Small practice amp on a budget

Hey! We recently put out a guide for this very thing, how to choose a practice amp on a budget.

It sounds like you got spoiled right off the bat w the Marshall and Les Paul - don't ever let go of your girlfriend's dad, he sounds amazing ;)

Since it looks like you have some good pedals, maybe you should look at the Vox AC4TV, or Orange CR3 Micro Crush? My practice amp is an Orange CR30R. It doesn't have any on-board effects, just an OK reverb, and it takes pedals well. I like the sound of it personally, for a practice amp at least.

Hope this helps!

The Micro Terror looks great but will you need a speaker cab with it?

I'm almost sold on a Fender Mustang as well, the demo videos make it look so appealing!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUSseC_d6WM

that's not a lot of cash, especially if you have been playing nice tube amps up until now... can you solder and read a wiring diagram?

either that or scour the internet for a used ac4tv, they sound pretty good and are cheap as all heck

Agh that's a tough question to answer! The Orange Micro Terror gets some amazing reviews. It seems that's the practice amp to get for the tone snobs out there :) Then again, the Mustang seems more versatile, with the on-board effects (which you might not need) and the modeling. I think it kind of comes down to what you value more - a more pure sound and plenty of headroom from the Orange? Or a slightly more tech-y and versatile amp that can more or less model a bunch of different tones?

I love the band Foals and it's so cool that Jimmy Smith uses the Fender Mustang as a practice amp in the dressing room :)

I'm an engineering student so soldering and the likes are nothing new to me.

great, build a champ kit! you won't be let down

Agh that's a tough question to answer! The Orange Micro Terror gets some amazing reviews. It seems that's the practice amp to get for the tone snobs out there :) Then again, the Mustang seems more versatile, with the on-board effects (which you might not need) and the modeling.

neither sound spectacular, but neither sound bad, I would probably go micro terror... I was not knocked out with the one I tried, but it sounds pretty decent for the money.... the mustang does a lot, but at that price point I'll bet none of the myriad of sounds it does are particularly great... the micro terror is a traditional hybrid amp with all the benefits and drawbacks of that topology, I can get next to that being from generation valvestate!

Dumb question. If you are just wanting to practice, why not an audio interface and some headphones? That way you have DLC which can get you some amp emulators to mess with to get whatever sound you can dial in.

I'm just a fan of the feel I get from playing through headphones nor through an audio interface. It always sounds artificial to me.

Headphones are useful on an amp yes, but I don't want to forgo the ability to crank up the volume a bit and play out loud.

I hate playing through headphones too... in the studio I like to track live with the drummer when possible with my amp behind some gobos in the room or at least be playing along in the control room through the monitors with my amp blazing away in an ISO booth. Ideally I like to use a tweed deluxe, ac15, champ or ac4 in the room and split my signal to a larger amp in an ISO booth like a plexi or ac30. If you mike both amps up you have a lot of mixing options. Anyway, back to your question, I again suggest you build a champ kit as a 'lunchbox' head. It won't cost much, will provide wonderful tweed tone at neighbor friendly levels, loves effects pedals due to its no tonestack topology and can be mated with cabs of various sizes to produce different tones and create different degrees of projection. Do a 1x10 with a low efficiency Jensen-style speaker in the bedroom to practice and drive a 2x12 loaded with 100+dB efficiency celestions with the band when you need great vintage overdrive. Or look up the moonlight amp on google, its a great 1 watt all tube amp that can be built from a handful of parts using 2 dual triodes (anything you like will work in the preamp and you need a 12at7 to act as the pushpull poweramp, the 12at7 will self-phase-split in this circuit, its killer) or do a hi mu preamp pentode like a 58879 or ef86 in the preamp to get voxy... or you can do it all with octals too, I think a 6SJ7 and 6SL7 work in this circuit, I forget....

also, you may have noticed the Chinese made ac4tv on the equipboard practice amp roundup? these amps sound great and can be had for about $150 US on the used market so at the current exchange rate think about getting a used one for about £100 UK including shipping if you go the internet route. The ac4 custom classic they are pushing these days has the top-boost tonestack, ut doesn't sound half as good and the added circuitry makes it less reliable. If you want the features save your beans and get the handwired ac4 (its like the CC version with a better circuit, more useful features, bigger speaker, better parts and better build quality) , it is spectacular and can handle practice, jams and even smaller gigs. I have never been a single-ended amp guy, but my ac4 and my buddy's vintage champs and GA5s are becoming my go-to's when practicing or spending time noodling with friends. Many 5 watt, SE amps sound like boxy trash, but some are really great.

If this thread is still somewhat active and OP is still considering, I'd go with the Mustang. The Micro Terror may have better tone, but I think it would be better if you start to familiarise yourself with more and more effects WITHOUT buying pedals. You might find a few effects you like and take note for future purchases!

Micro Terror... for your tastes, it would very well. Tone simply outweighs lacks of effects too, but this is more your opinion. Do you want better tone, or more effects?

Also, if you go with the Micro Terror, try the used ones on eBay or Craigslist. They're much cheaper, and if they do break down, it'll give you an opportunity to learn how a tube amp works and how to fix it rather than just sending it to the luthier. In fact, talk to him for help if it does break down!

I love the band Foals and it's so cool that Jimmy Smith uses the Fender Mustang as a practice amp in the dressing room :)

Damn, haven't heard of'em and they sound really good.

EDIT: Oh, guys, try Masakachi! It was on Foals' Instathing and they sound fantastic!

The mustang sounded like one of those gimicky iPhone apps that changes your voice to sound like a robot.

I am going with the micro-terror.

I had a feeling.