Your Practice Amp - How Much Power?

[squire5]

TE Boxer 15 at home.I've even used it at a couple of 'acoustic' pub sessions with my acoustic/electric bass.Plenty loud.

[jacko]

I use my Kelly dragonfly for playing at home so no amp required if I'm rehearsing somewhere I need to take an amp I use an Eden Metro combo that had the speakers replaced by the previous owner so it's putting out 600 watts.

[Nicko]

Line 6 15W 1x8 is set up next to my PC". Its pretty pants, and generally only use it cos its got a playalong jack socket so I can plug in my MP3 player. I mostly use my Markbass 250 through a 1 x 10 or 2x10 which originally was kept in the same room for storage turned down quite low (mostly ).

[toneknob]

A Roland Micro Cube, so 2W. And a Roland JC-50, at of course 50W. The former gets much more use.

[Sibob]

45w Markbass MicroMark 801, or 60w with an extension cab if ever needed.
Very cool little amp, loving it so far, and the lack of controls is actually quite liberating! 'Aux in' is very handy.
The only qualm I have is that the headphone socket doesn't cut out the speaker, which, when both are controlled by the same volume control, kind of renders the headphones pointless.

However, I also have a 3leaf Enabler which I use for headphone practicing when I need to.

Si

[Pukie]

[quote name='razze06' timestamp='1437986285' post='2830464']
I use a roland microcube bass, something like 8 watts in 4 tiny speakers, but it's got reasonable sound shaping and amp modelling, rhythm patterns, and a good headphones out.
[/quote]
Great little practice amps these.
That's what I used, until I read the IOS bassist thread on here , now I tend to use iRig+Ipad+JamUp+ my Turtle Beach gaming headphones.

[jimbaby]

I bought a Trace Elliot Boxer 65 for home use but it's on extended loan to my mate, I use my Peavey T-max because I love the sound (my wife is less keen on it though).

[LewisK1975]

I've got one of those line 6 lowdown 15 watt 8in speaker things. OK sound wise, and the modelled compressor on it is actually quite good. Got an aux in and headphone out too which is quite useful..

Only down side is the fuzzy covering they have. Only because the cat has decided it's a scratching post and the amp now looks like it's got an afro wig on!

Also got the TC BH250 head which you can run without speakers and has an aux in / headphone out. Tiny too..

Edited July 27, 2015 by LewisK1975

[goonerjoe]

For home practise i use an Ashdown LB30 into an Ashdown MiBass 1x12... Perfect.

[mikebass84]

450 watt head into a 700 watt cab.


Just on about 1/2

[Guest Jecklin]

[quote name='M@23' timestamp='1437929840' post='2830115']
70 watt, though it's only driving two 4" speakers.
[/quote]

That's my gig set up.

[M@23]

[quote name='Jecklin' timestamp='1438012053' post='2830836']


That's my gig set up.
[/quote]

Really? PJB Double Four?

[grandad]

Roland Bass-Cube 30.

[Guest Jecklin]

[quote name='M@23' timestamp='1438018429' post='2830910']


Really? PJB Double Four?
[/quote]

Yes indeed, although my musical context is rather specific - my website in my signature explains more.

[BigRedX]

At home I usually practice unplugged. For me home practice is about getting the right notes in the right order and I don't need an amp for that.

[scrumpymike]

EBS Classic 60, and I love it. Compact, light, nice sounds thru its 10" speaker. Saw lots of good reviews before buying.

[mcnach]

[quote name='spongebob' timestamp='1437921951' post='2829993']
I've posted this here, rather than the amps section, as it's not a question related to any individual brand/model.

Essentially, I'm thinking of changing my Orange practice amp - think it's 25w. Looking at a Fender Rumble, as it would match my main rig. So no gear enquiry there!

However, I like the options on the 40w model. Just a bit worried that the size is a bit of overkill for a practice amp. For our trio, it wouldn't be gig size...mainly for indoor use unless I'm backing some Morris dancers!

So how big is yours......?!
[/quote]

My practice amp is 300W.
It does have a volume knob, 'though

No, seriously, in these days of small/light/powerful amps, you can easily have both in one. I use the MarkBass CMD121P both for home practice as well as some gigs (either as stage monitor or with an extension cab if I need it to make more noise). It's small, only about 13Kg, sounds good... It doesn't have an aux input, but I have a small 4-channel battery operated mixer that I use for that.

I would not worry about wattage for a practice amp: buy the amplifier that has the features you want. Any amplifier will be loud enough for home use, and if is more powerful than what you need... just don't turn up too high!

Frankly, the difference between a 25 and a 40W amp will be more due to the actual speaker and cab design than the difference in power.

[ambient]

[quote name='M@23' timestamp='1437929840' post='2830115']
70 watt, though it's only driving two 4" speakers.
[/quote]

Sounds like you have the same as me, I use it for gigs too. Size isn't everything, as they say .

[jonunders]

Roland microcube bass. Small 3rd bedroom box to practice in so not a lot of room

[JTUK]

Why would anyone pay £100 for a poor amp/combo just to play at home.
A little class D and a cab wouldn't up up any room.. outperform most pratice amps
by miles and you could amp it up at a gig and still get reasonable performance.
The 60w or less combo has one use.. the bedroom..which is fine if that is all you do, but useless
elsewhere, IMO.

[KevB]

[quote name='jonunders' timestamp='1438074862' post='2831328']
Small 3rd bedroom box to practice in so not a lot of room
[/quote]

Yep same here. Having a small practice combo in there means I need never lug the gigging rig up the stairs. Keep the bigger stuff in a cupboard under the stairs and it stays there until gig day. As I'm now using my PK5's and a sound module again those still have to go up and down stairs along with my bass, it's quite enough.

[Dad3353]

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1438079788' post='2831392']
Why would anyone pay £100 for a poor amp/combo just to play at home.
A little class D and a cab wouldn't up up any room.. outperform most pratice amps
by miles and you could amp it up at a gig and still get reasonable performance.
The 60w or less combo has one use.. the bedroom..which is fine if that is all you do, but useless
elsewhere, IMO.
[/quote]

Some folk start off with a small combo, then add horsepower as their needs change.
There's nothing to disparage in having various amp options. Different folks, different strokes is the expression that fits, maybe..?

[tauzero]

I use a Tascam GB10 into a Behringer mixer into the computer hi-fi (Technics amp and reasonable bookshelf speakers or headphones).

[mcnach]

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1438079788' post='2831392']
Why would anyone pay £100 for a poor amp/combo just to play at home.
A little class D and a cab wouldn't up up any room.. outperform most pratice amps
by miles and you could amp it up at a gig and still get reasonable performance.
The 60w or less combo has one use.. the bedroom..which is fine if that is all you do, but useless
elsewhere, IMO.
[/quote]

That's my view too. Today. But when people start they're probably not thinking they'll ever need a gig-capable amp, and most will never gig, so I can see how there is a market.

My first bass amp was a 45W combo. I did play live in front of people before I got that, but it was a fluke... I was supposed to play guitar but bass player in a particular situation disappeared and I took the bass... Only then I "discovered" that I liked the bass So I went and bought a bass and a small practice amp, because I never thought I'd be in a band playing bass as I didn't think I'll persevere beyond the "guitarist playing a bass" phase. BUt what do you know, eh?

One thing small practice amps have that bigger ones often lack is the ability to use headphones (even 'though most practice amp's headphone output I experienced has been pretty poor) and connecting an mp3 player and/or a drum machine to it, which is important in a home practice amp, I think.

I don't think the aux input is that important, as there are small powered mixers that one can use to add a number of inputs to an amp. I have a small 4-channel one, only a bit bigger than an effects pedal, which can run on a 9V battery: I use that to plug in the audio from my laptop, or a second instrument sometimes, into my small Markbass combo. The same combo I may take later to a gig as a stage monitor, or to a small bar gig with an additional cab.]
I can also plug in the DI out into another mixer I have by my desktop PC, and use headphones if I wanted to (rarely).

So, for me, today, a 300W small combo, or a head plus a 1x12" cab, make a lot of sense as a home amp. But when I started on bass... £100 was probably all I was willing to spend (my current solution cost a lot more), and let's face it, it did the job beautifully:
It sounded good enough at home, I plugged in a V-Amp guitar modeller thingy to have guitar plus bass playing simultaneously (with a friend, I'm not talented enough to play both instruments at one ), or a drum machine... and if I hadn't moved to playing live on bass, I would probably still have a similar setup and use software-based solutions for headphone-based playing/recording.

[ambient]

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1438079788' post='2831392']
Why would anyone pay £100 for a poor amp/combo just to play at home.
A little class D and a cab wouldn't up up any room.. outperform most pratice amps
by miles and you could amp it up at a gig and still get reasonable performance.
The 60w or less combo has one use.. the bedroom..which is fine if that is all you do, but useless
elsewhere, IMO.
[/quote]

Depends on the amp. My Phil Jones Double Four is tiny, about the size of a shoe box, but perfectly giggable for the average jazz gig, you wouldn't need anything else.