Is Practice amp quality important.

BenOz · #1 06-18-2010, 07:17 AM

I'm just starting out and I got a al-cheapo Ecom 30watt practice amp.

A week before I got the ECOM amp I was using a friends practice amp (40watt) and it sounded only a little better.

My ECOM really pronounces string slide and fret buzz until I turn the treble and mid range all the way down, but then the bass sounds muffled and a bit flat.

Is it worth even getting a better practice amp or should I just grin and bear till I have got a few months under my belt practicing.

Thanks

Ben

naturalkinds · #2 06-18-2010, 07:20 AM

Practicing, in my mind, is much more pleasurable through a decent amp, though my old teacher advocated practicing through an $80 Fender combo.

Whether you personally ought to upgrade is subjective. But what is objective, I think, is that the sound you generate by playing the instrument is going to be considerably more inspiring through a considerably better amp.

lomo · #3 06-18-2010, 07:21 AM

You don't need a top quality practice amp, but IME the better i sound the more i want to practice and play. If you can afford it, a good quality amp for practice is great.

naturalkinds · #4 06-18-2010, 07:26 AM

And let me preemptively voice my opposition to the advice that invariably comes up to get a headphone amplifier. As with a wind instrument, improvement is contingent on becoming acquainted with how your instrumental voice fills the room. Nothing cryptic or mystical about it; just tally the number of trumpet players using Silent Brass systems to work on their tone.

mulchor · #5 06-18-2010, 07:54 AM

It is what it is. I think having a good instrument is important, especially when you're starting out.

With bass, your instrument isn't just the guitar in your hand. What you're playing are the neck, the strings, the pickups, and your amp. The parts your hands touch are the most important, but the pickups and amp are where the sound comes from.

It just really pains me to think of a beginner who has the interest and ear for it, but gets frustrated from struggling to get a good sound.

You can certainly practice on a big amp. Headphone amps can be good, too.

"Is it worth" question depends on everything else in your life.
Do you have room for a bigger amp?
Do you have $$ for an upgrade?

For what it's worth -- my son has a 75W 1x10 that is really quite small, but pretty heavy. You can play it with the volume low and it sounds good, but it cranks up loud with good sounds, too, and it has nice useful features. His is by Line 6, Low Down series, and we've been really pleased with it.

somegeezer · #6 06-18-2010, 08:09 AM

I have a Laney 65 watt practise amp but don't have the trouble of not getting the right sound. Cost me £150. Compared to my GK/Laney stack, it's obviously not in the same league, but for practise, it does me well.

hdracer · #7 06-18-2010, 08:17 AM

I think it is. I had a small amp I kept in my room just so I could plug in and practice when ever I wanted without using my big rig. That thing sounded so bad that I never used it. I spent a few bucks and got something better (Acoustic B 20). Now I find myself using it all the time. Just this morning before going to work I played for a little while. I have one of my basses plugged in and ready to go, flip the switch and start playing.

T. Alan Smith · #8 06-18-2010, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BenOz

Is it worth even getting a better practice amp...

...depends on how you value your practice time. For me, practice has always been foundational to everything else I do on/with the instrument, so I value practice highly and do what it takes to make me want to plug in in the 1st place when there are so many other distractions, and if that means a cooler looking(more attractive) rig, so be it. Likewise, I want what it takes to keep me plugged in longer than I would otherwise, and if that means a better/different sounding rig, so be it.

Rickett Customs · #9 06-18-2010, 08:39 AM

If you have pronounced fret buzz, better start with the bass itself first, get rid of the fret buzz, this does not come from the amp, the fret buzz goes to the amp.

joehaven · #10 06-18-2010, 08:47 AM

"grin and bear it"

not conducive to productive practice.

be comfortable and enjoy your sound if you have the resources to do so.

mpdd · #11 06-18-2010, 08:57 AM

i feel the same way sometimes (my situation has more to do with complaining neighbors though, because my pignose hog 30 sounds pretty good when it's loud),
what i have been doing is practicing on my mac through garage band, that way as long as a i have a pretty good set of headphones i can dial in a usable sound with all of the different effects and instruments

elzeder · #12 06-18-2010, 09:02 AM

Personally i still have my old Stagg 20W cheapo i got with my first bass (Lyon p bass) for 150$ the pack and it does the trick pretty good
If I need basses i just turn down the treble,mid and presence button and put the basses full on
If I need more definition i add whatever i want
It even works for slap
Sure it doesn t sound like Jaco's, Victor's or Familyman's rig but for practicing its way enough, at least you practice the definition of what your fingers do to the sound and don t have the sound without having to do much
But for band rehearsal you gotta have the BIG sound

waveman · #13 06-18-2010, 09:13 AM

I have found, I don't need a practice amp. I just use a modeler, music player, mixer, and stereo/headphones

I use most of my modularized gig rig for rehearsal: Amp / 2x10 Cab / Bass

()smoke() · #14 06-18-2010, 09:17 AM

i've never had a 'practice' amp, i practice through the same amp i play thru anywhere else, never saw a need for a different amp to practice...but i guess if you like to carry your amp from room to room, something small is good

Jaco who? · #15 06-18-2010, 09:46 AM

If you're starting out and the amp is amplifying string slide and fret buzz, that's a good thing. You could spend thousands on something else, guess what, it will still amplify string slide and fret buzz.

CDweller · #16 06-18-2010, 09:58 AM

You can use a low quality amp if you like. I prefer a good quality amp- I use a GK MB150E. I can emulate a crappy practice amp by rolling off the bass and low mids. There's actually some utility in this, as it amplifies all the extraneous fret noise, buzzes, and in general all the non musical stuff associated with playing. Trying to play cleanly with this off-kilter tone helps the sound when I revert back to a normal tone setting. There's no hiding of poor technique with the bass rolled back and the mids and treble turned way up.

tekhedd · #17 06-18-2010, 10:13 AM

I agree with the people who say that the amplified fret noise isn't necessarily a problem, but I like to get a little bit of decent contour out of a practice amp--you can't tell whether your touch is right if you can't feel the bottom end a little bit. And usually cheap amps don't have much in the way of tone control. If you have a pedal with good tone controls you might try that.

Considering the current economy, I would suggest watching your local pawn shops--sooner or later something decent will turn up.

vinxbass · #18 06-18-2010, 10:16 AM

I've got a PV Firebass 700 and TVX410 as a practice amp for one of my bands and frankly I can't stand it. I can't seem to get the low mid punch that I like so much. Due to the fact that I rehearse 40 miles from my house I'm not going to cart around another amp to practice, I'll just deal with the one I got.

jschwalls · #19 06-18-2010, 10:19 AM

I use the Ampeg SVX program for computer... also I think headphones of some sort actually help focus on clarity of the notes... so a balance of speaker and headphones seems to be a good idea.. just my opinion...

BassmanPaul · #20 06-18-2010, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BenOz

I'm just starting out and I got a al-cheapo Ecom 30watt practice amp.

A week before I got the ECOM amp I was using a friends practice amp (40watt) and it sounded only a little better.

My ECOM really pronounces string slide and fret buzz until I turn the treble and mid range all the way down, but then the bass sounds muffled and a bit flat.

Is it worth even getting a better practice amp or should I just grin and bear till I have got a few months under my belt practicing.

Thanks

Ben

No it's not important. You need to be able to hear yourself whether using an amp or headphones. If you are learning the lines to MP3s or other recorded tracks it helps for you to have a completely different tone than that on the recording. You can then tell if what you are playing is correct or not a little easier.

Paul