Home Amp Advice

[sgosnell]

I mostly use an SBUS at home. I mostly use my Fender Vibrolux Reverb for a cabinet, because it's sitting there taking up space. But I also have a Toob Metro BG+ and a RE Stealth 10ER. If I go out, I take the Toob. The Stealth10 doesn't get much use, and the VR will never leave the room again, most likely. The VR sounds marginally better than the Toob, and is much louder because of having two 10" speakers in parallel, so 4 ohms. The SBUS sounds very much like the VR, but it runs far cooler and is more convenient to use. I acquired the VR in the early '90s, and would never buy one again, but since it's here, I make some use of it. Many cabinets will work with the SBUS, it's a great amp.

[Sigmund451]

Thanks for the all the help. I had other options in mind but by the time I bought something, decided to change the speaker and bla bla bla. I just figured get a good speaker a good amp and call it done. Ive done some homework on cabs and I really do like projects. My basement is full of wood sourced from various other endeavors. Im looking forward to starting a cab project this week.

[58flame]

I must confess, you are the first guitarist I have ever encountered in my ~53 years of playing the instrument who has claimed that playing without an amp makes one a better electric guitarist.

Every other player who has weighed in on the topic* has opined that the guitar+amp is a single symbiote whose behavior and nuance must be learned. Practicing electric guitar without an amp is like a brass player who only ever practices with a bucket mute, or a sax player who only ever practiced on a Lyricon: The fingering technique to get the right note to happen at the right time is getting addressed, but the aspects of timbre that the player needs to control are not.

Note, I'm not talking about dependence on "reverb, echo,etc." I'm talking about the sound of electric guitar. Amps and guitars interact, and unless you are accustomed to how they work together you will never be able to fully anticipate and control how your instrument will sound when you get on the bandstand and plug in.

*And it's been my empirical experience too.

Well let me be the second. I play acoustic archtops exclusively. I never practice with my amp. All my amp does is make me louder and add a little bit of reverb. I don’t ever have to worry about playing both as one.
And -
The guitarist develops a firmer and better technique when playing without amplification. These are not my words, but the words of Johnny Smith. So maybe count Johnny in there with me too?

[jim777]

When practicing (with an amp) I go back and forth between a Boogie Mark IV combo, a Fender TM Twin Reverb, and a Hartke 2x10 bass amp. I am currently leaning towards the bass amp most of the time, but it weighs like 80 pounds so I wouldn't actually recommend it if you wany a practice amp you can play out with.

That said, like others have said I almost exclusively practice on an unplugged archtop with a floating pickup. They just sound so good by themselves The amps I really only use for practice when I'm playing one of my solid bodies.

[Sigmund451]

And here she is. I still need to put a finish on the outside. Its heavy but it wasnt built to gig. Its just for my home. I paired the Quilter US with a Cannabis Rex. All the cab wood was in my basement.

The open cab was really bassy in a bad way at first. I experimented with some foam pieces which helped a little. What finally helped was removing the bottom piece on the rear. I had just eyeballed speakers and did a 1/3 piece on bottom, 1/3 or a little more open in the middle, and a third closed on top. Getting the bottom open tightened up the bass nicely. Ive more experimenting to do but its pretty close to done.

[Little Jay]

And here she is. I still need to put a finish on the outside. Its heavy but it wasnt built to gig. Its just for my home. I paired the Quilter US with a Cannabis Rex. All the cab wood was in my basement.

The open cab was really bassy in a bad way at first. I experimented with some foam pieces which helped a little. What finally helped was removing the bottom piece on the rear. I had just eyeballed speakers and did a 1/3 piece on bottom, 1/3 or a little more open in the middle, and a third closed on top. Getting the bottom open tightened up the bass nicely. Ive more experimenting to do but its pretty close to done.

I did the same a while ago ;-)



I used an old Fender-labeled 12” speaker, probably Eminence-made. It’s a bit smaller than yours, but also open back. Sounds pretty good and plenty loud. I do sometimes use it on a jamsession with drums, piano, upright, horns.

[Sigmund451]

Nice!

I defnintely wouldnt want to carry mine.
I had the wood so just made it like a little piece of furnature.
Its a battle tank!