Recommend an amp for a bedroom noodler.

Grumpyrocker

Blackstar Core ID are really good. I have a V1 20 that my young son now uses. 

If you have a cab already I can really recommend the new Joyo  Bantamp range. I bought the Zombie version (Mesa Boogie clone) recently and it's one of the most astonishing little things I've ever heard. 

But like everyone else says, you should probably just get a Katana, they are great.

darthed1981

DartmoorHedgehog said:

Arktik83 said:

One thing about the ID: Core's is that both the V1 and V2 have this rather loud ambient hiss that whilst some can just completely ignore it, it annoys the absolute piss out of me

That is unfortunately true.  I've got a ID Core 10 as a practice amp and for my purposes the hiss doesn't bother me, but it is definitely there.  If I was wanting to record from it then it may become an issue.  Certainly worth checking out before you buy one to make sure you're not one of the people who will be annoyed by it.  Just playing through it with the amp on the floor the hiss isn't really audible at all though.

Yeah as it is a little praccy amp you often put them on a table then the jack goes in and the hiss is audible.

I have two, a 10 and a 20, one in my bedroom and one on the PC and they are both excellent simple amps for dialling in a tone and thrashing away, plus they are stereo and pretty cool effects built in, I believe the v2s have an auto wah, which is always fun.

Also plug your phone in an its a little stereo as the speakers are full range!

darthed1981

Grumpyrocker said:

But like everyone else says, you should probably just get a Katana, they are great.

I got a Katana 50 the other week and I may start sleeping with it

professorben

Rocker said:

My stock reply to this question is Pignose.  The simplest and least complicated amp on the market.

Can't argue with your summary of the pignose, but they do sound awful tho. 

professorben

darthed1981 said:

Grumpyrocker said:

But like everyone else says, you should probably just get a Katana, they are great.

I got a Katana 50 the other week and I may start sleeping with it

What settings give the best nights sleep??


of are we talking a different kind of 'sleeping together'???

darthed1981

professorben said:

darthed1981 said:

Grumpyrocker said:

But like everyone else says, you should probably just get a Katana, they are great.

I got a Katana 50 the other week and I may start sleeping with it

What settings give the best nights sleep??


of are we talking a different kind of 'sleeping together'???

A metaphor for how fond of it I already am!

I'm amazed how good it is for the money.

frictionfraction

Am I the only person in the whole world who is not in love with the Boss Kantana? 

rico

frictionfraction said:

Am I the only person in the whole world who is not in love with the Boss Kantana? 

No 

darthed1981

frictionfraction said:

Am I the only person in the whole world who is not in love with the Boss Kantana? 

I'd be very surprised if you were the only one.

Its very personal choice taste in gear.

BRISTOL86

Another vote for the THR10C here. Amazing bit of kit. 

Sassafras

professorben said:

Rocker said:

My stock reply to this question is Pignose.  The simplest and least complicated amp on the market.

Can't argue with your summary of the pignose, but they do sound awful tho. 

Try one with a Telecaster.
You'll love it.

octatonic

Line 6 Spiders are a bit of a staple.

Nikko

professorben said:

darthed1981 said:

Grumpyrocker said:

But like everyone else says, you should probably just get a Katana, they are great.

I got a Katana 50 the other week and I may start sleeping with it

What settings give the best nights sleep??


of are we talking a different kind of 'sleeping together'???

There is a 'Brown' setting for a reason...

ICBM

I've got the Vox Mini5 Rhythm for the same reason. It's not super cheap, but it has a lot of useful features as well as the guitar amp bit, and it sounds genuinely good - although I actually think it sounds best, even at very low volume, on the higher power settings with the volume turned down.

tony99

OK guys, thanks again for all the info (and all the offers), still loads of things to think about

so now I'm thinking get hold of a zoom G something or other and try and get a few sounds down

what d'ya think? as I say, it's only for a bit of in house noodling, then hopefully recording through PC

I saw those G1Xon are supposed to be good, but I'm also thinking G3 are ok too?

a good idea or what?

FX_Munkee

I have a G1on it's basically a cut down G3 (same underlying hardware) that looks like a fisher price toy.
It is great for silent practice though, plenty of options. If I was still gigging I'd use a G3 though, partly because it looks more robust and partly so nobody laughed at my G1....
If it's just for bedroom noodling between the G1 and G3, I'd recommend the G1 just because it's so cheap and does 90% of what the G3 does.
I also have a THR10 which is great for just pickup and noodle (I run it on batteries just for the convenience of this).
Then I have my rack (GSP1101 + Laney IRT) for when I want to do something serious or record.
I probably use them all in these percentages: G1 10%, THR 50%, rack 40%
Obviously YMMV as they say.

BRISTOL86

I should add I use my THR10C for recording direct into GarageBand. I'm still a complete newbie when it comes to recording (and guitar in general!!) but here is a sample. Not exactly the best song choice for the amp in question but more to show the recording side of it

tony99

ok, just a quick update to say thanks again for all the help from everyone

as mentioned in a couple of other threads I've gone with the Boss Katana 50,

it's taken me a few days but I am now beginning to see some of its capabilities, and wow it's bloody good, the best thing about it is it seems to encourage me to try other things that I don't normally play. fantastic!!

still yet to figure out using it as an interface but that's probably going to be down to what software I choose probably, so expect another thread on that soon

thanks again everyone !

Voxman

simonk said:

The THR's do come up though, usually for around the £160 mark, that's what I paid for mine on here. If you've tried one and liked it (and they're not for everyone) I'd hold out for one. 

I've been reading for some time numerous threads on these amps and I played the cream-coloured standard THR10C on  Saturday at Yamaha Music to try out 4 guitars on, trying out each of the different amp tone options & effects.  These amps are ludicrously over-priced for what they are, they don't get very loud if you wanted to expand your playing away from home, and frankly they are nothing special sonically.  If you want an amp that looks 'chic/retro' (personally I think it looks like a transistor radio) and is light & compact (which is its huge plus-point) so that your wife will let you keep it in the living room, or you can keep it on your desk or a shelf, then fine.    

I'm not sayng the THR10C (& there are several other variants too) isn't a good, fun amp.  I see the attraction in that it looks a bit different, is very small, light and to be fair sounds bigger than it looks.  But its kind of like spending more money on a very light compact micro-lap top computer that looks cute and is very easy and light to carry round, but just doesn't have the processing power, features, and screen quality of a regular lap top.  In other words, you're paying more for less.  That's fine if that's your priority - but if its mainly staying at home on your desk and you need something more powerful with more features & a bigger screen, then you'll get better value, utility & connectivity with a 'regular' lap top.  

The same is true re. your amp choice.  Unless the THR chic look & size are important to you (and even then there are other compact alternatives eg Blackstar ID Core), there are a ton of more 'conventional' looking, less expensive and way better sounding amps out there with loads more options, and greater flexibility for both home and (should you need it) small club playing, including the  Boss Katana 50, Fender Mustang I/II v2, Vox Valvetronix VT20/40X, Vox AV15/30, Marshall Code 25 (if you're a Marshall fan), Roland Blues Cube, Blackstar ID Core 10/20 etc etc  

rossi

The THR is about the best .I have a 10C and love it .If you need a bigger amp sometime just buy a Fender Champion ,I use a 40,or similar and plug the THR  headphone out into the aux socket of the Champion or what ever .The THR tames the boom of the Fender but retains the tone and depth as it just goes straight through the basic amp no settings except volume control.
My Blackstar Fly is pretty fantastic and I use my little bugger for some rocking overdrive which Blackstar always shine at .Must try through the Fender .It should rock  or even RAWK .