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Good practice amp?

H

Hippos Melas

Apr 9, 2009
337
7
Milwaukee, WI
#1
Alright, here's the deal...

I've played bass for somewhere around 3 years now. I owned some started set, an old Squire special P and a 25 watt amp that has (literally) fallen apart on me. After 3 years I've finally bought a Musicman Sterling HH (thank God for quality instruments), but...when I plugged it into my old amp and turned the bass up ever so slightly it blew out the speaker, so now I can only use the headphone part of my head to hear my bass.

So, I'm in the market for a new practice amp, but I don't really know where to start. I've heard Ampeg's starter series is nice but really pricey (I think it starts at $380). I've looked at the Acoustic B20 but I've never heard it so I can't testify if it's really a quality amp.

Anyone have any suggestions? The only requirements I really have for it is that it has a headphone output and an auxiliary in for an iPod or laptop or something. I just need it to practice in my dorm room.

Thanks for the help!
 
#2
Hippos Melas said:
Alright, here's the deal...

I've played bass for somewhere around 3 years now. I owned some started set, an old Squire special P and a 25 watt amp that has (literally) fallen apart on me. After 3 years I've finally bought a Musicman Sterling HH (thank God for quality instruments), but...when I plugged it into my old amp and turned the bass up ever so slightly it blew out the speaker, so now I can only use the headphone part of my head to hear my bass.

So, I'm in the market for a new practice amp, but I don't really know where to start. I've heard Ampeg's starter series is nice but really pricey (I think it starts at $380). I've looked at the Acoustic B20 but I've never heard it so I can't testify if it's really a quality amp.

Anyone have any suggestions? The only requirements I really have for it is that it has a headphone output and an auxiliary in for an iPod or laptop or something. I just need it to practice in my dorm room.

Thanks for the help!
Click to expand...

Ampeg BA112 (50 watts, 12 inch speaker) can be had for $279 (in the US) and sounds wonderful.
 
#3
I was in my local GC a few weeks back trying out some basses and I was using what they had for the demo amps .... the one I used was a little Peavey, it was the Max 110, it had a vintage switch and I used that setting and it sounded good for just low level fooling around on the bass, it had a CD input & a head phone jack ... I think the price was under $100.00 US .... for a private bedroom practice amp, not a bad little amp ... IMHO
 
#6
I've played through the Acoustic B20 at my local GC and it wasn't bad at all for the money. My practice amp is a GK Backline 110 and I really like it. 10" driver and a 70 watt amp. It has a really nice tone IMHO. The going price for the Backline 110 on GC right now is $225 with the Backline 112 (12" driver) going for $275. I'm sure they can be found on some other website for a better price. Best of luck in finding a new practice amp.
 
#7
I like my Line 6 Studio 110. Headphone jack, line in, four presets plus you can make your ow, XLR out. preamp out. 75 watts. The only thing I don't like about it is the synth sounds. Got a blem model for $225 at Musiciansfriend. It kicks major arse for a small cube and I have used it with a small band for gigs. Sound man actaully had me reduce the stage volume and a couple of bass players came up to tell me how good it sounds.
 
#16
I went through a number of small practice bass amps and dumped most of them because of poor to bad tone. I have two that I have kept. One is an Ampeg B-100R and the other is a SWR Workingmans 10. Both can be found used at very favorable pricing. The Ampeg is big enough to use on gigs and really sounds amazingly good...very, very close to the revered B-15-N.
 
#19
+1 on the G-K Backline 110. I just picked one up used at GC for 99 bucks to use as a practice amp in my apartment. 70 watts, tiltback design makes the sound go straight to your ears while sitting, aux in, line out, headphone jack, contour, and an overdrive channel. It sounds great with my different basses. It seem sloud enough to hol dits own against a small group too, but i haven't tried that yet.
 

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