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Main Rig - Practice?

theevilplankton

theevilplankton

Jul 9, 2009
950
719
#1
I'm in the process of changing my cab, and maybe thinking of selling my practice amp as well.

Gigging rig is a Little Mark 3, was with a Traveler 2x10, but after advice here, hopefully changing to a Barefaced 2x10.

Practice amp is a Rumble 40, originally bought as I thought I may use it at the odd rehearsal for a different band at the time. Never happened!

My question/idea is, to use my LM3 and cab for practice as well as gigging. May sound odd, but I've always felt that turning on a 400w head for a short period was a bad idea. Bit like using a V12 for a short journey. Am I wrong?

Guessing the least amount of time it would be on is for a couple of hours, at low volume.

Anyone else just using one rig for all? I'm not currently doing loads of gigs, and only practicing a few times a week, so not loads of usage.

Options welcome!
 
#2
theevilplankton said:
May sound odd, but I've always felt that turning on a 400w head for a short period was a bad idea. Bit like using a V12 for a short journey. Am I wrong?
Click to expand...
There is no reason to worry about running an amp for a short period of time...it is in no way similar to running a large internal-combustion engine for a short interval.
 
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#6
My practice rig is actually bigger than my gigging rig. I rarely get to bring out both 2x12s anymore and many times not even 1. So I'm using my Eden WT800 @ 550W per cabinet into 2 2x12 Avatars for home practice. Our recent gigs have all been silent stage with IEMs, so the Eden is my preamp and goes direct to the mixer.

So, ask me how far up from 0 I can run the volume knob on that amp at home... :woot:
 
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#8
theevilplankton said:
I'm in the process of changing my cab, and maybe thinking of selling my practice amp as well.

Gigging rig is a Little Mark 3, was with a Traveler 2x10, but after advice here, hopefully changing to a Barefaced 2x10.

Practice amp is a Rumble 40, originally bought as I thought I may use it at the odd rehearsal for a different band at the time. Never happened!

My question/idea is, to use my LM3 and cab for practice as well as gigging. May sound odd, but I've always felt that turning on a 400w head for a short period was a bad idea. Bit like using a V12 for a short journey. Am I wrong?

Guessing the least amount of time it would be on is for a couple of hours, at low volume.

Anyone else just using one rig for all? I'm not currently doing loads of gigs, and only practicing a few times a week, so not loads of usage.

Options welcome!
Click to expand...
I use the same Mesa D-800 amp for everything wether I’m at a gig, at band rehearsal, or at home practicing. The difference is wether I use one cab, two cabs, or headphones.
 
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#9
No issues at all @theevilplankton, I'm lucky enough right now to have 2 full rigs, but for years had just one. Used it for everything, never had a single issue.

Fret Less, Man.jpg
 
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#14
TigerInATrance said:
My practice rig is actually bigger than my gigging rig. I rarely get to bring out both 2x12s anymore and many times not even 1. So I'm using my Eden WT800 @ 550W per cabinet into 2 2x12 Avatars for home practice. Our recent gigs have all been silent stage with IEMs, so the Eden is my preamp and goes direct to the mixer.

So, ask me how far up from 0 I can run the volume knob on that amp at home... :woot:
Click to expand...
well, there is a volume knob on the thing somewhere ... right ? :laugh:

my rig is a Noble DI into a Mesa WD800 driving a Berg CN312 stack. Several volume controls in this set up allow me to use it in my home studio space as well as on a gig with no problems.
 
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#16
theevilplankton said:
Practice amp is a Rumble 40, originally bought as I thought I may use it at the odd rehearsal for a different band at the time. Never happened!
Click to expand...

I bought one also. Didnt use it much, decided to sell it, found out it's called ClownList for a reason. Then one day I started loading put my mid-size amp to practice and decided to take the compact, light R40 instead. It was perfect! Happy to keep it now.
 
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#17
Use your main head for practising, won't hurt it in the slightest. Of if it does (it won't), then it's not the head you want to be using for gigs anyway :)

Apart from anything else, home practice is a good time to learn how your playing interacts with your amp, where your amp's tone controls centre and how they effect your sound, the effects the input gain has on your sound, where the sweet spot is for certain basses and so on. That's a good reason to practise with your main amp, at least while you learn all that stuff.
 
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#18
theevilplankton said:
I'm in the process of changing my cab, and maybe thinking of selling my practice amp as well.

Gigging rig is a Little Mark 3, was with a Traveler 2x10, but after advice here, hopefully changing to a Barefaced 2x10.

Practice amp is a Rumble 40, originally bought as I thought I may use it at the odd rehearsal for a different band at the time. Never happened!

My question/idea is, to use my LM3 and cab for practice as well as gigging. May sound odd, but I've always felt that turning on a 400w head for a short period was a bad idea. Bit like using a V12 for a short journey. Am I wrong?

Guessing the least amount of time it would be on is for a couple of hours, at low volume.

Anyone else just using one rig for all? I'm not currently doing loads of gigs, and only practicing a few times a week, so not loads of usage.

Options welcome!
Click to expand...

My Mesa Walkabout has been my home/practice/jam/rehearsal/gigging amp for 12-13 years now. Works for everything if somewhat a trifle challenging to keep the volume low at night and still have a nice clear tone. I have backups but this is by far my #1 and not going anywhere else anytime soon.

The only thing I need irt amp/cab for gigging is more speaker so I am looking into getting another cab. Currently checking out local used 410's, 412's, and 115's. The Ashdown 412 is the leading contender atm.

As for the V-12 power analogy I'd say that it's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it that's for sure.

However tbh, I am looking for a smaller/lighter amp for nighttime home practice and headphone use and also for situations where I clearly won't need 300w or the 50+lb schlep to cart it around.

It's difficult to find a small budget amp (=/>100w for C$200 or less) that actually sounds truly good though.
 
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