Practice Amps - What's the state of play?

Rocker

Sassafras said:

Pignose.

Pignose every time, especially if you want to learn how to play guitar.  There is simply nowhere to hide your mistakes.

merlin

5e3 and a rectifier. Best of both worlds. 

bertie

well if your intention is to be able to "turn it up a bit"  at some point then the THR (old versions) isnt really in the running, not to a level that you can annoy your neighbours anyway.

So,  my two pence worth,  if you're not going to go down the "desktop amp" route.  Get something big and proper,  dont fuck about with practice amps.  Use pedals, get an attenuator, what ever  - you WILL love the sound of a bigger cabinet,  even at low levels.

truth

noisepolluter

VimFuego said:

I think I'm after something that I can use without headphones, but have the option of using them if I wish. As it's only me there's no one in the house I can piss off, and the neighbours are happy enough to make loads of noise, so I'm happy fuck them off 7 different ways from Sunday. When I clear out the garden room, Imma get a drum kit!!!

I may be getting myself a Yamaha THR30ii for my birthday in a couple of weeks. I’ll post an update if I do.

VimFuego

bertie said:

well if your intention is to be able to "turn it up a bit"  at some point then the THR (old versions) isnt really in the running, not to a level that you can annoy your neighbours anyway.

So,  my two pence worth,  if you're not going to go down the "desktop amp" route.  Get something big and proper,  dont fuck about with practice amps.  Use pedals, get an attenuator, what ever  - you WILL love the sound of a bigger cabinet,  even at low levels.

truth

it is something I am leaning towards. 

TimmyO

imho one of the best things you can own is a good attenuator - then no amp is out of the question. 

One of the best “home amp” experiences I had was a JCM800 a 2x12 and an attenuator although it never left the house. 

You don’t have to go that extreme obv.

Or, these days, the Fender Tonemasters can be knocked back to 1 watt or less, but are gigworthy when up full. 

Not sure what you’re thinking about £wise though 

VimFuego

£wise, don't really have a budget, I have the money it's just a case of getting something that's right.
I know a little about attenuators (well, that may be an exaggeration, I kinda think I know what they do), so if that is the route I go down, I'd need to find out more.

Bidley

@VimFuego I have a little Vox Pathfinder you can have if you cover postage. Sounds good for what it is, my brother in law gave it to me when he gave up learning guitar, basically as new, and owes me nothing.

VimFuego

Bidley said:

@VimFuego I have a little Vox Pathfinder you can have if you cover postage. Sounds good for what it is, my brother in law gave it to me when he gave up learning guitar, basically as new, and owes me nothing.

wow, that's incredible, thanks. DM me the payment details and I'll wing it over to you. Goes without saying that when/if I'm done with it I'll return it or pass it on. 

bertie

Rocker said:

Sassafras said:

Pignose.

Pignose every time, especially if you want to learn how to play guitar.  There is simply nowhere to hide your mistakes.

they basically have two tones,     

shit and slightly less shit when cranked up.    for £125 (new)  you can do a lot, LOT better 

Grangousier

The issue I had with a Pignose amp was that it was essentially a very picky Tamagochi: charge it too much, the battery dies; charge it too little, the battery dies. The battery died and I gave it away to someone. 

bertie

Grangousier said:

 charge it too much,

crikey,   the one I had took AA batteries,  no "recharging" back then 

Grangousier

The one I had was the 20w and it had a rechargeable battery in it. But it was the old kind of rechargeable battery that was very sensitive to being charged in the right way. It could still be used after the battery died, but with the mains adaptor, and I already had a practise amp which sounded better than fine (the 20w sounded fine, by the way - slightly larger amp and speaker). It was a bit profligate to give it away, but I was frustrated enough with it that I just wanted rid.  

bertie

Grangousier said:

The one I had was the 20w and it had a rechargeable battery in it. But it was the old kind of rechargeable battery that was very sensitive to being charged in the right way. It could still be used after the battery died, but with the mains adaptor, and I already had a practise amp which sounded better than fine (the 20w sounded fine, by the way - slightly larger amp and speaker). It was a bit profligate to give it away, but I was frustrated enough with it that I just wanted rid.  

not one of these then ? 



I know they (used to) made others more along the lines of "proper" practise amps......... but that one is the "ubiquitous" pignose everyone thinks of

Rocker

bertie said:

Rocker said:

Sassafras said:

Pignose.

Pignose every time, especially if you want to learn how to play guitar.  There is simply nowhere to hide your mistakes.

they basically have two tones,     

shit and slightly less shit when cranked up.    for £125 (new)  you can do a lot, LOT better 

My point is that for learning to play guitar, you only need ONE tone. A sound that tells you that you played the note/chord correctly or that one or more strings sound muffled or are not ringing out (if they should ring out).

 If you want to sound like a smaller version of your main gigging amp, there are lots of those amps out there. Line6 built many for example. I had an early Line6 combo that did not do the biz for me but I believe that the sounds improved in later models. 

But when I want to learn something on the guitar, I want to know when I get it right or get it wrong. The Pignose tells me that.   [My Pignose uses AA batteries and they are not rechargeable].

bertie

Rocker said:

My point is that for learning to play guitar, you only need ONE tone. 

if you're "learning" you dont actually even need an amp at all.  

I never owned an amp for 6 years after I got my first electric  (8 years after I started)  practice/learn songs at home "acoustically" then borrow gear 

VimFuego

I guess I should've said home amp rather than practise amp. I'm after an amp that sounds good at "home" volumes.

bertie

VimFuego said:

I guess I should've said home amp rather than practise amp. I'm after an amp that sounds good at "home" volumes.

I think most of use "knew"       

what about a TM ?  no valves to worry about, no regular "servicing/maintenance" ? 

VimFuego

TM = fender tone master? I had a brief look at them yesterday, they look interesting. I'd like to try one out before splashing that kind of cash, but they could well be an option.

MentalSharps

There's an MJW 15w combo that is in the classifieds for £300 which you could use as a low volume pedal platform, or add a reactive loadbox / attenuator on top like Suhr RL or Ironman Mini that can facilitate headphone usage with IR's, but also add flexibility for playing louder at home, rehearsal or gigging situations too.