Cheapest amp you had

[krstko]

I've been looking for an amp for room practice for quite some time now. The thing is that size/power/... doesn't matter, only the price does. I'm looking for the cheapest possible amp. So it just came on my mind, what is the lowest price one can get a amp for. What was your cheapest amp?

 

[MGage]

I bought a Behringer Thunderbird on ebay two years ago for $30. I was surprised at how good it sounded for a cheap Behringer, and I've been using it as my practice amp since then.

 

[Primakurtz]

At home, I use an old $75 GK200RB head into a $50 homemade cabinet.
For guitar playing, a $43 Peavey Bandit.

Both are way too loud for city-living practice, and both sound great at very low volume.

 

[Bass_Thumper]

I recently picked up an Acoustic B20 due to a short stay in an apartment and I believe it was around $60. It's got a 12" speaker in it which makes all the difference to me. I don't care for the sound of single 8s or 10s even if I know the purpose of the amp is just to be heard and not much more.

 

[Mousekillaz]

I had a Crate I paid like a hundred for. It caught on fire.

 

[BbbyBld]

I got this funky 70's solid state Traynor bass head for like 5 bucks. I've never seen one like it besides mine, and I've never found documentation for it. I think it's called a System II or something like that. It's fully functional last time I checked, but it sounds pretty crappy. This thread just reminded me of it...I should pull it out of storage.

 

[Bmorefoozler]

I have a Peavey Max 126... it does what it is supposed to. Seemingly has almost no real low end but it amplifies bass guitar to a useable solo volume. Got it at Guitar Center for $50.

 

[Kmonk]

My cheapest was a 150 watt Peavey combo. I got it for free from a friend who found it in a house that he bought.

 

[gumtown]

I saw someone tossing out a Fender pro-185 guitar amp into a dumpster and grabbed it before it went in, all that was wrong was a blown fuse.

 

[Sequimite]

Earlier this year I bought my first bass amp, a Peavey TKO115 for $38 at the pawn shop.

 

[Vinny_G]

Mine is a Hartke B150 (15w) and it has a pretty good tone for it's size, very precise and faithful if you know what I mean (somewhat woody).

 

[moten33]

When I got my first bass, I useda $15 SX 15w guitar amp. I still own it and it still works just fine, only my GAS have caused continued upgrades for home practice.

 

[shackled]

Peavey MAX 110- $75 on CL

 

[will33]

My cheapest ones were free....but thus far, nobody has ever paid me to take one....still waiting for that day to come.




Really, look for used stuff. Yard sales, thrift stores, dumpsters or whatever the equivelent is in Slovenia. Places you wouldn't normally go shopping for electronics, at least not new stuff.

 

[bassist4dalord]

This thread is cool if it's just discussion. If you're looking for recommendations, I suggest a title such as "Practice Combo on the cheap" or something. This title invites people to talk about cheap amplifiers they've owned.

Just my two cents. That being said, get an Acoustic B20.

 

[will33]

This dude is 18 years old and lives in Slovenia....ya know...former Soviet republic...Eastern Bloc.

Not trying to talk down in any way and the guy already has a nice setup, but let's get some perspective. Maybe they don't have a local CL that's littered with old Ampegs, GK's, SWR's and 15watt "starter pak" amps every single day.

I'd take this as a challenge and go about figuring out how to get something to play for free, or at the most, no more expensive than an evenings worth of beer. Perhaps repurpose some gear he can come across locally. Perhaps an old public address amp from an office building or that may've been used for making announcements in a town square coupled with a speaker or 2 from an old organ or something. Maybe something another local considers broken that a little ingenuity will get running again.

Or maybe a cheap starter pak from somebody's kid who lost interest after realizing learning is work and rockstars don't happen overnight...just like here.

 

[basscooker]

I'd take this as a challenge and go about figuring out how to get something to play for free, or at the most, no more expensive than an evenings worth of beer. Perhaps repurpose some gear he can come across locally. Perhaps an old public address amp from an office building or that may've been used for making announcements in a town square coupled with a speaker or 2 from an old organ or something. Maybe something another local considers broken that a little ingenuity will get running again.

i'm with you, here. free is doable with some effort. i once took the wires from a stylus arm, connected them to the headphone jack (disconnected it first,duh) and turned a record player into a practice amp. sounded nice, too. anything that takes a signal and amplifies it into a speaker will work. how cheap are you willing to go, and how inportant is tone, are the big q's for you, really.

 

[arai]

I saw someone tossing out a Fender pro-185 guitar amp into a dumpster and grabbed it before it went in, all that was wrong was a blown fuse.

I don't know what they sound like on bass but for guitar a blown fuse on a pro 185 is an improvement imho

 

[christw]

Cheap rigs?

$25 Quantum 25w guitar chassis into a $15 home 15/4/1.5 home stereo speaker from Goodwill
$60 Peavey Century Bass 200 / $30 pair of 12/10 '70's home stereo speakers we used as a PA / key rig at my old apartment
$40 blown Quantum 4x6 and 2x8 + $100 in MCM woofers = killer bass mini cabs

 

[gumtown]

I don't know what they sound like on bass but for guitar a blown fuse on a pro 185 is an improvement imho

Not that great on bass either, open back cab.
For practice i only use a 12" powered monitor and Tech21 VT-Bass pedal, works OK (just about - have to remember it's only for practice).
I brought the 200watt STK monitor cheap ($35) because of a blown speaker and installed a cheap sub-woofer.