#21

Another thumbs up for the Yamaha THR - bass is not great, but it’s so convenient (battery powered and separate ins with volume dials for two inputs, light, easy to carry with an armful of other gear) and the effects are really good and just so easy to dial in something that is good enough for jamming - not as good as dedicated effects units but just having two knobs on the amp that get you 80% there means instant gratification and very handy for impromptu jams. I very rarely use any of the amp simulations - just the neutral setting with a bit of EQ for my synths.

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#22

I happened to be at a store that had the twin version of the tone master so I got to try it out. Super impressive! There are very, very slight differences than the real thing to me (the reverb sounds slightly different) but it definitely feels like a tube amp.The ability to attenuate to different levels is awesome because it’s possible to get the twin to breakup, which isn’t something ive ever be able to do (I have never been in a situation where it made sense to play a twin past volume 4) Also very cool it’s lightweight and you can dial in different volumes for when it’d be mic’d in a venue vs. need to carry the volume itself for a house show, etc. I love that they were very discerning when it came to making enhancements and that it still looks and feels like a twin. I hope the build quality is good and these catch on, I feel like it was really something special! Thanks for sharing about it.

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#23

Powered speaker is great for electronic stuff and guitar amp is great for guitar and they both suffer going the other direction. Loose electronic frequencies mostly noticeable at the low end or loose guitar tone.

#24

I have an AB763 Deluxe Reverb clone built for me by Vyse Amps in the UK, had it three years now, absolutely love it, sounds great, had loads of mods added etc. I wanted tube but clean, and chimey and it does that perfectly. At 20w it goes way louder than I;d ever need at home, but nice to know I could use it for gigging if needed. Takes guitars, basses, pedals and Moog synths all really well. Have to be a bit careful with deep bass though, have to keep it a bit lower/can’t crank it or it will start to fart out, although sometimes that’s a cool sound in itself.

#25

Pretty much. A guitar cab goes to 6khz and does not handle bass frequencies well. You are liable to blow the speakers with serious bass. Bass cabs like a Bergantino with mid driver or tweeters don’t sound particularly good with guitar.

The classic keyboard amp is a Twin Reverb, but that’s huge and very loud. A Fender Bassman is okay for recording volumes for bass.

The best traditional small combos are still probably Princeton and Deluxe Reverb, Ampeg Gemini.

Best modern combo with vintage sensibilities, Victoria and Friedman, and they make lower wattage heads. But expensive.

My recommendation is get a good guitar combo and get powered speakers. KH120as for instance. Don’t buy something cheap that does both poorly, only to later replace it.

#26

This is true for most guitar amps, but that’s why I use a guitar amp for the synth stuff as well. I like it colored with harmonics and I little distorted.

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#27

True. Rhodes sounds hotter through guitar amps, too!

#28

I think of a practice amp as an immediate jack of all trades thing.getting sound out into the room and getting me away from headphones a bit more. Im fully aware there are trades offs around bass response etc If a small amp isnt going to break and can let me know there is bass there - even if it cant deliver the full physicality that this is ok for me. I’m sure there will be things out there hitting certain sweet spots- I quite like it to have a bit of character too.

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#29

I have a Yamaha THR10, and have loved it for several years. I did, however, just buy a Strymon Iridium, and spent a good chunk of my weekend sat in the living room plugged directly into some pedals, the Strymon Iridium, and headphones. Definitely recommend it. The YouTube commenters seem to be asking, “why not line 6 HX whatever?” but the Iridium has all I want (I’ve accepted I’m not a multi-effect person; they never stick). It sounds good plugged into my mixer and monitors too, but I’m living that apartment life.

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#30

The new Boss Katana MkII look really good, and cheap enough that even getting a stereo pair might be possible.

#31

One option I have used for bass is a work flow like pre-amp modeling pedal -> overdrive/fuzz -> cab sim -> di-box -> headphones. Not the experience everyone is looking for but works excellent in my experience. I personally use for bass Green Citrus, matamp pre-amp sim, diy proco-rat, condor cab-sim/simple cabsim2, to radial jdi box into my DAW. Convincingly warm crunchy doom tones in my headphones with no excess space noise to worry about.

#32

Tried out the supro blues king 8 in demark street on Saturday. Its a 1 watt valve with an 8 inch speaker and it sounded really amazing on guitar. Its around £290. Dont think id put bassy electronics through it though. best quiet-but-full guitar sound I have come across in my recent explorations. I didnt buy it as i still havent demoed the yamahas but the person I was with - who wasnt even looking for an amp- bought one on the spot.

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#33

Hi all. I read this old thread with interest. It frustrates me that most modellers (eg the Yamaha so heavily recommended above) don’t have fx loops. Is there a great sounding practice amp with a full range mode (but also good amp modelling options) that has an fx loop?

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#34

@NamedUser Afaik the problem is more about ‘desktop size’ combo amps: the kind that follow the Yamaha THR form factor with 4-6” speakers, calibrated to sound good even at low volume, almost never have fx loops. There are plenty of ‘practice’ combos in the same price range with effects loops but they tend to have 10”+ speakers. (The bigger size Boss Katana, Orange Crush, Line 6, Fender (etc etc).) And those larger speaker combos are rarely calibrated/designed to sound great at truly low volumes.

Part of the issue is that the selling point of those quiet desktop amps over a custom chain that ends with studio monitors and/or headphones is plug and play simplicity. For users that are committed to using a setup with their own fx loop chains, there just isn’t as much obvious upside to these ‘desktop practice amps’ over sticking a modeler in your effects chain, and playing through studio monitors or headphones…

2 Likes
#35

The Roland Jazz Chorus 22 has a pair of 6.5" speakers and a stereo effects return: can’t say how good it sounds at practice levels but seems like a good choice if an fx loop is a requirement.

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#36

Guess there’s also options like the new badcat paw (not modeling though): https://badcatamps.com/product-category/amplifiers/the-paw/

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#37

I haven’t resolved my practice amp requirements yet… but I’m drifting back to the idea of the nice sound of the supro as I have got s little back into guitar lately. it has a sound I would want to mic up and use…In the UK they seem to have gone up a little in price. Personally I am still a little anti- modelling and cheap digi built in effects in an amp- can do this better in a daw if I want it… I’m trying to convince myself i’m not being a purist for the sake it…

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#38

Friedman makes lower wattage amps with fx loops. More on expensive side, though.

#39

This is by far my favorite amp at the moment… practice or otherwise.

5w Class-A with one of the best spring reverbs I’ve ever heard.

(the one on top)

IMG_2972
IMG_29722929×3905 5.18 MB

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#40

Depends on budget really. I spent £1k on a custom Deluxe Reverb AB763 circuit a few years back and have never looked back. Barry from Vyse Amps in the UK did an amazing job. Custom features were single channel, a Mid control, an Output attenuator (for cranking input preamp gain for distortion at bedroom levels), a Line Out for recording, a “Negative Feedback” switch for getting tone similar to the original 5E3 Tweed Deluxe, and a tube effects Send and Return. 9 tubes in total, fitted it with a Weber 12" Deluxe type Alnico speaker. It sounds AMAZING!!! I am all about the clean, harmonic and chimey, and it does that great, but also takes pedals well and sounds lovely cranked. Around 20 watts, way more than I have ever needed.

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