Practice Amp

[Bassist4Life]

man, let me tell you, don't spend a ton of cash on a "practice amp". if it's for practice, then you just need to amplify yourself so you can hear yourself during practice.

are you in a working band or doing studio work? if you're not, don't worry about it.

even if you are in a working band, you can be mic'd or go direct. same with the studio.

a lot of your sound is coming from your bass and your hands anyway. get what you need to sound the way you want to sound.

peace,
joe

 

[villhelmromero]

I live in the country. this is my practice amp

 

[Lou Bottini]

I bought an older SWR Working Man's 10" as a practice amp. Shocked by how great this amp sounds, it has more clean power than I imagined. I now use it on small gigs regularly.

 

[Matt Dean]

My new practice amp is going to be a 3Leaf The Enabler... arriving tomorrow.

 

[ashterdam]

Ampeg BA110. I just got mine a month ago. Very happy with it for a practice in a room.

 

[Growlmonkee]

I use a Carvin MB 210, I have headphones, to me it's a great practice amp cause it can be played at low volume, it's very clean, has a ton of eq options, and imho you'd be hard pressed to find anything as good as a Carvin Microbass in the price range. I do a worship gig once a week, I leave a small Eden there, (they have a good PA), but the carvin can do that too, or a coffee shop, or small club gig (with a PA), It cost me $239.00, and covers a lot of ground, (for me).

 

[jeff7bass]

I can't recommend the BA108. Mine hums like crazy, especially when I use the RCA input. I liked my Peavey Max 115 better even though there was no volume control for the RCA input on that one. It only operated at one volume level, loud, lol.

Do you use those energy saving light bulbs? My drummer put some in our rehearsal space and suddenly all our amps were humming. We pulled out the two news bulbs and hum was gone.

 

[jeff7bass]

I use a Carvin MB 210, I have headphones, to me it's a great practice amp cause it can be played at low volume, it's very clean, has a ton of eq options, and imho you'd be hard pressed to find anything as good as a Carvin Microbass in the price range. I do a worship gig once a week, I leave a small Eden there, (they have a good PA), but the carvin can do that too, or a coffee shop, or small club gig (with a PA), It cost me $239.00, and covers a lot of ground, (for me).

Did you buy it used because that's less than the MB10 is going for new. I love my MB10, so much I use it as my rehearsal amp on top of my Avatar SB112.

I think we're losing sight hear. People are recommending 115 combos when the OP posted "practice amps" that appear to be in the 100-200 dollar price range. You can't practice with a 115 combo unless you live in a home made of concrete. I mean you can, but it's silly because to get decent tone you will be killing the neighbors, family, pets, whatever.

Let's be real. Even my Carvin MB10 shook the glasses in my kitchen cabinets with the volume above 3. Phil Jones? Top of the line stuff but how much for the cheapest one, 500 bucks? I picture Chuck Rainey going to his next studio gig with one, not somebody looking for a cheap practice amp.

 

[bassinplace]

Do you use those energy saving light bulbs? My drummer put some in our rehearsal space and suddenly all our amps were humming. We pulled out the two news bulbs and hum was gone.

Interesting. I do have a desk lamp with one of those bulbs plugged into the same surge protector as the amp. I'll have to try switching out the bulb and see if it helps. Thanks for the tip!

 

[fnordlyone]

I'd go for an amp with two speakers. I modified my Peavey 112 combo to run a 2x12 cab because the one 12 became wonky on the e string, much less the b. If all of your low notes can't be produced by your practice amp, learning a song becomes merely a finger (and wincing) exercise . The two 12's do the job with my passive 5 stringer.
I spent $100 on the old Peavey Basic 112; I spent $20 on the old 2x12 cab.
I practice more now that my rig sounds good. Make sure you like the sound of what you will be sitting in front of hours on end getting your groove down(I'm talking 'bout practice!).
that's my rookie assessment,
f n o r d !