SWR LA8 vs. Peavey MicrobassIII vs. Vox T-15

If you are tight on cash, you might want to look at used amps. Good deals can sometimes be found on www.musicgoround.com or ebay.
Peavey Microbass amps usually go for around $90 used though the older the model, the cheaper the amp.

 

I played the LA-8 in G.C...and I dunno if someone messed with it or what...but on Low E it distorted easily...I use a 70 dollar Ibanez amp...with like a 6.5 inch speaker...and it does the job,as for now...

I heard alot of good things from the Microbass...If I were you,I'd go for the Micro,but thats just me

-Jon

 

I haven't played the Vox but I'd definitely take Microbass over LA8. I thought the LA8 sounded terrible with sharp, pronounced highs and lows that distorted at medium volume. That doesn't happen with the Microbass. When I was looking at practive amps I ended up getting a used/like new Peavey Minx amp off Ebay for 80 bucks. 10" speaker that is just as good as the Microbass but louder. Great deal but I had to be patient before that deal came along and no one else drove the price up.

brad cook

 

SWR

 

Go for the Peavey Microbass. I've got one myself and it does the job more than well. It doesn't distort with a low E, not even a low B! (This is at practice volume-levels, volume knob at 1/3 of available power)

I A/B-ed many practice combo's prior to making my decision (Fender Frontman 15, Peavey Microbass, Behringer Thunderbird, Trace Elliot practice amp (forgot what model). All those amps where in the same price-range of €125-€150.
The Peavey came out as the best sounding and loudest amp. The Fender was without any punch, quite dull sounding. The Trace sounded like **** imho. The Behringer was very good-looking (that retro-look) and sounded good, but it distorted/farted out with the low B's, and even with low E's when I used my neck pickup and full on bass-eq on my Warwick. So I went for the Microbass and haven't regretted it at all.

SWR could have nice practice combo's but I think they are too steep.

A remark on the Microbass: it's EQ-section is more than OK for such a small amp, but I have to say that it doesn't change the sound drasticly. I mean, the bass-knob adds more bass, but no tons of it. Don't expect it to be a professional sound-shaping machine, cuz it isn't. The middle-knob does change the sound quite a bit though. I found out that I got the best results when dialing in one sound on the Microbass (Bass: 3 o'clock; middle 2 o'clock, treble 1 o'clock) and then I started using the EQ and Pickup possibilities on my Warwick... more than enough tone-shaping options IMHO.

Anyway, I hope this help you out in making a decision. Good luck!

Bart

 

I picked up an LA-8 yesterday. Thoroughly decent - I think I can use it for a restaurant gig accompanying an acoustic guitar and vocals.

Haven't tried the others, so I couldn't compare them, but I'm feeling a bit lukewarm towards SWR (SWendeR) these days and all...