Need a good, decent practice amp

[bassliner50]

You ***will be happy***with your Fender Rumble 40 v3. (I am). Light, versatile, good depth of tone.

 

[TinIndian]

Really I dont think you can go wrong with any of these suggestions. I still have the only combo that I bought for this purpose back in the 80's, a Peavey Microbass. Bought it new and it still works without any trouble at all and it even still sounds like crap! Cost me just over 100.00 back then and I think its the worst gear purchase i ever made. These new combo's are just fantastic, versatile and lightweight.

 

[Turbo Sparky]

Solid state?
GK MB500, best micro-bass amp in entire GK line, no mute function except for input gain or master volume.
-or-
Mesa Boogie D800+, bullet proof.
IMO.

 

[pcake]

the rumble 25 only costs $20 more than the rumble 15 but has a LOT more bass. and if you don't want that much bass, you can easily dial it back. weighs more than the hartke HD15 and the roland micro cube bass RX.

 

[Slevage]

Line 6 studio 10

 

[Paulabass]

You will spend far more time practicing than on stage. Buy something that sounds good (ie- not 8" speakers) If it's for at home, a little more weight isn't a problem. Live a little- A Bergantino or Mesa single 12, and a class D head.

 

[LBS-bass]

I would recommend stretching your budget a bit for a Rumble 100. You can probably get a discount from the 300 that it’s listed at everywhere if you call up someone. It’s still very light and fairly portable, and it has enough volume to actually play with some people, of course dependent on how loud they play.

I was going to make this same suggestion. When my little vox 15 watter bit the dust, I decided to get a combo I could take to small rooms with me. The newer Fender Rumble 100 was my choice. It's lightweight at only 22 lbs, puts out enough sound to play with a full band, but lives in my practice room otherwise. And it actually sounds pretty decent. I love that it can do double duty and it wasn't expensive.

 

[brianrost]

Any suggestions on something in that category that doesn't cost over 200 dollars?

Buy used!!! Lots of practice amps out there due to beginners throwing in the towel after a few months. I've never paid more than $50 for one, one was only $10. Comb CL and any other local classifieds until something pops up. Good luck!

Others are recommending small stage amps, you can go used there, too and stay under $200.

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

Fender Rumble 40 is $200, but for that money add $30 more & get this:

VX50BA

View attachment 3225847

Went to the site you posted. Interesting amp. Was intrigued by their so called Nutube technology. Wasn’t sure if it was just marketing hype or not. Googled Nutube. It took me here.
Nutube : A new vacuum tube which puts vacuum fluorescent display technology to practical use

Still not sure about this but it looks interesting so I requested the data sheet.
Not that the data will necessarily tell me how it shapes up vs a standard tube, I assume a 12AX7 or something similar?

Anybody played one of these amps or can tell me more about Nutube technology in this application?

 

[nixdad]

I also suggest you check out the new Acoustic bass combos.

This is my primary amp in my Beatles band - set it upright or tilt-back (how I use it.) Lightweight, nice, full-round sound. It's on sale right now at GC for $219, but there's also a 15% discount code you may be able to apply as well to get an additional discount: https://www.guitarcenter.com/Acoustic/B100C-1X12-100W-Bass-Combo-with-Tilt-Back-Cab.gc

 

[rohi]

I leave a cab at home and a cab at rehearsal, all I have to do is bring my lil' class D amp head around. I like to practice, rehearse and gig with the same amp for consistency's sake. I'm still working on getting matched cabs, but that's down the line.

As far as combos go, my backup is an old GK 112. Not quite sure the model off the top of my head, but I see them listed on GregsList for a few hundred from time to time.

 

[micguy]

I had a Rumble 30 - the kickback feature is really useful - having it pointed at your ears helps balance hearing yourself without driving others in your house to revolt against you. I’d stll be using it, but moved to a townhouse, so it’s headphones now for me. So, either a kickback amp or some way to angle a regular one would be a good consideration.

 

[Engle]

A tad more than you want to spend, but I have and like this:



Surprisingly decent (if relatively low volume, but hey, it's a practice amp) sounding, despite the small speaker size. Beats are mechanical, but they're preferable to a beeping metronome. MP3 in, phones out, will run on included AC adapter or batteries, light weight, compact: all convenient features for a practice tool. Also useful for playing your electric bass with acoustic guitars "around the campfire".

I use mine daily.

I went to a jam in a boat (inside and low volume)last summer and that microcube was the bass amp they had. Maybe it was that particular amp, but all it would put out was a thin distorted tone. My $100 BA108 would have been much better.

 

[LBS-bass]

If you go with used, caution is advised. The current Fender Rumble line and it's predecessor are very different animals. You want something that's recent; they are much better now than they were a few years ago.

 

[GwenOnBass]

that's a fender rumble 15.

That's it. I need a Peavey Rumble. NOW. drool

 

[Bob Quintano]

A tad more than you want to spend, but I have and like this:



Surprisingly decent (if relatively low volume, but hey, it's a practice amp) sounding, despite the small speaker size. Beats are mechanical, but they're preferable to a beeping metronome. MP3 in, phones out, will run on included AC adapter or batteries, light weight, compact: all convenient features for a practice tool. Also useful for playing your electric bass with acoustic guitars "around the campfire".

I use mine daily.

 

[AstroSonic]

Fender Rumble 40 is $200, but for that money add $30 more & get this:

http://www.voxamps.com/VX50BA

View attachment 3225847

RE: Vox VX50BA. Interesting. Only an 8 inch driver, but could be decent if it actually handles 50w. I spent a few minutes looking for an explanation of what the Nutube is and this is the best I found: ' Nutube, it's a low-power, low-voltage vacuum tube equivalent, which operates in the same manner as a triode vacuum tube while offering "power-saving and quality" enhancements'. Not sure it's a real tube. Sounds more like a solid state circuit designed to behave like a triode. That's not necessarily a bad thing IF it works reasonably well. Anybody know what it is and if it actually performs as stated?

 

[Passinwind]

RE: Vox VX50BA. Interesting. Only an 8 inch driver, but could be decent if it actually handles 50w. I spent a few minutes looking for an explanation of what the Nutube is and this is the best I found: ' Nutube, it's a low-power, low-voltage vacuum tube equivalent, which operates in the same manner as a triode vacuum tube while offering "power-saving and quality" enhancements'. Not sure it's a real tube. Sounds more like a solid state circuit designed to behave like a triode. That's not necessarily a bad thing IF it works reasonably well. Anybody know what it is and if it actually performs as stated?

It's more like a fluorescent tube. I've only heard two implementations, both were way too noisy and distorted for my liking. And of course both of those things can be a "feature" rather than a design flaw, as with so many things in the music bidness.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Yes, the NuTube has a hiss to it on overdrive, but wow the "stank" from it is just Wow!
If you dime the gain it gets almost fuzzy.

@G-Dog & I both have a VX50BA & TBH I love mine, one of the best *purchases I've made in a while.
The speaker took some %breaking in, but if you don't want to compromise good sound over money, this is a great buy.

Yesterday I plugged a guitar into mine & it was like plugging into the world's smallest Marshall!
However, for me it's all about the grit. Some players who play clean might not realize the benefits of the NuTube sound. (or at least that's what some folks who've tried it told me)


*-The Rumble Studio 40 was a good buy as well, but it's significantly more expensive, larger, & heavier.
The VX50BA is a great grab-n-go with great timbre!

%-If you're trying a VX50BA new the driver needs to be broken-in to realize the bottom-end, which G-Dog & I both found out after owning them for a bit.

If you want effects in your practice & want it all-in-one, the Studio 40 is the way to go, but will cost you 35% more.

 

[G-Dog]

Yes, the NuTube has a hiss to it on overdrive, but wow the "stank" from it is just Wow!
If you dime the gain it gets almost fuzzy.

@G-Dog & I both have a VX50BA & TBH I love mine, one of the best *purchases I've made in a while.
The speaker took some %breaking in, but if you don't want to compromise good sound over money, this is a great buy.

Yesterday I plugged a guitar into mine & it was like plugging into the world's smallest Marshall!
However, for me it's all about the grit. Some players who play clean might not realize the benefits of the NuTube sound. (or at least that's what some folks who've tried it told me)


*-The Rumble Studio 40 was a good buy as well, but it's significantly more expensive, larger, & heavier.
The VX50BA is a great grab-n-go with great timbre!

%-If you're trying a VX50BA new the driver needs to be broken-in to realize the bottom-end, which G-Dog & I both found out after owning them for a bit.

If you want effects in your practice & want it all-in-one, the Studio 40 is the way to go, but will cost you 35% more.

Yes, I concur with Killed_by_Death on the Vox VX50BA. At just 9.9 lb.s, it was a medical necessity for my recovery from minor back surgery. Yes, it sounded quite stiff and boxy at first, but it softened up and blossomed quite nicely with practice. As I explored the hissing and buzzing contributed by each knob and switch, I learned how to get clean tone when needed. But, it is a very warm clean!

Now, I dunno if the NuTubes are legit, or bull. But this ultralight little combo has won my respect over the last few weeks, which it did not have on first powering up. And with the Direct Out going to FOH, I'm very pleased to gig with it.

See more about it on KBD's thread New Amp Day - VOX VX50BA

And our discussions in The Combo Club starting here The Combo Club