Dorm Amplification.

TimmyPage

TimmyPage

New member
As many of you may well know, I'm going away to university music next year, and I'll be living in the dorm (though it's only an hour away from home, I just want to get away and live the university experience).

Clearly the Traynor Blue might be just a little bit much for dorm practice. It needs to be loud enough for practice, small in dorm - jams, recitals (in halls made so you can hear even acoustics clearly from the back) and possibly, possibly small club venues. Mostly jazz, blues, and some rock/hard rock.

Tonally I prefer generally brighter tones, even for jazz, and nice, slightly saggy gain that can get into the hard rock (ACDC, Queen, Iron Maiden..) category. I will only be bringing my USA Strat SSS.

I've had a few thoughts thus far on what I could possibly bring.

Digital: A POD (or toneport, I will be bringing my desktop computer so I could plug it in with the adapter). With a pod I could also play small gigs putting it through the PA system.

Vox DA5 (or... er.. whatever the small modelling amp is..)
Roland Microcube: Both would serve a good practice amp, and for small jams, but would have issues on any kind of performance.

Tube: Fender Blues Jr.: Can get rather loud, but also quite quiet I find, might be able to hit a good level of gain for what I need with an overdrive, but the clean and blues thing should be right there.


Right so those are my.. ideas.. any suggestions on your parts? Price limit is.. pretty much at Fender Blues Jr.
 
Re: Dorm Amplification.

Dude, i bought a guitarport when it first came out a half year into my playing because of going to tech. I practically learned everything i know through this thing. Still have it, and use it almost every day, either practice or recording. Makes life easy, and sounds great with a decent pair of headphones. Toneport is the same thing, but they try to rip some more cash from you with a mic input.
 
Re: Dorm Amplification.

Yeh, me loves mah POD, and that new little FBX controller rules. Tried one out with a Flextone III today, loved it!
 
Re: Dorm Amplification.

I am just about to get out of the dorms, so I just spent about a year in the situation you will be entering. I bought my Laney LC-15R precisely for the dorms. The 15 tube watts was perfect and the amp had enough gain to do any rock stuff I wanted. Unfortunately wasn't enough to do the drop tuned metal that I love so much. But since that aspect doesnt seem to apply to you, any tube 15 watter should be good to go. The blues jr. should be just fine, especially if you have an OD pedal.
 
Re: Dorm Amplification.

I like the Vox valvetronix series, and you may want to look at a Gibson GA5 Les Paul Junior amp. it's 5 watts, class A, sounds great.
 
Re: Dorm Amplification.

I say if you were only going to be playing in your room and that is it, get a Line6 amp of some sort. But since you WILL have performances as a music major, go with a Vox Valvetronix. You can turn any of the models to run down on only 1 watt and it still has tube tone and tons of diversity. You're going to find yourself becoming interested in a lot more music than a Blues Junior can produce and the Valvetronix has much better tone than any L6 product.

I would say go for a Vox AD50VT. Quiet enough for the dorm room and plenty loud for any music hall or nearby club!
 
Re: Dorm Amplification.

As long as you're close to home, I'd really advise nothing. Anything good might get stolen. Anything remotely loud will be obnoxious. I would get a pod or valvetronix or something with good headphones, or just play acoustic (build your skills, plus chicks dig it). Seriously, take university as a chance to explore new things, like bossa nova guitar.

But seriously: in a dorm, folks who are tired/sleepy REALLY deserve respect, and no guitar amp is going to sound good to them. So keep it quiet.
 
Re: Dorm Amplification.

I really wouldnt worry about anything being stolen. Just lock your door when you are not in your room. I had my PRS McCarty, Gibson SG, Ibanez JS1000BP and ESP Mirage Custom at school all year long and never had a worry. Just dont go talking about how much your gear is worth. Dormitory doors are thick and pretty heavy, any of the amps besides the Blues Jr. and Laney LC will do fine volume wise.

I highly suggest the Vox because it nails that tube tone at the same volumes as line6 stuff and is a lot more quiet than the Fender and Laney would be before hitting their sweet spots.
 
Re: Dorm Amplification.

I had a Gibson Les Paul Standard and a Hughes & Kettner Triamp in my dorm room when I was at UConn. Never had any issues, maybe I was just lucky. If the neighbors were cranking too loud on an exam night, one guitar chord would make them turn it down :D
 
Re: Dorm Amplification.

I played a solid state amp all thru college... they are good for volume control without messing with tone (what tone? :laughing:)

I would go for a TonePort, but I am more interested in playing for ME, rather than playing out.

My advice:

Playing for YOU: TonePort.

Playing OUT: VOX. I've seen a lot of good recommendations on these from reputable members (Scott recommending a hybrid speaks quite loudly)
 
Re: Dorm Amplification.

No Blues Jr. Good amp, but seriously limited. Matter of fact in 10 years I might buy another one just to have fo the thing it does well (single coil chimey Blues stuff), but other than that it's not great. Vox baby! Or like a 5 watt combo.
 
Re: Dorm Amplification.

I used a micro cube in my dorm room....it is really a great bedroom practice amp...I even use it when my band gets together without a drummer.....If you are only planning on getting something for dorm practice, I would go with the cube...you can direct record and it gets like 20 hours on six AA batteries..and it can get louder than what you would expect.....

it has great sound for what it is!
 
Re: Dorm Amplification.

Vox Modelers like the others guys said should be great!!! The 50 watt 1x12 model i still have my eye on...

the Blues JR is ok i guess but not my thing....

The POD thru a Keyboard amp is another sollution... that way you can take the POD anywhere you want to go and you could use a small powerfull keyboard amp to play thru it for practice and a jamming.... a Keyboard amp will reproduce the Pod's sounds great!!!!! Like a powered monitor
 
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