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paisleyfender
Bronze Member
Germany
70 Posts |
 Posted - 01/14/2010 : 21:25:12
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I'm desperately searching for a decent headphone practice amp, because at night or even in the evening hours my Peavey Classic 20 and Classic 30 amps are way too loud in our 6 party rental flat house.
Besides the neighbours I have a 21 month old daughter who has to sleep after 7:30 pm, so i have no chance practicing after that time even at room level with a normal guitar amp.
So up to now I already tried some more or less good sounding solutions, including a Tom Scholz Rockman, a Line 6 Pod 2.0, a Vox AC30 Amplug, a Vox Tonelab (desktop version), a BOSS GP-20.
I used the ones with headphone jack directly with a decent Sennheiser studio headphone, the others I connected to a Behringer mixing console with headphone output.
But I have to admit that most of these modelers did almost suck compared to read tube amps, especially when it comes to get a pleasant blues crunch tone. Heavy distorted settings are nt much of a problem, clean settings work out nicely to, but overdrive sounds are just too harsh/digital most of the time.
So here's my question: Can you recomment any headphone amp for replacing/modeling my beloved Peaveys? |
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Miky
Silver Member
Czech Republic
184 Posts |
Posted - 01/14/2010 : 21:44:00
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| How about a small solid-state combo? I know it's not a pocket-size solution, but you could be still using your pedals and all... I had the Orange CR-10 and it worked quite well with headphones, although, of course it would be nothing special compared to all tube amps... At least it's fairly inexpensive. |
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paisleyfender
Bronze Member
Germany
70 Posts |
Posted - 01/14/2010 : 23:16:32
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I actually thought about the Vox DA-5 combo. Unfortunately I don't have a music shop near that carries one, so I'll might go to eBay and buy a used one.
Does anybody use such an amp to practice? |
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FRANZONI
Double Platinum Member
Ireland
3543 Posts |
Posted - 01/14/2010 : 23:33:16
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I have the podXTpro and it's ok but not great either compared to a real tube amp,i know line 6 recommend if you want to use pedals to plug them into the pods input like a regular amp.. if you still have the pod you could try a light overdrive set on the verge of breaking up into a amp simulation then listen on the 'phones to see what it's like...i know one of my favourite amps in my pod is the Marshall JTM-45 simulation with a 4x12 virtual cab loaded with greenbacks .. SM 57 mic off axis...i keep the 'amp' clean and use my boss OD-2 on non turbo mode with the gain slightly over halfway...not ideal but i have three kids and Mrs F does't like loud guitar at nighttime either while watching her 'soaps' on TV... plus like you PF i'm not into hi-gain sounds all the time either...clean or on the edge of breakup is good for me... and one of the fun things with the pod is trying out different cabs with the marshall amp and vice versa...i.e...fender bassman into a supro 1x12 cab or marshall into a fender 3x10 etc....really changes the sound of the amp.... |
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aaronharmon
Silver Member
USA
271 Posts |
Posted - 01/14/2010 : 23:45:13
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I just play through my RC-50 with headphones on. I got all the effects I need in front of it.
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Goran
Double Platinum Member
Sweden
2203 Posts |
Posted - 01/15/2010 : 07:40:30
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I have searched the perfect bedroom amp for years, I�ve had many; Vox DA-5, Tech 21, small transistor Fenders, etc etc
The best, that sound very good at very low levels, is Roland Micro Cube. And it�s quite cheap too. No small tube amp I�ve tried sounds better than the Cube at very low levels.
I�m not alone in praising the Micro Cube.
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zerksies
Double Platinum Member
USA
3406 Posts |
Posted - 01/15/2010 : 13:23:31
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| i tried the bass cube in the store the other day thinking it was a guitar one and sounded pretty good clean. but when you ran the effects it sounded bad. i think i am going for the boss js-8 |
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Witloofboer
Gold Member
Belgium
513 Posts |
Posted - 01/15/2010 : 15:29:45
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Maybe this: http://zvexamps.com/amp_view.html
I've seen a picture of a Magma Mini tube amp, which uses pencil-size valves, but I can't find them. |
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Goran
Double Platinum Member
Sweden
2203 Posts |
Posted - 01/16/2010 : 18:38:58
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Still, the Micro Cube is a really great low volume amp, and it�s a Roland, closely realated to what we all love, BOSS
I know of several pro guitarist who have used this amp live, miked of course.
In Sweden there are a lot of following for this little battery powered, if you want, amp. And I know that it has sold in a very large amount worldwide.
Using the Fender modelling setting it takes pedals very good. |
Edited by - Goran on 01/16/2010 18:40:27 |
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zerksies
Double Platinum Member
USA
3406 Posts |
Posted - 01/17/2010 : 15:05:30
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quote:
Originally posted by Witloofboer
Maybe this: http://zvexamps.com/amp_view.html
I've seen a picture of a Magma Mini tube amp, which uses pencil-size valves, but I can't find them.
that amp is cool |
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Witloofboer
Gold Member
Belgium
513 Posts |
Posted - 01/17/2010 : 17:53:20
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quote:
Originally posted by zerksies
that amp is cool
& expensive  |
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paisleyfender
Bronze Member
Germany
70 Posts |
Posted - 01/17/2010 : 22:40:46
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quote:
Originally posted by Witloofboer
quote:
Originally posted by zerksies
that amp is cool
& expensive
And I think it will not work very good at bedroom level, nor through headphones.
It's a low wattage all tube amp, so it has to drive a guitar cabinet to really shine.
Up to now I wonder if I should get me a Roland Microcube or a Vox DA5, or if I should give the Pod one more chance (I sold my Pod 2.0 long ago)? |
Edited by - paisleyfender on 01/17/2010 22:43:04 |
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Goran
Double Platinum Member
Sweden
2203 Posts |
Posted - 01/18/2010 : 07:04:43
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The Micro Cube is much better than the Vox when playing with the speaker.
As a pure headphone amp I suppose POD is the way to go, there is not stereo out on the Cube.
But on the other hand why play with headphones when you can get a good sound on low levels..... |
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paisleyfender
Bronze Member
Germany
70 Posts |
Posted - 01/18/2010 : 23:42:30
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quote:
Originally posted by Goran
The Micro Cube is much better than the Vox when playing with the speaker.
As a pure headphone amp I suppose POD is the way to go, there is not stereo out on the Cube.
But on the other hand why play with headphones when you can get a good sound on low levels.....
Oops, unfortunately I just won a Vox DA5 on eBay, couldn't resist for 50�+6,90� shipping. I'll let you know how that works when it has arrived.
As I said I had owned the Pod before, and I found it to be very sterile over headphones.
Why play with headphones? If there's a 21 month old daughter sleeping in the next room, even low amp levels are simply NOT an option |
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FRANZONI
Double Platinum Member
Ireland
3543 Posts |
Posted - 01/19/2010 : 00:49:32
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| I have the podXTpro which is a higher bit resolution than the 'kidney bean' version so maybe thats why i find it decent for recording and practising with headphones...also my children are a bit older now and i have my gear set up at the other end of the house so i can play at low levels through the rig without phones once it's not real late at night...i use AKG studio headphones which are probably of similar quality to your sennheisers....in the pod i find the marshalls to be the best of the amp sims for quality and out of the marshalls the JTM-45 and the plexi variac models with the greenback cab the best of the lot...using it live through a PA was never able to get a sound i was happy with but i use it now in my live rig as a stereo effects unit in my rack and have sort of reached a point where i can live with it..the delays,reverbs and modulations are all very good..the only one i find a bit weak is the rotary simulator but then i have a dynacord CLS-22 so i'm a bit biased....the plus side is since the X3 version came out i recon you would find the xtpro is coming down in price if you were to check it out...try before you buy bro'..... |
Edited by - FRANZONI on 01/19/2010 00:49:56 |
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Erik dP
Silver Member
Sweden
150 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2010 : 10:32:45
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I use the VOX DA5 as my main amp! (I sold off my other one, a Gallien Krueger.)
With a 4*12 connected it sounds great. It is small and use batteries. I can play with a Marshall 4*12 with no external power dependency if needed. The headphone/aux-out works great. I record through it. There is also a mikrophone input that can be used for guitar as well as the line in. I have used a line switch (actually a AC2) to get a clean and a dirty channel by using the mik input for clean sounds. This input is a bit brighter than the line in input I beleve, and has a level adjustment which works great with the AC-2 for that acoustic sound.
I have done some adjustments to it:
1. Speaker output that mutes internal speaker. 5W is loud enough through a Marshall 4*12. At least at home.
2. FX-loop. I guess that the level I now have on is not exactly instrument level. But Boss RV5 and DD3 worked fine anyway. The loop station needs a bit of post-attuenation to work perfect. I use a headset cord with volume adjustment for that.
3. Tap tempo pedal input.
4. Effect on off pedal input.
5. 9V output connection for pedals. However this affect affect the DA5 depending on what pedal is used. |
Edited by - Erik dP on 01/22/2010 10:37:21 |
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Best headphone practice amp?
