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Better (best?) Mini / Headphone Amps?


Meowy

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I am looking for a small amp primarily to use with headphones, but will consider the smallest combos.

 

The amps I've consistently heard good things about are the Smokey headphone amp and the Roland Micro Cube.

 

I know the Micro Cubes can be had used for $100 or less so I don't want to go more than that.

 

Can anyone recommend either of these or other options? The Vox AmPlug looks interesting as well...

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I tried a bunch of them. I was happiest with the AmPlug. That said, a Micro Cube is much more flexible, and if you can spring for it ($100 vs $40), get that instead.


- Dogfish

 

More a matter of practical spending than affordability. I'm really looking for a decent sounding way to play in other areas of the house with an amp.

 

It seems from the reviews that the amPlugs are one trick poines, but excellent at what they do. The MC seems that it will give me more tonal versatility and a low vol speaker out as well, but at the "cost" of carrying around a 7lb brick

 

With live.com and some patient shopping, I can get the amPlug for $30 or the MC for around $70-$75.

 

Both for ~$100? :idea::facepalm:

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I enjoy the convienence of the amplug, as well as its sound. I actually like the sound so much, that for certain sounds, I run its output into my amp instead of using a pedal or a direct connection to the amp. The best part is that due to the very small size, it's easy to just stash it into my guitar case and have it with me wherever I go.

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For portability, the AmPlug is hard to beat. I have the AC30 AmPlug, which I like a lot. My brother has the Metal AmPlug, which has gain for days. Soundwise, I prefer the AC30.

 

I hope they can expand the AmPlug line. I would buy one or two more depending on the quality of the modeling.

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I LOVE my Amplug. I bought mine on a lark this past August, expecting it to perform as poorly as the Rockman I had years ago (every guitar played through a Rockman sounds like Boston, or the soundtrack from that old "Thunder Cats" cartoon). Being a longtime metal head, I have the Metal version. It sounds like a mini Mesa Boogie (I used to use Boogies). People who have the other versions (AC30, and Classic Rock [aka Marshall Plexi sound]) say they sound good too. BTW, it pays to use a decent set of headhphones with an Amplug.

 

Also, they are not quite as one-trick pony as some people think. They do have gain and tone adjustments. The dirty sound clips I posted for my Eastwood NGD thread last week, were done with my Amplug Metal. For the overdriven (not full on raging metal) sounds, I just turned down the Amplug Metal's gain, and my Eastwood Airline Coronado's volume knobs until I had the overdrive sound I was looking for. Of course for full on raging metal, I just jacked up the gain.

 

The Amplugs are obviously quite successful, since Vox has also started selling additional models - the Bass (modeled on the AC-100 bass amp), and the Lead (modeled on the high gain boutique amps some hot shot lead players use).

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The Amplugs are obviously quite successful, since Vox has also started selling additional models - the Bass (modeled on the AC-100 bass amp), and the Lead (modeled on the high gain boutique amps some hot shot lead players use).

 

Thanks for that. I'm curious about the Lead and its digital delay effect. I wonder if the delay displaces the gain circuit in that one.

 

If they start making AmPlugs with a chorus effect, I'll be :love:

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I have a Fender Mini Tone Master. I like it for just sitting around in the living room. 9V battery makes it easy to move it around and not have to plug up.

 

I bought mine to take with me if I go look at buying or trading guitars on craigslist. Nothing worse than holding your breath when you plug it up at home after a buy...did that once and decided it wasn't worth the risk again!

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I have the AC30 and Classic Rock Amplugs. I bought them for headphone practice and they do sound great. I also have a MC. Since my living arrangements have changed where I don't have to use headphones anymore, I just use the MC.

 

If you can deal with an amp, get the MC, if you need something that will fit in your case, get the Amplug.

 

:thu:

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I have the AC30 and Classic Rock Amplugs. I bought them for headphone practice and they do sound great. I also have a MC. Since my living arrangements have changed where I don't have to use headphones anymore, I just use the MC.


If you can deal with an amp, get the MC, if you need something that will fit in your case, get the Amplug.


:thu:

 

I've already got 2 amps (see sig) that are as much as I need, but are too much for just some quiet playing when the family is around.

 

How do the AC-30 and Classic Rock plugs perform for you? The AC-30 gets consistently great reviews, the Clasisic gets some great / some muddy reviews.

 

Are the effects and speaker in the MC decent or tinny / brittle?

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I use my Micro every night with headphones. I looked into the Amplugs before i bought the Micro. They sounded alright but the micro was more versatile. I am not talking just sound with it's aux. in and out jacks it makes a great little amp to use for recording straight in the comp or hooking up a mp3 or other source to play along with.

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Are the effects and speaker in the MC decent or tinny / brittle?

 

 

I don't use the speaker much. It's not awful. Some one else mentioned the digi rp150 and 250's. My son has the rp 50 that he uses for headphone use. It works OK i have even run that through a small set of computer speakers. I have also heard good things about the little line 6 amp.

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I love the amPlugs - you really can't go wrong with either the AC30 or the Metal ones, depending on what your thing is. (I now have both.) I haven't tried the Classic, or the newer models.

 

With digital effects everywhere, it's easy to consider these guys as one trick ponies. They are. That being said, I consider that a feature more than a shortcoming. Just like the amps that they model, they do their own sound really nicely, and have a bit of range within that, (if you experiment with tone, volume, gain, and of course the controls on the guitar, you are bound to find several clean and dirty sounds you like), but aren't going to come anywhere near the versatility of the digital generation of built in effects and models. What they lack in versatility, they make up for in simplicity and fidelity - just crank the channels you need and jam!

 

Regarding the actual models, I personally prefer the AC30, which does clean and mild overdrive super nicely. If you just need overdrive and heavier sounds, go with a heavier model. The metal one goes from mild overdrive to chugga-chugga, but you can't really ever turn off the drive, which annoys me. On the plus side, it can go about as heavy as anyone should need.

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The metal one goes from mild overdrive to chugga-chugga, but you can't really ever turn off the drive, which annoys me. On the plus side, it can go about as heavy as anyone should need.

 

 

I have to crank the gain way down and roll off the treble a little bit to make it sound great. Once you find that sweet spot, it's solid. There isn't a way to dial out the gain into a clean sound, though, and that's my only complaint about the Metal unit. There's always some dirt in the signal. But it's still for a metal sound, so it's better to have too much available gain than not enough. I've played through a number of amps where I've maxed the gain and just go, "That's it?"

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