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Best amp around $100?


smathis

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I just bought a new electric guitar last week, and now I'm in the market for a small practice amp. I would like to keep the price around $100, give or take a little bit in either direction. I've been playing guitar for about 15 years, but I'm a noob to amps due to the majority of those years being strictly acoustic. I would prefer something that has the best tone for that price range. Another huge plus would be for it to be battery powered. I have a small house and little kids, so I don't get the luxury of having my guitar and (borrowed) amp out and set up all the time, so I have to plug and unplug it every time I want to play it, as well as lug it around the house. I would love something that I could just pop batteries or recharge.

 

I've done what I consider to be a lot of research online, and I seem to have narrowed it down to a pignose hog 20, a Roland micro cube, and then some Vox, boss, and Blackstar models. I just need some input from anybody here who may have personally used any of these products. Any guidance is greatly appreciated, thank you!

 

***It's also worth noting its also worth noting that I will be playing through a zoom g3n in effects processor, so I don't necessarily need a lot of effects built into the amp.

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100 bucks doesn't get you much these days. I just bought 200 dollars worth of nice guitar cables.

 

I have many amps and over the past year have been playing-at my computer desk through a Yamaha THR classic amp.

 

Now I just upped your budget another 200 bucks, which is in the territory of a nice guitar pedal.

 

There are 3 models of THR amps, the classics, the original, and one for metal players.

 

The aux in allows you to play analog with other stuff. The head phone out is very nice and will not wake the baby or piss off the wife.

 

I have even recorded with the thing.

 

It has the option of ac or batteries.

 

I knew I'd like so I got the case to go with it.

 

[video=youtube;6K12Mi0TmPY]

 

Vox has got one too. You might even like it better. They are both in the 299 price range. The Vox got iff reviews, but it's new for this year.

 

 

 

[video=youtube;bWoGkdvPcxo]

 

 

 

Do your homework, listen to some YouTube vids folks make, read the reviews and then demo one. All the big online retailers will take it back, if you don't love.

 

 

 

I practice for 2 weeks right at my computer desk, prepping for a bunch of shows :D. Hooked up with the band for a 2 hour rehearsal. I used a Fender Princeton at the shows.

 

I'm plugging back into the Yamaha tonight, to work out some guitar parts for an album my buddy is now recording.

 

Nobody loves the soft glow of vacuum tubes and a push vintage amp more than I, but these are different times.

 

 

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100 bucks doesn't get you much these days. I just bought 200 dollars worth of nice guitar cables.

 

I have many amps and over the past year have been playing-at my computer desk through a Yamaha THR classic amp.

 

Now I just upped your budget another 200 bucks, which is in the territory of a nice guitar pedal.

 

There are 3 models of THR amps, the classics, the original, and one for metal players.

 

The aux in allows you to play analog with other stuff. The head phone out is very nice and will not wake the baby or piss off the wife.

 

I have even recorded with the thing.

 

It has the option of ac or batteries.

 

I knew I'd like so I got the case to go with it.

 

[video=youtube;6K12Mi0TmPY]

 

Vox has got one too. You might even like it better. They are both in the 299 price range. The Vox got iff reviews, but it's new for this year.

 

 

 

[video=youtube;bWoGkdvPcxo]

 

 

 

Do your homework, listen to some YouTube vids folks make, read the reviews and then demo one. All the big online retailers will take it back, if you don't love.

 

 

 

I practice for 2 weeks right at my computer desk, prepping for a bunch of shows :D. Hooked up with the band for a 2 hour rehearsal. I used a Fender Princeton at the shows.

 

I'm plugging back into the Yamaha tonight, to work out some guitar parts for an album my buddy is now recording.

 

Nobody loves the soft glow of vacuum tubes and a push vintage amp more than I, but these are different times.

 

 

These are great suggestions, but I am locked in at a budget of pretty much no more than $150. I know that's not going to get me much, but I don't need much. That Yamaha looks awesome, though.

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These are great suggestions' date=' but I am locked in at a budget of pretty much no more than $150. I know that's not going to get me much, but I don't need much. That Yamaha looks awesome, though.[/quote']

Yamaha THR5, used, $161.07 shipped OBO: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Yamaha-THR5-Guitar-Modeling-Amp-Used-/391895849165?epid=1540117737&hash=item5b3ed018cd:g:6ncAAOSwLApZy1eN. The seller might easily take $150 or a bit less.

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Its slim pickin's when buying new at that price. Tone usually sucks really band on dinky amps so your effects unit wont sound very good on an amp that has a speaker smaller then 8". Its not the loudness that matters in your case, because you obviously don't need much but a larger speaker can provide better bass response which that effects unit needs.

 

The Pignose has a small speaker but it does sound very rich for its size. I wouldn't bother with any of the other mini battery powered because the boxes are simply too small. The cube may be OK. They too can produce a plush tone but the others.

 

I bought two of these. Found one in a pawn shop and the other on EBay and they are ideal for my use.https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MG15CF?product_id=MG15CF&campaigntype=shopping&campaign=aaShopping%2520-%2520Core&adgroup=Guitars%2520-%2520Amps%2520-%2520Marshall&placement=google&adpos=1o4&creative=55281337921&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIweuN4IfI1gIV2bjACh0mfwBUEAQYBCABEgK8WPD_BwE

 

They work well with any effects units I own. I run the amp 100% clean and use the effects to get my sound. They have drive channels too but I don't use that much except jamming with others.

 

I keep one in my living room and dial the volume down so I can hear the television over it and practice my riffs. What I like about them is they don't turn to mud when they are turned down. Even with the volume barely cracked you get the right string tones, and when it is turned up the tone adjust itself to the Fletcher Munson effect of the ears. The best part however is the string touch. SS amps often have a numbed string feel and the tone doesn't match the feel of the strings. Marshalls are noted as having great string feel and dynamics and I prefer them over most other amps. They come closest to an actual tube amp as far as having a bright tone goes, but I'd have to say Vox comes real close too.

 

Vox amps have more lower mids which are very cool sounding. I use one of their Stomplab pedals for recording and the amp modeling they use is one of the best I've used in that price range. They stick that same effects unit inside many of their amp heads and it does amazing things. I don't think you'd get as big a bang for the buck on the Vox because they tend to price the amps higher for what you get.

 

I haven't tried a Blackstar yet. They started out making a low cost tube amp which I actually wanted to purchase at one time but they quit making them and quickly inflated their low wattage amps up to boutique prices. From the things I have read I don't think I'd spend that kind of money on one. They do make a beginners SS amp but I think you can do much better.

 

Boss is another new comer. Not sure if they sell them in the $100 range new but they have been building electronics for a long time so I wouldn't be overly concerned about their quality control. The few reviews I've read have been good too.

 

If I were going to buy one new and planned on using a pedal to drive it, I'd likely lean towards the MG or the Fender Champ 20. The Champ sounds great with pedals and it also has a headphone jack for silent playing. You can even plug a Drum machine CD player of cell phone in to jam along with tunes. They are loud enough to jam with other people too which is good for party jams small combo gigs etc. https://spinditty.com/instruments-gear/Best-Guitar-Amp-for-Beginners-Under-100

 

Peavey makes a small rage amp too. I's not a huge fan of peavey amps but I own and have owned many. (seems like when you don't want something you wind up with a bunch of them) I don't mind the tone others get from them but I suppose my preferences are spoiled from having used classic amps for so long. I do have a small Studio one which I use occasionally but to me it lacks the rich bottom end of a fender and its highs are a bit sterile and piercing. I suppose I should try re-voicing the tone stack but I have about a dozen different amp so there's no need when I can simply use a different one.

 

Orange makes a small combo too. Those are another brand I have little experience with but those who own one love them and I haven't found many bad reviews on them so they are likely a safe bet.

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At $100-$150 you are better off looking for a used amp, like a 5 watt tube amp.

My first suggestion is the Fender Champion 600...you can typically find them used around $100, they were re-issued a while back at ~$150 new. I suggest that after you have had it for a while, you should swap the tubes out [only 2 tubes], and change the speaker. Mine is my 'home use standard'.

Next would be the Epiphone Valve Junior. Used you can find these in the $100-150 range, and they also benefit from tube/speaker upgrades.

There are a zillions of crappy SS practice amps in the $100 range, but do yourself a favor, and get to know the goodness of tubes!

 

If you really need battery power, a used pignose would work, but I have never liked teh tone, and a used Roland Cube would probably work for you...but you will always sound sterile and boxy...

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Thanks for the time you spent on this reply, a lot of good info here. I really like that Marshall, but I think I'm gravitating towards something that could either plug in or be battery powered. I'm sure that my tone will suffer, but I'm willing to let some of that go if it means not having to move furniture to plug in my amp every time I play.

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I think I really am leaning towards a cheaper SS battery powered model. When the day comes that I have a dedicated space to leave my stuff out and set up, I'll likely shell out bigger bucks on a tube amp. Everyone raves over them, so there must be something to it.

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As you say you have been mostly an acoustic player, is it safe to assume you don't have a pedal board? And wanting to easily go from room to room with a battery powered amp.... well, add pedals and then you've got all sorts of other things to hump along. That is why I suggested Mustang 1, as it has decent built in effects you can program. Would save buying all those pedals (which could easily be as much or more than $ paid for amp). Boss Katana mini is pretty darn good for tube emulation, costs $100, runs on batteries, weighs as much as a empty lunchbox. Only effect it has is decent delay. I think THR5 doesn't have acoustic guitar setting (which is quite nice and is part of THR 10), but a used one might fit your budget.

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The thing I dislike about battery powered amps is the cost of batteries which have gone through the roof in costs. I was going to suggest you buy rechargeable batteries but that Pignose has a rechargeable battery so you're covered there. They aren't bad sounding little amps. We used to use them when we went camping or out on a boat. We'd have these parties on the lake where people would tie up their boats and we'd all jam together. You even had people out there with BBQ grills cooking food.

 

What I used was one of those little Smokey amps. https://smokeyamps.com/ The built in plastic speaker doesn't sound all that great and there are no volume or tone knobs. You simply plug in and use your instruments volume and tone. The amp itself is amazingly strong. Its got an external speaker jack that is enough to drive a 4X12 cab at low volume. You'd need to mic the cab to be heard but you could get by using it if your amp head ever quit on you.

 

I have one of those battery op mini Marshalls too. I actually had one years ago and it sounded pretty good. I could even record direct with the thing and get some excellent Marshall tones. I lost or gave that one away. The second one was given to me as a holiday present. It wasn't the same build. It was cheaper in build, didn't sound as good and the battery life horrible. It only lasted and hour and went dead. 9V batteries are up to around $5 these days. Battery adaptors only cost $10. If I'm going to plug in I might as well plug in something that sound good so that amp has sat on my shelf unused for 6 years. They charge you $50 for that piece of crap too.

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One thing that has been really difficult to adjust to is the insane amount of options in the electric guitar realm. It's crazy how many different products there are, and to a newbie like me, a lot of them seem to be pretty good, which makes it very difficult for me to make a decision on what would best fit my needs.

 

I have a great Zoom multi-effects pedal, but I wouldn't use that for my day-to-day practice and training. I'm just trying to replicate my usual acoustic practice routine for my new electric, which consists of noodling around while sitting on the couch at home.

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I use rechargeable batteries, both AA and C, maybe 30 or so. Playing on the beach does limit my amp choices (which may be a blessing!). I have a couple of those 9v "transistor radio" battery run things. 18 years ago got a Vox AC1, hooked it up to JBL PA speakers for a laugh, and dang if it didn't drive those okay.

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Check pawn shops in your area. I think pawn-brokers are happy to see an amp walk out the door. They move slow.

 

I just picked up a newish Marshall MG15 CFX today at a pawnshop ($70 --> out the door). They sell for $149 new.

 

My Les Paul with Humbuckers sounds magnificent through it.

My Les Paul Special with P90's sounds like an ice-pick to the brain through it.

 

Good practice amp for humbuckers -- lousy for P90's; I hope I can eventually get the thing to sound right with my LP Special. That's why I bought it - for the P90's.

 

Right now, it's looking like a bad investment.

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Check pawn shops in your area. I think pawn-brokers are happy to see an amp walk out the door. They move slow. . . .

My first amp came from a pawn shop. It was an old Roland Spirit 25R, 25 Watts SS, 10'' speaker, reverb. I picked it up for just over $30 cash.

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The pawn shop I visited told me they were always happy to get rid of an amplifier. This Marshall looked brand new. They priced it reasonably at $100. The lady said make an offer. I offered $70.

 

Sold.

 

It's $149 new everywhere I checked.

 

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MG15CFX

 

Too bad it sounds like fingernails on a chalkboard w/ my P90's.

My other Les Paul's humbuckers sound fantastic through it.

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Check pawn shops in your area. I think pawn-brokers are happy to see an amp walk out the door. They move slow.

 

I just picked up a newish Marshall MG15 CFX today at a pawnshop ($70 --> out the door). They sell for $149 new.

 

My Les Paul with Humbuckers sounds magnificent through it.

My Les Paul Special with P90's sounds like an ice-pick to the brain through it.

 

Good practice amp for humbuckers -- lousy for P90's; I hope I can eventually get the thing to sound right with my LP Special. That's why I bought it - for the P90's.

 

Right now, it's looking like a bad investment.

 

I have two different versions. One's an older Valvestate like this.

 

$_86.JPG

 

The other one is a MG DFX

 

 

marshall-mg15dfx-1464728.jpeg

 

 

The older one has two gains and a master volume. If you run the master high and the gains low it runs clean. If you run the master low and gains up you get a typical Marshall 80's gained up sound. The amp has a Park speaker which I think has lost some of its frequency response over the years. The reverb barely works and hums a bit. The tank is guilt into the chassis so its not possible to change it. I could add one to the cab but I use pedals for effects so it doesn't matter if it works.

 

The MG has two channels and effects/ The effects are actually quite good. I don't use the high gain channel, it ramps up in gain much too quickly and I'd only need those kinds of gains playing leads full tilt. I usually work with less gained tones. The digital reverb is a better alternative then the crappy tank in the other. The frequency response on this one is much broader. I have to run the EQ's on this one at 50% or less to match the older one with its EQ full up. This one seems to be much louder too so I suspect it has a higher SPL speaker with a broader frequency response. One day I'll swap speakers and confirm it.

 

I haven't tried the new ones. I'm able to get good tones from these older ones using any pickups including P90's but I use foot pedals so I run the amps clean. They are no more then power amps pushing speakers to me.

 

Both are just practice amps to me. The only time I used one at a live gig, I had to crank the amp full up and even mic it to be heard. Quite pathetic actually. I couldn't hear a dam thing I was playing. I was asked to come up on stage and play with a friends band and that's all I had in the car so I made due. I've used them for drummerless jams and they are ideal for jamming with un-miced acoustic guitars. The few times I've used them with drummers I had to set it up high on a table to be heard.

 

I could probably do better with the pair of them but I really have no need. I have plenty of amps, all sizes for playing live and prefer something with more beef for that. Like I said, I use pedals for drive tones so a higher wattage amp running at lower volumes so the cleans are big and plush sounding helps compensate for the signal losses due to longer cable runs and pedal chains.

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Yea those smokey's have been around a long time. My buddy who played for Dicky Betts turned me on to them. Its pretty thin sounding with only its built in speaker but its pretty full sounding plugged into a cab. It could easily drive a talk box too. I'm pretty amazed at the battery life too.

 

I used to use it when traveling. I'd stick it in my Steinberger's case when flying around the country so I had something to use when staying in hotels. Came in handy when I was without power for 10 days after a storm too.

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Yea mine are a bit different. They have a Contour control instead of a fixed midrange.

That control allows you to sweep the mids from almost a Fender tone up to a focused Marshall boost and everything in between. Looks like that one has a fixed midrange. I do like the fact it has a clean, crunch, OD1 & 2 My 100W Valvestate head has three channels, Clean, Crunch and Lead. Not a fan of the crunch. Never found a good use for it.

 

That one does have a preamp tube so the tube choices do make a difference. I went from a 12AX7 down to a low gain 5781 tube which cleaned the crunch up a bit. I recently switched back to using an Electro Harmonix 12AX7 which is a loud and bright tube. Very noticeable difference. I played one gig then noticed a slight hum when I got it back to the studio. I'm going to try another tube and see if its the cause. The heads about 15 years old and I might need to think about getting new power supply caps. I'm just not looking forward to that. I hope its just the tube. I can order another and send the defective one back.

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I turned off all the amp fx, as you mentioned and flattened EQ on the amp. It helped some - not enough. So I tried P90's guitar --> pedals-->mixer (dialed back high end) --> Marshall. Still not great.

 

So I set up separate mixer channels - one for the Les Paul w/ HB's and one for the LP w/P90's.

 

The P90 channel runs into the Roland. The LP into the Marshall.

That's all I can do with this amp I think. The P90's do sound good through that Roland.

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UPDATE: my church is sound guy gave me an amp on Sunday, it is a lot bigger than I was looking for, but free is free, right? It's a Peavey Rhythm Master 400, and I believe it's 210 watts of power. My electric guitar is off at the guitar tech This week, but I have run my acoustic through it with a multi-effects pedal, and I like the sounds coming out of it.

 

I have a question about it, though. The amp is one of those that is actually set up for multiple instruments to go into it. It has four channels, and a 3-band EQ for each channel. I was wondering, since my effects pedal has left and right outputs for stereo, could I plug the left and right outputs from the pedal into two different channels of the amplifier to create a stereo effect? The amp only has one speaker, so I'm not sure how that would work. I tried this already with my acoustic, but I can only discern a difference when channel 1 volume was at the 9 o'clock position, and channel 2 was turned up all the way. Having Channel 2 turned up all the way made everything sound a lot brighter and more clear.

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Congratulations and Happy New Amp Day. The Rhythm Master is indeed 210 WRMS SS and old Peavey gear is built to last forever. It's also a long way from the small battery powered amp you were originally looking for. ;) You should get very loud clean tones. Drive on SS amps doesn't get much praise and especially not on older amps but you can always use pedals. It only has one power amp in addition to having one speaker so no, you can't get ''stereo'' but you can mix the left and right signals of your effects pedal as you've discovered. BTW, is one signal significantly louder than the other or did you have to dime channel 2 to get the two to ''sound different''? 9 O'Clock to max is a big difference in gain.

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