What little amp for home practice?

Duppy03 · September 2014

Something small, maybe a 10" speaker. I'd prefer valve but open to other suggestions.

It would be handy have an earphone jack, aux in and USB connectivity but not essential.

I'm looking around the £200 area so 2nd hand will probably be best.

Vox AC4? Fender Super Champ X2?

ThePrettyDamned · September 2014

Blackstar ID core are really good sounding small amps. And the stereo is cool

Duppy03 · September 2014

What about the Fender Pawn Shop Series? Any good?

http://www.fender.com/series/pawn-shop-special/

EricTheWeary · September 2014

I am still enamoured with the Fender Mustangs, well within your budget and similar to the X2 but minus a valve. It does Fender style sounds well, maybe not so strong on the rock tones. The Blackstars do it the opposite way round. I'm not keen on valves for a practice amp as it often gets switched on for 5 minutes here and there but YMMV.

Duppy03 · September 2014

I remember hearing the Mustangs and being fairly impressed. I am more of a less is more type though and always find the more knobs and options there are, the less time I spend playing. I'm a simple creature.

Which brings me on to these, Vox AC4C1-12. Any opinions on those?

xSkarloey · September 2014

I'm not sure the Vox has all the connectivity you're after.

I was in the same boat as you a few months ago, with a very similar 'shopping list' in terms of features.

In the end I narrowed it down to the Blackstar HT-1 (had tried an HT-5 before and didn't really like it), one of the Laney Cubs with the less than one watt switch and a Marshall DSL5.

Now that Marshall's way above your £200 budget, but it's got everything bar the USB input.

I've had it a few months and I love it. Switchable output between 1w and 5w. Very loud but can be more than neighbour friendly at driven volumes. Very Marshall in all the right ways.

If you shop around you can get a bundle where they chuck in a couple of Marshall pedals which aren't bad. You can always sell them on and recoup some of your costs.

Deadman · September 2014

I'm always searching for the perfect home amp and to be honest, I'm in limbo. I've got a Fender Mustang 2 and Yamaha THR 10. I had a Roland Cube 30 and rated it very highly. As Eric said, the valveless Mustang is not good for it's overdriven sounds, however some of the cleans are sublime. The THR is good. However, I'm falling out of love for it on account that I miss that true valve touch sensitivty and proper breaking up to overdrive. Sometimes it sounds a little gritty too, which I hate. I had an all valve Blackheart Little Ant 1/4 watt head and cab that was great for classic rock overdrive but had absolutely zero cleans (obviously)...sold to Jooky actually. Lastly I had a Blackstar Artisan 15. Too loud.
So. What next? I think I'm going to try the Superchamp X2 and Vox AC4 as you're also contemplating @Duppy03, but the new one with the 12" speaker. I just want nice cleans and decent old school classic rock sounds at a respectable volume. The search goes on.....

lustycourtier · September 2014

The vox is a loud amp. 'only' 4w but that means nowt. I had a 1w Wienbrock that was too loud for in the house. I currently use a Super Champ X2, which is a very cool little amp. Id recomend one. The Ch1 is giggable and is amost a Princeton and ch2 has some cool amps.

xSkarloey · September 2014

Deadman said:

I'm always searching for the perfect home amp and to be honest, I'm in limbo. I've got a Fender Mustang 2 and Yamaha THR 10. I had a Roland Cube 30 and rated it very highly. As Eric said, the valveless Mustang is not good for it's overdriven sounds, however some of the cleans are sublime. The THR is good. However, I'm falling out of love for it on account that I miss that true valve touch sensitivty and proper breaking up to overdrive. Sometimes it sounds too a little gritty too, which I hate. I had an all valve Blackheart Little Ant 1/4 watt head and cab that was great for classic rock overdrive but had absolutely zero cleans (obviously)...sold to Jooky actually. Lastly I had a Blackstar Artisan 15. Too loud.
So. What next? I think I'm going to try the Superchamp X2 and Vox AC4 as you're also contemplating @Duppy03, but the new one with the 12" speaker. I just want nice cleans and decent old school classic rock sounds at a respectable volume. The search goes on.....

I'd give the Marshall and the Laney Cubs a go.

Deadman · September 2014

lustycourtier;365761" said:
The vox is a loud amp. 'only' 4w but that means nowt. I had a 1w Wienbrock that was too loud for in the house. I currently use a Super Champ X2, which is a very cool little amp. Id recomend one. The Ch1 is giggable and is amost a Princeton and ch2 has some cool amps.

Cool. I have a big love for all things Fender so will be trying one out. YouTube clips are sounding sweet.

Deadman · September 2014

Skarloey;365768" said:
Deadman said:

I'm always searching for the perfect home amp and to be honest, I'm in limbo. I've got a Fender Mustang 2 and Yamaha THR 10. I had a Roland Cube 30 and rated it very highly. As Eric said, the valveless Mustang is not good for it's overdriven sounds, however some of the cleans are sublime. The THR is good. However, I'm falling out of love for it on account that I miss that true valve touch sensitivty and proper breaking up to overdrive. Sometimes it sounds too a little gritty too, which I hate. I had an all valve Blackheart Little Ant 1/4 watt head and cab that was great for classic rock overdrive but had absolutely zero cleans (obviously)...sold to Jooky actually. Lastly I had a Blackstar Artisan 15. Too loud.

So. What next? I think I'm going to try the Superchamp X2 and Vox AC4 as you're also contemplating @Duppy03, but the new one with the 12" speaker. I just want nice cleans and decent old school classic rock sounds at a respectable volume. The search goes on.....

I'd give the Marshall and the Laney Cubs a go.

Will do, especially the cub.

samzadgan · September 2014

At that price range i would take the laney all the way!

OilCityPickups · September 2014

I have (on loan) a Vox Valvetronix VT30. Superb little amp for home practice. Phones socket ... plus at 30w it is loud enough for rehearsals and small gigs too. It is valve preamp ... and actually sounds bloody nice ... and I won't say 'for a modelling amp' but for a small amp full stop.

DartmoorHedgehog · September 2014

I've got a Blackstar ID Core-10 for quiet practice purposes. It's excellent for what I want (quiet practice and playing along with band practice session recordings for sorting out new material, or practising old stuff). The sounds are pretty versatile IMO, although not utterly fantastic. And they're cheap (about £90 for the 10 watt I think it was). If you find a second-hand one they'd be ridiculously cheap I'd imagine.

BUT... it doesn't sound like a "real amp" does in a room. It sounds like a recording of a real amp - which is a good thing when playing along with recordings, but not if you wanted it to sound like a real live amp.

Also, it's a bit hissy - not enough to be annoying when using it, but I reckon it might be an issue if you wanted to record from it.

And it doesn't sound good turned up loud, but that's probably a lot to do with the 3" speakers on my 10 watt one - the bigger ones have bigger speakers.

None of the above "buts" matter to me, and the good points outweigh them for my purposes, but are worth bearing in mind if you're considering one. The normal ID amps (i.e. not the Core) do sound like a normal live amp (but are a fair bit more expensive).

Phil_aka_Pip · September 2014

I have a Vox AC4TV. It hates my SG2000 and SA2000, and barely tolerates my LP, SG, and 335. However it loves my Squier JV 57 Strat. So if your guitar has humbuckers which produce a big signal, forget it. Its 4W-1W-1/4W switch helps to keep it quiet. I don't think it has a headphone socket though. If it has, I've never used it.

samzadgan · September 2014

TheGuitarWeasel said:

I have (on loan) a Vox Valvetronix VT30. Superb little amp for home practice. Phones socket ... plus at 30w it is loud enough for rehearsals and small gigs too. It is valve preamp ... and actually sounds bloody nice ... and I won't say 'for a modelling amp' but for a small amp full stop.

I had one of those Ash...probably about 6 years ago now...It just sounded really flat to me. Worst of all, it didnt take pedals very well at all.

benmurray85 · September 2014

orange micro terror? pick up a cheap 1x10/12 second hand and you've got a great little amp.

EricTheWeary · September 2014

samzadgan said:

TheGuitarWeasel said:

I have (on loan) a Vox Valvetronix VT30. Superb little amp for home practice. Phones socket ... plus at 30w it is loud enough for rehearsals and small gigs too. It is valve preamp ... and actually sounds bloody nice ... and I won't say 'for a modelling amp' but for a small amp full stop.

I had one of those Ash...probably about 6 years ago now...It just sounded really flat to me. Worst of all, it didnt take pedals very well at all.

used one not long ago. Not too bad in itself but, like a lot of digital amps and some solid state, hates any extra level created by pedals. Actually, true of my Mustang. If I were buying a home amp to use with pedals I'd need to audition first.

stimpsonslostson · September 2014

This may be a curveball, but Yamaha THR10 ticks most of those boxes & seems to get some pretty glowing reviews...

I desperately want a one for practice whilst traveling, thank goodness christmas isn't TOO far off!

xSkarloey · September 2014

I've always thoroughly enjoyed playing through Vox Valvetronix amps. I think as a standalone amp they're great.

I didn't get one this time around because 'less is more' for me. With all those amp models available I'd end up playing with the amp more than playing my guitar.

Another brand I have seen online but never tried is Bugera. They do a 5 watt valve amp with switchable output too IIRC.

ThePrettyDamned · September 2014

TheGuitarWeasel;365952" said:
I have (on loan) a Vox Valvetronix VT30. Superb little amp for home practice. Phones socket ... plus at 30w it is loud enough for rehearsals and small gigs too. It is valve preamp ... and actually sounds bloody nice ... and I won't say 'for a modelling amp' but for a small amp full stop.

Oh yeah, forgot about these.

They really are quite nice, right? The uk70s actually has a nice fat drive that cleans up well, and most models are at least usable. The 80s one was my favourite

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What little amp for home practice?

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