Practice amp upgrade (is one even needed?)

[TeatroLirico]

Hey folks,

 

I’ve owned a Fender Rumble 40 now for about 8 years and I’ve been considering buying an upgrade.

 

The aim is strictly practice, and I know there are plenty of good practice amps on the market, but I was wondering if anyone had any input on:

 

- what to look for in an amp which I want to sound good at low volumes

- whether I’m likely to find noticeable upgrades in a practice amp

- any specific suggestions

 

whats made me think of upgrading is that 1) the amp’s overdrive no longer functions and I wonder how much else is not working to its fullest and 2) I just suspect I could get a better sounding amp for low volume playing.

 

p.s. I very much dislike headphone playing so I’m not really considering that…

 

cheers

[itu]

How about an active speaker? Buy a Genelec. Low vol, wide response...

[TeatroLirico]

10 minutes ago, itu said:

How about an active speaker? Buy a Genelec. Low vol, wide response...

thanks for the suggestion. Forgive my ignorance, but what would the connection chain be there? Bass > preamp > active speaker? 

[Elfrasho]

I don't have first hand experience but I wouldn't expect there to be  many small combos out there that would be a significant improvement over you Rumble.

 

I'd be tempted to get a multiFX rather than changing the amp. Could get a 2nd hand HX stomp for around 350, but the zoom stuff is much cheaper and excellent too. That will cover your distortion and much more. Plus the amp models will give you a bit of variety!

[TeatroLirico]

22 minutes ago, Elfrasho said:

I don't have first hand experience but I wouldn't expect there to be  many small combos out there that would be a significant improvement over you Rumble.

 

I'd be tempted to get a multiFX rather than changing the amp. Could get a 2nd hand HX stomp for around 350, but the zoom stuff is much cheaper and excellent too. That will cover your distortion and much more. Plus the amp models will give you a bit of variety!

adding a pedal’s a nice idea!

 

its significantly more limited, but I’ve been watching some reviews of the new Ampeg SGT-DI which has interested me because it very much has the sounds I’m after, and thought it would be a nice addition to add some new tones and sounds to my existing mix (+ distortion)

[oldsod]

As a practice amp i use this, it's the 112 v2,it sounds great at low volumes,and has a minus 15 db button as well,i live in a flat and have to consider my neighbours so low volume practice is about all i can do(until they go out then it gets loud and sounds even better😆) i think you can get these pre owned quite cheap.

Edited April 9, 2023 by oldsod
Extra info

[itu]

3 hours ago, TeatroLirico said:

what would the connection chain be there? Bass > preamp > active speaker? 

Yes. Depending on the preamp you may need a suitable cable to the speaker. It would work with an unbalanced plug to XLR cable.

 

Genelec is probably not the cheapest option, but practically any active unit will work.

[BigRedX]

What don't you like about your current amp?

[TeatroLirico]

13 hours ago, BigRedX said:

What don't you like about your current amp?

I simply suspect that I could have something that sounds much better. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with my amp per se. 

[Dan Dare]

The trouble with spending large sums on a practice amp is that you could spend the money on improving your main rig. Of course, if money is not an issue, that won't apply,

 

Many practice amps are low powered, with small drivers and cabs, which does limit their ability at lower frequencies in most cases. There are exceptions. The baby PJB combos are excellent, for example, but be prepared to shell out for one, even used.

 

As for what to look for, I'd suggest seeking something that performs similarly to your gigging amp, but on a smaller scale. The boundary between practice and gigging amps is pretty blurred in reality. At what point does something cease to be purely for practice and start being capable of being taken out on jobs? Probably at about 100w, I guess.

 

I'd stick with the Rumble if there's nothing wrong with it, but that's just me. If you switch to something like a larger Rumble, it won't really be much of an improvement, save for being a bit louder. And when you get to that point, you may just as well use your main rig at low volume for practice.

[TeatroLirico]

3 hours ago, Dan Dare said:

The trouble with spending large sums on a practice amp is that you could spend the money on improving your main rig. Of course, if money is not an issue, that won't apply,

 

Many practice amps are low powered, with small drivers and cabs, which does limit their ability at lower frequencies in most cases. There are exceptions. The baby PJB combos are excellent, for example, but be prepared to shell out for one, even used.

 

As for what to look for, I'd suggest seeking something that performs similarly to your gigging amp, but on a smaller scale. The boundary between practice and gigging amps is pretty blurred in reality. At what point does something cease to be purely for practice and start being capable of being taken out on jobs? Probably at about 100w, I guess.

 

I'd stick with the Rumble if there's nothing wrong with it, but that's just me. If you switch to something like a larger Rumble, it won't really be much of an improvement, save for being a bit louder. And when you get to that point, you may just as well use your main rig at low volume for practice.

 
thanks for the suggestions.

 

I currently don’t gig - maybe in the future, but for now I play purely for my own pleasure. 
 

so for me, the more pleasure I can derive out of my practice set up, the better.

 

As for other gear, I play an Acinonyx (and less often, a Sterling Stingray). I love the Acinonyx enough to be ordering a V2 - Stingray less so.

[BigRedX]

On 10/04/2023 at 06:52, TeatroLirico said:

I simply suspect that I could have something that sounds much better. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with my amp per se. 

 

"Better" when it comes to the sound of an amplified instrument can be very subjective. Also not matter what rig you have home practice volumes will never have the same level of "excitement" as at a gig. Without more information about how you think the current amp is lacking it is difficult to make effective suggestions.

[Dan Dare]

16 hours ago, TeatroLirico said:

I currently don’t gig - maybe in the future, but for now I play purely for my own pleasure. 
 

so for me, the more pleasure I can derive out of my practice set up, the better.

 

Fwiw, I'd be looking at upgrading to something that could form the basis of a gigging set-up - something you could augment if/when the need arises that would be satisfying to use at home. I'm assuming, as you have spent good money on your instruments, that your budget allows you to go for something nice.

 

Many of the modern class D heads and compact cabs are very acceptable in a domestic environment, so you wouldn't end up with a monstrosity sitting in your lounge. At the same time, they would out-perform virtually any practice combo. A 500 or even 700w head from one of the usual suspects plus something like a Barefaced 1x10 or even a 1x12 (other cabs are available) would be a great sounding set-up that you could easily add a cab or two to.

 

It would also be easier to sell on for a decent price than a practice combo should you need to.

[TeatroLirico]

1 hour ago, BigRedX said:

 

"Better" when it comes to the sound of an amplified instrument can be very subjective. Also not matter what rig you have home practice volumes will never have the same level of "excitement" as at a gig. Without more information about how you think the current amp is lacking it is difficult to make effective suggestions.

It’s one of those cases where you don’t know what you don’t know. I say I “suspect” I could get something that offers better low volume sound because this was a rather cheap amp.
 

Perhaps for low volume playing there really isn’t much better, but this is why I’m exploring. I haven’t owned any other amp to know better.

 

An example is with hifi gear. Unless you’ve listened to music through a better system, you often don’t know what you’re missing and don’t consider there being anything wrong with what you have. I’ve seen this plenty of times in the past.

[TeatroLirico]

24 minutes ago, Dan Dare said:

 

Fwiw, I'd be looking at upgrading to something that could form the basis of a gigging set-up - something you could augment if/when the need arises that would be satisfying to use at home. I'm assuming, as you have spent good money on your instruments, that your budget allows you to go for something nice.

 

Many of the modern class D heads and compact cabs are very acceptable in a domestic environment, so you wouldn't end up with a monstrosity sitting in your lounge. At the same time, they would out-perform virtually any practice combo. A 500 or even 700w head from one of the usual suspects plus something like a Barefaced 1x10 or even a 1x12 (other cabs are available) would be a great sounding set-up that you could easily add a cab or two to.

 

It would also be easier to sell on for a decent price than a practice combo should you need to.

thanks - really sound thinking. I’ll definitely keep that in mind if I do start shopping around.

[BassmanPaul]

I agree that a good sounding amp can help you with your practice sessions and even inspire you to greater heights.  If funds are available then get the best amp you can afford. Separates are better than a Combo 'cos you can upgrade each part as the desire hits you.  And it will! LOL

 

Good luck with your playing - I hope it brings you great satisfaction.

 

Edited April 11, 2023 by BassmanPaul

[asingardenof]

If you're not looking to use it to practice with others then it's not strictly necessary to have a decent sounding one, although I concede that it makes the whole practising experience a lot nicer. I've moved pretty much exclusively to practising through headphones these days, but I occasionally get my little (but very heavy) Trace Elliot combo out to annoy the neighbours. Honestly, any of the other major manufacturers (Ampeg, Ashdown, Hartke, GK, etc.) will give you something different to play with, so if you can get to a reasonably large shop you could take three or four in and try them out.

[Phil Starr]

The trouble is that most small 'practice amps' are just small cheap amps. Really they should be called starter amps. Your Rumble is one of the better ones so shopping around for something better is problematic the only suggestion I can make is that PJB make small nice sounding combos that are designed for producing a great sound at middling volumes so looking there might be good. At a high price AER make great sounding small combos too. There are some fairly compact giggable combos around too. Some nice 2x8's and some 1x12's are quite compact.

 

If you want something really compact and designed to be neighbour friendly I've designed a cab you can build here  It is designed to be crystal clear over most bass frequencies but the deepest bass that goes through the house is rolled off. It's really revealing for home practice which is what you want to improve your playing. Coupled with a cheapish pocket sized amp like the Gnome, Elf or BAM it is a formidable practice machine.

 

The other option is to go for a couple of active studio monitors. The Genelec has been recommended but there are loads of good ones https://www.thomann.de/gb/active_nearfield_monitors.html?oa=pra I went for a couple of RCF Lyras  but I'd happily have gone with Tannoy, Yamaha or KRK. As studio monitors they do bass really well at household volumes and a pair of 5" studio monitors are hard to beat for sound.  they are room friendly too and will double as hi-fi speakers. You'll need a pre amp. I use a small mixer for this as i also put guitar and vocals through mine but something like a Zoom B1-Four would do the job. There's loads of used stuff available too as people upgrade. I'm still amazed at how loud they go and how good they sound and it's not a purchase I regret.

Edited April 15, 2023 by Phil Starr

[TeatroLirico]

25 minutes ago, Phil Starr said:

The trouble is that most small 'practice amps' are just small cheap amps. Really they should be called starter amps. Your Rumble is one of the better ones so shopping around for something better is problematic the only suggestion I can make is that PJB make small nice sounding combos that are designed for producing a great sound at middling volumes so looking there might be good. At a high price AER make great sounding small combos too. There are some fairly compact giggable combos around too. Some nice 2x8's and some 1x12's are quite compact.

 

If you want something really compact and designed to be neighbour friendly I've designed a cab you can build here  It is designed to be crystal clear over most bass frequencies but the deepest bass that goes through the house is rolled off. It's really revealing for home practice which is what you want to improve your playing. Coupled with a cheapish pocket sized amp like the Gnome, Elf or BAM it is a formidable practice machine.

 

The other option is to go for a couple of active studio monitors. The Genelec has been recommended but there are loads of good ones https://www.thomann.de/gb/active_nearfield_monitors.html?oa=pra I went for a couple of RCF Lyras  but I'd happily have gone with Tannoy, Yamaha or KRK. As studio monitors they do bass really well at household volumes and a pair of 5" studio monitors are hard to beat for sound.  they are room friendly too and will double as hi-fi speakers. You'll need a pre amp. I use a small mixer for this as i also put guitar and vocals through mine but something like a Zoom B1-Four would do the job. There's loads of used stuff available too as people upgrade. I'm still amazed at how loud they go and how good they sound and it's not a purchase I regret.

Thanks for the advice.

 

I’m increasingly tempted by a pair of studio monitors as being a solution.

 

I suppose part of me feels like there’s a more… recorded sound I could be getting. Not sure if that’s the way to put it. But with a practice amp at low volumes it sounds neither like a bass in a live setting nor a bass in a recorded setting.

 

It’s fine for practice, obviously, but my practice setting is, for now, my main setting.

 

A pair of active speakers + a preamp (I’ve been recently looking at the new Ampeg one) might sounds great.

 

Plus, I’ve been wanting to try recording my playing as a practice tool (and for fun, of course)

[StingRayBoy42]

For at home playing I loved my Markbass cmd 101 - it's even loud enough for quiet gigs.

It was a bit underpowered for the bigger gigs so I traded it for a Markbass 802 - still sounds great at home volumes and loud enough to gig with.

You'll need PA support if it's a loud rock band, but for chilled jazz stuff, it's the business.

[Lw.]

What did you go for in the end? 

 

I'm currently using one of the 1x12's from my main rig with a lower power small class-D head, pretty good for practice volumes and saves the space of having two different set-ups. 

I'm considering going smaller & getting some active studio monitors for my office and just practicing through my laptop instead so would be interested to hear if you did that when you were considering it. 

[Nebadon2000]

On 11/04/2023 at 07:15, TeatroLirico said:

An example is with hifi gear. Unless you’ve listened to music through a better system, you often don’t know what you’re missing and don’t consider there being anything wrong with what you have. I’ve seen this plenty of times in the past.

 

☝️

[TeatroLirico]

On 21/04/2023 at 11:50, Lw. said:

What did you go for in the end? 

 

I'm currently using one of the 1x12's from my main rig with a lower power small class-D head, pretty good for practice volumes and saves the space of having two different set-ups. 

I'm considering going smaller & getting some active studio monitors for my office and just practicing through my laptop instead so would be interested to hear if you did that when you were considering it. 

still haven’t taken the plunge on anything new - I’m incredibly slow to make decisions that involve spending money 😂 

 

[msb]

I keep my gig gear completely separate. Everything is bagged and ready to go out the door. I know everything I need will be there.

For years my practice amp was a classic GK MB150. Initially bought for my upright , it became my favourite practice , rehearsal , studio , and small gig rig. At one point I blew it up and loved it enough to do an expensive repair. Still a great little combo amp.

And then several years back we began to look after my aging mother-in-law. I was going to be spending a lot of time at her house and didn’t want to be dragging amps back and forth , so I started the hunt for a new practice rig to leave in her house. 

First up was a Fender Rumble 15. It was small and cheap , I thought it would be fine. It totally sucked. And I realized that small and cheap wasn’t going to cut it.

Found a tiny GK MB200 head on kijiji. Great little head! Initially picked up a Traynor 212 cab but went looking for something smaller and picked up an Ampeg 210AV. Traded the Traynor. This turned into a great little combination. Both were bought used , good prices. Great little practice rig.
I was looking at Phil Jones C2 cabs , and I suppose the inevitable was inevitable. Probably paid too much but it’s only the size of a shoebox , and sounds good at low volume. My wife liked it because it was red. It became the in-law cab. I use it every day. No regrets.

And then picked up a SWR Headlite on kijiji for a price I couldn’t pass up. And the Ampeg cab with the SWR became my new home practice rig and the MB150 was semi retired. 
And then I made another kijiji score and picked up a Darkglass e500, and it stayed at the in-law’s with the C2.

And recently picked up an an Aguilar SL112 for home. So the Ampeg 210 was retired. The SWR seems to bounce between the two places. 
So I wound up buying a surprising amount of stuff trying to set up a nice little practice rig.

… and I’d probably scoop up an Aguilar Tonehammer 350 if I found a local one at a good price. 

Edited May 1, 2023 by msb

[asingardenof]

I have this for sale if you're interested...