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Home Practice Amp

A

Ansa

Jul 3, 2020
5
0
#1
I'm just starting playing again after a number of years and want a small amp to play at home and I'm hoping for some recommendations. Needs to:
- sound great
- will work at low volumes, and to play with 1 guitarist only (playing through 25watt amp)
- small - I may end up having to move around the house to play
- capable of coping with low B on 5 string
- easy to use - I get limited time to play, so I want to be able to just plug in and get a great sound without too much tweaking
- doesn't need too many features. I like things simple and I've got all the pedals I need, so don't need built in effects etc
- I'm never going to play with a drummer/live, so it just needs to work for home practice

So I've been looking at:
- Fender Rumble 25/40
- Orange Crush 25/50
- Markbass Micromark 801

I'd really appreciate any thoughts on these (or others)

Thanks!
 
#5
I went on a quest to find the best sounding "livin' room" small combo that sounded excellent at low volume but <30 lbs. I sampled Markbass, Traynor, GK, Fender and for my ears, the GK 8" combo was the best sounding at low volumes (ie not enough for a real drummer). The Rumble 10 is cheaper but sounded thinner to my ears. The GK is still a breeze to throw around the house . Welcome back.
 
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#6
JakobT said:
All of these will work fine - my money would be on the Rumble 40. It's the perfect power/weight/price ratio, and sounds great.
Click to expand...
+1 :thumbsup:
I recently acquired a Rumble Studio 40 and to me, it's the ultimate practice amp! The Studio probably has more "bells and whistles" than you're looking for, but the regular Rumble 40 should meet your needs perfectly! Don't be fooled by the light weight and only 40 watts - packs some punch and will get loud if you need it. I've rarely gone past 9 o'clock with the volume while practicing.
 
#7
Ansa said:
I assume this is a reference to the range of amps I'm looking at?
Click to expand...
Magellan 350 Combo - Genzler Amplification

This is an amazing sounding combo... although it's technically a micro head bolted to a small cab. It's going to meet all of your needs and sound much better doing so. It will run you about a grand though.

From the amps you listed, I recommend the Fender Rumble 40. It's the smallest combo in the Rumble line that still has the 4 band EQ and a DI out. It's light. It looks good. Costs a fraction of what the Genzler costs.

If you need your low B string to compete with a 25 watt guitar amp, I would not go any lower/smaller than the Rumble 40. It takes a lot more power to move low frequencies than it does to blast someone with a guitar solo of doom.
 
#8
Ampeg BA 115 Version 1, or 2, would be my vote. The version 1 is the only combo I kept after jumping head first down SVT territory. Really great deals out there on used ones. Even though it's like 100w or something, you can turn it down to "1".
 
#10
If you get a couple 12s or 15s and 800W or so you don't have to worry about moving the amp from one room to the next. Just saying, you can throw our back out moving around some small combo or you can get a nice rig and feel it in the nards when you play.
Plus municipal power generation plants operate at basically a fixed output. If you consume less power most of the unconsumed electricity is shed as heat loss. So if you care anything about penguins and polar bears you'll do the right thing and jack that amp up.
Big, Loud Amps. Better for your back, better for the planet.
 
#13
Ansa said:
I'm just starting playing again after a number of years and want a small amp to play at home and I'm hoping for some recommendations. Needs to:
- sound great
- will work at low volumes, and to play with 1 guitarist only (playing through 25watt amp)
- small - I may end up having to move around the house to play
- capable of coping with low B on 5 string
- easy to use - I get limited time to play, so I want to be able to just plug in and get a great sound without too much tweaking
- doesn't need too many features. I like things simple and I've got all the pedals I need, so don't need built in effects etc
- I'm never going to play with a drummer/live, so it just needs to work for home practice

So I've been looking at:
- Fender Rumble 25/40
- Orange Crush 25/50
- Markbass Micromark 801

I'd really appreciate any thoughts on these (or others)

Thanks!
Click to expand...
I use a GK MB108 for dinkin' around at home. Sounds great with pedals or alone.
 
#14
Lot's of good advice has, and will be given here. Also, don't forget to check out the Combo Club thread here on TB. I have recommended them so many times that I think they owe me a t-shirt by now. Just kidding, best of luck, take care!
 
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#15
Dana R Gregory said:
The Peavey Max 100 is an excellent amp for your needs. It has a single 10" speaker that will handle the volume you need to play with a guitarist. You can play with headphones or use the speaker. The built in tuner is very handy and it is very light. Worth a look. :D
Click to expand...

I second this amp over the Rumble . The price to feature difference is substantial. The Max is only 5 lbs heavier but it is quite a good amp and I was quite surprised when I played one a few years ago. It is a much better overall product and right now it is no sale at GC for $230 so that $50 price difference is only a $30 one at the moment. Very good bang for the buck.
 
#16
I have been down this road...and said some of these things...and you asked....


Ansa, post: 24174527, member: 369196"] I'm just starting playing again after a number of years and want a small amp to play at home and I'm hoping for some recommendations. Needs to:
- sound great

* We are blessed with great choices - look for Headphone and Aux in for play along..

- will work at low volumes, and to play with 1 guitarist only (playing through 25watt amp)

* And here we go...very shortly after I started playing I started jamming with a guitar player who had a 10W Roland Cube and I had a 25W Rumble (great practice amp) and could not keep up...Guitar watts and Bass watts don't play by the same rules...if he has 25, come with 100W...minimum...YMMV

- small - I may end up having to move around the house to play

* You want small and move around? (and budget is not an issue?) The Roland 10W Bass micro cube is amazing. Battery option (AA), compression, and other features, Aux in, line out (recording your practice or headphones) amp simulation (Flip top, 360 etc. etc.)

- capable of coping with low B on 5 string

* Others will have to chime in...

- easy to use - I get limited time to play, so I want to be able to just plug in and get a great sound without too much tweaking

* Keep your bass in a stand next to it to make that even easier...

- doesn't need too many features. I like things simple and I've got all the pedals I need, so don't need built in effects etc

* OK, my feature rich Roland Cube suggestion might go down a couple of slots...

- I'm never going to play with a drummer/live, so it just needs to work for home practice

* Said so many of us before you...and then the guitar player you jam with who had been in bands for years calls you up one day after you have been jamming for a couple of years as says "Hey, our old lead singer moved back in to town and connected with our great drummer...and we need a bass player"
And they send you 5 songs to learn...and they have a practice space...and the Guitar player will even pick you up 'cause he has to drive right by your house...and you are in a band...

The moral of my story is "buy as much flexibility as you can afford" - that and if you buy gently used you can get some great values and if you stick to better gear and take reasonable care of if you can get much of that back when you upgrade.

Let us know how this works out...
 
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#17
I have a Roland cube .. and they are nice ...
One thing I have discovered the hard way with this is that it is always best to buy a bit more than you think you need at a given time. That Peavy Max 100 sounds amazing to be so small with a single 10".
 
#18
Wow, thank s so much for the replies, especially @DaDo625

Still can't decide which way to go, but I'll post back when I do. I definitely don't want to go too powerful - I've got my old half stack still, so if ever it comes to playing in a band again, I've got the option, but it's just waaaasay too loud to play at home, it's sat idle since I had kids. And the guitarist is my husband and neither of us gets enough time without kids/work to meet anyone else to play with, let alone play outside the house right now

I am so excited to hear my basses out loud again, rather than just through a pod/headphones. It's been way too long!
 

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