Practice Amps - for Bass AND guitar

[uncle psychosis]

I'd like something that will... 

 

• Let me play amplified bass guitar or electric guitar at home practice levels
• Let me practice bass guitar or electric guitar through headphones (not at the same time)
• Let me stream bluetooth audio to play along to
• Not take up too much space
• Isn't too expensive (GX-100 plus a powered speaker is a very tempting solution but £££) 
• Tones - classic bass tones and or clean/crunchy guitar tones

 

 

There seems to be lots of options out there but lots of divided opinions - the Positive Grid Spark and the THRII-10 both seem to be very marmite, for example. 

What do you guys think? 

[Dan Dare]

It isn't realistic to expect classic bass tones and or clean/crunchy guitar tones in something compact for little money, I'm afraid. 

[uncle psychosis]

41 minutes ago, Dan Dare said:

It isn't realistic to expect classic bass tones and or clean/crunchy guitar tones in something compact for little money, I'm afraid. 

 

I'm not sure I believe that, to be honest. 

 

The THR-II is less than £300. So is the Spark. Both do guitar and bass. There are other things out there that aren't a million miles away either. 

 

I'm talking about a practice tool, not a pro studio amp. 

[Woodinblack]

I have had a THR-10 which was good, especially the battery, but limited on effects, good solid basics though. I have a spark now and that sits next to me. For practice at any sort of volume it isn't particularly good on bass but good at lower volume and fine in on headphones it is great - also has the whole effects and software for playing along with stuff which really lift it out of being just an amp.

[uk_lefty]

I had a Black Star BEAM and thought it was great, though you're not getting a decent low B sound out of it. After not using it a while I moved it on, regretted it, got a Positive Grid Spark. I wasn't impressed with the Spark until I managed to update the firmware and download some new bass amp sounds, now I am impressed. 

 

I recorded this entirely using the Black Star BEAM. There's loads of layered guitar tracks and two bass tracks I think... https://soundcloud.com/white-collar-fraud/take-on-me?ref=clipboard&p=a&c=1&si=861ba76c87db4da2aafd57cc030a77f5&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

[BigRedX]

Helix and the smallest FRFR you can get away with.

 

Seriously.

 

For headphone only practice you just need the Helix, and you can even use it as your gigging rig.

 

The only thing it won't do is the wireless streaming, but what's wrong with connecting your practice source with a cable?

[pbasspecial]

54 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

Helix and the smallest FRFR you can get away with.

 

Seriously.

 

For headphone only practice you just need the Helix, and you can even use it as your gigging rig.

 

The only thing it won't do is the wireless streaming, but what's wrong with connecting your practice source with a cable?

+ 1

[Beer of the Bass]

Or on a lower budget than the Helix, whatever small bass amp ticks your boxes, plus a Joyo American sound pedal or one of the other flavours of amp simulator in that line.

[BigRedX]

I suggested this because my Helix and FRFR has replaced both my bass and guitar rigs for practice and live use, and after selling the equipment that they replaced I came away with an overall profit!

[Frank Blank]

1 hour ago, BigRedX said:

Helix and the smallest FRFR you can get away with.

 

Seriously.

 

47 minutes ago, pbasspecial said:

+ 1

 

QSC K10.2 or K12.2 - does everything you want and more.

[Dan Dare]

12 hours ago, uncle psychosis said:

 

I'm not sure I believe that, to be honest. 

 

The THR-II is less than £300. So is the Spark. Both do guitar and bass. There are other things out there that aren't a million miles away either. 

 

I'm talking about a practice tool, not a pro studio amp. 

 

Your prerogative to believe me or not. You say yourself that the Spark and the THRII-10 both seem to be very marmite. The only thing to do, really, is to get out and try a few things to see if they'll do what you want of them. Buying on the basis of recommendation alone is an almost sure route to disappointment.

[chyc]

Assuming the following:

• You have a computer
• You have a Hi-Fi
• It is just for practice and doesn't need to be portable.

You can do what I do:

• Guitar/bass into audio interface
• DAW/IR software for tone shaping
• Blending with external audio such as YouTube or Tidal
• Audio sent to Hifi via said audio interface

As you'll be reusing existing kit you can probably do this for a good deal cheaper than other suggestions. An audio interface from a reputable manufacturer can be had for under £100, and you can easily pick up something usable for under £50.

 

 

[MichaelDean]

I'm loving my GX-100, just saying... 

[uncle psychosis]

15 hours ago, BigRedX said:

Helix and the smallest FRFR you can get away with.

 

Seriously.

 

For headphone only practice you just need the Helix, and you can even use it as your gigging rig.

 

The only thing it won't do is the wireless streaming, but what's wrong with connecting your practice source with a cable?

 

I had a Stomp and wasn't all that taken with the sounds. 

 

That said, I have very much have enjoyed the latest gen of boss modelling so a gx100 plus frfr (and to be honest I probably have stuff lying around I can use, with a bit of creative wiringa) is probably where I'm going to end up. 

 

For bonus points, the gx100 supports Bluetooth streaming if you buy the extra bit.

 

You're absolutely right there's nothing wrong with wired connectors but my practice space is small, I hate having cables lying around and sometimes I just want minimal gear at hand. 

 

 

[Phil Starr]

23 hours ago, chyc said:

Assuming the following:

• You have a computer
• You have a Hi-Fi
• It is just for practice and doesn't need to be portable.

You can do what I do:

• Guitar/bass into audio interface
• DAW/IR software for tone shaping
• Blending with external audio such as YouTube or Tidal
• Audio sent to Hifi via said audio interface

As you'll be reusing existing kit you can probably do this for a good deal cheaper than other suggestions. An audio interface from a reputable manufacturer can be had for under £100, and you can easily pick up something usable for under £50.

 

 

If you want to use both bass and guitar into the same source then you only have two options really: use emulations to get the tone and FRFR of some sort to bring that up to practice levels or something like the amps you suggest and be prepared to compromise either the bass sound or the guitar sound, or both for something in the middle. Only you can judge if a nice but compromised tone is going to let you happily get on with all the things you need to get out of practice, after all no-one else is going to be listening. 

 

If you decide to go the emulation route then using your home computer and a DAW to do the sound processing opens up a huge universe of possibilities, though I'd use a set of monitor speakers rather than a home hi-fi. (I came to BC today to look for monitor speaker recommendations) Hi fi speakers and unprocessed bass dynamics can be a problem. Great shout from @chyc

 

Alternatively you don't have to go full Helix or whatever for emulations. The Zoom B1-four or G1-four both give a huge no of emulations and fx to play with and it is possible to get good bass sounds out of the G1 and good guitar out of the B1. At £65ea you could go for both. Then a small PA speaker could take that up to practice levels or even a bass amp. In my duo we tried the G1 through my Warwick Gnome and bass speaker and it sounded good. Other combinations are available.

[Pea Turgh]

43 minutes ago, Phil Starr said:

Alternatively you don't have to go full Helix or whatever for emulations. The Zoom B1-four or G1-four both give a huge no of emulations and fx to play with and it is possible to get good bass sounds out of the G1 and good guitar out of the B1. At £65ea you could go for both. Then a small PA speaker could take that up to practice levels or even a bass amp. In my duo we tried the G1 through my Warwick Gnome and bass speaker and it sounded good. Other combinations are available.

There’s a thread here somewhere on the USB- equipped Zooms where you can put any of the effects on any of the units, so you really only need to buy one!

Edited November 26, 2022 by Pea Turgh

[Phil Starr]

32 minutes ago, Pea Turgh said:

There’s a thread here somewhere on the USB- equipped Zooms where you can put any of the effects on any of the units, so you really only need to buy one!

I thought I'd read something but I've just never tried it

 

[Pea Turgh]

Zoom Effects Manager - it’s great!  I have a MS70CDR I bought for synths, but now it has all manner of sounds within.

 

I think the B1Xon has headphone output, 3.5mm jack input etc.  not wireless, but cheap as chips.