The Fishman Loudbox amps are pretty good do-anything amps, as long as you don't want to be too loud with a bass.
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Teaching Studio All-Purpose Combo Amp
- Thread starter Steve Freides
- Start date
uhm, a yamaha thr30? try one before buying with bass and guitar tho. I had an old thr10c and bass mode was quiet with no deep low end, I'd expect the 30 to be a tad better, see it youself if it fits your expectations for lessons.
I think you'll have to compromise on one of the following
I think you are going to have to settle for a mediocre guitar or bass tone.
- Having a single amp meet your needs
- Having great tone for both instruments
- Not using some sort of outboard processing
I think you are going to have to settle for a mediocre guitar or bass tone.
I have an old Roland Kc100. I think it's great as a simple full range amp that handles bass nicely. It also has 4 input channels, and an XLR mic input for voice. That mic input has come in handy for practice vocals with a band. I've used it as a quick microphone setup for speeches, and it handled that well.
It comes in many sizes, and there are lots of them used.
Very versatile, and surely passable for guitar lessons with a mod pedal.
It comes in many sizes, and there are lots of them used.
Very versatile, and surely passable for guitar lessons with a mod pedal.
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Looks like only one channel, though. I have a two-channel amp now and like that to be able to play along with my students sometimes.
-S-
Peavey Vypyr modeling amps have four channels, including two for electric guitar, one for bass, and one for acoustic/electric. I have the Vypyr I 20-watt entry-level model, and it sounds great for electric and at least decent for low-volume bass. The next model up, the Vypyr II, would probably be ideal for your needs.
The only downside to the amp is that programming it (including its stompbox models, amp models, etc.), if you use the amp's built-in controls instead of computer software, can be intimidatingly non-intuitive. But you probably wouldn't need to use more than a few of the amp's stock presets.
Also, Peavey sells a couple of MIDI-based pedals for the Yypyr amps, the Sanpera I and II, that let you switch between presets, trigger the amp's built-in looper (which can't be accessed without the pedals), etc. But, again, you probably wouldn't need to use either of the pedals for your purposes.
Edit: just looked up the current specs for the Vypyr 2 amp---they can now be programmed via a phone app, which I imagine is a big upgrade.
The only downside to the amp is that programming it (including its stompbox models, amp models, etc.), if you use the amp's built-in controls instead of computer software, can be intimidatingly non-intuitive. But you probably wouldn't need to use more than a few of the amp's stock presets.
Also, Peavey sells a couple of MIDI-based pedals for the Yypyr amps, the Sanpera I and II, that let you switch between presets, trigger the amp's built-in looper (which can't be accessed without the pedals), etc. But, again, you probably wouldn't need to use either of the pedals for your purposes.
Edit: just looked up the current specs for the Vypyr 2 amp---they can now be programmed via a phone app, which I imagine is a big upgrade.
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The Spark Edge sounds promising to me.
I could settle for mediocre tone as long as I have some ability to control it. Having the ability to play with things like pre- and post-volume to create distortion are fun things to talk about in a lesson, IMHO. It doesn't have to be stage-worthy for my purposes.
I really appreciate everyone's insight and experiences here - I've got plenty to think about. I'm not planning to push the button on this for at least a few weeks so I'll keep doing my homework and be on the lookout for some of the things suggested here if I can find them used for not too much money, just to do some more experimenting.
-S-
Ampeg Micro VR stack. Sounds surprisingly good for guitar.
Weird demo with some good sounds here:
It's been my in-home solution for a guitar + bass amp that sounds great for both instruments without taking up much space (I keep it in a closet lol). The EQ is simple and the center points work well for both instruments (Bass 40Hz, Mid 500Hz, Treble 8kHz). The SVT 210AV cab is much better with guitar than you'd expect, and there's no horn you'd have to turn off for guitar. There's an old bass magazine review that has a frequency response curve for it, but this is the biggest version I have on hand (i.e., poor quality):
Weird demo with some good sounds here:
It's been my in-home solution for a guitar + bass amp that sounds great for both instruments without taking up much space (I keep it in a closet lol). The EQ is simple and the center points work well for both instruments (Bass 40Hz, Mid 500Hz, Treble 8kHz). The SVT 210AV cab is much better with guitar than you'd expect, and there's no horn you'd have to turn off for guitar. There's an old bass magazine review that has a frequency response curve for it, but this is the biggest version I have on hand (i.e., poor quality):
I can't believe no one has mentioned this before. You are searching for the Genzler Acoustic Array Pro.
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Only a single channel, though, no?
Looks interesting. It made me also think of the quasi-combos from Acoustic Image (RIP, Rick).
-S-
The Acoustic Image Clarus+ is a nice amp with two separate channels.
Unfortunately, the main guy at AI died recently and they are not continuing the business without him. You could probably still find a used Clarus+, but future repairs might become problematic, though they are pretty reliable amps. There are also some speaker cabinets that the Clarus+ docks into, like the Ten2 cabinet (to name one, and there are others as well). Good luck in your search.
Unfortunately, the main guy at AI died recently and they are not continuing the business without him. You could probably still find a used Clarus+, but future repairs might become problematic, though they are pretty reliable amps. There are also some speaker cabinets that the Clarus+ docks into, like the Ten2 cabinet (to name one, and there are others as well). Good luck in your search.
You won't find two channel guitar amps, certainly not small combos. "Channel switching" amps don't count, there is no independent second channel. Even companies like Fender who still make two channel guitar amps, the smallest ones still only have one channel.
Just get some sort of amp modeling pedal that you can plug into the PJB.
The Sansamp GT2 works great by at $229 new it's not cheap.
But Behringer makes a $25 knockoff of the GT2 that would work fine in your teaching studio application.
Just get some sort of amp modeling pedal that you can plug into the PJB.
The Sansamp GT2 works great by at $229 new it's not cheap.
But Behringer makes a $25 knockoff of the GT2 that would work fine in your teaching studio application.
Forgot about these. I played a quiet gig without a drummer with one of these. Great sound. Super handy amp.
The Roland KB combo amps have multiple channels as well.
I still think a small mixer and a couple of emulators and an amp or powered PA speaker would be nicer and super flexible.
