Best Practice AMP

Richard Lahr · From: Gulf Cove Florida, USA

Now I am confused again!!!

Which one sounds the best? It will be the only one I will use for a while till I get more experience.

The Roland is nice cause if I wanted to go to the park it runs on batteries.. not sure if I would ever use that !!

The Fender Mustang 1 has a USB port... maybe I could plug it into my computer and record to a cd to see how I sound playing it back ??

Roland I think is only 2 watts, Mustang is 20 and has a bigger speaker and I like the USB. I want it to sound good of course....maybe the new technology in the Roland makes it sound as good??????? no USB though ( I don't think?)

Not sure which one has the most bang for the buck!
I need to keep whatever I get under $120 >all I have

Jean-Sebastien Gauthier · From: Quebec, Canada

I really love my roland micro cube for practice and little acoustic jam.

Brad Bechtel · From: San Francisco, CA

Discussions about Electronics belong in the Electronics section of the forum. You'll get better responses there. I'm moving this over from Steel Without Pedals.
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Richard Lahr · From: Gulf Cove Florida, USA

I was looking on Ebay.. WOW ... I had no idea there was so much out there.

I guess solid state is the way to go.. I really don't care about protability but would like to
have it sound good.... and be nice to have a headphone jack and a usb...

used might work ? i worry bout the speaker being dried or blown though

Richard Lahr · From: Gulf Cove Florida, USA

Ken Metcalf · From: San Antonio Texas USA

A Nashville 112 has a headphone out that turns off the speaker and you would have an actual steel amp for gigs.
A good clean sound is a nice foundation for tone to build on.
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Ollin Landers · From: Willow Springs, NC

EDITED (didn't read the whole post)

If you really need two amps I think a small solid state Peavey Bandit or Special 130 can be had for about 120.00 but may be hard to find.

Why not have one amp do dual duty as Ken suggested.

Love my Roland Cube 80XL for a practice amp. Has a headphone that defeats the speaker and line out for recording. All the effects you need and sounds great for gigs. Did I mention it was small and light.

For the price it's a VERY versatile amp. I have two when I need more umph on a gig.

For the price of a new one you can't beat it.

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=238619&highlight=cube+80xl

Paul Sutherland · From: Placerville, California

The best amp for practice is the one your wife can't hear. Shocked

George Kimery · From: Limestone, TN, USA

Session 500. WHAT....NO WAY. Think about it. I have had two 500's and if they are set right, they are the best sounding amps I have ever heard. The bummer with them is that they are large and very heavy to move. For a practice amp, you will not be moving it, so both of the negatives are eliminated. You can buy them pretty cheap (not for your $120.00 budget, unfortunately) but the problem is the cost of shipping on these lunkers. If you can find one that is located near you that you can go pickup, then the shipping is not an issue. Plus, it would give you a chance to try it out. As we get older, these amps become just about impossible for us to truck around, but for a sit down gig where you leave it at the venue, or for a practice amp that never leaves your house, I think they are great and worth considering.

Richard Lahr · From: Gulf Cove Florida, USA

ordered the SX 1 Lap .. the Natural Mahogany one

and the Fender Mustang 1 V.1 Amp...

what a chore deciding!

I like the traditional look of the SX and the USB
option on the Mustang

A Total cost new with shipping $255
(including a 18 foot Fender cord with one end 90 )

THANK YOU ALL for the great input... should have it all mid next week.

Sebastian Müller · From: Berlin / Germany

I use a Roland Mobile Cube for playing my playbacks and also plug my
Rickenbacher in it. Great solution for your practice needs!

Ken Byng · From: Southampton, England

Roland 80XL. Hands down the best sound for its size and weight and is a combo to boot.
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Richard Lahr · From: Gulf Cove Florida, USA

Howard Montgomery · From: Topeka, KS US

I agree with the recommendation of a used Bandit, Special or other 1x12 solid state amp (Peavey, Fender, etc). Craig's List has them frequently in your price range, and they can be used live as well for a backup or smaller gigs.

b0b · From: Cloverdale, CA, USA

This is sort of unbelievable, but true. Recently a friend gave me a cheap little beginners' bass amp, the SX BA-1565 shown below:

It has 15 watts of clean power. It has no effects, but with a reverb or delay stomp box in front of it, it sounds great for steel. Rondo Music sells it for $69.95 (click the picture).
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Craig Schwartz · From: McHenry IL

I`m probably way off kilter hear, and I understand practice. BUT what I have learned is to use the same gear that your going to use on stage, The reason is simple, When you pull in somewhere unknown, Figuring out your sound has to happen very quickly and I`ve found having all sorts of amps in my practice room to choose from is good for learning and getting your fingers goin, Well I guess for me it takes away the ability to adjust back to the amp that I use outside my four walls, I practice with every devise that I`m gonna use on the stage,
Its your finally man, Try to sound great, and there are alot of times you still cant get it right , but when you do, Your gonna make alot of friends, HaHa
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b0b · From: Cloverdale, CA, USA

I cannot practice with my stage amp most of the time. It's just too loud. If I turn it down to the appropriate volume for my practice room, it doesn't have the same tone that it has at stage volume. Now and then I'll set up my stage gear out in the garage on a Saturday afternoon and practice with it. There's no way that I could practice with a big tube amp at 10 PM with the Mrs watching TV in the next room.

Also, I use effects when I perform but most of my practice is without effects. I need to hear every nuance of my playing to get it right when I practice. In performance, this is stuff that the audience doesn't want or need to hear. The effects mask a multitude of sins. I want to hear those things at home, but not on stage!
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Stephen Cowell · From: Round Rock, Texas, USA

I like my Roland equipment because the preamps are mostly the same... I can go from my Mobile Cube (5w) to my 40XL (40w) and get the same results, minus the larger speaker's bass response. I can switch back and forth without much difference in response... the Mobile Cube actually sounds better at lower volume due to the stereo reverb... I don't use the chorus at all.

Also, the Cube 40XL has a 'power squeezer' button (not on the 80XL!) that reduces output to the 5watt range... it's still louder than the Mobile Cube and definitely has the cranked-amp sound but at much lower volume.

Another consideration... tubes are wear items, they use themselves up and are rated in hours. They also are subject to more wear by hot/cold cycles... thermal stress on the assembly, the filament, etc. If I'm going to catch a short practice, even on normal guitar, I find it better to power up a solid-state amp.
On the other hand I've left my Mobile Cube powered up for weeks at a time (on a wall-wart)... nice to just reach over and grab the guitar and go, and with the switcher wall-warts now available you're not wasting very much juice at all.
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Craig Schwartz · From: McHenry IL

Bob, Your reasons are quite true, when quiet time comes, I play just the guitar with nothing on. My best practice amp is my ear. I`ve found that it helps dearly with hand control having no amp on, But when all those switches are on, It becomes the sound I`m looking for that will be reproduced and it also keeps me familiar with my system, Let alone adding another device sometimes, It takes me a month to figure it out while Some guys are really good at that stuff, they have that nitch. So my vote for best practice amp is your ear during quiet time or the system you gig with.
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Daniel Policarpo · Posted 9 Apr 2013 4:51 pm

I mostly use my Fender Excelsior, but as a practice amp with headphones, The Laney GC 50 is another good one. 50 watts of solid state power,1-12". Clean and drive channel. The lows are nice and deep, great mid-range sound,highs are sweet, it is an overall warm sounding amp and translates really well with the steel. Pice is usually around $100-120 used. Reverb is decent.

Michael Hummel · From: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Craig Schwartz · From: McHenry IL

Boy I sure walked into that one , it seems to happen to me quite a bit lately. Laughing

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Dale Rottacker · From: Walla Walla Washington, USA

Tom Wolverton · From: Carpinteria, CA

I like the Fender Mustang I. Great BF Twin Reverb emulation and a great headphone circuit.
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Steven Pearce · From: Port Orchard Washington, USA

I picked up a Mustang II a few weeks ago. When I plugged in the USB with the FUSE software downloaded from Fender, it let me change the amp to my own choice. It lets me choose what effects I want to use and how much of it.
Took it to rehearsal last week... my Lap Steel stage amp weighs a ton BUT this I packed in under my arm.
and when I turned it on, OH MAN did it sound great.

BOTTOM LINE...You can dial in any tone you like
sounds hard to believe but its great..

Oh yeah, I play Bass in another band...Fender Mustang II with the Bassman setting and little compression, and its my Bass rehearsal amp too
See you all later
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