Thoughts on a tiny cheap practice amp...

[Clifdawg]

I've been kicking around my Blackstar ID:Core 10 V2 for almost 5 years now as my vacation/grab-and-go amp. Great little travel buddy, no doubt. But I recently went to GC to get a new strap, some picks, strings, etc. just to stock up, and I plugged into a Fender Mustang LT25 1x8 combo, since I had heard good things about it, and since I've had one of the larger 150-watt 2x12 Fender Mustang combos in the past (fantastic digital amp, btw).

All I can say is... Wow! The LT25 really is a game changer for the sub-200-dollar practice amp market. I was immediately impressed by the clean tones, but after knocking off all the effects and scrolling through some amp models, I landed on the Super-Sonic's "Burn" channel model and holy cow, if that wasn't the best high-gain sound I've ever heard come from a 1x8. In fact, I found it super simple to dial in a couple of great sounds, and even some of the models I didn't care for way back in the "V2" Mustang I had seemed to sound a lot better here. It was crowded and I only got to noodle for about 10 minutes, but a guy looking at buying an amp for his son who was learning told me he was pretty much sold when I started playing.

I'm thinking about trading the Blackstar up for it... It's only 12 pounds, isn't much bulkier, sounds much louder, and has some great features, including a footswitch jack for swapping between two presets. Since I play guitar by myself at church and reluctantly lug my 55-lb Marshall DSL40C for an occasional Tele finger-picking song or two, it could be useful for making that a little easier for me, too.

Between the Blackstar and a Wampler Ethereal pedal (which I've fallen out of love with due to the fact that I think my Boss GT-1 does everything it does better... In stereo... With less noise...), I think a trade should cover it. Any thoughts or opinions (good or bad) on these?

 

[South Park]

Sounds good to me

 

[paul-e-mann]

I've been kicking around my Blackstar ID:Core 10 V2 for almost 5 years now as my vacation/grab-and-go amp. Great little travel buddy, no doubt. But I recently went to GC to get a new strap, some picks, strings, etc. just to stock up, and I plugged into a Fender Mustang LT25 1x8 combo, since I had heard good things about it, and since I've had one of the larger 150-watt 2x12 Fender Mustang combos in the past (fantastic digital amp, btw).

All I can say is... Wow! The LT25 really is a game changer for the sub-200-dollar practice amp market. I was immediately impressed by the clean tones, but after knocking off all the effects and scrolling through some amp models, I landed on the Super-Sonic's "Burn" channel model and holy cow, if that wasn't the best high-gain sound I've ever heard come from a 1x8. In fact, I found it super simple to dial in a couple of great sounds, and even some of the models I didn't care for way back in the "V2" Mustang I had seemed to sound a lot better here. It was crowded and I only got to noodle for about 10 minutes, but a guy looking at buying an amp for his son who was learning told me he was pretty much sold when I started playing.

I'm thinking about trading the Blackstar up for it... It's only 12 pounds, isn't much bulkier, sounds much louder, and has some great features, including a footswitch jack for swapping between two presets. Since I play guitar by myself at church and reluctantly lug my 55-lb Marshall DSL40C for an occasional Tele finger-picking song or two, it could be useful for making that a little easier for me, too.

Between the Blackstar and a Wampler Ethereal pedal (which I've fallen out of love with due to the fact that I think my Boss GT-1 does everything it does better... In stereo... With less noise...), I think a trade should cover it. Any thoughts or opinions (good or bad) on these?

You tried it you liked it buy it!

 

[JacksonCharvelAddict]

The Mustangs are good sounding little amps.

 

[StrummerJoe]

If it were battery powered as well it would be perfect. If that's not a deal breaker get it!

 

[JacksonCharvelAddict]

I really like the Katana 50 my family got me last year. I took it on vacation with me and it sounded amazing at whisper volume. It may be worth a look if something falls through with the Mustang. The Peavey Vypyr is also a cool little amp. I can't believe how great these cheap amps sound these days. I wish we had the Katana when I was learning to play. Great time to be a guitar player for sure.

 

[shooto]

I dig the mustangs

 

[scott6762]

The Roland cube is my answer. Great sounding little amp with very good effects too.

 

[Springfield Scooter]

A couple of my personal favorites are:

1. Yamaha THR10X
2. Vox Mini 5

The Yamaha has a great "stereo" effect which makes the little amp sound glorious.

The Vox not only sounds great, but the built in rhythm is an unexpected plus. I underestimated the usefulness of a built in drummer. It really improves my playing.

 

[ricksdisconnected]

BE Mini

 

[C-Grin]

The BE for the win,


But for a "cheap" on the go practice amp I would take the Mustang over the ID core 10 all day, but for even cheaper and super easy to use I would grab the Fender Champion 20.

 

[C-Grin]

The Roland cube is my answer. Great sounding little amp with very good effects too.

I didn't realize you could still get a cube , I just looked and you can I change my vote.

 

[ricksdisconnected]

I didn't realize you could still get a cube , I just looked and you can I change my vote.

from my experience, which is limited, the originals are still the best of the bunch.

 

[ricksdisconnected]

The BE for the win,


But for a "cheap" on the go practice amp I would take the Mustang over the ID core 10 all day, but for even cheaper and super easy to use I would grab the Fender Champion 20.

did you see my "ask her if size matters" thread?

 

[C-Grin]

did you see my "ask her if size matters" thread?

I did and watched the vid too, sounded pretty fricken good to me and like 329$ or so I am tempted myself.

 

[ricksdisconnected]

I did and watched the vid too, sounded pretty fricken good to me and like 329$ or so I am tempted myself.

i kinda like it better than the big brother in a lot of ways. i trust Ben's reviews too.

 

[C-Grin]

i kinda like it better than the big brother in a lot of ways. i trust Ben's reviews too.

I would certainly like to try one out and also try it against the Boss Nextone which I was very close to buying a while back. I would like to see how pedals work with it in person.

 

[Clifdawg]

BE Mini

Dude, if they made like a little compact, lightweight 1x10 BE mini, I’d be all over it. As a miniature head, I feel like it’s more of a fun novelty if you have a cab.

I dig the Mustang because it’s small, versatile, and lightweight. Very thoughtfully designed. Not every sound is a winner, but there are more winners than losers. My favorite models so far are the Fender Princeton, the Fender Supersonic, the Hiwatt DR100, and the EVH 5150 III models. I found the higher gain stuff to be harder to dial in (everything is mid-scooped by default; an “overdrive” is a must), but once you get the details worked out, the sound is truly fantastic for a little 1x8 combo.

 

[Crikey]

Varies on practice volume but i picked up a 50 watt boss katana
Decent amp

 

[C-4]

I tried a Vox VTX20 and found it has a lot of versatility and volume is no problem.