Another Home Amp Thread....>Now a NAD!

d8m

I know this has been asked before but here goes!

I live in a second floor flat in and have a Black star HT-5210.
Love the amp and the gain channel is just the sound I want, no pedals, just plug straight in.

Great amp but the problem is I rarely get to turn it up loud enough to let it rip as I'm to considerate for the neighbors and the fact the flat is small so all the gear is in the living room.

Long story short the amp only gets loud enough to sound as good as it should when no one is home and the building is relatively empty.

Running the amp at 1-2 on volume makes it sound muddy/choked  so Ive decided to purchases another smaller amp for the more day to day playing. The blackstar obviously isnt going anywhere!

Narrowed it down to either:

Blackstar Fly 3 Combo
Have heard a lot of great things about these but the last battery amp I had was one of those small Marshall ones an it sounded pants.

Blackstar ID: Core 10/20
Seems like another good offering from Blackstar

Roland Cube Micro/10GX/20GX
Micros doesn't come with the power adapter which is a pain but not a show stopper, these seem like a good bit of amp for the money, few different effects in there.


Ultimately I'm after something for noodling at home when I get a spare 5 mins(Not worth getting the HT-5210 started up for that long), learning off the internet and just jamming along to music played through PC/HIFI

At the moment I'm leaning towards the ID:core or Cube.

Any experience/ words of advice greatly appreciated

John_P

I use my thr10 for similar reasons - just turn it on and play - gets constant use.    
I haven't tried the ones on your list so I can't compare but the little Yamaha sounds good to me. 

rlw

I have an ID Core 10 and a THR10C.  Both are good.  The Yamaha is a bit easier to use but they sound equally good, but different, at low volumes.
Headphones is also not a bad idea with these two.

markblack

Yamaha THR10C was my practice set up for ages - in face it got me back into playing so much I just bought a Helix.

I play pretty much only with headphones (London flat and a little one) but the THR's so great at low volume and pretty cheap S/H

d8m

THR10 look good but slightly out of budget

I'm looking around the £130 mark.

xSkarloey

I've had a Microcube for 11 or 12 years now and it's seen consistent use. 

The newer models can only be better with increased functionality. 

TheBigDipper

I've got a Fly 3 and like it, but it isn't a serious amp, just a bit of a toy. The clean channel is OK and the price is low but I use mine more often as a powered speaker for my phone than to plug the guitar in. I'd look elsewhere for a serious practice tool with decent sounds. 

d8m

Thanks for your comments gents

TheBigDipper said:

I've got a Fly 3 and like it, but it isn't a serious amp, just a bit of a toy. The clean channel is OK and the price is low but I use mine more often as a powered speaker for my phone than to plug the guitar in. I'd look elsewhere for a serious practice tool with decent sounds. 

My thoughts exactly.


This is selling me on the cube to honest.

nick79

My boy has got a Blackstar ID10, if i'm just noodling at home more often than not i pinch that out of his room. Sounds pretty good, decent range of tones and a few effects. It does have 'that' Blackstar sound though, which i'm not sold on but that's just personal preference. I would say if you like the HT5 then you will like the ID10.

d8m

Is 10W loud enough for home use?

dont want to go for 10W and find its to quiet or 20W and have the same volume problem I've got now!

nick79

I would say so yeah, to be honest i haven't wound it all the way up, normally about half way is enough. It does however sound the same whisper quiet as it does turned up, and because it's got 2 speakers actually sounds a lot bigger than it is. 

d8m

This is good to know.

Part of me fancies the cube just to have something different

Sporky

I have a Microcube; I mostly use it for cello, but it sounds decent enough with guitar. It goes for ages on batteries too which is nice. It goes distressingly loud. The onboard effects are good enough for adding a bit of colour. And it's cheap.

d8m

Sporky said:

I have a Microcube; I mostly use it for cello, but it sounds decent enough with guitar. It goes for ages on batteries too which is nice. It goes distressingly loud. The onboard effects are good enough for adding a bit of colour. And it's cheap.

How does it sound at volume?

I think I've narrowed it down to a cube now I just need to choose between the micro/10 or maybe 20.

10 is actually cheaper than the micro?!

dindude

I disagree that the Fly is a toy. Yes it's not exactly going to compete with the big boys but for a 5 minute noodle on the sofa it's great, I prefer it to the THr and microcube (amongst others) as it feels right under the fingers.

i found this yesterday, a quick one minute clip I did that shows what the clean and the gain channel sound like cranked. Not great sound quality as done on iPhone, but gives a flavour. It's far far removed from the little micro Marshalls etc.

Mick

What about the Marshall code 25

I'd have one if I didn't already have a Blackstar ID:Core 40, ( which I think is great actually).

Sporky

d8m said:

How does it sound at volume?

It gets a bit honky.

Though that does mean it cuts through.

Sassafras

10 watts is easily loud enough for home use even if it is solid state.

d8m

ID core 10 now in the running again thanks to YouTube!

will likely skip the micro cube as I can't imagine it sounds as good as either the cube 10 or core 10.

narrowed it down to 2 choices so now for the final head to head

d8m

Fender Mustang?

Can be had pretty cheap and seems to get praise.

d8m

Having watched videos of the cubes I am impressed, problem is they are all
mic'd up so sound better.

Questions I'm asking myself:

In reality are the micro and 10gx tinny or do they sound as full at volume as the videos indicate?

I imagine if I went for the micro I'd probably have to run it at near enough max volume to play along with my hifi

the 10gx and 20gx have the same sized speaker so there no benefit in going for the latter I don't think, if the cube sound decent it runs on batteries as well which is a bonus.

last battery amp I had was one of those mini Marshall ones and it sounded awful, how does the cube compare to this.