So I need an apartment/practice amp.

S

SomniferousEyes

New member
Im selling my Classic 30. Basically, because it sounds incredible at loud volume, and is lacking in the not-so-loud department. Im moving into an apartment soon, and have to get something that is reasonable. Im looking for a few things....

-Line/headphone out for recording/silent jams
-Loud enough to cut through band practice mix (not that I have a solid band, but Id like to be prepared if the time comes)
-Lots of clean headroom for when I do end up doing the band thing, because Ill be using pedals for dirt and other effects, and I dont want to send them into an amp that is breaking up.
-Under $300 total (shipped/tax/etc)

Some of the suggestions Ive gotten are:

-Epiphone Valve Junior head/cab (the only thing stopping me from pulling the trigger on it is that Im worried about headroom at a band practice level)
-Roland Jazz Chorus 60 or 120
-Orange Crush 30W solidstate (leaning toward this)
-Roland Cube 60 or two Roland Cube 20s (cant beat stereo :D)
-Fender Pro Junior


Thanks in advance for any help. :)
 
Re: So I need an apartment/practice amp.

Vox AD50VT, or if it doesn't fall into your price range, the AD30VT. I just bought one recently for university dorm practicing and gigging. It can certainly get loud (I just had it nearly cranked earlier today, and it still sounds great, especially on the Marshall JCM800 and Fender Twin models) and it has a built in attenuator, and a line/headphone jack in the back.

It'll be able to get you into the same tonal range that the 30 had, and it cuts quite well. I really enjoy mine thus far.
 
Re: So I need an apartment/practice amp.

I was thinking about one of these, but Ive read some harsh reviews that said the build quality blew balls.
 
Re: So I need an apartment/practice amp.

For style: Orange

For tone: Fender

For style AND tone (and a LOT of tones): Vox Valvetronix
 
Re: So I need an apartment/practice amp.

i also have noticed my Classic 30 sounds great with some volume turned up but i do not like it so much at lower volumes either... i ended up picking up a few Solid State amps for practicing at home.. i have the C30 in my closet when i need it for jamming out....

trying to get 1 amp to cover all my needs didn't work for me....
 
Re: So I need an apartment/practice amp.

The Pro Junior sounds great and can get loud, but it starts to break up with vol. on 4...

Champ 12 is a nice bedroom amp if you want low vol. But it doesn't get any louder after vol on 4. It's Drive channel is a huge jump in gain and practically unusable.

I've been very happy with the Vox Pathfinder at home and at jams. My son won't let it go (over bigger amps) and uses it for band practice and small gigs.

just fyi...
 
Re: So I need an apartment/practice amp.

NOT a pro junior. They are AWESOME, but not quiet or full of headroom.

Vox or Roland Cube.
 
Re: So I need an apartment/practice amp.

Vox AD30VT or 50, great tones and has everything that you requested. I've had the AD60VTH head in the past and loved it and now have a little AD15VT sitting next to my recliner in the living room to plug into whenever. It simply works well and sounds great.
 
Re: So I need an apartment/practice amp.

OK, I'm going to make this a little more complicated, maybe just for the sake of argument. An amp that is going to sound OK cranked in a dorm at a university, is likely to be a very small amp ( if it's a tube ) because even a 5 Watt tube, cranked, makes a decent amount of output from say an 8 inch speaker. Probably most of the people on the floor will hear your old Fender 5W, cranked, unless passed out from all-nighters / alcohol poisoning.

Clean headroom with a drummer smacking away is likely to go well over 30 Watts tube, but to get that warm driven tube sound at small / med / band practice / weddings, might be just *at* 30 Watts, or even 20 Watts. I have been playing a 20W Marshall hand-wired tube at vol 10 w/ no distortion with small venue / jam / record, but too loud for most open mike nights. I'm not playing Madison Sq Gdn yet.

To get a lot of head room from a tube, and play clean / jazz / blues at decent volume might go into the 40 plus range ( old Fender blackface Twins, which define this class are around 140 W, I believe ).

I have a "Rockman" hip amp with headphones which I use at night, but the quality isn't superb. Other amps may have phones which could solve this problem. When in college I often practiced unamplified in the stairwells, which blows, but I improved dramatically in those drafty concrete caverns.

Also computer apps are pretty good now that have record / phones / playback / powered speaks outs, etc., but can get pricey fast. That would still leave you scrambling for a band amp.

Food for thought. Maybe someone else will have something useful to say. Hang in there.
 
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Re: So I need an apartment/practice amp.

I like my microcube for my apartment. Its the perfect amp for me right being a college student.
 
Re: So I need an apartment/practice amp.

Vox modeler I would say, they're okay. you are not getting any tube distortion at bedroom levels even from the smallest tube amp. Then again, you could go with the ZVEX nanohead thinggy, but I believe that is out of your budget.
 
Re: So I need an apartment/practice amp.

vegetablejoe said:
I've been very happy with the Vox Pathfinder at home and at jams. My son won't let it go (over bigger amps) and uses it for band practice and small gigs.

just fyi...
Click to expand...

I've been very happy with my Pathfinder too. The only problem would be that I'm not sure it would be suitable for a band rehearsal... It's definitely a very good little amp, nice clean, more than useable gain... I like it a lot for the apartment.

I'm also considering a valve junior, just for the fun of it.
 
Re: So I need an apartment/practice amp.

+1 for the Vox Valvetronix. Even at low volume I think it sounds great. Any amp at a low volume probably wont sound that great, but I think the Vox does. you could always try the 30 watts - its got a knob in the back to adjust the power setting.

I've never had any problems with my AD15VT either. Its been very reliable. I've noticed that its loud enough to rattle the windows, but the amp itself is solid. It creates a suprising amount of bass for such a small amp.
 
Re: So I need an apartment/practice amp.

lex666 said:
+1 for the Vox Valvetronix. Even at low volume I think it sounds great. Any amp at a low volume probably wont sound that great, but I think the Vox does. you could always try the 30 watts - its got a knob in the back to adjust the power setting.

I've never had any problems with my AD15VT either. Its been very reliable. I've noticed that its loud enough to rattle the windows, but the amp itself is solid. It creates a suprising amount of bass for such a small amp.
Click to expand...

+1 for the Valvetronix. It has SO much going for it. You can even get the more advanced AD60VTX (blueface) right now for as low as 499$ over the net. If I were going to get a Silver-face model (AD30, AD15, AD50) I would avoid the 30 watt version. Bad speaker/cabinet match in that version, and I think the 15 and 50 watt versions sound much better. The 50 watt, although louder than the 15 watt version, has a knob on the back that can lower the wattage down to as little as 1 watt. I never have used it much though. The amp sounds good at low volume anyway, which is something you cannot say about most "real" tube amps.
 
Re: So I need an apartment/practice amp.

Nice. Big thanks to all. I think Im going to settle with the AD50VT. I wish I could swing the 60 (just for the blue face lol), but I cant.
 
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