Small, portable, QUIET practice amp

**ThatRhythmMan** · 05-25-2021, 08:03 PM

The Boss Katana Mini is surprisingly good, runs on batteries or a standard pedal power supply, and weighs almost nothing.

**coolvinny** · 05-25-2021, 08:22 PM

Mambo 8, Henriksen Blu.

My Mambo 8 is still going strong after 10 years.

**Doctor Jeff** · 05-25-2021, 09:40 PM

The Roland MicroCube would fit the bill—small, lightweight, runs on batteries or corded. You can play an auxiliary source through it with a wire. No hiss that I have noticed.

A few years ago I had an Epiphone Valve Jr. that was a nice little 5 watt amp. Excellent for playing at home. I wish I hadn’t sold it.

**Oldjock** · 05-25-2021, 10:07 PM

Originally Posted by 0zoro

Hello OJ! What you describe is exactly what I am looking for, partially at my cottage as well as at home. I like the feature of several different types of sounds available as well. Did you find that your Mustang was quiet at rest? How is the volume?

The Mustang LT25 is quiet at rest but realize that I am hearing impaired. There are 30 presets which may be adjusted or replaced with others from the Fender website. As for volume output, when cranked up it will be too loud for a bedroom setting. The only issue I have had is the built in tuner which works intermittently but I use a Snark. For me this little amp hits all the right buttons and at the right price.

**ruger9** · 05-26-2021, 07:37 AM

Originally Posted by Little Jay

Sure, most of my tube amps have some hiss or slight hum, but at low volumes, my 5F1 is dead quiet!

The Cube-series has a hiss.... not like the soft hiss that tube amps make (or some solid state amps - yes, they do hiss too!), but a weird digital sounding (to my ears) hiss....

Well, I can verify my MicroCube and Blues Cube Artist do NOT. Unless I have the gain cranked, but that's ANY amp. The Artist doesn't have a noise gate, IDK about the Microcube, but I've certainly never heard it. I'd like to see some documentation verifying the Cube amps even have noise gates. My Fender GDEC 30 did, but it was programmable, so you could adjust it or turn it off.

OK, so I see reports of the Roland JC series having a hiss. Is that older Roland technology? Because hiss out of a Roland BLUES Cube (or Microcube) is not something I have ever read... and I researched these amps heavily before buying my Blues Cube Artist, because they are not cheap. Is the "Cube 40" from the 1980's??? Solid state has come a long way since then...

**Ray175** · 05-26-2021, 08:05 AM

My main amp is a ToneMaster Deluxe Reverb whichis very light but quite bulky sowhen I want "small and portable" I use a tc electronics BAM200 head (about 7 inches wide) parked on top of a Toob 6.5" Metro BG speaker (on a small platform with velcro). It simply doesn't get any smaller and portable - total weight of 15lbs. This setup is works equally well for my ES175D as for my Höfner violin bass. Since the amp has no reverb, I place a Fender Tre-Verb in front of it, and I find it has one of the best plate reverbs I've heard outside of a studio (at a reasonable price). The setup is very quiet, furthermore the BAM200 also has a headphone socket for silent playing which is great late at night.

TC Electronic | Product | BAM200

TOOB Metro BG 6.5"

**Little Jay** · 05-26-2021, 08:21 AM

Originally Posted by ruger9

Well, I can verify my MicroCube and Blues Cube Artist do NOT. Unless I have the gain cranked, but that's ANY amp. The Artist doesn't have a noise gate, IDK about the Microcube, but I've certainly never heard it. I'd like to see some documentation verifying the Cube amps even have noise gates. My Fender GDEC 30 did, but it was programmable, so you could adjust it or turn it off.

OK, so I see reports of the Roland JC series having a hiss. Is that older Roland technology? Because hiss out of a Roland BLUES Cube (or Microcube) is not something I have ever read... and I researched these amps heavily before buying my Blues Cube Artist, because they are not cheap. Is the "Cube 40" from the 1980's??? Solid state has come a long way since then...

No we are not talking about the old Roland Jazz Chorus and Cube series from the 80ies and 90ies: those were ‘old school’ solid state, no digital modelling in there. The Cube series with modelling was revived around 2005 or so?

Btw, I love solid state amps and have couple of them : Session Rockette:30, Session Bluesbaby 22 and AER Alpha. The Rockette hisses and hums a little, but it’s 30 years old, could be caps or resistors. The others only hiss when you put your ear agains the grille cloth or crank the volume way up. Normal indeed.

All I know is that my Cube 30x had a weird hiss and did strange things at the end of the note decay (cut it off).... the reason I let it go. I read it’s an onboard or build in limiter but have never really seen that confirmed in official Roland documentation.

**0zoro** · 05-27-2021, 05:22 AM

Thanks for the many ideas and points of view! Appreciated in my ongoing search for a new, small, QUIET practice amp. Anyone who would like to add a word please do.

**rpjazzguitar** · 05-27-2021, 02:06 PM

The Little Jazz weighs about 15 lbs, sounds great and is quiet. I use it for almost everything. Including 19 pc big band (admittedly, a stretch for the amp, but no complaints). Apparently $300 at Musicians Friend right now which is cheaper than I paid at GC.

For a really low budget, a used Crate GFX15 is worth considering. They sell used for about $35. They sound great IMO, but FX are preset and not adjustable. I can get my sound, but maybe not everyone would be happy.

**Strbender** · 05-27-2021, 03:21 PM

Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar

The Little Jazz weighs about 15 lbs, sounds great and is quiet. I use it for almost everything. Including 19 pc big band (admittedly, a stretch for the amp, but no complaints). Apparently $300 at Musicians Friend right now which is cheaper than I paid at GC.

For a really low budget, a used Crate GFX15 is worth considering. They sell used for about $35. They sound great IMO, but FX are preset and not adjustable. I can get my sound, but maybe not everyone would be happy.

Thanks for the heads up about the sale on the Little Jazz. I've been thinking about getting one and the $300 price just sealed the deal!
Because of the heat given off with my Peavey Classic 30, I usually play without an amp this time of the year.
I like the idea of being able to use headphones, and record directly from the amp. Plus it won't heat up the room!

**sm80808** · 05-28-2021, 07:06 AM

I use an HX Stomp into some bookshelf speakers I had lying around.

With this setup I can use my phone via USB to the HX Stomp as an audio interface through the speakers for backing tracks/metronome/YouTube/etc.

**Average Joe** · 05-28-2021, 07:58 AM

I sometimes play with another guitarist who use a QUilter Micropro. I haven't noticed any hissing out of that.

**Dave70** · 05-28-2021, 08:11 AM

Probably the most economical, and lightweight solution:

**Marcel_A** · 05-28-2021, 08:35 AM

Originally Posted by Little Jay

Btw, I love solid state amps and have couple of them : Session Rockette:30, Session Bluesbaby 22 and AER Alpha. The Rockette hisses and hums a little, but it’s 30 years old, could be caps or resistors. The others only hiss when you put your ear agains the grille cloth or crank the volume way up. Normal indeed.

I really would like to try one of those session amps: especially the bluesbaby 22. It seems in holland stores don't sell them.

**Doctor Jeff** · 05-28-2021, 11:07 AM

Originally Posted by Strbender

Thanks for the heads up about the sale on the Little Jazz. I've been thinking about getting one and the $300 price just sealed the deal!
Because of the heat given off with my Peavey Classic 30, I usually play without an amp this time of the year.
I like the idea of being able to use headphones, and record directly from the amp. Plus it won't heat up the room!

That's funny! I used to have one...great amp but heavy and too loud for my house--never able to turn it above 9 o'clock. I think the Classic 20 would have been the perfect amp for me, if only it had reverb. (That's an easy fix, as they say on HGTV.)

Originally Posted by Dave70

Probably the most economical, and lightweight solution:

I have one and can't really recommend it except for maybe playing in a hotel room or something. To say there is a lack of clean headroom is an understatement. It's really more of a toy, not that that's a bad thing, just that you're not going to get a decent sound out of it at normal listening levels.

I took mine apart and was going to mount it in a cigar box as a cool vintage thing, just haven't gotten around to doing it. I did do that with a Pignose amp--in an old farm radio--and it looks and sounds awesome (too bad the battery power supply was kaput, so it has to be plugged in.)

Just my advice unless you want to use headphones exclusively the Roland Microcube gives the best bang for the buck that I've tried. The Pignose is not a bad idea either, though it tends to get fuzzy unless you turn the guitar volume knob way down.

**ruger9** · 05-28-2021, 11:23 AM

Agreed on the HoneyTone & all those tiny amps- they are toys.

I'm actually looking at a Fly3 as a "uber small but still good-sounding carry around amp"

This person is playing a solid body guitar, so an Archtop should sound even better for "jazz tones", I would think:

**Marcel_A** · 05-28-2021, 12:09 PM

Judging the sound of an amp through a YouTube is not the brightest of ideas.

**ruger9** · 05-28-2021, 12:17 PM

Originally Posted by Marcel_A

Judging the sound of an amp through a YouTube is not the brightest of ideas.

Who's judging anything? I'll judge it when I get it (I ordered one). But YouTube is a wonderful resource to hear things you cannot otherwise hear in person, because no local music stores carry what you are looking for. Years of watching YouTube videos, you develop a sense for what part of something is production and what part is the real sound. I have found it a reasonably accurate resource for hearing how an amp, effect, or even pickup, sounds. At least it gives a starting point/ballpark idea. Because the truth is, you can't "judge" anything in the store either... until you live with a piece of gear awhile, you really don't know it, and therefore can't judge it. The sole exception being a solo instrument: meaning, an acoustic guitar or acoustic Archtop. But if it's got any sort of pickup, until you get it home and plug it into YOUR rig, you can't truly judge it.

**mr. beaumont** · 05-28-2021, 12:32 PM

I recorded a whole bunch of songs in college using a honeytone placed in a closed box with a microphone in it. Sounded awesome, but not a jazz tone, for sure.

**nevershouldhavesoldit** · 05-28-2021, 01:01 PM

I've been using a Jazz 12 for the last 2 years and love it. The LIttle Jazz is also a great amp, but for the extra $50 you get a serious box that will handle most gigs in most venues and weighs almost nothing. I'm the house band leader in a little club that does jazz and blues shows, and the owner found it (used and cheap) to put in our backline for harmonica players. I plugged my AF207 into it and claimed it for myself after the first notes! We just let harp players use the Blues Deluxe or the Bandit

.

I've used the Jazz 12 with my Epi Les Paul 7 (a true Frankenaxe with an EMG active at the neck, the bridge P/U removed, and all holes filled and refinished) and now my recently acquired Raines Tele7, for most shows of any kind. And it's fantastic with my AF207 or Eastman 810 CE7 for backing jazz vocalists or when I'm a "featured artist" and not just the usual nameless, faceless sideman

.

Either DV Mark Jazz is a wonderful amplifier well worth having. The L'il "only" has an 8, which limits it on stage for walking bass lines on a 7 string - but even that 8 makes a lot of great sound. At bedroom volumes, you can't go wrong with it for $300 brand new!

**Doctor Jeff** · 05-28-2021, 08:12 PM

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

I recorded a whole bunch of songs in college using a honeytone placed in a closed box with a microphone in it. Sounded awesome, but not a jazz tone, for sure.

I think it is more for the overdrive crowd than cleantone crowd.

Would love to hear one of your recordings! ;-)

**steve burchfield** · 05-28-2021, 08:25 PM

Used Fishman Loudbox Mini might be in the ballpark for clean sound with reverb and chorus.I like to combine those with a tube amp sometimes.The editing through a computer Jon Herrington did plus his musical ideas was impressive with the Yamaha practice amp.

**wzpgsr** · 05-29-2021, 02:13 AM

Victoria Ivy League is a clone of the tweed-era Fender Harvard. You get a 10” speaker, three inputs with increasing levels of attenuation, a volume knob and a tone knob. More recent builds feature a half-power switch. The cab is small and surprisingly light and should be easy to schlepp around the house for most people. I use input 3 (most attenuation) with the volume between 3-4 for home practice—a fantastic clean tube tone with rich mids for jazz.