Small practice amp thread - options!

ThePrettyDamned

So due to some space saving issues I've cleared out a lot of junk.

Part of that will be swapping my 1x12 peavey bandit for something small.

I'm lucky - I'm no longer massively into metal. I'd like an amp that takes fuzz and dist pedals well, but good primarily for a responsive Marshall vibe.

Ideally, it'll have a GOOD headphones out. I'd rather it not have one but be great than a really shite one but a less good amp.

To that end, my options are as follows:

Yamaha thr 10 - when tested, I preferred blackstar ID core 20 for high gain and clean cleans, but the thr was better at the mid gain I am aiming for

Blackstar ID core 20 - great sounds, great price, not as good sounding at responsive plexi as thr

1x10 5 watt valve combo, I have an l pad attenuator but frankly I think this option is out of budget - I'd rather do it right if taking this route.

Hotone purple wind - slightly different choice, but basically it sounds like a great solid state amp. Which would be cool.

Marshall lead 12 combo - cool sounding, but needs speaker upgrade - maybe a ten inch greenback? I can't remember if these are even that small really.

I'm leaning towards the thr - are there any great downloadable presets with a plexi tone in mind? It was crap for high gain dual rec tones compared to the blackstar but if it takes pedals well I have a good metal distortion should I fancy being silly. However I'm happy to listen to long term user reviews.

Particularly as I generally felt the id core 20 was better in almost every way, but the responsive drive tone thing. Main guitar is a strat with vintage pickups.

Bonus points if it has a bass amp model on board.

ICBM

I know it's a valve/hybrid amp not a modeller/solid-state, but don't rule out the Blackstar HT-1R. I think I actually prefer it to the bigger ones, much to my surprise. Very limited tone control and it is quite dark-sounding, so I would recommend trying one first if you can. The 1R sounds much better than the 1 to me, even if you don't want reverb.

I very nearly bought one recently, a head with a 1x10" cab rather than the combo. The main reason I didn't was that although it sounded good through the 1x10", it sounded much better through the two V30s in my Trem-o-verb… which makes it impractical to carry around and would probably have bugged me a lot .

The Lead 12 is not that small - you can actually get a 12" speaker into the cab if you want to. The headphone output is useless though, it's not speaker-emulated.

timmysoft

I have a lead12 here you can have mate, it needs a service as the gain is operating in an odd fashion, but you're welcome to have it!

ThePrettyDamned

timmysoft said:

I have a lead12 here you can have mate, it needs a service as the gain is operating in an odd fashion, but you're welcome to have it!

Super kind, and I like these but if it can fit a 12 inch speaker in, it's too large... @icbm I sort of considered the ht1r but when I tried other stuff (ht5, ht5r which was better) I found they didn't have the responsiveness I like. Sound was good. Maybe I'll try one again though. There is not desperate hurry here, got a good few weeks.

ICBM

I'll also go into my usual stuck-record routine and say that the Vox Mini5 Rhythm is astonishingly good for a fun little digital modeller with a drum machine built in… it does have a 'line input' setting too so it might work as a bass amp, although I haven't tried it. I also haven't tried it with pedals, I must get around to that.

xSkarloey

I don't think you can go far wrong at least trying a Roland Microcube, since it sets a very high standard for small modelling amps. No bass model, but I have used it with a bass, as long as I didn't push the speaker too hard.

As regards a valve amp, on the off chance you ever see a Marshall DSL5C combo, it has a lot of features and is a good sounding amp which covers a lot of ground. Has a headphone out which is okay. Dwitchable output down to one watt. I think they were trying to pack a lot fo features in and, IMO, by and large succeed. Second hand prices are pretty favourable too.

steamabacus

Have you seen the Joyo Bantamp mini heads unveiled at NAMM? I believe there's a JCM voiced model. I'm not sure if they've been released yet? If I remember correctly - valve pre, SS power amp, fx loop, some kind of bluetooth/ wireless functionality (? sorry, I'm a luddite).

timmysoft

ThePrettyDamned;1107994" said:

timmysoft said:

I have a lead12 here you can have mate, it needs a service as the gain is operating in an odd fashion, but you're welcome to have it!













Super kind, and I like these but if it can fit a 12 inch speaker in, it's too large...



@icbm I sort of considered the ht1r but when I tried other stuff (ht5, ht5r which was better) I found they didn't have the responsiveness I like. Sound was good. Maybe I'll try one again though. There is not desperate hurry here, got a good few weeks.

You definitely wouldn't fit a 12 in this one! It's bloody tiny!

ICBM

Ah, that will be the second version, 'wider than it is tall'. Is it a 10" or 8" speaker in those? I can't remember.

The first version 'taller than it is wide' can definitely take a 12", I've done a couple of them. Only just, but it does fit.

timmysoft

It's got an 8 I think, it's very small but sounds great!

ICBM

In that case I would recommend ThePrettyDamned taking you up on that .

... and just ignoring the headphone jack, or getting some sort of outboard speaker emulator/headphone driver - there must be one.

dchwhite

I changed the speaker in my ht1r - I think it's an improvement. I'm not selling mine, but if you want to try it out, just give me a shout.

ThePrettyDamned

timmysoft;1108021" said:

It's got an 8 I think, it's very small but sounds great!

Wow, there is an 8 inch one?!

Pm you in the morning then! I'm so rock and roll, I'm going to bed. But so long as it does a good vintagey Marshall sound that goes dirty and cleans up on volume knob/pick attack, it may be a winner.

ecc83

"and just ignoring the headphone jack, or getting some sort of outboard speaker emulator/headphone driver - there must be one."

You would think so IC but AFAIK there isn't. I recently bought a Behringer HA400 headphone amplifier. Seems very good to me and at under £20 surely someone could take that basic circuit and build in an "emulator"?

It could have a line level/HP input and also a high level in for jacking across loads. There are SO many simple gadgets needed for the HR and guitarist market I am continually surprised no one seems to be doing it.

Oh! To be 30 again!

Dave.

ThePrettyDamned

steamabacus;1108014" said:

Have you seen the Joyo Bantamp mini heads unveiled at NAMM? I believe there's a JCM voiced model. I'm not sure if they've been released yet? If I remember correctly - valve pre, SS power amp, fx loop, some kind of bluetooth/ wireless functionality (? sorry, I'm a luddite).

Ooo interesting... Will have a Google.

ICBM

Me too, given the number of amps with headphone jacks that are basically useless.

Given that there's plenty of signal level available from the amp - actually too much usually, with modern 32-ohm headphones and the traditional series-resistor arrangement - it should be possible to make a passive one that's fairly effective, it really just needs a high-pass and a low-pass filter. You could also make it convenient by having a 1/4" plug on a captive cable and a 3mm socket on the box, so avoiding the need for an adaptor as well.

Given that the potential market is more or less anyone who owns an amp with a headphone jack that was made before the late 90s, and some more recently, I would think it's worth looking into for someone.

samzadgan

Ok, somewhat of a different solution...laney cub amp...and a zoom g3.

The laney sounds great...(assuming it saves you space too)

The zoom at the end of your pedal chain to do delay and verbs etc which its great at...and a headphone jack that will sound better than most amps.

BumFace

The ID core beam is a pretty good tranny practice amp.  The stereo spread and effects are a bit weird, but quite fun for a bit.  It's got a bass model and acoustic sim models (which are a bit shite, granted).

ThePrettyDamned

samzadgan;1108712" said:

Ok, somewhat of a different solution...laney cub amp...and a zoom g3.

The laney sounds great...(assuming it saves you space too)

The zoom at the end of your pedal chain to do delay and verbs etc which its great at...and a headphone jack that will sound better than most amps.

I liked the cub 12... But it's not small enough.

Actually, physical size is more relevant than power really.

It occurred to me to try a USA peavey studio as they're 1x10 and should sound similar to my current choice, but I'd like to get closer to a vintage Marshall (lol I know).

There is the lead 12, but also Marshall valvestate 15 and 30 - the 80 watter is definitely good, but never tried the smaller models.

BumFace;1108718" said:

The ID core beam is a pretty good tranny practice amp.  The stereo spread and effects are a bit weird, but quite fun for a bit.  It's got a bass model and acoustic sim models (which are a bit shite, granted).

No interest in paying extra for the" beam" but I am interested in the id core. I may see if I can find a shop with the id core 20 and the thr 10 for a shootout again - I did prefer the blackstar last time, but was testing mostly high gain which the thr10 was not good for.

The ht1r looks good, too. Would need a small cab - any such thing as a decent 8 inch speaker or should I opt for 10?

ICBM

Now that we know Timmysoft's Lead 12 is the smaller version, I would go for that. It can't be a lot bigger than an HT-1, if any.

10" speakers are better than 8"s, but that puts the size back up to around the original Lead 12 again really - the Blackstar 1x10" I tried with the HT-1R was… in fact actually wider, although not as tall.

ThePrettyDamned

Hmm, tricksy. I think I need to get the tape measure out and work out if a 1x8, 1x10 or a more tabletop amp is required.

Thanks for all the help so far chaps. I've found the newer vox av15 which looks good. There is also the old Laney lc/vc15 amps with 1x10 cabs, but again... May be too big (almost certainly too big actually).

Which brings me to @timmysoft's lead 12. Any decent amp tech folk who won't run scared from a solid state amp in the Cambridge area?