Good home practice amp for VM?

[rccCrawler]

I am thinking of getting a practice amp for home use/practice.

I use the VM, and love it, in the band, but hauling everything back and forth is a pain, plus the home setup has changed (got a puppy!), not really conducive to moving things in and out a lot.

So if possible what I'd like to do is leave the amp/cab at the practice site, and just take my guitar and fx board back and forth.

So what I am looking for is an amp that will give me somewhat the same tone, operation, and hook ups as the Vm, but at a lower volume and smaller package. This means send/return for effects. Tone wise it has to come reasonably close, either on its own or with an OCD pedal (I have the OCD, but don't use it normally with the VM). Volume I'd like it about 1/2 or less my usual practice volume (50 watter at about 4 ~ 6 MV, high range).

Thought with all the VM users on this board someone might have a suggestion of something that would work tonally, either with or without the OCD. Also something with the send/receive, I'd like to use my FX board so I can practice any complicated switching parts.

What about the Marshall 18 watter (whatever the hell that is)? Any other suggestions?

It would be really cool if it operated like the VM in relation to controlling drive with the guitar volume control - that is something that sometimes gets complicated in some songs and I'd like to be able to practice at home.

Steve any chance an 18 watt VM is coming out? :)

[Kongels]

I would recommend checking out the Orange Tiny Terror combo or AD5 combo when they are available. No Effects loop though. My AD15 is very responsive to guitar knobs though and I want to try the AD5 cause the 15 watt is still really loud.

[bluesbrother]

My marshall 1974X from 2005 is for sale :lol:
No FX-loop .If you are interested sent me a private e-mail.
I want 1100 euro for it , the new price here is 2045 euro.
This amp is perfect for home-use .

[rccCrawler]

My marshall 1974X from 2005 is for sale :lol:
No FX-loop .If you are interested sent me a private e-mail.
I want 1100 euro for it , the new price here is 2045 euro.
This amp is perfect for home-use .

perhaps. Before I go with something without a loop, I'm going to see if I can find something with one..... euro.... I take it this is in Europe? (duh) I'm guessing that this would cost a lot to ship to Canada!

[surfnorthwest]

Why use a amp? Just buy a preamp (I recommend Digitechs GSP 1101) and use some good Sony head phones

[BenjiJuanKenobi]

Don't how what your budget is. Is your VM a half stack? If so, you might want to consider a 2266C as a practice amp. It will probably come the closest in terms of tone and responsiveness. If you already have the VM combo, then a second one can serve as a backup. If a 2266C is too loud or expensive, than there are a lot of great little combo amps out there. Of course, the experience will be completely different than your live rig. Any pedals you dial in on a practice amp will not sound quite the same on your live rig.

Marshall makes some cool smaller amps. So does Vox. Crate makes some nice little combos which are affordable. Shame they don't get more respect. Your ears and the type of music you play should be your guide.

Famed producer Eddie Kramer recently said the Orange Tiny terror is one of his favorite new amps. They are expensive. In fact, I think a 2266C might be less expensive.

You might want to take a look at the Fender Blues Junior. Guitar Center and some other music stores offer a lacquered tweed version with a Jenson speaker. I love mine. There is also a guy who does some interesting mods to standard Blues Juniors. His web site is here. http://home.comcast.net/~machrone/bluesjunior.htm He will do the mods or you can order them as DIY kits. There are lots of pics and sound samples. He even makes matching extension cabs. :D

You can go the headphone route, but I generally try to avoid head phones whenever possible. Headphones and ear buds generally cause more hearing damage than loud speakers. I love my hearing too much to gamble with it. Hearing loss also runs in the family.

[bluesbrother]

Look around what you really like and want to spend.(you tube is a great tool to hear different amps)
A blues junior and Vox ac-15 are very good amps but will not give the marshall sound you want.
A tiny terror would be a better option also prisewise.
A crate V18 2-12 i send back the same day , it was a disgrace( you get what you paid for>>cheap garbage)
The 1974X is a expensive handwired amp which take effects very well in front of the amp.

This is not a cheap practice amp although it is actually designed for studio or home-use.
I only sell it because i want a powerfull fender(for clean sounds only)next to my vintage modern.
Late at night i use my digitech pedals(brian& jimi) through a cheap behringer mixer to headphones sounds much better
than these big soundprocessors i have had( zoomGt9.2tt and boss GT8) Plus they sound very good in front of both my amps.It is pure practice because i really miss the interaction with a tube amp.

Good Luck.

[Lungo]

An amp that I have at home that I love is a Little Lanilei from Songworks. Tris Mahaffey builds them in his shop at home and they ooze tone. They are quite pricey for a practice amp though, and he doesn't seem to be in a hurry to get an amp built when you order. Mine took 6 months.

www.songworks.com

[cupidstunts69]

I'd try out the Laney VC15-110 if I were you. It's got an effects loop, Jensen speaker and it responds really well to the volume control. Hard to beat as a practice amp and it's cheap to boot (although I don't know how much it costs in Canada). It can certainly get that classic Marshall sound when pushed with hard or overdriven with a pedal (it's more aggressive than the VM though).