The Steel Guitar Forum

Need a practice amp for Zum Stage One that I might have someday.

- small room (9 x 11 feet)
- no gigs
- has headphone output so family doesn't run away
- input for backing track
- effects for adding a little warmth to Stage One. Do I need reverb, delay, or what?
- prefer small & light, but then, it's not like it will be going anywhere...

Can anyone recommend an amp that meets these requirements?

I just ordered a Roland Cube 80xl to use with my Stage One. Good price and it has all the effects you need built in.

I believe you'd prefer the Roland Cube 40XL to the 80XL for what you're doing... or perhaps an even smaller Cube. The 80 doesn't have the power squeezer, which makes the amp sound like it's cranking at lower volume... this keeps the clean sound from becoming too wimpy when you turn it down.

My main practice amp is the Mobile Cube, which has the added benefit of being very small (think '60s transistor radio, just smaller than a lunch box), battery-powered, and true stereo. The Cubes all have built-in effects... the Mobile Cube can't do delay and reverb at the same time, but both effects are very nice (Roland makes Boss). I have the MC connected to a power supply and leave it on 24/7... it has a mic stand (or photo tripod) adapter on the bottom too.

All of the Cubes have auxiliary inputs and headphone outputs, IIRC.

Yamaha THR10....

http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/I ... eview.aspx

Personally, I'm waiting for the THR10c in which the amp models more closely follow blues/classic rock tones.

Andrew..Have a 'Roland Cube 30' available that I believe would be ideal for the purposes that you described. Features multiple on board effects and amp models, measures 14"W x 14"H x 11"D. Weight around 20#....$120.00 plus actual shipping. Please send e-mail or P.M. if interested....Thank you.

Andrew, Let me just say its very smart of you to ask this question, I didnt know the forum existed when I started out,
If I had known what was available , I would have gone right to something small, preferalbly on a mic stand if possible ,They take up no room at all (1 square foot) Your electronics will change as you get better only because your learning curve will change also, as you get better you will eventually play out, and you will not suffer from hearing yourself or the whole band together when you purchase correctly right away, A personal Monitor with a headphone jack for now is a great idea and it will work out for you in the future, Thats just MPO , Just think ahead and take the advice of your future brothers here, and get practicing the greatest guitar ever invented. Again, jst my personal opinion and mean no disrespect to any other players
Good Luck

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions.

One thing I forgot to ask... While I appreciate the benefits of audio processing, DSP, etc., I also like being able to get close to the 'pure' sound of the source. Not looking to start a debate on analog vs digital, but does a typical amp do much signal processing, and if so, does any let you bypass all that and switch to an "analog" mode?

I'd like to have that option, but with reverb as the only "add on" - I suppose that could always be done with an external box. On a related note, any thoughts on built-in vs. external reverb? Is it purely a matter of convenience?

Sorry for the newbie questions - no, actually I'm not - I just appreciate your patience and help.

David, I'll check into the 30's specs, thank you for the offer.

The headphone out on my Roland Cube 80 XL is basically useless. It's really hissy, to the point I'd rather practice with no sound at all if I need to be quiet. And when I tried using the line in with either my computer or metronome plugged in, forget it! It was even noisier. Am I the only one getting such poor results? I think that if I want to practice with headphones I will have to get a nice preamp, because the Roland amp is not cutting it for that application. Otherwise a decent amp for the money.

Analog amps you say......http://www.tech21nyc.com/products/amps/ ... ark30.html

Fabulous analog amp with reverb on board. Highly rated. I know a couple of guys who swear by the Trademark amps.

Behringer came out with a clone to the TM30....the GM110. If you can get an old one (meaning one before they added tuner and DSP), that would be great. Probably $100 used if that.

Alex Cattaneo wrote:The headphone out on my Roland Cube 80 XL is basically useless. It's really hissy, to the point I'd rather practice with no sound at all if I need to be quiet. And when I tried using the line in with either my computer or metronome plugged in, forget it! It was even noisier. Am I the only one getting such poor results? I think that if I want to practice with headphones I will have to get a nice preamp, because the Roland amp is not cutting it for that application. Otherwise a decent amp for the money.

I just got an 80x this week at a local store at a good discount. I spent a couple hours playing a strat thru it last night with head phones. Mine is ultra quiet. You may have an impedance mismatch with your phones? Or noise from your instrument?

Alex Cattaneo wrote:The headphone out on my Roland Cube 80 XL is basically useless. It's really hissy, to the point I'd rather practice with no sound at all if I need to be quiet. And when I tried using the line in with either my computer or metronome plugged in, forget it! It was even noisier. Am I the only one getting such poor results? I think that if I want to practice with headphones I will have to get a nice preamp, because the Roland amp is not cutting it for that application. Otherwise a decent amp for the money.

I just got an 80x this week at a local store at a good discount. I spent a couple hours playing a strat thru it last night with head phones. Mine is ultra quiet. You may have an impedance mismatch with your phones? Or noise from your instrument?

James Holland wrote:
I just got an 80x this week at a local store at a good discount. I spent a couple hours playing a strat thru it last night with head phones. Mine is ultra quiet. You may have an impedance mismatch with your phones? Or noise from your instrument?

I hear a hiss even with the volume pedal off. Headphones are Sony MDR-7506, which are ubiquitous in every recording studio, and Grado Labs SR-225, which are even better. Maybe I'll try a couple of electric guitar and see how that works.

Did you try the line-in 1/8" input? I tried plugging in a metronome, my computer, didn't matter the source, it was noisy as hell!

Alex Cattaneo wrote:

James Holland wrote:
I just got an 80x this week at a local store at a good discount. I spent a couple hours playing a strat thru it last night with head phones. Mine is ultra quiet. You may have an impedance mismatch with your phones? Or noise from your instrument?

I hear a hiss even with the volume pedal off. Headphones are Sony MDR-7506, which are ubiquitous in every recording studio, and Grado Labs SR-225, which are even better. Maybe I'll try a couple of electric guitar and see how that works.

Did you try the line-in 1/8" input? I tried plugging in a metronome, my computer, didn't matter the source, it was noisy as hell!

Bad news - I tried the 1/8" input, and mine is also very noisy! I had both devices plugged into the same power strip, I tried different cables, etc. with no improvement.

IMO, its unacceptable. Having a droning 60 Hz hum like that will probably wreck your intonation. I'm going to go back to the store, and have them demonstrate the 1/8" usage on a store 80XL, and see a) if they get the same hum, and b) if they can resolve it or explain it away.

Keep me posted on that James. I'm probably going to sell mine. The whole point was quiet practice, and this thing hisses way too much for me to enjoy using it with headphones. And it's not the pick-ups, I tried a humbucker guitar, hell I even tried it with nothing plugged in the amp, this hissing noise is built-in.

Plus, it's to hard get over the digital nature of the sound in general. It doesn't sound bad, but there is a basic noise that's always present when you play, it's hard to describe, like a little tshhh every time I strike a note. I'm going to do some A/B test with my Nashville 400 when i get it back from the tech and we'll see.

Not a bad amp, but a few beats short of a bar. But hey, what do you expect for 260$, built-in effects and all?

I'm going to take my headphones and try one of those GK MB200 at the store. The Phil Jones D200 is also on my radar.

If in a small room not needing much volume I use a Fender model SP-10, got mine on ebay for 36 bucks shipped.

Update and good news:

So the first input device (a CD player) worked fine with my other amps, but produced a loud hum and noise with the 80x. I tried a second CD player, as suggested by another lister, and the noise and hum is much much lower! Its only noticeable during silence. I can't recall having this problem before, but at least it was workable workable for me. So, it appears that the line level, or impedance, or something related to the line signal of the input device must be compatible with the 80x.

A great prctice amp is a Fender G Dec 30. Can be bought new for $169.00...dont pay any more. Comes with fuze software to have complete sound and backing track control...I paid $300 beginning of the year then the price was dropped!

Opinions on Fishman Loudbox Mini?

I've been using a Roland Micro cube for head phone practice and low volume rehearsals for years. It has nice effects on board and nice tone. It is great for playing with folks playing acoustic instruments. They are cheap and very small. If there is a drummer and the volume goes up there is no clean sound or enough volume. But it is a very handy little thing. I've even used it for a spot monitor. In other words even when you progress and get an official amp the micro cube will still be useful.

And yes you need at least reverb.

I use a line 6 pod xt for headphone practice.

Tried what Lavon suggests, like the sound, and have no complaints from the wife. Also use the headphone jack on the Digitech RP-155 with good results.

I use a Fender G-DEC thirty with my Stage one, using headphones the sound is super. It still sounds good without phones, but with them you can adjust the sound to many different sounds and really tweek it to get the sounds you are looking for. It is the best practice amp I have found. I too paid a lot for it but that was a year ago they are much cheaper now.
Another nice feature is that you can play a backing track with it from your computer. It connects to the computer for programming and backing track use. It comes with Fender Fuse software that has many options including the use of an SD card. I think you can download the manual

Fender Mustang I. 20 watts, $100, has all the stuff you need. I get a very acceptable steel sound from it and works great for 6-string also.