Practice Amp Setups

[Vigier]

The THR is a great sounding amp,I bought the THR10C 8 years ago and it’s still going strong,the acoustic setting on it sounds great too,I also have the Boss Wasa air Bluetooth headphone amp which is also great too,the Blackstar silver line standard which my daughter has is great too,I had to buy the footswitch for it separately but picked one up for £50 used,you can’t go wrong with any of those

[hatamoto]

Originally Posted by Rukulele

I need to get an amp for use in my dorm at college. It can't be too big, and under 500 dollars at the most. I'm interested to know what most people are using for their low volume practice setups.

For myself i've mostly been considering the Yamaha THR series, but I'm not sure if I should just get the 5 to save money, or if the 10 or 30 is worth the extra cost. I have also thought about the Fender Mustang Micro headphone amp. Obviously it would be the smallest choice, but I would like to have the option to play without headphones sometimes. If anyone has recommendations of any small combo amps (1x8 or 1x10) that they really like, I am open to those options as well. I have thought about the Blackstar ht1.

Also, I have been watching videos about amp and cab sim pedals like the Walrus Audio ACS1, DSM & Humboldt simplifier, and the Blackstar Amped 1. Does anyone use something like that into headphones as their practice setup?

Mostly I just want to find out what other people are using and have some discussion, thanks.

You have a few options and that would depend on what you plan to do with it.

1. If you plan on jamming with people and you want a simple plug and play option, go with a small combo. I have an Orange Crush 12 and it works great for that. I've never tried the Yamaha, but only heard good things.

2. Get a headphone amp like the Fender Mustang micro only for portability. That's it. I have one and the battery life sucks. I hate having to think about charging it all the time. Nothing is worse when you're in the moment and it just dies on you. I only use mine to write ideas with late at night or if I'm out on a trip. I think this should be your last option. On the bright side, they are great sounding headphone amps. There is a way to play the Mustang Micro with speakers, but I've tried it and it has a bit of latency. I did not like it. These things shouldn't be your main amp.

3. The amp in pedal format like the Blackstar Amped 1 you mentioned are made for recording and portability. I would go for these vs the headphone plug amps ANY day. You just have to know what you're going to use it for. You would get one if you like to play around with DAWs, make tracks, and build a pedalboard system. For a college dorm setting, I think these can potentially work great if you have a set of good monitors, an audio interface, and a powerful laptop. It's a bit of an elaborate setup though but I still would go this route over amp simulators any day.


So in summary:

For jamming and simple plug and play- get a small amp. Perhaps a 1x6, 1x8 or 1x10 at most. It's up to you if you want a tube amp, but just know that they work best at a certain volume so that may be too loud. Every tube amp has their own sweet spot, and you have to crank it to get the best tone and feel. If you're going to ask me, I wouldn't recommend a pure tube amp yet. It's a bit overkill for your setting.

For an easy plug and play amp but with with recording capabilities, just make sure that the amp has a cabsim out. They're usually labeled as headphone plugs. The Orange Crush 12 that I mentioned has one. Don't get fooled by it's small 1x6 size. It's plenty loud for your setting.

Amp sims and cabsims in pedal form can get complicated real fast so just know what you're getting into if you go this route. Headphone practice is not what they are primarily bought for, but they usually have that feature built in as an add on feature so you might be disappointed. You would also most likely need to buy additional gear for it work best. They're also expensive! You would be well over your budget by the time you've built a system around this. PM me if you want more info on this.

Some of the amps you mentioned above have dual purposes. The Blackstar Ht1 can work great as a recording tool as well as a real amp. I would go for the head+cab for a bit of future proofing. You can opt to keep the head and plug it in another bigger cab if you want a bigger sound. I believe they're one of the few heads that can work without a speaker cab so you can have that little thing on your desk while it's plugged in your computer via usb and you're making tracks and jamming away with headphones. Then when it's time to jam, just take your cab+head with you and play with your friends.

If you plan to record you will need an audio interface unless it has a usb port. I would still get an audio interface for flexibility.

My 2 cents:

Get the the Blackstar HT1 but in head+cab format. It's capable of all the things you need: recording, silent practice and jamming. After you graduate and move in a nice apartment, you can still upgrade it by getting a bigger cab from any brand. You have more flexibility this way.

[CASD57]

Originally Posted by hatamoto

You have a few options and that would depend on what you plan to do with it.

1. If you plan on jamming with people and you want a simple plug and play option, go with a small combo. I have an Orange Crush 12 and it works great for that. I've never tried the Yamaha, but only heard good things.

2. Get a headphone amp like the Fender Mustang micro only for portability. That's it. I have one and the battery life sucks. I hate having to think about charging it all the time. Nothing is worse when you're in the moment and it just dies on you. I only use mine to write ideas with late at night or if I'm out on a trip. I think this should be your last option. On the bright side, they are great sounding headphone amps. There is a way to play the Mustang Micro with speakers, but I've tried it and it has a bit of latency. I did not like it. These things shouldn't be your main amp.

3. The amp in pedal format like the Blackstar Amped 1 you mentioned are made for recording and portability. I would go for these vs the headphone plug amps ANY day. You just have to know what you're going to use it for. You would get one if you like to play around with DAWs, make tracks, and build a pedalboard system. For a college dorm setting, I think these can potentially work great if you have a set of good monitors, an audio interface, and a powerful laptop. It's a bit of an elaborate setup though but I still would go this route over amp simulators any day.


So in summary:

For jamming and simple plug and play- get a small amp. Perhaps a 1x6, 1x8 or 1x10 at most. It's up to you if you want a tube amp, but just know that they work best at a certain volume so that may be too loud. Every tube amp has their own sweet spot, and you have to crank it to get the best tone and feel. If you're going to ask me, I wouldn't recommend a pure tube amp yet. It's a bit overkill for your setting.

For an easy plug and play amp but with with recording capabilities, just make sure that the amp has a cabsim out. They're usually labeled as headphone plugs. The Orange Crush 12 that I mentioned has one. Don't get fooled by it's small 1x6 size. It's plenty loud for your setting.

Amp sims and cabsims in pedal form can get complicated real fast so just know what you're getting into if you go this route. Headphone practice is not what they are primarily bought for, but they usually have that feature built in as an add on feature so you might be disappointed. You would also most likely need to buy additional gear for it work best. They're also expensive! You would be well over your budget by the time you've built a system around this. PM me if you want more info on this.

Some of the amps you mentioned above have dual purposes. The Blackstar Ht1 can work great as a recording tool as well as a real amp. I would go for the head+cab for a bit of future proofing. You can opt to keep the head and plug it in another bigger cab if you want a bigger sound. I believe they're one of the few heads that can work without a speaker cab so you can have that little thing on your desk while it's plugged in your computer via usb and you're making tracks and jamming away with headphones. Then when it's time to jam, just take your cab+head with you and play with your friends.

If you plan to record you will need an audio interface unless it has a usb port. I would still get an audio interface for flexibility.

My 2 cents:

Get the the Blackstar HT1 but in head+cab format. It's capable of all the things you need: recording, silent practice and jamming. After you graduate and move in a nice apartment, you can still upgrade it by getting a bigger cab from any brand. You have more flexibility this way.

I mentioned it before but I'll throw it in again..
Boss Katana 100w MK2 Head..
100w is plenty for almost anything you want to do it has an Attenuator so you can bring it down to .5 watts for bedroom playing
It has a built-in 5in speaker so you don't have to have a speaker cabinet until you are ready to own one..
It has all the bells and whistles ..effects loop, headphone out..etc.,
All the Boss pedals built it
weights 19lbs
Can sit on a shelf...It's a head

It's $369

It just might be my next purchase..I'm still in the "Do I go Tube or?" camp..

[rollypolly]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

Try the triode (15W) setting - there's a whole 'nuther set of highly useful/toneful clean and OD sounds in there (mostly of the pre-Top Boost Vox cum 18-watt variety) and the push-button mid-boost adds another layer of classic Brit vibe. BTW the oversize enclosure not only contributes to the tone, but it's built like a tank (and as I'm sure you've discovered, weighs only slightly less ): they use anchored machine screws throughout (FWIW there are big-buck boutique builders who don't even do that - not to mention their higher-priced mass-production competitors), and if you ever get the urge they're highly responsive to easy DIY mods/upgrades (tubes, speaker, etc.) - lotsa good stuff going on, for not a lotta bucks...

Yup. Still loving it. Definitely a keeper amp and so clean and good for blues and jazz. Could easily gig a small venue with it. I’m very surprised they’re only $500 new.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by rollypolly

Yup. Still loving it. Definitely a keeper amp and so clean and good for blues and jazz. Could easily gig a small venue with it. I’m very surprised they’re only $500 new.

IME you could do more than just small venues (which I've done) with a V22: granted that I upgraded my first-edition "blue-light" version with Soviet-era military-surplus tubes and an Eminence Swamp Thang speaker (super-efficient @ 102dB), but it'll handle a 600-700 seat house clean as you need or dirty as you want. As far as price is concerned, they've always been a bargain: I scored mine in 2010 for $300 @ GC (got about $500 total invested in amp and upgrades), picked up the baby-brother V5 combo for $139 (also @ GC), and scored the T5 and T50 "cage" heads for 20% off during recent holiday sales @ Sweetwater - and if you're in need of a compact setup for coffeehouse/small-restaurant/cocktail-hour gigs and home practice (and have a compact extension cab lying around) that T5 it a real little tone monster, with headroom far beyond its modest 5W rating...

[Rolph]

Originally Posted by hatamoto

You have a few options and that would depend on what you plan to do with it.

1. If you plan on jamming with people and you want a simple plug and play option, go with a small combo. I have an Orange Crush 12 and it works great for that. I've never tried the Yamaha, but only heard good things.

2. Get a headphone amp like the Fender Mustang micro only for portability. That's it. I have one and the battery life sucks. I hate having to think about charging it all the time. Nothing is worse when you're in the moment and it just dies on you. I only use mine to write ideas with late at night or if I'm out on a trip. I think this should be your last option. On the bright side, they are great sounding headphone amps. There is a way to play the Mustang Micro with speakers, but I've tried it and it has a bit of latency. I did not like it. These things shouldn't be your main amp.

3. The amp in pedal format like the Blackstar Amped 1 you mentioned are made for recording and portability. I would go for these vs the headphone plug amps ANY day. You just have to know what you're going to use it for. You would get one if you like to play around with DAWs, make tracks, and build a pedalboard system. For a college dorm setting, I think these can potentially work great if you have a set of good monitors, an audio interface, and a powerful laptop. It's a bit of an elaborate setup though but I still would go this route over amp simulators any day.


So in summary:

For jamming and simple plug and play- get a small amp. Perhaps a 1x6, 1x8 or 1x10 at most. It's up to you if you want a tube amp, but just know that they work best at a certain volume so that may be too loud. Every tube amp has their own sweet spot, and you have to crank it to get the best tone and feel. If you're going to ask me, I wouldn't recommend a pure tube amp yet. It's a bit overkill for your setting.

For an easy plug and play amp but with with recording capabilities, just make sure that the amp has a cabsim out. They're usually labeled as headphone plugs. The Orange Crush 12 that I mentioned has one. Don't get fooled by it's small 1x6 size. It's plenty loud for your setting.

Amp sims and cabsims in pedal form can get complicated real fast so just know what you're getting into if you go this route. Headphone practice is not what they are primarily bought for, but they usually have that feature built in as an add on feature so you might be disappointed. You would also most likely need to buy additional gear for it work best. They're also expensive! You would be well over your budget by the time you've built a system around this. PM me if you want more info on this.

Some of the amps you mentioned above have dual purposes. The Blackstar Ht1 can work great as a recording tool as well as a real amp. I would go for the head+cab for a bit of future proofing. You can opt to keep the head and plug it in another bigger cab if you want a bigger sound. I believe they're one of the few heads that can work without a speaker cab so you can have that little thing on your desk while it's plugged in your computer via usb and you're making tracks and jamming away with headphones. Then when it's time to jam, just take your cab+head with you and play with your friends.

If you plan to record you will need an audio interface unless it has a usb port. I would still get an audio interface for flexibility.

My 2 cents:

Get the the Blackstar HT1 but in head+cab format. It's capable of all the things you need: recording, silent practice and jamming. After you graduate and move in a nice apartment, you can still upgrade it by getting a bigger cab from any brand. You have more flexibility this way.

Why would you recommend an amp if it sucks? Especially if it dies on you?

[Rolph]

Originally Posted by Puddleglum

As far as there being a lot of used Katana 50s on the market, that does not surprise me. I'd venture a guess and say most (like me) could not figure out how to get the online software stuff going and decided to get rid of the amp. This feature is why a lot of people want these amps to begin with. From what I've seen on YT, there really is a myriad of great options with the software, but it hates Mac products and most times won't work with them. My wife is a genuine whiz at computer stuff and couldn't get mine to work, so I know that option is off the table.

As far as tube amps go... back in the day I was a Strat/tube amp guy and loved the tones. But if one is going to mostly jam at home like me, and with headphones so I don't drive my family bananas, a tube amp makes no sense. I'm over all those bluesy sounds anyway and don't want that sound anymore. I can tell you that the Katana will give you some really huge, fat tones all with the original built-in settings. I'm very happy with mine. All it would cost you is a couple hundred bucks to see if one would work for your purposes. And with GC's return policy, there is really nothing to lose. Have fun!

I had two versions of the Katana: the Head and the combo. They were both overkill for a bedroom practice situation, unless you live alone. I think there are many of them for sale because I/you spend all your playing time fiddling with the settings to get an improvement. Much too complicated with mediocre sound for me.

[mjh42]

6 pages and hardly a mention of VOX??

Used there is the Vox mini3 and mini5----have had a mini5 for a long time--for price point it does it's job fine.

New there are the Vox Mini GO series 3- 10 -50

The Pathfinder 10 and a whole practice amp series and headphones.

Don't know much about the new VOX offerings other than online reviews.

Supro has a couple of 15W and a 5w option--a little above your budget but nice.

If buying today I'd look hard at the Bugera V5 offering posted as well.

[CASD57]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

IME you could do more than just small venues (which I've done) with a V22: granted that I upgraded my first-edition "blue-light" version with Soviet-era military-surplus tubes and an Eminence Swamp Thang speaker (super-efficient @ 102dB), but it'll handle a 600-700 seat house clean as you need or dirty as you want. As far as price is concerned, they've always been a bargain: I scored mine in 2010 for $300 @ GC (got about $500 total invested in amp and upgrades), picked up the baby-brother V5 combo for $139 (also @ GC), and scored the T5 and T50 "cage" heads for 20% off during recent holiday sales @ Sweetwater - and if you're in need of a compact setup for coffeehouse/small-restaurant/cocktail-hour gigs and home practice (and have a compact extension cab lying around) that T5 it a real little tone monster, with headroom far beyond its modest 5W rating...

As much as I jumped on the Mustang GTX100 band wagon I'm waiting for a deal on the Bugera's..I'd buy the V5 and T5-50 when they hit a Fathers day sale or something

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by CASD57

As much as I jumped on the Mustang GTX100 band wagon I'm waiting for a deal on the Bugera's..I'd buy the V5 and T5-50 when they hit a Fathers day sale or something

Start looking - we're going into Presidents' Week...

[Puddleglum]

Originally Posted by Rolph

I had two versions of the Katana: the Head and the combo. They were both overkill for a bedroom practice situation, unless you live alone. I think there are many of them for sale because I/you spend all your playing time fiddling with the settings to get an improvement. Much too complicated with mediocre sound for me.

Yes, constant fiddling and messing around with settings seems par for the course with stuff like this. I don't even understand all the built-in options of mine, but just leave the "panel" button turned on and the "brown" setting on the knob. I dial in a bit of reverb and delay and to me it sounds really nice. I never get off the low power option either. But once I did take the amp to a friend's house to jam and put in on full power. I have the 50-watt version and was surprised at how powerful it was.

It also seems to me all the fiddling and messing about with settings is yet another distraction from getting better at playing music. I went through years where I'd get pedals and things to get new tones, but I never worked on getting better at playing my guitar. I'm sure there are a lot of people who've fallen into that too. It's easy to do. Since I got back into playing electric guitar I determined to stay off the gadgets and things and just get better at guitar. It's been a great season in my musical life.

[CASD57]

Dropped into GC today... didn't play anything I was on a schedule LOL
But I noticed something...
Either I'm getting bigger or the amps are getting smaller WOW
The Katana 50 is a small amp in size...
The Mustang LT50 and GTX's were small also from my days with Peaveys.. but the Katana 50 and the 100-watt head is small-small
The Line6 Catalyst 100 was not bad,,,Probably more like the GTX100

I would worry that the Katana with the small cabinet would sound boxy compared to his big brother

Oh and the Vox AC15 is Heavy been a while since I picked up a 50lb amp lol

[Brent Hutto]

Originally Posted by CASD57

Dropped into GC today... didn't play anything I was on a schedule LOL
But I noticed something...
Either I'm getting bigger or the amps are getting smaller WOW
The Katana 50 is a small amp in size...
The Mustang LT50 and GTX's were small also from my days with Peaveys.. but the Katana 50 and the 100-watt head is small-small
The Line6 Catalyst 100 was not bad,,,Probably more like the GTX100

I would worry that the Katana with the small cabinet would sound boxy compared to his big brother

Oh and the Vox AC15 is Heavy been a while since I picked up a 50lb amp lol

I started with a Katana 100 mkII (combo, not head) then added a second Katana, this one a 50 mkII, to make a stereo setup.

If you're pushing any significant amount of bass below about 100 or 110Hz there's a definite difference in timbre between them. But at the volumes I play (typically no more than 78-80dB from the stereo pair, measured at my playing position) and with a fairly balanced EQ the only difference I hear is room positioning.

When I put them side by side they sound exactly the same to me with SPL's in the 60's and low 70's and the Bass/Mid/Treble knobs somewhere toward the middle of their range.

I have a feeling with my requirements I could get by with a pair of cabinets no bigger than the 50 combo and heck maybe in 10" speakers. My sound is more limited by my self-imposed volume restriction and my inability to get both of my stereo pair out in the open away from corners and furniture.

If I went back 12 months to the beginning and knew what I know now I'd have just gotten both of them as 50 mkII combos and saved myself 100 bucks or whatever.

[CASD57]

Originally Posted by Brent Hutto

I started with a Katana 100 mkII (combo, not head) then added a second Katana, this one a 50 mkII, to make a stereo setup.

If you're pushing any significant amount of bass below about 100 or 110Hz there's a definite difference in timbre between them. But at the volumes I play (typically no more than 78-80dB from the stereo pair, measured at my playing position) and with a fairly balanced EQ the only difference I hear is room positioning.

When I put them side by side they sound exactly the same to me with SPL's in the 60's and low 70's and the Bass/Mid/Treble knobs somewhere toward the middle of their range.

I have a feeling with my requirements I could get by with a pair of cabinets no bigger than the 50 combo and heck maybe in 10" speakers. My sound is more limited by my self-imposed volume restriction and my inability to get both of my stereo pair out in the open away from corners and furniture.

If I went back 12 months to the beginning and knew what I know now I'd have just gotten both of them as 50 mkII combos and saved myself 100 bucks or whatever.

I'm sure Boss has tuned the cabinet to work at that size..
They do look like nice amps..
I was torn between them and the GXT100 that I finally ordered, but it was a toss-up for sure and time will tell if I made a mistake.

[Puddleglum]

Originally Posted by CASD57

Dropped into GC today... didn't play anything I was on a schedule LOL
But I noticed something...
Either I'm getting bigger or the amps are getting smaller WOW
The Katana 50 is a small amp in size...
The Mustang LT50 and GTX's were small also from my days with Peaveys.. but the Katana 50 and the 100-watt head is small-small
The Line6 Catalyst 100 was not bad,,,Probably more like the GTX100

I would worry that the Katana with the small cabinet would sound boxy compared to his big brother

Oh and the Vox AC15 is Heavy been a while since I picked up a 50lb amp lol

I have the Boss 50-watt and love it. It is small but it gets insanely loud, and it keeps its tone pretty well at higher volumes. It's perfect for my needs.