Practice Amp Suggestions

**krisantonelli** · 12-16-2016, 02:35 PM

hey all - I have a Roland Cube 40 and not satisfied with the tone; wondering if any suggestions about other practice amps I should look at. I play a heritage 575. I have kind of a lot of requirements that may or may not be realistic:

1. Most importantly, need clean tones, with equal clarity and "clean-ness" on low end and high end. Roland seems to be good at mid register but gets crackly at high end and muddy at low end (i'm using 12s with archtop so don't think it's the guitar)
2. Need to be able to use headphones and very closely replicate the sound, so that my tone is my tone with or without headphones (cube is giving me an underwater sound on 5th string and lower with headphones where I can barely distinguish notes, even worse than without headphones)
3. Need to be able to unplug headphones and still play very, very quietly while still getting the most out of the amp's tone - talking TV at moderate volume quietly. this will be my everyday default volume for a long time (apartment dweller not yet playing out)
4. Don't want to buy junk; willing to pay a bit more if it means i get quality amp and great tone with aforementioned very low volume and headphone use capability
5. Am good with quality solid state but would prefer no modeling. Want the focus to be on clean tone and won't use modeling features anyway (don't currently with Roland).
6. Would be great if it could do all this and then also get loud enough if needed to play a small gig...if not, would want to have a step-up option that is very similar to the practice amp so i don't have to re-invent the wheel tonality wise down the road when/if i get to that phase

Know this is a lot and may not be able to check all boxes. Any thoughts?

**medblues** · 12-16-2016, 03:03 PM

Henriksen Bud.

The Bud from Henriksen Amplifiers

**gggomez** · 12-16-2016, 05:19 PM

Am also interested in a quality practice giggable light amp.

My ears have put a line through Henriksen, DV.

The Quilters sound pretty good, the Aviator 8 sounds pretty good is priced OK but the 12 inch sounds so much better from the infomercials but waythe same as my Princeton. The 8 only has a mid/tone control on the clean channel so a concern if not enough bass.

The QuilterMicroPro 8 seems to sound like a much bigger speaker than the Aviator to my ears but cost more tham my Princeton. The Tweed setting sounds really good.

Maybe I need to go the Microhead as a low cost/limit the risk option.

Would love to hear real examples with jazz guitars as the infomertails don't sound so flash. Not a fan of the Richie Severson sound really makes it sound like a ss amp.

**rob taft** · 12-16-2016, 07:13 PM

Boss Katana head and the cab of your choice. The head has a 5" built in speaker. I own this and it is a great clean amp with lots of headroom at the 100 watt setting. I honestly haven't used the dirt channels. The 5" speaker can get fairly loud. With a 12" speaker in a separate cab you will have no problem handling gig volume. For the money it is a great amp.

Boss Katana Head - 100/50/0.5W Guitar Amp Head with Internal Speaker | Sweetwater.com

FAQ on the amp

Boss Katana Amps - FAQ

**vintagelove** · 12-16-2016, 07:55 PM

Polytone, it won't do everything you want, but it will sound great.

**GNAPPI** · 12-16-2016, 08:03 PM

Forget the headphones, get a twin :-)

joaopaz · 12-16-2016, 09:58 PM

Originally Posted by medblues

Henriksen Bud.

The Bud from Henriksen Amplifiers

+1

**blille** · 12-16-2016, 11:08 PM

Sorry you didn't like the Cube. It's well liked so whatever you pick make sure to play it first.

How about a Tech 21 Trademark? Excellent headphone out. You can go 30 or 60W, scales well.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

**krisantonelli** · 12-17-2016, 03:16 AM

Originally Posted by blille

Sorry you didn't like the Cube. It's well liked so whatever you pick make sure to play it first.

How about a Tech 21 Trademark? Excellent headphone out. You can go 30 or 60W, scales well.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks! Actually never heard of that one but web info looks interesting; will have to try it out.

on the Roland - picked it up awhile back, liked it then, probably for the wrong reasons: functionality and features over tone. Now it just bugs me

**krisantonelli** · 12-17-2016, 03:18 AM

Thanks Medblues - definitely adding henriksen bud to the tryout list, seems to check many if not all of the boxes (true test will be how quiet I can get it).

**rpjazzguitar** · 12-17-2016, 05:53 AM

well under $50 on CL and come up often.

12 watts. 8 inch speaker. surprisingly good sound.

I have used mine on some medium size gigs where I could get it about head height. It's not loud enough to leave on the floor and point at your legs.

Sounds great mic'ed.

15 lbs.

If it cuts out, it may not be goner. Wiggle the speaker wires. If it makes a difference, open the amp and heat the solder joints where the speaker connects to the board (it's where the plug is soldered in). Mine did not come new with strain relief on those wires.

There's one now on SF CL for $20.

**pingu** · 12-17-2016, 10:41 AM

Mambo Amps

**marcwhy** · 12-17-2016, 11:08 AM

Originally Posted by medblues

Henriksen Bud.

The Bud from Henriksen Amplifiers

An $1100 "practice amp?"

**blille** · 12-17-2016, 11:16 AM

Originally Posted by marcwhy

An $1100 "practice amp?"

That's what you get when the op says he's willing to "pay a bit more".

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**krisantonelli** · 12-17-2016, 12:25 PM

Originally Posted by blille

That's what you get when the op says he's willing to "pay a bit more".

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah - totally fair if it does it all and works in both the bedroom and the barroom. Rather buy a $1,100 amp today and keep it for 10 yrs than buy a $400 amp and have to shop again in two...

**krisantonelli** · 12-17-2016, 12:29 PM

Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar

well under $50 on CL and come up often.

12 watts. 8 inch speaker. surprisingly good sound.

I have used mine on some medium size gigs where I could get it about head height. It's not loud enough to leave on the floor and point at your legs.

Sounds great mic'ed.

15 lbs.

If it cuts out, it may not be goner. Wiggle the speaker wires. If it makes a difference, open the amp and heat the solder joints where the speaker connects to the board (it's where the plug is soldered in). Mine did not come new with strain relief on those wires.

There's one now on SF CL for $20.

Hey RP...thanks and sounds good. What amp are we talking about? Sorry if I missed it...

**rpjazzguitar** · 12-17-2016, 02:12 PM

Crate GFX15.

Sorry, I put it in the title box, and then it didn't appear in the post.

I bought mine new, many years ago, at GC. Paid either $79 or $99.

I thought it was a great sounding amp.

There was one gig where I was playing in a room that might have been 100 by 40 for maybe 60 or 70 people. Drums, bass, keys, guitar, vocals and a horn. We were at one end of the room and I put the Crate on a shelf maybe 6 feet high. It was fine. I left a Mesa Boogie in the car.

Perhaps the best tone I ever had on a gig was that amp, mic'ed through a good PA.

Later, it developed the problem where it would cut out intermittently. I eventually traced it to the lack of strain relief on the speaker wires. Open back cabinet and the power cord will eventually touch the speaker wires and stress the solder joint. Recently, I opened it up (a bit of a chore to get the circuit board in a position to solder) and I created some strain relief by tying a knot in the speaker wires and pushing inside the dime sized hole in the chassis (which should have had a strain relief grommet, but it's a cheap amp).

BTW, I've heard some other jazz players comment on how good this model sounds.

It's got effects, but they may not be that helpful -- two levels of reverb. I like one of them, but you might not.

**medblues** · 12-17-2016, 02:53 PM

Originally Posted by marcwhy

An $1100 "practice amp?"

"4. Don't want to buy junk; willing to pay a bit more if it means i get quality amp and great tone with aforementioned very low volume and headphone use capability
5. Am good with quality solid state but would prefer no modeling. Want the focus to be on clean tone and won't use modeling features anyway (don't currently with Roland). "

**Doctor Jeff** · 12-17-2016, 03:20 PM

Let me suggest the Fishman Loudbox Artist--a great amp both for practicing and for performance. It has a headphone output and sounds very good--interestingly much more reverb effect through headphones than speakers, but that's a minor quibble.

Great for all guitars--acoustics, archtops, even solid-bodies.

Unfortunately the Mini doesn't have a headphone output, otherwise it'd be a good choice.

**rpjazzguitar** · 12-17-2016, 03:37 PM

The OP had plenty of criteria for a practice amp.

Here's one I might add.

An Aux input so you can plug in a sound source (like your phone) and play along with tracks.

Useful feature.

The Crate amp I suggested, GFX15 does not have this feature. It does have a headphone output though.

**Max405** · 12-17-2016, 04:31 PM

Fender Princeton Reverb FSR.
The best amp I ever had. Not even close.
Joe D

**Sean65** · 12-17-2016, 06:37 PM

Rolands Blues Cubes and Koch Jupiter sound pretty good as do the Quilter amps.

The headphone socket is the kicker in your spec as it cuts out a lot of cool gear.

Before you give up on the Cube, try it on Tweed with the gain turned down. I'm getting a nice tone out of mine set like this but I like a little grit when I dig in.

**Longways to Go** · 12-17-2016, 07:04 PM

I prefer to practice with whatever amp I'm most likely to play on the next gig or whatever.

I'm not talking big 80 pound twins, but I have a number of nice smaller amps.

DV Mark Little Jazz -- sure. Acoustic Image with Reazer's Edge -- you bet!
Henriksen -- Oh yeah. My newest amp, the Rivera Venus -- perfect.

They all play great at low volume and at bigger volume too.
Really, I like them all.

To me, it's like ordering pizza . . . I might want to try something else some other Saturday nite.
Not so different from choosing a different guitar to play from time to time.

If you have an amp that sounds good to you, it's probably a perfect practice amp too.

**rpjazzguitar** · 12-19-2016, 02:31 PM

Played a Roland Cube 40x in a guitar/bass/reeds trio last night. It sounded great. Not much bigger than a lot of practice amps, but certainly capable of a small gig -- and maybe a bigger one than that.

I had previously played the same amp, in the same room, but with an octet (4 horns and rhythm section) and I had some trouble getting a sound I liked, but it worked fine with the trio.

**krisantonelli** · 12-26-2016, 08:48 AM

Originally Posted by Sean65

Rolands Blues Cubes and Koch Jupiter sound pretty good as do the Quilter amps.

The headphone socket is the kicker in your spec as it cuts out a lot of cool gear.

Before you give up on the Cube, try it on Tweed with the gain turned down. I'm getting a nice tone out of mine set like this but I like a little grit when I dig in.

Thanks Sean- tried tweed setting again and still not doing it for me. Out of curiosity, what amps come to mind when you take out the headphone requirement? That maybe negotiable if I can get it condo-living-room-quiet and still have the tone optimized...