An Ode to the Practice Amp

[bassist4dalord]

Hello, TBers. I just pulled my Johnson RepTone 15B out of semi-retirement, and decided I would post some thoughts. So here goes- An Ode to the Practice Amp.

I once owned a Crate 100BFX. Terrible amp. It broke down, and I needed another amp quick. I walked into Guitar Center and found this:



A Johnson RepTone 15B. It's a 15-watt, 1x6" bass guitar combo amplifier. It was in the used section, for $20. I played through it, and bought it because I needed an amp, and it was going to be a while before I could afford a decent (i.e. $100+) amplifier. So, I walked out of Guitar Center, beaming from my purchase (as I often do when walking out of Guitar Center with new gear) and took it home. I cleaned off the (no joke here) dead bugs, spiderwebs, dust and hair that adorned this little cube, and plugged it in at home.

Now, I will be the first to admit that this bass amp is no hi-fi boutique amp. However, it has a certain undeniable charm to it. It's rude, crude, and overall just plain wimpy. But, it got the job done.

Now that I play through it, this amp is actually quite capable of accentuating the subtle growl put out by my Squier Standard Precision Special 5-String with Jazz electronics. The response is tight, clean, and very nice, considering what it is.

So anyway, a couple months later, I got my Gallien-Krueger MB115 combo. Now, to most of you, the GK is a practice amp. The GK is a great amp; has all the features and power I need.

But ya know what? Living in an apartment/dorm is not necessarily conducive to shredding through a 200-watt 15" speaker. But on the other hand, I don't always like putting on my headphones to practice. Sure, I could "turn down" the GK; but that's no fun. It was meant to be played at volumes that aren't appropriate for dorm rooms and apartments. So, I'm going to put the Johnson back into my rotation.

Tell me your practice amp successes. Post pictures, tell some stories of where you got or how you got it, etc.

Practice amps rule!!

[bassist4dalord]

I've decided that, when trying out basses in the future, I will bring this amp. If it doesn't sound good through this, it won't sound good through my GK amp.

[Downunderwonder]

I bought my itty bitty Fenandez practice amp in Japan while on working holiday. It does what yours does. I can put it in the corner and play to a crowd with my brother on sax. It does rehearsals with accoutics. Before I owned a real amp I gigged it twice and never again, there's a limit.

[georgestrings]

I just use my Korg Pandora - if I feel like playing "out loud", I patch into my stereo - it's got a pair of EV Eliminator 15+horn PA tops hooked up to it, so it sounds pretty good... I've got an SWR LA15 around here somewhere, but haven't plugged into it in months...


- georgestrings

[JxBass]

I've owned three Bassman 25 combos (still own one). It's my personal favorite for an at-home-only practice amp. Great tone, IMO, and plenty loud for the house. These days I use a larger rig at home; overkill, but I do it anyway

I also own a Pandora and Cafe Walter which are great, but you don't have that option of hearing your bass through an amp/cab when you want.

EDIT: The Ampeg BA112 and GKMB150 are other great at-home combos.

[lpdeluxe]

I've been through some amps (Ampeg B15N, B100R, Music Man HD-130 + Hartke 410XL cab, Hartke HA2500 + 2-10 and 1-15 cabs, Mesa/Boogie Walkabout Scout 1-15, Genz-Benz Shuttle 3.0-210T) and I became convinced that it took some bucks to get a good sound. My Mesa/Boogie is my serious amp, with the Genz-Benz getting the nod for small venues (coffee houses, senior citizen centers, church). But Sunday afternoon, both my M/B and G-B being at a friend's home, and the friend being out of town, I sat in on a borrowed Ibanez bass (probably the $199 variety) and a little Ibanez bass amp, with a 10" speaker at the outside. You know what? In the music room, it rocked! I'm going back tonight with my '51 P RI and I won't bother taking an amp.

[fhm555]

I've got an old SWR workingmans 10 I got off a guy so long ago I can't even remember the decade, much less the year. Best I can recall, I paid $20.00 for it.

It too was pretty nasty but a little TLC and it was good as new. Not too loud and unlike so many "small" amps, actually sounds good at reduced AND high (for it) volume. Much to my surprise it could also hold it's own with a couple amplified guitars and a drummer, provided the drummer was not channeling bonzo and the 6 strings understood the concept of a volume knob, and it's perfect for any acoustic situation. My day job wound up putting me on the road too much to even think about playing so I loaded up everything, (including my regular bar band job), and took it to my brother while I went off in pursuit of ever larger piles of filthy lucre.

Fast forward some years and I'm no longer a working road warrior so I go to my bro's place to retrieve my junk and he gives me back my 410 and 350W head, but he hangs on to the little 10. It's still mine, but if I want to take it out of his little home music room I have to lug my 410 and head over to replace it. I'm not complaining because for quite a few years after I got my stuff back the only place I played with any regularity was in that little room so it was nice to not have to lug anything but my bass.

I recently reactivated my union card (metaphorically speaking) and started playing out again after more than 10 years of not doing so, and when I needed a small practice amp I didn't even think about the SWR at my brother's house. He recently took the plunge into the corporate world and has precious little time for music so playing at home is about all he can manage these days. Not to mention his 16 year old son has become quite the crackerjack drummer, so I get enough occasion to keep the dust blown out of the little 10 right where it sits.

I am however on the lookout for an SWR working pro 12 as I'm about to be playing with two different bands and I need something easy to carry that will work for practice with the new band.

If the 12 is even half the amp it's much smaller (and much older) brother has been, I can't go wrong.

[masturbasser]

I used to have a Nemesis N8 that had surprisingly good tone and bottom end for an 8". I still regret selling it to this day. My EBS classic session 60 is supposed to be here any day now. It's going to be my bedroom jam combo.

[parsons]

my at home practice amp is one of several preamps run throu a 400w power amp into an Ampeg full stack. Home ownership rules.

[RufusSPatches]

I have a 40w Peavy MicroBass that someone left in the high school guitar room with a post-it note saying "take me". I normally don't care to use a Peavy, but it has got a headphone jack that I can use when others are trying to sleep. This amp sits by my bed with a DigTech pedal that is so bad, a family friend that owns a guitar shop handed two of them to me for free. the redeeming feature is a CDplayer/Mp3 input to play along with.
With this little set-up, I can plug either bass or guitar and play my heart out.

[TinIndian]

I bought and still own a Peavey MicroBass practice amp brand new in 1987. I still use it all the time when I don't want to rattle the windows. I think it cost me around 90.00 or so way back.

[Slackerprince]

I've got a Warwick Blue Cab 30 that sounds awesome.
It has a lot of nice features:

Active/Passive input
Effects loop
Headphone in
Best of all, awesome tone.
Honestly, I'm just running my drum machine through it, at the
moment, but I love playing my P through it.

S

[dvh]

Originally Posted by masturbasser

I used to have a Nemesis N8 that had surprisingly good tone and bottom end for an 8".

I still have mine. Great practice amp and even enough oomph for small, drummerless gigs (40 watts).

As you say, great tone and depth for a small combo amp with an 8" speaker....

[kraigo]

Originally Posted by JxBass

I've owned three Bassman 25 combos (still own one). It's my personal favorite for an at-home-only practice amp. Great tone, IMO, and plenty loud for the house. These days I use a larger rig at home; overkill, but I do it anyway

I own one of it's predecessors, the R.A.D Bass, BXR 25. I love that little amp. It's done quite a few acoustic gigs. These days I generally just plug in to the small PA that serves as my music room listening system because when I'm down there it's often turned on. It doesn't replace the RAD. I prefer its sound and portability, but for sheer convenience, well the PA is right there.

KO

[Mojo-Man]

EBS Session 60.
1x10 combo, 60 watts.
This is the bomb, deepest sounding 1x10 I've ever played.
It is not cheap, but great tone.
A keeper, for a practice amp. ( Love it)