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In praise of practice amps

#161
will33 said:
+2.....one for each of ya.
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cheers will. i'v noticed that many times here if someone asks something as benign as advice on repairing a 2 watt transistor radio speaker, by the time the thread ends they are being told that they MUST get a 10.000000 watt blueboy fARTless cab with ........etc. its like an arms race.


ps just in case anyone gets spikey, i am in no way downing the cabs that have a similar name to the one i used in this example.they are great pieces of kit by most accounts but you wouldn't want to stuff one in a tranny radio.
 
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#162
grey area said:
cheers will. i'v noticed that many times here if someone asks something as benign as advice on repairing a 2 watt transistor radio speaker, by the time the thread ends they are being told that they MUST get a 10.000000 watt blueboy fARTless cab with ........etc. its like an arms race.


ps just in case anyone gets spikey, i am in no way downing the cabs that have a similar name to the one i used in this example.they are great pieces of kit by most accounts but you wouldn't want to stuff one in a tranny radio.
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+1

Some people have a hard time thinking outside their own little bubble, or can't imagine why anyone would like something else better than their (insert my favorite stuff or my way of doing it here). I may've done this myself before. I like to think I'm helping to avert a catastrophe or keep them from needlessly wasting money, but sometimes it may very well be that I just don't get what they're wanting to get.

Very few absolutes in any sort of art form.
 
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#163
will33 said:
+1

Some people have a hard time thinking outside their own little bubble, or can't imagine why anyone would like something else better than their (insert my favorite stuff or my way of doing it here). I may've done this myself before. I like to think I'm helping to avert a catastrophe or keep them from needlessly wasting money, but sometimes it may very well be that I just don't get what they're wanting to get.

Very few absolutes in any sort of art form.
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spot on will.
 
#164
I love my Fender Rumble 75 Combo! It does the job for me. Excellent tone controls & tone sculpting ability. 75 strong & honest watts are a perfect match for the 12" woofer. The kick-back monitor style cab puts the speaker right on axis with your ear. Absolutely fabulous sound at low volume levels. I was truely astounded when I first heard it, and just couldn't believe it sounded so good. :D
 
#165
Linnin said:
I love my Fender Rumble 75 Combo! It does the job for me. Excellent tone controls & tone sculpting ability. 75 strong & honest watts are a perfect match for the 12" woofer. The kick-back monitor style cab puts the speaker right on axis with your ear. Absolutely fabulous sound at low volume levels. I was truely astounded when I first heard it, and just couldn't believe it sounded so good. :D
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My GF, who usually needs glasses to read the computer screen, would have little to no problem reading this post^^ without them. :D
 
#166
I bought a couple Traynor Bloc 40 amps in the 80's, one 40 and one 40K which is the same amp but with an added tweeter.

40 watts, a very compact near cube with a 10" speaker (and tweeter). I gave one away. I still have the 40K.

I changed the transformer, kicking it up to 80 watts into 4 ohms. Currently I have a good 10" 8 ohm speaker. With an 8 ohm extension I get 80 watts. Clean, very loud and good 3 band Fender type EQ, Fet preamp.

This has not only been a great practice amp, it has served me well at churches, small groups, my old bluegrass band, in orchestra pits, and has been used for keyboards, and with the tweeter switched off, it's a great, loud, good sounding guitar amp. Great for acoustic guitar too.

I am going to upgrade it a little replacing the tone stack with a baxandall...I just like baxandall better for bass.
 
#167
gallien krueger mb-115-II

under $500, light, 200watts, plenty loud enough for anything except maybe a stadium tour.

o9pyqd.jpg
 
#169
Did read through everything, but I agree with the OP's point of view. I think most of the hate comes from people who are not realizing what to expect from their gear.

A practice amp is just that, if you're going to rehearsal with a loud drummer and no PA, then don't expect your practise amp to keep up.

I've spent about US$100,- on a discount Eden wedge amp, of which I even forgot the model name, but for bedroom use it has great tone! I think it's a 20W with an 8in speaker, but turn it up to halfway with the EQ set flat, it sound fantastic. But if I turn it up too much, the sounds becomes thin and the lower notes don't have and "body" left to them. But guess what, you have your big rig for that!
 
#170
For months, my practice amp was Grado headphones and a Cafe Walter. I've really been enjoying being able to 'play out loud' in my living room again since the Walkabout moved in and perched on my Showman cab. I made a cable to let me patch my tunes into the surround sound and play along. Compared to listening to the bass and music mixed in headphones, it's much easier to judge how what you're playing will sit in a live mix. Time for more fun... :bassist:
 
#171
Hallelujah! One of my nephews is learning to play bass! :bassist:

Dad is getting him a short-scale Jag and uncle Ken is setting him up with this punchy little practice amp so he can hear & feel his groove:

P1130901_zps2b612077.jpg


I would have loved to have had an amp this nice when I was just a young pup learning how to walk on a neck... ;)
 
#172
JimmyM said:
When I think practice amp, I think small and cheap and easy to set up. Like some might consider an amp like the PF500 with a PF115he a practice amp, but not me because it's high wattage, the cab is too big to tote around easily, and though it's reasonably priced, it's not cheap. The BA115 is cheap for what you get and closer to the mark that I consider a practice amp, but it's kind of big for a practice amp. The BA112, however, starts getting into that practice amp realm. And I do love to practice with my Heritage SVT, but even I wouldn't call it easy to set up!
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When I think of a "practice amp" the first thing that comes to mind is the amps I use to practice at home; amps to which I have a nostalgic or sentimental attachment, that I seldom, if ever, take to gigs.

Examples include my eighties-vintage Polytone, '64 Fender Bassman, and '65 Ampeg fliptop. ;)
 
#175
Apologies for bumping and old thread but there is a lot of good info in here and my question is related.

I am getting back into playing bass and have a 10 or so year old Peavey MicroBass. The thing still does what it needs to do and puts out a decent tone. That being said, I am finally out of my apartment/close neighbor restrictions and can crank it up a bit. I was thinking of upgrading to something like the Micro VR or the BA112v2. Not only would I like a bit more boom but I like the aux jack that the newer "practice" amps come with. Do you folks think this would be a worthy upgrade or would I be spending money on just another practice amp that wouldn't be that useful if/when the time comes that I start to play out?
 
#177
Ryan Donahue said:
Apologies for bumping and old thread but there is a lot of good info in here and my question is related.

I am getting back into playing bass and have a 10 or so year old Peavey MicroBass. The thing still does what it needs to do and puts out a decent tone. That being said, I am finally out of my apartment/close neighbor restrictions and can crank it up a bit. I was thinking of upgrading to something like the Micro VR or the BA112v2. Not only would I like a bit more boom but I like the aux jack that the newer "practice" amps come with. Do you folks think this would be a worthy upgrade or would I be spending money on just another practice amp that wouldn't be that useful if/when the time comes that I start to play out?
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I would either shop around for a used bigger rig (useful for gigging) or save up for more rig new. There are people who get away with gigging with smaller rigs like that but they must play pretty quiet stages/clubs.
 
#178
Ryan Donahue said:
Apologies for bumping and old thread but there is a lot of good info in here and my question is related.
I was thinking of upgrading to something like the Micro VR or the BA112v2. Not only would I like a bit more boom but I like the aux jack that the newer "practice" amps come with. Do you folks think this would be a worthy upgrade or would I be spending money on just another practice amp that wouldn't be that useful if/when the time comes that I start to play out?
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I missed the memo that the Micro-VR was supposed to be a practice amp, and bought one as my first "real" rig as an upgrade from the open-back Behringer mess that was my first amp. I gigged that Micro VR for 3 or 4 years in bars and basements where it held its own, but just barely, against one or two guitarists (playing anything from a Blues Jr. to a Twin Reverb) and a moderately heavy handed drummer. Oops.

Right now, the Micro VR stack is set up in my dorm room, where I use it for quiet practice and silent practice playing along with recordings. It's great for that, and goes to jams when I need it, but sometimes the fact that it's two pieces rather than one bugs me (transporting and setting up are marginally more annoying).

OT: I still use the cabinet with a GK 800RB for those same bar gigs and even small auditoriums or louder bands, and I find it provides a more robust sound and maybe gets a little louder without breaking up. Point it at your head and it'll be all the rig you need for a lot of things.
 
#179
I have no problem gigging a Micro VR or a BA112 v2, but I'll admit we're not exactly going for loud onstage volume. Still, both of them put out pretty well, the Micro VR being the better performer IMHO but the BA112 v2 having a lot on the ball for the money. Good thing about the Micro VR is you can use two of those cabs with one head if one cab isn't doing it for you, and it puts out more and sounds really good. Might consider subbing the PF350 for the Micro VR head, though. Same sound and price but more wattage, which does make a difference.
 
#180
JimmyM said:
A lot of bassists look down on practice amps. I say bunk. Sometimes you don't want a big amp or a small super wattage combo that costs a grand. Sometimes you want a tiny little cheap amp that costs only a little. Maybe you just want it for practice at home. Maybe you're a beginner who has no tastes formed yet and doesn't want to get in too deep financially. Maybe you have an acoustic act and don't want a ton of volume. Maybe you go through the PA and just need a little monitor with just enough onstage volume.

Practice amps rule. Yet I see a lot of practice amp hate on here. Nobody likes a big rig more than me, or at least nobody in his or her 50's likes them as much as me and doesn't mind moving them ;) but I'll darn sure appreciate the convenience and cost of a practice amp, especially one that's giggable in certain situations. Not everyone looks to kill Grandma with volume.
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You have a good point Jimmy.

When I got back into playing bass I plugged into my Roland KC-550 keyboard amp until I could get something to use as a dedicated bass amp. I bought an ancient Peavey TNT 160. It was loud enough to jam with drummer buddies when they would stop by, but it was a horrible "practice" amp. It was really freaking loud, and really freaking heavy. It had no way to plug in an iPod or headphones.

I bought a 90's era tilt back Fender Bassman 60 in nice condition dirt cheap, I've been using it for the past few years. It is a much better practice amp than that TNT was, although not ideal. It does have a headphone jack, but it would still be nice to be able to plug in an mp3 player. I have used the bassman 60 for acoustic gigs and it holds it's own. I recently picked up a Fender Bassman TV 12 and it's absolutely perfect for the acoustic gigs. But, it's no practice amp.

So, now that I've got my Ampeg SVT 3 Pro/SVT 212 AV rig for rock and blues shows and my Fender Bassman TV 12 for acoustic gigs, I'm going to sell my old tilt-back Bassman 60 and FINALLY buy a dedicated practice amp. Right now the new version of the Ampeg BA 112 is at the top of my list.
 
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