do have their points.) Also: I’ve wasted too many hours on quirky, unreliable amps, so even though Dear eBay can score me lots more used amp for my dollars, I'm choosing to buy this one new.

So what have you folks liked best among the small, truly portable, practice amps?
Any favorites?
Any truly bad choices?

Bob

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Post subject: Re: Small Travel/Practice Amp ?
Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2011 11:02 pm
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Twenty-five or thirty years ago you could get that portable "practice amp" for a hundred bucks. And it'd say "Vibro Champ" on the front panel.

Now?

Honestly, I wouldn't know what to recommend that wouldn't bust your spending cap. Perhaps one of Fender's Champion 600's?

I'm not certain that it would deliver the reliability and durability that you seek though.

You've got a tough set of parameters to meet, Bob.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Small Travel/Practice Amp ?
Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2011 11:57 pm
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either a champion 600 like arjay said, a small epiphone valve amp, or my personal favorite, the pignose. :D

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Post subject: Re: Small Travel/Practice Amp ?
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 1:56 pm
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At the risk of being slapped, check out the Bugera 5W amp. It's at $149 at GC and they usually have a special of some sort going on most every weekend. It's a little bitty thing and I like it.

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Post subject: Re: Small Travel/Practice Amp ?
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 2:05 pm
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Pignose. A really fun amp that can run on batteries. Zappa even recorded with one. I've had mine for over 30 years and still works great.

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Post subject: Re: Small Travel/Practice Amp ?
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 3:36 pm
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63supro wrote:
Pignose. A really fun amp that can run on batteries. Zappa even recorded with one. I've had mine for over 30 years and still works great.




yeah you know the deal. zappa,clapton, jimmy page, and many more.
i wouldnt trade mine for nothin. i run my ocd through it and man the tone is amazing for a SS amp.

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Post subject: Re: Small Travel/Practice Amp ?
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 5:45 pm
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I've used Crate VC 508 for some practice. Did some mods to get it sounding better (speakers, tubes). Sold two, ended up being (and still is) not bad practice/Blues Harp amp.

http://cgi.ebay.com/CRATE-VC508-5-Watt- ... 19bcda1b9f

http://www.guitarnuts.com/amps/vc508/index.php


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Post subject: Re: Small Travel/Practice Amp ?
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 8:31 pm
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I tried one of the larger pignose amps and they are quite impressive but I was unable to find a battery operated version at the time when I went looking for a campfire amp so I bought a Fender AmpCan. It's about the size and shape of a gallon of paint. Maybe a little smaller. The tones are pretty good for solid state battery power. I haven't used mine in years though as my camping friends have mostly gone acoustic. If you think you might want it give me a PM.

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Post subject: Re: Small Travel/Practice Amp ?
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 8:52 pm
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ive never seen one, post a pic please. it sounds like its cool.
oh man, the pignose is a classic. ive always wanted one too.
finally in january i broke down and bought one. glad i did. i have
fun with it. hey they sound good with acoustic/electric too bmw.

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Post subject: Re: Small Travel/Practice Amp ?
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 9:04 pm
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Vox Amplug and a set of headphones - will fit in your guitar case or gig-bag :)


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Post subject: Re: Small Travel/Practice Amp ?
Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2011 9:01 pm
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If you don't mind dsp, I would recommend the original Roland micro cube. $130 @ Musicians friend. A bit above your target. They're portable, reliable, & IMO they sound good. Plus they can be used w/batteries. I mistakenly bought a Marshall MG2fx. Not recommended. cheers


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Post subject: Re: Small Travel/Practice Amp ?
Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 3:57 am
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Location: Occasionally
Interesting suggestions, all.

I'll pass on the amp-can -- a friend had one for a while, and it sounded too much like ... well, a paint can with a speaker in it.

CRGuitarMan -- Tell me more about your Bugera experience. That 5w unit is up around $190 "discounted" price at GC now. What about the 15w unit (both have 8" speakers) that's about $110 at GC? One has tube pre-amp, the other has tubes in both pre- and power- amp sections. Any sense of Bugera's reliability, considering that some tube amps are very dust/shock/humidity sensitive?

jbloggs -- a good idea. I have an ancient, perfectly functional Rockman device with phones, modest "effects", and decent cleans. It'll be along until I find something I like better. Thing is, I'm not too fond of playing while wearing headphones -- and with dogs and grandkids to keep an eye on, plus our hottish dry northern summers (that is NOT a complaint, since I grew up in Sou'Louisiana, God's Sauna! :shock: ) make 'phones a last resort. Still, whatever small amp I pick, it'll be one with the "silent headphones" option, for those late-night alone by the campfire times when everybody else is asleep.

Hobbyist -- no problem w'dsp: kind of goes with the "practice amp" territory, especially when I'm looking for rugged, trouble-free circuitry.
What do you like about Roland's Micro-Cube more than the 15W (or 20W) regular Cube?
Also: what was your beef with the Marshall MG? I've looked at the 15w MG-R (reverb, minimal effects) but haven't played it.

Unfortunately, "practice amp" has become kind of an industry Code Word for "cheap crappy starter amp for a young Total Beginner who can't afford anything else" -- which in turn seems to be taken as permission to bundle a dumpster full of cheaply-done "Mega Effects" into an amp that has all the audio sparkle of a cheap motel's clock-radio.

I don't mind stretching the price envelope as much as maybe 50%
(that'd be to $150-ish, if it takes that to find the right unit.) I can live with a AA-batteries option, but likely wouldn't use it. There just isn't much power drain from a nominally 10-15 watt solid state amp, and the camper has some pretty serious battery/inverter capacity.

Again, I'm really not wanting to waste time/trouble/dollars on "effects" in so small a unit -- I want as decent a "clean" sound as i can get from a +/- 8" speaker, with a touch of reverb. DeathMetal and JunkYardCrunch channels i can do without; otoh, I don't want to box myself in to a cheap AM radio sound that too many "practice amps" seem to have.

It's looking that I'll be mostly packing my Epi G-400 SG for the travel, since it's small, boat-anchor tough, minimally sensitive to humidity, and has a "vintage" sort of tonal range that fits the music I play. (Aaand, since I'm venturing into learning to play slide, with that red SG I can put on my blonde-ponytail wig and my snap-button plaid shirt, fake a good coastal North Florida accent, and "be" Derek for a bit . . . 8) )

So are there any of the "real" small amps that youse guys have actually played and were "captured" by the balanced sound of?
Should be easy, getting a nice clean-tube blues 12" sound out of an 8" dsp unit, eh? :wink:

Bob

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Post subject: Re: Small Travel/Practice Amp ?
Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 5:52 am
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Hey Bob
Thought I would give my 2 cents worth.... As a Trucker/guitar player I use a Cube 30 in my semi it's built like a tank 10inch speaker metal grill uses 34watts which is less than my TV. I plug it in to a 2000 watt inverter or run the Generator and the cube 30 works just fine.... It's got close to a half million miles on it being bounced around under my bunk... I just lay it face down on a peice of foam, won't fit standing up... it's had a hard life but it does the job, a little armor all and it still looks good....
I download a tune that I'm working on at home on to my Lap Top or I-pod and then run it through my XM radio, it has AUX in's and through the Trucks Stereo.... and I can play just like I'm at home... Granted the Cube 30 doesn't sound as good as one of my Fender AMP's but I don't think a tube AMP would last very long in the truck... and space is pretty limited....
For a Guitar I have an old Mexi HS Strat with some Seymore Duncan Pearlly Gates... I keep it in a hard shell case and it rides just fine also... It's a good setup when your sitting in a truck stop 1000 miles from home and nothing to do.... JakeJ :D :D


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Post subject: Re: Small Travel/Practice Amp ?
Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 9:51 am
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bobwords wrote:
Hobbyist -- no problem w'dsp: kind of goes with the "practice amp" territory, especially when I'm looking for rugged, trouble-free circuitry.
What do you like about Roland's Micro-Cube more than the 15W (or 20W) regular Cube?
Also: what was your beef with the Marshall MG? I've looked at the 15w MG-R (reverb, minimal effects) but haven't played it.
Bob


Hi Bob, As far as the Micro Cube, it has more options on it than the 15 or 20. Pretty decent amp modeling rather than just stomp box modeling. & it's very portable, w/battery option. You can even sling it on your shoulder. Plus it sounds good for what it is. Never actually owned one. I definitely recommend trying one out. I have the 30x which is much bigger. ATM, it's my favorite that I own. I'm not familiar w/the new XLs though. I have the MG15dfx as well. Clean channel is fair. On board effects are usable, but the gain channel is grainy ss crap. As for the small MG2fx, there's very little I can give good marks for. It's very portable w/battery option but I can't get a good sound out of it. It's also difficult to tweak. I think they may have pulled them off the market. IMO, any of the Cubes are better value than the MGs. They're just built better. As far as reliability issues, I've never had problems w/any of them. Good luck in your search.


Last edited by mojjett on Thu Apr 07, 2011 3:20 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: Small Travel/Practice Amp ?
Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 5:58 pm
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Back in the late 70s I bough a Peavey Decade to take on camping trips and it has served me well ever since.With 5W it's plenty loud to rock the campsite.I've seen them come up on E-bay now and again,they sound great too and just plug into your cigarette lighter.Re the Vox Amplug:Vox has made a 1W companion cabinet to go with it so you can use it without the headphones. A few months ago I bought a Marshall MS-4 Micro Stack that has 2-3" speakers and really looks like a tiny Marshall stack they won't give you the sound of an 8" speaker but for about $55 you can't go wrong.As others have suggested the pignose is a great little rig.

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