Ever consider a Bass Pod? They are not popular anymore but I really like mine for a headphone practice amp. i have used it for a preamp too until I got sidetracked by floor pedals sold on TB classified.
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JOYO Amp! How does it compare to other name brands?
- Thread starter Pippy
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- #joyo #amp #bass
The Rumble hits all of your criteria:
Price, weight (16lbs), aux in, headphones out. Tried and tested. My teacher has 3. I have the 500 version and these guys will rave about them till the cows come home. Vox amPlug 2 Bass Headphone Guitar Amp
Or you could save a bit and get the vox as was mentioned above until you decide on what you want for the future or if you need something bigger for a band. I have the vox too and take it with me to practice when I’m away from home. It has headphones and aux and a few preprogrammed drum beats with adjustable tempo. Down side is that it can only be used with headphones. But it is cheap and the sound is decent enough. Fender Rumble Club
Heard of what"
I noted a number of people had problems with these so I bought a Link Removed instead. More $ though ($US69 at Amazon), but this type of device (portable headphone amp) is excellent especially if you would like to practice by yourself outdoors as well and you might find it useful to add later if you get a combo amp now.
My 2 cents on this...
I have a Joyo MA-10B and I really like it so I guess my opinion is contrary to most here. I like it because I was searching for a home practice amp that was small, light, could work on batteries and had aux in and headphones out. It didn't have to be a loud amp since I wasn't planning to use it live. Just wanted something that I could grab quickly at home and didn't bother the neighbours nor the rest of the family when they're watching tv in the living room. And it's perfect for that.
Sure you can get a bit of distortion with the gain and volume cranked up, but like I said I didn't buy it for high output but to use at a confortable and hearable volume. And I don't dislike the tone of it, honestly. I had tried a few other portable bass amps like the Blackstar Fly 3 and the Vox Pathsfinder and hated the tone because it sounded thin and lacked a lot of bass (which is compreensible considering the type of speakers they use). But the Joyo sounds really good to me for the price and size and at least my bass sounds like a bass through it.
I recently assembled a new portable rig with a TC Electronic BAM200 head and a Phil Jones C2 cab and it's the greatest small rig in the world IMHO but also above your budget from what I see.
If I where you, I'd try some combos like the Hartke HD15, the Ibanez Promethean 20 or even the Fender Rumble 15. Not super loud amps but great small options that fit your budget and won't let you down in terms of tone. If you want something to play at home but also that you can take to an eventual small rehearsal or quiet gig then you have to aim for a minimum 100w and that will raise your costs unless you search the used market for cheaper options.
I have a Joyo MA-10B and I really like it so I guess my opinion is contrary to most here. I like it because I was searching for a home practice amp that was small, light, could work on batteries and had aux in and headphones out. It didn't have to be a loud amp since I wasn't planning to use it live. Just wanted something that I could grab quickly at home and didn't bother the neighbours nor the rest of the family when they're watching tv in the living room. And it's perfect for that.
Sure you can get a bit of distortion with the gain and volume cranked up, but like I said I didn't buy it for high output but to use at a confortable and hearable volume. And I don't dislike the tone of it, honestly. I had tried a few other portable bass amps like the Blackstar Fly 3 and the Vox Pathsfinder and hated the tone because it sounded thin and lacked a lot of bass (which is compreensible considering the type of speakers they use). But the Joyo sounds really good to me for the price and size and at least my bass sounds like a bass through it.
I recently assembled a new portable rig with a TC Electronic BAM200 head and a Phil Jones C2 cab and it's the greatest small rig in the world IMHO but also above your budget from what I see.
If I where you, I'd try some combos like the Hartke HD15, the Ibanez Promethean 20 or even the Fender Rumble 15. Not super loud amps but great small options that fit your budget and won't let you down in terms of tone. If you want something to play at home but also that you can take to an eventual small rehearsal or quiet gig then you have to aim for a minimum 100w and that will raise your costs unless you search the used market for cheaper options.
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I second this suggestion. I got one as my first amp. It has everything you would need and it does get pretty loud if you wanted to do a gig. However, it currently shows as temporarily unavailable at Amazon. It can be purchased here: Guitar AMP
They also have the 25 watt model for only about $4.00 more.
Graduated college a couple years ago and I can confidently say I never played out loud in my dorm room. There was always someone studying/sleeping so headphones were the way to go. Heck, even the string noise was enough to be annoying sometimes! If you need to play out at all, I'd go with a 12" combo. The Fender Rumble V3 offerings are pretty good and worth the price. I know $300 is somewhat hard to muster in college, so if you can borrow one or use the school's music program to snag a rehearsal room or whatever, that would be your best bet until you can find something that works for you as a long-term solution.
I can second Nunovskys experience. Even a normal 10W practice bass amp may seriously rattle the walls for people trying to work, sleep, phone... in the next room. I had a Peavy 15W and could not use it in my apartment because I did not want to upset the neighbours.I was looking for something that sounds like a bass played over built-in TV speakers or other low-power speakers and the Joyo does just that. So I am very happy with it.
It is not capable of keeping up with anything more than an acoustic guitar, but I do believe for a dorm room, it is your only option.
It is not capable of keeping up with anything more than an acoustic guitar, but I do believe for a dorm room, it is your only option.
I found a Vox Pathfinder 10w combo for $90. it seems to fit all my needs and have great reviews.
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buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
In that price range, Fender Rumble. Get the largest model you can afford, to allow some playing with others, which should be easy to find in a college dorm. Rumble 40 or 100.
I'm not the person who posted earlier, but I'll add my (perhaps unusual) experience anyway.
I took my bass and amp to the dorm and went looking for people to jam with. Most were one-offs that went nowhere unitl I met a banjo player
I became his roommate when both our roommates conveniently dropped out after the first semester. We started jamming on bluegrass tunes which caught the attention of a beginning guitarist in the dorm who started playing with us. That kept us busy the rest of my time there.We developed a small community of fans in the dorm who would come sit in the room and get loaded while we played. This was back when local liquor stores could deliver kegs to the dorm (and pick up the empty keg the next day) with just a phone call, complete with a bucket full of ice and a stack of dixie cups, so plenty of good times
The year I graduated we staged a coffeehouse show in the dorm cafeteria where our trio opened. I hired a local folksinger and a local bluegrass band to fill out the bill. I still have a cassette recording of that show...now 40 years old!
My amp was big...an old Fender Bassman head with a Guild 2-12 cabinet. I doubt I ever had the volume above 3. My roomate also owned an electric guitar that was sometimes plugged into the second channel. Took up a lot of space in the room, luckily we had bunk beds. I did most of my practice during the day in between classes or on weekends when the campus was deserted, lots of students had cars (not me) and would drive home since the campus was in the boonies. For silent practice I owned a pair of Univox powered headphones that ran on a 9V battery. It had an 1/8" jack in one earpiece that could be used to plug in a tape player (this was long before CDs, phones, laptops and mp3s).
Sorry, on break at work and didn't read all the comments yet. JOYO bass amp isn't very good. If you want something so you can practice through headphones in a dorm room, I have a Zoom bass pedal (forget which one exactly - has tuner, looper, multi effects) that I boutght for around $100 give or take. I'd highly recommend something like that. I plug my phone into it and can learn songs with it too. You may need an 1/8 to 1/4" adaptor for your headphones.
I own a Positive Grid Spark. It's an extremely versatile amp that takes up very minimal desk space. It works well with both guitar and bass, has a headphone plug, can plug directly in to a computer for use as a recording interface, and is infinitely customizable with the Spark app. It's also very well built for the price, and both guitar players in my band have now purchased them based off of trying mine out.
Highly recommended, and it would certainly suit all of your needs while also giving you flexibility as you begin to pursue eq and tone options like you mentioned earlier.
Let's see if this works. Here's a demo of the band. All of us recorded through a Spark Amp directly into Reaper. No mixing or additional pedals. I'm also on a five string to give you some idea of how it handles the low B.
I just sold my 250 watt amp and cab and am looking for something smaller. I am going to college and would like to purchase something easily portable and good quality rather than bold & loud. I want to prevent everyone in my dorm from hating me
I came across the JOYO brand and have no idea if it is something I should consider. Is it a popular brand because I haven't heard of it? Is there something else you'd suggest for a college student?
I don’t know a thing about JOYO. I’m currently living in an apartment and using a rig here would be unacceptable.
A good effects pedal that would allow you pull from a slew of amps and speakers, can interface with recording software, comes with a headphone out at a respectable volume, and a blend knob for playing with imported imported media
I have a Digitec programmable effects pedal and use the powered out into some headphones or ear buds. It looks like this;
