Practice amp recommendation request.

[Nemidaelios]

Hello all.

I'm looking for a recommendation for a practice amp.
I'm a beginning bass player. A little more than a month ago, I bought my housemate's old Squier jazz bass. She threw in a little Fender guitar amp (a 15R), which I am currently using as a practice amp.

Obviously, the 15R is woefully inadequate in terms of both tone and volume for anything more than the most BASIC practicing. Sometime in the next month or two, if things continue to go well WRT learning to play, I want to get a real practice amp.

Now, I don't intend to be playing gigs anytime soon, and if/when I DO, I will naturally start thinking about a REAL rig. That said, it WOULD be nice to have a 'practice amp' with enough power to handle low-volume jam sessions.

My ambition is to play thrash metal.

Here are my criteria, in rough order of importance:

Portability: Must be extremely portable. (Small enough to comfortably stow in a Greyhound's luggage compartment)
MUST BE SOMETHING I CAN MANEUVER ONE-HANDED WHILE WALKING AROUND.

Price point: Up to $250 (I DO NOT MAKE A LOT OF MONEY.)

Wattage: At least 25 or 40 watts. More would be nice, but it isn't even close to essential.

Able to handle low B: If and when I buy a second bass, it'll probably be a five-string. If that happens, I would like to be able to use this same practice amp with that bass and still sound decent (if not perfect).

Combo: For portability reasons, I would PREFER a combo. If, however, you know of some setup that would better fulfill my more important criteria than a combo, please share!


Thanks for any help you can give.
~N

 

[rpsands]

I'd save up a few bucks more and get a giggable combo. There is no such thing as a 25-40 watt combo that'll faithfully reproduce even the first harmonic of a low B, but you can do pretty well for ~300-350.

ex: http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend...x15-200W-Ultralight-Bass-Combo-Amp?sku=581052

 

[rpsands]

Another good alternative is to craigslist a cheap one, but I'd say 100-150 is the most you should spend. Having one bare bones cheap combo is fine, but blowing 200-250 is pointless. way more than you need to spend to get what you're asking for.

When you get up around 250 IMHO you might as well just get something giggable.

 

[MNAirHead]

I'm with the holding and creating a budget.

Your genre probably requires more power than a practice amp.

I've bought solid head/cab setups in the $125 range.

 

[Nemidaelios]

I cannot overstate how important portability is.

I simply CANNOT make use of anything that I can't move around one-handed.

 

[rpsands]

Fairly Loud, low and light for 250 bucks ain't happening. In fact, I am not sure there are any ultralight combos that go low but are quiet. Combos are almost always stuffed in too small of a box, and so sound anemic with open B.

You're stuck with:

1) Going with something anemic which would be drowned out by a drummer in a jam

2) Save a few more bucks.

Most of the good bang for your buck combo options are super heavy, e.g. older Peavey stuff.

The question you need to answer is "How much can I lift with one hand conveniently?" I guess

 

[MNAirHead]

Quality low end takes physical volume.

I have some small coffee shop and church sized amps that will be held with one hand..

Respectfully -- you need more $$$$ to buy what you're describing.

 

[Nemidaelios]

To restate my priorities:

Portability is not something I can get around. I do not have, cannot afford, and furthermore do not ever WANT to have a car. So either it's portable or I don't want it.

Heavy isn't a huge problem, because I can just make do with a little hand-truck or something.

BULKY, on the other hand, IS a big problem, because I need to go on buses and things.
Also, I live in a 10' x 14' room.

Being able to handle a low B is not a priority, just something that would be nice. If it ain't happening, I won't lose any sleep.

Thanks for your advice so far... I know these criteria are impossible to satisfy completely, I'm just looking for a good compromise.

~N

 

[becker4567]

Are you looking for a practice amp or a small gigging amp? For practice, I use a Accoustic B20. 20W, 12" speaker, and fairly large for a practice amp. I wouldn't gig with it, but it has served me pretty well for practice. If you want something loud, you either need to up your budget or look for used stuff. Either way, it's not likely you'll find something that you can 'one-hand'.

 

[zachoff]

The Roland Bass Cubes are my favorite practice amps. The Cube 30 is $300 new so I figure you can probably find a used one for your budget. I've never played through a Micro Cube, but it looks intriguing and is super portable.

 

[MNAirHead]

respectfully.. combining your criteria, dreams and budget do not add up.

Your closest would be a head/cabinet... this solves the bulky and budget issue - I find larger power combos to be clumbsy to move..

Cube -- I own one -- it's not the tool for this job

To restate my priorities:

Portability is not something I can get around. I do not have, cannot afford, and furthermore do not ever WANT to have a car. So either it's portable or I don't want it.

Heavy isn't a huge problem, because I can just make do with a little hand-truck or something.

BULKY, on the other hand, IS a big problem, because I need to go on buses and things.
Also, I live in a 10' x 14' room.

Being able to handle a low B is not a priority, just something that would be nice. If it ain't happening, I won't lose any sleep.

Thanks for your advice so far... I know these criteria are impossible to satisfy completely, I'm just looking for a good compromise.

~N

 

[maestrovert]

The Check out this thread comes the closest to fulfilling your criteria imho....

Check out this thread if you have any doubts about it's capabilities....

 

[JxBass]

If your criteria are small, portable, and with a $250 budget you'll have to make some compromises, which it sounds like you're open to do. Acoustic B20, Peavey Max 112, and Ampeg BA112 are all reasonable options IMHO.

Good luck!

 

[lug]

You're close to an Ampeg BA-112. I've seen them go for $279 new, recently. Great little amp, louder than you'd expect for 50 watts, and at 39 lbs., about as big as you would want to get for your transportation needs. I've had one for over a decade and still love it.

 

[gregoire1]

Line 6 studio 110. It does cost more now ($299 I think), but its 75w, 10inch speaker in 1 cube foot box, very portable, loud enough for any drummerless practice, and sounds much bigger than it is.

 

[Pilgrim]

You can get a portable practice amp with an Ibanez SW35 - it has RCA inputs for a CD player or iPod so you can play along with the CD. BUT -this is only 35W through a 10" speaker and it is NOT enough to play a gig with unless you're using it for an ABG with acoustic guitars. It is practice ONLY. I bought mine at a pawn shop for $60.

If you want one-hand portability AND gigging capability, I don't consider 100W 15" combos like Fender and Ampeg to be candidates, because one hand won't carry them.

Your option there is to go to one of the newer Class D micro-amp setups with a cab using a neodymium speaker. My Genz-Benz Shuttle 6.0 with 12T speaker weighs a TOTAL of 37 pounds and puts out 300W, which is enough for many gigs. BUT - new retail on the pair is around $800, because these micro amps and neo speakers are not cheap. You might be able to find used lightweight equipment, but you're not about to do it for $250. Not gonna happen.

- You can do one-hand carry practice amp for under $250 - no gigging.

- You can do one-hand carry practice and gigging amp - but not for $250.

- With luck, you can stay under $250 and get a 100W(+) combo amp that will practice and gig - but not one-hand carry.

Pick yer poison.