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Let me begin by saying that I have a Roland Cube 40, about 12 yrs old. I like it, but it has a low volume electronic haze while at rest that I cant stand. The closer I sit to it the more prominent it becomes apparent. I have discussed this with several repair techs who tell me there is no solution. Thus I am interested in suggestions for amps that sound good, are relatively light weight as I move from room to room at home, and which are quiet while at rest. Is there such a creature? I have heard promising things about the Fender Champ 20 as quiet, as well as the Yamaha THR5 and would be interested in whether this can be confirmed by any of you all. Are there any other amps that fit those benchmarks? I am for the moment out in the country and would like to collect recommendations before I go looking and listening later on. Thanks in advance!
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05-25-2021 05:17 AM
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A lot of people here have the DV Mark Little Jazz, which is not just very nice as a practice amp, but also works on (smaller) stages and has a XLR line out for bigger venues.
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What kind of tone(s) do you want? For a clean jazz tone, I can recommend (because I own) the Harmony 8418 amp. It's a tube amp, has only a volume knob, but even cranked it's not very loud. I find it perfect for a pure clean tone at low volume.
If you want any kind of dirt, or built-in effects, you'll need a modeler. I like my MicroCube, but if I were buying today I would probably look into the Yamahas.
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My home amp is the Katana 50 but I needed a small amp that I could leave at the cottage. Did some research to narrow down the list to three, then waited for the first one to come on sale. Fender Mustang LT25. I believe that all the small digital amps pretty much give the same sounds so buy the cheapest one.
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Thanks Joe! I have a DV Mark micro 50 II with an Eminence speaker in cab, and I agree that the DV sounds good. I was looking for something lighter, easier, not so much the head of course as the speaker cab.
Originally Posted by Joeontheguitar
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I would like some other sound possibilities as well. Maybe this is too large an order? I have done a quick search at Thomann and it is not listed there, maybe some where else in Europe. Originally Posted by ruger9
What kind of tone(s) do you want? For a clean jazz tone, I can recommend (because I own) the Harmony 8418 amp. It's a tube amp, has only a volume knob, but even cranked it's not very loud. I find it perfect for a pure clean tone at low volume.
If you want any kind of dirt, or built-in effects, you'll need a modeler. I like my MicroCube, but if I were buying today I would probably look into the Yamahas.
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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? Originally Posted by Oldjock
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Here in America it is sold directly on Reverb. But if you want "other sound possibilities", you need a modeler or solid state amp. As I said, I like my MicroCube, but you already have an issue with Roland at low volumes... so the Yamaha would be the first thing I would look at, altho one of the small Fender modelers is also worth a look. Originally Posted by 0zoro
I used to have a GDEC-30 that I loved, it had GREAT tones at low volumes. Honestly, I shouldn't have sold it. But it's been discontinued for years now, and as such, it's a digital item and if it breaks, it cannot be repaired or replaced... it had a shelf-life, unfortunately. Sounded amazing tho. Should have kept it until it died.
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I recently tested the positivegrid spark and almost bought it (I don't really need it at the moment).
https://www.positivegrid.com/spark/
But I found the sound to be very full for such a small box. I think black cat amps has a similar thing with tubes (probably only in frontend and much more expensive).
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You might also consider a good headphone amp for quiet practice.
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I have a Champion 20 and have never noticed any hiss or noise from it. It sounds good and is very light. But this is one of those YMMV kind of things -- your sense of and tolerance for background noise may be different from mine. Originally Posted by 0zoro
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Indeed. Originally Posted by pcjazz
I forgot to mention: I play 99% of my practice time with my Boss Waza Air. They're not cheap, but the sounds are good, it's hassle free, I never waste any time 'tweaking' my tone, like I do with a normal amp. All guitars sound good though the Waza. Playing along with YouTube/truefire on any device is easy. Highly recommended.
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I use Fender Rumble 25 as my bedroom amp. It's a bass amp but sounds great. It's dirt cheap (about $120), lightweight (less than 10kg) and quiet but can be loud enough to cover a small venue.
Last edited by mincheol.seo; 05-25-2021 at 11:35 AM.
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Recently I had a need for a small, portable practice amp too. Specifically for use with my Eastman John Pisano 880. I wanted something I could fit in a backpack, so lightweight was a criteria also. I spent the day auditioning amps-Orange, VHT, etc. I ended up with the Champion 20. The second choice was a Ampeg bass amp, which sounded marginally better but was too bulky and heavy for the backpack. Originally Posted by John A.
The Champion has a lot going for it, and I don't notice any hiss or noise either. At around $100 bucks I don't think you can do much better.
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I understand your frustration with the Roland noise gate for quiet practice. The more carefully you listen, the more you hear it!
My nice quiet small amp is the Schertler Giulia. It is built more like good stereo equipment than a guitar amp.
Bi-amped 25 watts separate for tweeter & woofer in a small ported plywood cabinet --- very nice design.
But it is clean only and aimed at acoustic transparency -- no models & no distortion so it might not meet your needs.
It is more about sweet & clear sound.
I prefer a tube amp for a more electric sound.
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The electronic/digital hiss is exactly why I got rid of my Cube 30x some years ago... couldn’t stand it late at night when I kept the volume really low!
My 5F1 Champ (DIY in home made cab with 10” speaker) is the ideal practice amp: great warm (clean) tube sound with practically zero hum or hiss. Even with the 10” speaker (Jensen P10R) it’s very light and easy to carry (the pine cab I made helps too). I use a reverb pedal with it. It only has a volume control but with this amp I don’t miss any other controls.
I use it mostly as a quiet practice amp but I even take it to band rehearsal sometimes and especially if the drummer uses brushes it totally holds its ground!
There are some modern little amps that use the 5F1 concept, for example:
- Harley Benton TUBE5
- Laney CUB Super 8
- Burgera V5
Based on my 5F1 experience those seem very interesting, but I haven’t played them so I don’t know how quiet they are in terms of hiss and background noise.
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Amp hiss can be very directional. For quiet playing, it helps if you're positioned off-axis. But then some speakers don't sound great off-axis until you turn the volume up, which of course is not an option for quiet playing.
I had a Yamaha THR10 on my desktop for a couple of years. I used it both as a workspace amp and a computer speaker. I didn't hear any noise even in those close proximities and I'm generally sensitive to amp noise.
I also had a Champion 40, which also was pretty quiet.
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I'm a Yamaha THR fan for practice amps. I really like the sound of mine, plus the ability to play tracks through it wirelessly.
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I sold my THR because the reverb went from zero to hero way too fast & I didn't want to fiddle with a bunch of computer interface tweaking to change the verb. Otherwise a very nice sounding amp. Yamaha engineers great gear for sure.
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While I haven't owned alot of solid state/digital amps (5, currently own 2), I have own alot of tube amps (about 20), and I have never heard one of the SS/digital amps "hiss"... even at low volume... and NO WAY more than ANY tube amp. So I'm puzzled as to what you guys are even talking about. Originally Posted by Little Jay
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That's funny! Originally Posted by ruger9
I play flute as well as guitar so my upper register ear has gotten super sensitive.
The thing with Roland Cubes is there is a hissy noise gate that you can hear shutting down in the silence. Super annoying if you are playing really quiet. I expect lots of digital products have similar noise artifacts.
Tube amps are more straight up. They have an even level hiss that you have to manage. I think it's a little easier to get a decent quiet sound that way. I usually manage tube amp hiss with a nice 5751 pre amp tube.
I prefer to practice acoustic most of the time.
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I have owned one of these DV cubes and for livingroom-level playing it had a very pleasing and satisfying tone, no complaints - in that price range they are HARD to beat.
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I have a TH5 Yamaha...very good small amp. Its like a portable radio but has 10W of power. Great for practice around the house. Yamaha has more powerful models up to 30W, but for me 10W is sufficient.
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Sure, most of my tube amps have some hiss or slight hum, but at low volumes, my 5F1 is dead quiet! Originally Posted by ruger9
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....
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The Little Jazz is very portable. It probably sounds a lot like the head you have, but it's a combo, with an 8" speaker. It sounds amazingly good, and mine is completely quiet when idle, I can't hear anything unless I'm getting EMI from electrical wiring or something similar. They're on sale now at the major online retailers. I use mine for everything. I haven't used it at any place where it wasn't loud enough, and I've used it at jams where I had to wear earplugs.
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