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Looking for a good versatile practice amp

3K views 17 replies 14 participants last post by  Santuzzo 
#1 ·
Also to use for small jams and the like. I've got a few jams coming up this Summer and I don't have anything that fits the bill amp-wise to take with me. Just want something small, combo and versatile. Anywhere up to 200 squids should be fine. I've been looking into a couple already, namely the Blackstar HT-1, HT-5, Laney Cub 8, VHT Special 6, Roland Cube, Micro Cube.

Any suggestion or recommendations from you good folks?
 
#5 ·
The roland micro and orange crush are the best battery powered amps out there in my opinion. They honestly are a lot of fun to practice on and they each last 20ish hours on low volume practice and 6-7 on high volume. I'll be picking up another micro cube now that I have an automobile again.
 
#14 ·
I just recently took delivery of an ID:60 today and from what little time I spent with it I like it better than any other modelling amps I've played. I'll definitely need more time to see if it can match better tube amps but I think it actually sounds better than any of the HT line from Blackstar (and I've had all of them, save for the HT60 models).

The TVP feature definitely responds more like a tube amp and the overall tone is pretty great for the price. The basic speaker that comes with the combo is pretty weak, but I can say the same for the HT5, the Vypyr's, the VOX VTs...pretty much every budget combo amp out there in that price range. The cabinet is big enough that you can put in an aftermarket speaker. The onboard effects are limited but actually sound pretty good. The main thing is that is loud enough on it's own to jam /perform with.

The HT5 is a great amp and I've had a few, but the tone is certainly not to everyone's liking. It's a very dry gain overall and doesn't get super saturated; it's not really loud enough to play with a drummer on it's own in my experience.

Hope that helps some!
 
#13 ·
Interesting. I might have to look into the Vypyr & the Vypyr VIP series then.

What's the difference between the VIP 1 and the VIP 2 apart from double the wattage and a different sized speaker? The VIP 1 would be all I'd need to be honest unless there is a major difference in what it does.
 
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