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My lad is progressing with his guitar lessons and is doing classical and electrical. The practice rooms currently don’t have any amps (new building to them / budget / covid / yadda yadda yadda) so his teacher asked if he could bring his Amp from home in. However, it is a Marshall 50 CDX and is the size of a small fridge.
Has anyone used a Marshall MS2 or something similar? I don’t want to spend a pile of cash as Music Centre could have their own amps in by Christmas. It just needs to be something portable that he can practice with.
For the full Nigel Tufnel experience he can use the big one in his room.
How ‘mini’ do you want to go? The MS2 will be ok for the bedroom but thin on sound and features.
I have one of the Yamaha THR amps - still small and portable (and can be quiet), but far more versatile so ok for small performances and groups. Recommended, but pricey mind.
Something that will fit in the guitar case. He only needs it for a couple of months when having lessons away from the house as he has the big amp in his room.
Don't want to spend very much.
We have a tiddly Blackstar Fly - I mean really ickle - but it does the job for practice.
I've got a Vox Amplug which I plug into my Minirig and the sound is great, to my ears. The whole lot can fit in a pocket. The Amplug is a bit fiddly to change the settings so I bought a male to male jack adapter and it sits on a table top in front of me. And I can play backing fro my phone through it at the same time.
I keep getting bombarded with ads telling me I "need" the Positive grid Spark amp. I'd like to know what that's like though I guess I'd just spend hours making noises instead of practising.
My wife bought me one of the Orange ones. Not cheap, but sounds pretty good if a bit bright. To give an idea of volume when I'm in my bedroom bashing away I have it on 2.5 out of 10.
https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Orange-Crush-Mini-Combo/2ACG
I'm a learner using an Orange Crush Mini. Sounds fine to my ears, has headphone output, runs off 9v battery or mains. There's an opened but unused one on ebay for £30.
The Boss Katana Mini always reviews well.
I've got the Orange Micro Crush which is the predecessor to the Orange mentioned above and a Boss Katana Mini.
The Boss is more expensive and doesn't feel as well made as it's all plastic but it's a much better amplifier. It has cleaner cleans, much better distortion and a great tonal range.
I think Anderson's did some comparison videos a while back which might be worth checking out. I'd avoid the Marshall, it doesn't hold up to the competition.
Yamaha THR10 version 1 or 2
Its a bit of cash but I'd say its a long term investment - always usable and more than likely better than the marshall he has
I've actually played a gig with mine mic'd up through the PA and if its good enough for Phil X its good enough for me
That’s a £300 Amp.
He needs something pocket sized for a 10<sup>th</sup> the price. Short term until Bury Music Service can kit out their rehearsal room.
I love my THR - I've got one of the wireless ones which is great for taking somewhere to practice quietly. But maybe not as cheap as you're hoping.
The other thing I own which I would also recommend is an iRig. I have the HD version. This is a little thing that plugs into your phone and you can run various amp sims/ effects via headphones (or out via the 3.5mm jack I suppose). It's great for quiet practice and through decent headphones I'm sure it sounds a lot better than those mini amps (which I admittedly have no experience of). Obviously that doesn't fit the brief at all, though.
I have a Blackstar Fly 3 (free with a magazine sub) that suits me practicing at home perfectly, I can plug in the guitar and headphones if I need to. But it also has the capability of have a line in that I can plug my phone into and play the track through the amp/headphones also. Meaning I can play over it.
It works really well and suits my needs - although it does not fit in a pocket / my guitar case.
I'm sure I have a Vox Amplug around that I don't need or use any more. Happy to Send it to you FOC if you want it (and I can find it). PM if you like.
For really compact I use a Vox Amplug plugged into a JLB/radio-cassette/ the car aux/the home stereo.
The Vox Mini 5 is the smallest of the small amps I've tried that makes a reasonable noise at a reasonable price. It has shoulder strap buttons so with the guitar in a backpack and the amp over the shoulder I can walk miles.
Does he need an amp to practice? probably not.
I sometimes practice the rock stuff on the classical guitar, certainly builds versatility.
An Amplug plugged into a small battery speaker would be small and cheap.
A Secondhand THR could be bought, used and then sold on once not needed probably making it the cheapest overall solution in the long run even though it ties cash up for a while.
I have a Marshall MS2, it works fine.
Andertons did a comparison of some mini amps a while back, do a search on their YouTube channel.
Here you go...
Thanks for the offer of the Vox Amplug, but he needs something that can be heard in the rehearsal room, so I would still need an external speaker.
Presently he has the MG50 at home which makes plenty of noise (trust me on that one), but when he is in his lesson he is unplugged. The teacher asked if the kids could bring their amps in as a short term solution until they can get their own purchased. A combination of furlough and moving premises has delayed the arrival of the new kit. However, the MG50 is the size and weight of a small photocopier, which makes carrying it and two guitars, one of which is in a flight case, the quarter mile from the carpark to the rehearsal room somewhat impractical.
I’ve found something that compares the Marshall with an Orange Crush, Blackstar and Fender. The Fender sounded like it came out of a Christmas Cracker, the Orange Crush and the Blackstar sounded the best with the Marshall not far behind.
For a short term portable battery operated solution I’ll go with the best that I can get for £30.
I find an amp with plenty of gain essential to practice twinw4ll. If I learn something on an acoustic the first time I play it on electric it's usually dreadful:
I'll leave strings unmuted and they'll hum horribly
When I do bends I won't mute the strings I bend into and they'll ring horribly
I'll be striking some strings too hard and others not hard enough
I'll be playing too many strings, 2 or 3 strings is usually enough, 4 OK but chords using all 6 with none muted often sound shit on electric.
Edit: junior used to walk miles to band practice with a Fender Mustang II V2 in his hand. The lightest Amp with a 12" driver unless someone knows other wise, and enough to play with a drummer taking it easy.
?
Smokey amp preferably with super cool Marlboro or grim smoking kills box.
How about ?
https://www.crimsonguitars.com/products/the-jam-jar-amp
I've not tried one but I have a hankering to - dunno how robust they are given that it will be operated by teenage boy 🙂
Here's the cheapest JBL with a classic rock amplug competing with my stereo. Amplug and JBL volumes flat out, gain about half way, Telecaster pickup.
Educator I tend to do what my teacher suggests which is practice without being plugged in, he is a monster player who plays keyboards, cello, guitar and bass, believe me he can play anything at the drop of a hat from Bach to Satriani so I think he knows best.
A bit of gain covers a multitude of sins.
Well when you get on stage with a cranked 100W tube amp behind you don't be surprised if you freeze with shock when you hit the strings. 🙂 I think you'll find gain reveals as many sins as it covers.
Do they still make the wee pignose?
I loved mine but sold it after i eventually realised i wasn't buying another electric guitar any time soon.
I have a Roland Microcube. It’s a great sound, portable and can run on mains or battery. They are tough as old boots which is probably why buskers like them and you can pick them up on eBay for not too much.