Combo Practice Amp for a newbie

[AerenS]

Hello!

I am new on both on forum and electric guitar (playing nylon strings accoustic for a while). For the guitar, i am gonna buy an epi lp. With it, i need to buy a combo practice amp. I cannot spare enough for a tube amp for a while and also since i live in small flat with others, i cannot use it properly even if i buy one. So i need some advice for practice combo amp below 200$.

In the price range i have seen Line 6 spiderIV 15, Orange Crush PiX CR20L, Line 6 Micro Spider, Fender Frontman 15g.

For the sound: Since i am new to this, i dont have any precise thoughts on sound or genre but i like to listen clapton, jbonamassa etc. and some alternative rock stuff. (This is the another reason that i want to buy some cheap-ass practice amp before i find an amp that i love)

Any Suggestions ?

 

[Sequimite]

There is one tube amp that is close to your price range. The Peavey Classic 20 usually sells for around $250. I bought mine for $300 but it included a new $65 set of JJ pre and power tubes and was in excellent condition. They were only made for a few years and you'd have to be patient for the right one to come along.

add> At 18 watts it's loud enough to play with a band and for quiet practice it has a headphone jack.

 

[jdto]

I think the Fender Mustang series are worth a look. I was in a similar boat to you when I got into electric guitars and I have been happy with mine, so far. You can get to know a decent approximation of the tone of several amp models and the Mustangs are also decent amps in their own right, especially for the money. I went for the Mustang 3, but the 1 or 2 would be in your price range and they also get good reviews.

 

[cybermgk]

For a person in your situation, I'd almost always recommend

Blackstar ID Core 10, or better 20.

Yamaha THR10

BOTH cover a lot of different genres, sound excellent at low volume, have silent play ability via headphones, take aux in to practice with backing tracks, are EASY as pie to use and get their best tone. Both are easy to record direct to Computer.

Blackstar will be a little bit cheaper, and is also a good bed for pedals sometime down the line.

Pass on the Line 6 Spiders.

Mustang is not bad a choice, as it matches many of those things above. BUT, imho it will need, and is prone more to fiddling and tweaking, than the other 2, which is not good for a beginner. Should spend time playing.

That said, there is also the tube Blackstar HT 1 watt and 5 waters. Not as varied of tones as above options, but tube, great at low vol, headphone silent play ability. Little more duckets though.

 

[tzd]

If 'cheap-ass' is your top priority, the choice is probably Fender Mustang I at $119, although like mentioned above it might require some substantial tweaking to sound real good.

Closer to your $200 budget you can check out the Vox VT20X or the newly announced Marshall Code 25.

However, I think the ideal amp for you would be the newly announced Line 6 AMPLIFi 30 but it comes in at $299. (Or you could buy the existing AMPLIFi 75 for the same price or even at a discount if it's not too loud for you) I think it's ideal as it does tone-matching based on the song you play so you don't have to worry about dialing in the tone yourself.

 

[AlvisX]

Danelectro Bacon & Eggs

 

[jbrew1977]

The Peavey Vyper series is hard to beat in that price range. I've seen more than one magazine review calling it the best modeler in that price range. The new ones even allow you to use it for bass and acoustic with some additional amp models for that purpose.

 

[Comanche]

Mustang 1

 

[AlanH]

Roland Micro cube is a good option for cheap. Personally I'm GASing for a Yamaha THR10 or one of its variants....

 

[AlanH]

Danelectro Bacon & Eggs

Or a Digitech Bad Monkey plugged in to a stereo or headphones. Not wasted money as it's an extremely good OD pedal. With one of these I've been able to link my entire pedal board to a mini cassette/CD/radio via a 3.5mm jack

 

[Rocco Crocco]

Yamaha THR5

 

[Pop1655]

I like the seldom discussed Fender Champion
Great bang for the buck.

 

[Marshall & Moonshine]

I'd go with the Peavey Vyper or Fender Mustang. They sound pretty good in a bedroom/house. Use a modeler to help you zero in on a type of amp you'd like. From your listening preferences, I'm guessing some thing Fender or small Marshall for your amp after this one.

 

[MusicLaw]

If you're not adverse to using software to expand your Amp's capabilites, consider a Fender Mustang I (v2) or II (v2)! A new Fender Mustang III (v2) exceeds your budget ($249 when marked down on sale), but used a MII (v2) shouldn't.

There are lots of excellent refined Presets available via the Fender FUSE online community.

New Yamaha THR10, THR10C, THR10X units exceed your budget, however you may find one used, or consider a new THR5.

 

[KP11520]

Who says just because you're on a Low Budget, you can't get a decently equipped Tube Combo.

Lies and Garbage!

15-Watt, 1x12 Guitar Combo Tube Amplifier with Celestion Speaker & Spring Reverb - Monoprice.com

This is what I'd do. In fact, if I didn't already have a Laney Lionheart (5 watt combo), I'd already have one of these.

I hope this helps!

 

[ScottMarlowe]

Hell, I picked up my Peavey Classic 50 4x10 for $250 a year ago at GC. There ARE deals out there on tube amps. But if you don't know enough about them to know what you want / like, then yeah, you're probably better off with a modeller.

If you don't like fiddling with all the complexity the Fender Mustang or Peavey Vyper entail, then look at simpler ones like the Yamaha THR series, or the Peavey Bandit, or the Roland Blues Cube.

Of the two king of inexpensive modellers, the Peavey Vyper and the Fender Mustang, I think the Fender wins on clean to crunch rhythm and blues, and the Peavey wins at hard rock to face-melting metal distortion

 

[rjwilson37]

I picked up the Blackstar ID:Core 10 for practicing at home with headphones on or off. I could not have picked a better small combo practice amp. It sounds really good and is easy to use. I had a Mustang I and actually like it better than the Mustang I and it cost a little less for the ID:Core 10.

 

[AerenS]

@Sequimite, I've looked for the Peavey classic 20 in a couple of different 2nd hand local seller online but i could not find any. Interestingly there is not any Peavey distributors in Turkey, so either i cant find any Peavey in good condition or prices are extremely high.

@cybermgk, I will definetely look into Blackstar ID Core 10/20, i've read a lot of goodstuff online about them. On the other hand, Yamaha THR series distributor sell them strange prices (compared to Europe or US prices) i think i need to sell my kidney or sth to get but maybe i can try here and buy from an online site.

@jdto, I will check the fender mustangs also. A lot of my friends say similar things for them.

I dont know why but same pricing also applied for Line 6 amplifi series and vox as Yamahas. Probably they have same distributor in Turkey.

@ScottMarlowe Unfortunately, there isnt any GC around here. But during my research (online) i really loved the sound of Peavey Classics.

Thanks for the advices. I will try all of the models when i go to local music store.

 

[tzd]

I dont know why but same pricing also applied for Line 6 amplifi series and vox as Yamahas. Probably they have same distributor in Turkey.

Yep Line 6 is owned by Yamaha now.

 

[Rhust]

yamaha THR10 series... stretch your budget to make it happen, and you will not be disappointed.

I bought mine new for 250.

you can even cut your guitar budget by 50 and look at something like an agile or xaviere if you need to make room in the pocketbook.