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#1
11-16-2013, 11:48 AM
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Looking for a good (low price) practice amp
Looking for suggestions and/or opinions on a good practice amp under $300. I posted in another thread that I have played acoustic's exclusively for the last 15 years and recently bought my first electric (Danelectro DC59) since I switched over to acoustics so I am clueless. I like blues, Jazz, classic rock so that is mostly what I will be playing. So whats your favorite practice amp?
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"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." - Jim Elliot 
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#2
11-16-2013, 01:19 PM
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Is this exclusively for home practice, or do you intend to use it for occasional gigs as well - makes a big difference in what I'd recommend. If it's the latter, you might want to check out some suggestions here:
http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...d.php?t=317632 Given your preferred styles I'm thinking that you're looking for something that'll give you sweet cleans most of the time, with a little bit of dirt when you want to push it - and in my book that sounds like a low-power tube amp. For $200 (less on coupon days at GC or on the net) you can have a Bugera V5, a single-ended 5W Class-A EL84/12AX7 combo; TMK it's one of only two tube amps that have a headphone output, and the only one anywhere near its price range that has a built-in power attenuator (lets you drop down as low as 0.1W if you want to get your Stevie Ray on at 3 AM without waking the neighbors). Bugera products have taken a (once-justified) bad rap as a result of their early QC problems, but they've since become IMO the best value-per-dollar amp out there; swap in some high-quality tubes (you'll be doing this sooner or later anyway) and they'll rival similar amps at three and four times the price - they really are that good. There's also the $300 Fender Pawn Shop Excelsior, a 6V6-powered 13W 1x15" combo (one of only two 1x15" amps under $1200 TMK) that looks like it was time-warped from 1953, has built-in tremolo (if you're new to electric you need to try a trem-equipped amp), sounds like juke-joint heaven, and can get loud enough to do a small gig if you need to press it into service. Finally, although it's a bit above your stated price point at $379 current street (again, less with a coupon at the big-box stores, or if you're a first-class haggler at the local shops) there's the Bugera V22, my personal fave and go-to amp for the last four years: 22W/15W pentode/triode (so it makes a usable practice amp as well as a small/medium gig box), OD channel, switchable mid-boost, built-in reverb (digital, but IMO one of the best of its kind I've heard), more tonal mojo than anything this cheap deserves to have - and a few DIY tweaks (see the other thread) will turn it into a tone monster that'll handle some of the bigger gigs as well; if you're thinking long-term and you don't want to shell out for a higher-powered amp in a couple years, this one's a keeper - spend a few extra bucks now and you won't regret it...
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#3
11-16-2013, 01:29 PM
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Steve, thanks for all of the info. I will look into those amps for sure. This will be for home play only as the only "gigging" I do is leading Worship at church and that is exclusively Acoustics.
How do the Vox entry level tube/solid state amps stack up to the Bugera's?
__________________
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." - Jim Elliot
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#4
11-16-2013, 02:13 PM
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If you like the Vox AC 15 you'll love the Bugera V22 - almost as much as the $250-300 you'll still have in your pocket after you buy it
 , and when you punch the pentode switch on the V22 you'll blow the Vox into the weeds, even in bone-stock form. As far as the Valvetronix and VR Series are concerned, I'm not a fan; IMO the former is just another modeling amp, with little to recommend it specifically over the Line 6, Fender Mustang, Roland Cube, etc. (YMMV), and the VR Series may sport the cosmetics of the venerable AC amps but falls far short in the tone/volume department (a well-tuned AC30 can be classified as a weapon of mass destruction - just ask Brian May or the two surviving Beatles). BTW, don't rule it out for church use - I've used electric to add some necessary fullness and texture to CCM/P&W songs without going over the top volume-wise, and to bring a new twist to some old favorites (viz. the lead-guitar bridge in Joel Houston's "Everlasting," Chet-style fingerpicking on "Power in the Blood" and "Are You Washed," and '40s jazz comping on "Just a Closer Walk with Thee")..."Praise the Lord...Praise Him with stringed instruments..." Psalm 150, TLB
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#5
11-16-2013, 03:33 PM
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Hmmm.......maybe I will introduce the Electric in the mix. Right now I play (strum) a Taylor nylon, we have another guy with steel string and then a 12 string guy. No Electrics so far but have always wanted one for "filler" sound. I have also heard that the Danelectro has a pretty good "clean acoustic" sound so maybe I will throw it in the mix to see what happens. Our sound is a little bit unique for Worship music, it is very organic with acoustics, djembe's, darboukas and congas along with piano and cello so I have been hesitant to add the electric thus far.
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"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." - Jim Elliot Last edited by LewisBrookshire; 11-16-2013 at 05:56 PM.
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#6
11-16-2013, 05:54 PM
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Vox Pathfinder 15R. It's $120. It's solid-state, but don't let that bother you. It has a lovely, clean, clear tone, with gobs of headroom. Excellent tremolo, proper spring reverb. Slap a nice crunchy overdrive pedal in front of it, and you'll have all you need.
Absolutely the best bang for the buck out there for your stated purpose. It also has a line-out jack that you could DI into the PA at your church - I used mine in exactly that setting.
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Martin 0-16NY Emerald Amicus Emerald X20 Cordoba Stage Some of my tunes: https://youtube.com/user/eatswodo
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#7
11-16-2013, 06:00 PM
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Hate to disappoint you, but not quite as unique as you think - and maybe that's why I understand where you're coming from in terms of tone, since I've worked with similar instrumentation. FYI, my wife and I first met as teenage church musicians back in the mid-60's "folk" days - her on nylon/me on steel-string, her on rhythm/me on lead - and have founded/played with a number of worship teams, individually or collectively, over the last four decades. While her main instrument has always been guitar her sense of timing is uncanny, so when the need arose for percussion at the congregation we attended before we moved she stepped up and played congas, djembe, doumbek/darbuka, muzhar, and timbales; as we already had a passable rhythm guitarist and an excellent keyboard player, I moved over to bass to give things some drive and fill out the sound (since then it's been my main instrument for worship music, except for the occasional departures enumerated previously)...
Since you're considering electric, a couple suggestions from my own bag of tricks: 1] What I said about tremolo - with a single-coil equipped guitar it can lend a unique texture to slower material. We had an arrangement of "Better is One Day" with fingerpicked steel-string, 5-string bass, soft string synth (don't need since you've got the cello), electric (set the trem pulse to the tempo of the song, BTW), and doumbek, with a single soprano vocal: very different from the original - more meditative and ethereal, and a perfect lead-in to the sermon... 2] If your 12-string guy is a strong player, you know that he can fill a lot of sonic space; you might consider leaving the bulk of the rhythm work to him and bringing in a bass. You'll never realize what a difference it makes until you've tried it, especially on harder-driving material ("Let God Arise," "Awesome is the Lord Most High." and the like) - and let's face it, those songs are just made for electric... 3] While you've clearly defined your "team sound" as you state in your previous post - and I wouldn't presume to recommend "fixing what ain't broke" - by the same token don't fight the urge to really experiment with different textures and approaches, and the electric is the perfect platform. In our last position - a congregation whose members were largely past retirement age - we revamped "Blessed Be Your Name" and "Our God Is Greater" into a medley, similar in feel to "Every Breath You Take" (yes, the Police tune - muffled arpeggios on the verses, crunch chords on the choruses), and brought a power-ballad underlay to the choruses of Don Moen's "Revelation Song"; amazing how people don't realize what they might like until they hear it... Quote:
 ; with a little luck there may still be some NOS around - but I wouldn't count on it since they were quite a cult favorite while in production...Soli Deo Gloria...
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#8
11-16-2013, 06:12 PM
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Steve, thanks for the all the info.....definitely some things to chew on....and most likely try in practice to see what happens!
I just found a Vox 15r in my local Craigslist for $75....I am waiting ti hear back from the guy. Seems like a good deal. I have my eye on a could of Bugera V22's on ebay to see what happens.
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"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." - Jim Elliot
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#10
11-16-2013, 07:26 PM
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Quote:
__________________
Martin 0-16NY Emerald Amicus Emerald X20 Cordoba Stage Some of my tunes: https://youtube.com/user/eatswodo
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#11
11-16-2013, 07:38 PM
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Quote:
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#12
11-16-2013, 08:51 PM
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I really like my little Fender Super Champ XD for practice and small venues ... since I believe the X2 has replaced it, you might be able to find the XD still in stock somewhere for a nice price ... I know several months ago there were still some new XD's out there ... good luck
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-- Scriptor For some very simple demos of original music: https://soundcloud.com/rick-langdon -- Play on!! 
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#14
11-17-2013, 07:28 AM
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Keep an eye out on CraigsList, eBay, etc. for a LAB SERIES amp. These amps were built in the '70s and were pretty highly regarded back in the day. Elliot Easton of The Cars used one of these amps on The Cars first album. Also Ray Fleck used one on those great Ricky Skaggs tunes (e.g. Highway 40 Blues).
You can find these for under $300. I got a 2x12 for $250. I actually gig with it sometimes. Its a GREAT amp. Also, they are solid state, so you don't have to worry about tubes. Just flip it on and play. 
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#15
11-18-2013, 03:10 PM
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Cube?
I used a Cube 30 (10 inch speaker) for a while, then lucked out and found a Cube 60 (got the 12" speaker) locally used, under $200. Many effects, reverb, etc, and it will fill a small renue. Very versital little amps, but they are solid state. Buyer beware on any used electronic stuff as mentioned above.
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Taylor 312 CE 78 Gibson J 50 Yamaha APX 500 DRB 73 Guild Starfire 3 Alvarez Acoustic Bass G & L Jazz Bass
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