best choice for very inexpensive practice amp

[AndyPanda]

Hope you guys can help. One of my neighbors needs a practice amp for his young son who is just starting out. He was looking to spend very little (like $60) for a practice amp and was going to get a little 15 watt 8" speaker from CraigsList. I was suggesting he go for more wattage and larger speaker in something like a Fender Rumble and up his budget to to $150-180. But thought I'd ask here and see what the recommendations are.

Thanks in advance!

I noticed a Hartke B30 on CL for $50 -- 30 watts 10" speaker -- would that be a good choice in his preferred price range?

 

[Kaa]

I'll chime in with my usual suggestion: a decent headphone amp, and a nice set of headphones. I've blown too much money on amps that I didn't need. If he's learning and just getting started, there's no need for an amp. 'Phones into a headphone amp, an AUX input for a phone or tablet, and YouTube is the way to go. And it will never become obsolete. Even if he gets good, he can always use this setup for practice.

 

[AndyPanda]

I actually showed the guy my old Tascam Bass trainer and suggested something like that and headphones. Did you mean a bass specific headphone amp or just any headphone amp and an amp sim EQ pedal like the Joyo American Sound? Or something else?

 

[pingvuiini]

+1 for headphone amp like a Fender Mustang Micro Plus and decent headphones. Plenty of usable tones, bluetooth connectivity to a smart phone or tablet, relatively cheap and he won't bother anybody with noise.

 

[Deleted member 394512]

Please give the advice of keeping the headphone volume at a respectable level. A hour a day or so of loud phones will cause hearing damage.

I hurt my right ear with loud cans.

 

[Kansas]

My local craigslist and FF marketplace aways have cheap small bass amps, or try a pawnshop.

 

[Kaa]

I actually showed the guy my old Tascam Bass trainer and suggested something like that and headphones. Did you mean a bass specific headphone amp or just any headphone amp and an amp sim EQ pedal like the Joyo American Sound? Or something else?

I still use my olod Korg Pandora to this day.

 

[lowfreqgeek]

I do a ton of my practicing with headphones, but I'd be very leery of suggesting a young kid learn to play using headphones. That's an easy recipe for damaged hearing unless you're constantly monitoring the levels. Kids don't know what'll hurt them at that stage.

Nothing wrong with a 30W/10" practice amp for little kid. It'll be many years before they need more than that.

 

[Kaa]

Please give the advice of keeping the headphone volume at a respectable level. A hour a day or so of loud phones will cause hearing damage.

I hurt my right ear with loud cans.

Agree. The thing I like about cans is I can have the bass and AUX both reltively low and still hear everything. I'd also recommend noise-cancelling ones if he can swing it.

 

[ProbablyTooLoud]

Ampeg BA08

 

[LHbassist]

I'd buy something that he will actually be able to use if he plays with some of his aspiring musician friends. Buy cheap, and that's all it'll ever be. Likely won't last long, either. Try to sell it when he outgrows it- fuggeddit! Small practice bass amps DO NOT encourage new bass players. Why? Because they do not produce true, deep and full bass. An 8" speaker and 15-30 watts really isn't going to sound all that good. I'd spend the money now, and the utility factor will more than return the investment IF HE LIKES IT.
Hard to recommend a particular combo- but I've seen Fender Rumble 100's on Craigslist for a hundred bucks on occasion! Those are not gigging amps for me, but they do produce an actual bass sound. My personal practice rig, is an inexpensive Behringer mixer, good headphones, a custom made stereo cable out to it from my computer's sound card, my bass in one channel, after going through a Fishman Platinum EQ with compression. Nothing has ever worked as well for me. I live in a place where it's quiet. No one hears me, The HOA not-sees have no idea I play bass, and it sounds amazing.
P.S. I had two Tascam Bass Trainers. They were the worst pieces of flimsy garbage I ever spent too much money on.

 

[2thAche]

Plenty of used Rumble 40s around.

 

[CallMeAl]

I had a Rumble 25 and loved it. Before that, Ampeg ba108. I vouch and fully endorse those little 20-25w, 8” guys for low level home practicing. (Heck, I’ve even used em for jams!)

If he can’t find one of those used in budget, (also similar offerings from Hartke or peavey) I’d just get a vox amplug or something like that.

 

[Jeff Hughes]

A Rumble 15 for 90 looks like a good deal. But really any small guitar amp would be enough.

Headphone amps are a great option, but to me encouraging a kid to play by giving them a headphone amp is a little odd to me.

 

[antfarm]

Zoom B1 Four is a nice inexpensive option if you are going the silent practice route. It has headphone out, aux in, lots of amp/cab sims and bass effects, a looper and a drum machine. Runs on 4 AA batteries, 5V USB (powerbank) or 9V DC.

B1 Four / B1xFour

Bass multi-effects pedals

zoomcorp.com

 

[kodiakblair]

I still use my olod Korg Pandora to this day.

I won't part with mine, wonderful wee thing.

 

[waveman]

That Hartke will probably be just fine for that kind of money.

If I were going to suggest any amp though, it would be the Rumble 40. It is on sale right now for $202 at Sweetwater. It has the features to play alone, with headphones, with a PA with XLR out, and it gets pretty loud for a little amp when it needs to be.

 

[Not_Shane]

Search the classifieds such as marketplace.
I got a Hartke B60 (12", 60w) for $20 a few weeks ago.
Its like new, great for practice.

 

[five7]

Picked up a rumble 40 for $85 at a pawn shop. Highly recommend one.

 

[Wesley R]

$60 should get something that works well enough. Headphones can work when the kid is ready. The Hartke should be dandy.