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Help me choose a new practice amp


tommy p

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I'm in the market for a small amp to use to learn songs at home and possibly practice with a band, but not gig.  I have other amps for that.

I'm trying to decide between a Yamaha THR10 and the Fender SuperChamp XD.  I've read many good things about both, and hardly anything bad.  I have a shot at one of each used right now and would appreciate any input to help decide which way to go.  The Yamaha is $210 and the Fender is $275 with an upgraded speaker and the somewhat rarer cream tolex.

Thoughts, opinions, experience good or bad???

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I have a Fender SuperChamp XD  and love it. No experience with the Yamaha but all that I have read about is great things too. I admit I only use about 3 different settings on my SC XD. It does take pedal's very well on channel 1 so experimentation with pedals for a bigger amp is possible at home.  I took my small board to a friends house and plugged into his Fender DR and all I really had to do was tweak the dirt pedal a bit.

 

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I have the scx2 for home practice, & don't know if it would work for band rehearsal. But, I recently tried the Boss Katana 100, & was surprisingly impressed. Versatile, good tones, loaded with effects, & appears to be loud enough to gig. I'm seriously thinking of one for a backup. You may want to give one a go......Don

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I had the Yamaha and felt the speaker was too small. I bought the Fender Superchamp XD and kept it. Not as versatile n

but much better sounding. I rarely turn it on but haven't sold it yet!

arniez

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SC XD. Plenty of useable tones. Footswitch for the different channels.  Takes pedals nicely.   Loud enough.  And portable.   I bought mine used for less than $250. Seems like you're getting a good deal on the one you have a line on.

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Depends how you practice, if you sitting at a desk and interacting with a computer for loops, music, recording etc and playing lots of different types of sounds the Yamaha is great. Has a a bunch of amp models and 3 different types of amps, like regular, blues and metal. Stick it on the floor and it does sound small, it’s made for ear level or at least tilted up.

Had the super champ xrd and it was pretty good but not what I was looking for, sold it and bought the Yamaha. 

My last big amp shit the bed so I’m demoing the boss katana and the Orange pro crush 120. Check this guy he has like 26 or so a  ton of videos coping the tone of various guys using the Orange crush pro 120.

 

 

 

 

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I bought a Yamaha THR 10X and within a week solde every other amp I had (my big ones)...

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I've had 2 SCXDs, great amps, esp w/ a spkr swap. great chimey fenderish tones

I recently got a Katana 50w and its nice, esp w/ a spkr swap (most cheaper combos need a spkr upgrade IMHO). more pristine cleans than chimey (like a roland jazz chorus), better FX and high gain tones than the SCXD. the Katana 50w is about the same size as the SCXD, it looks like it should have a 10" but it has a 12" which helps w/ lows. I had a private party solo jazz gig and between sets I cranked up my ipod w/ some disco thru it and it really kicked out the bass, had the drunk housewives dancing, ha. great grab & go amp.

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for rawk band gigs I just got a peavey classic 20 head, and its great! excellent clean and dirty tones, and the feature that sold me is the foot-switchable FX loop (I don't like pedals infront of me during band gigs, I trip over 'em while trying to rock out and look cool, ha). I put a multi FX in the loop and set it on the cab next to the PV head, and have it set for a boost w/ delay for most solos, plus a few noisy FX for some of our covers (ring mod for one tune, pitch shifter set up an octave for RATM whammy pedal sounds, etc). great set up for me, plus super compact and lightweight which has become a major requirement for my gear. just wish it was black instead of tweed, haha

PV 20.jpg

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1 hour ago, Brooks said:

for rawk band gigs I just got a peavey classic 20 head, and its great! excellent clean and dirty tones, and the feature that sold me is the foot-switchable FX loop (I don't like pedals infront of me during band gigs, I trip over 'em while trying to rock out and look cool, ha). I put a multi FX in the loop and set it on the cab next to the PV head, and have a boost w/ delay for most solos, plus a few noisy FX for some of our covers (ring mod for one tune, pitch shifter set up an octave for RATM whammy pedal sounds, etc). great set up for me, plus super compact and lightweight which has become a major requirement for my gear. just wish it was black instead of tweed, haha

PV 20.jpg

What kind of cab are you using with the Peavey?

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Two things.  

1. If an amp needs to work for rehearsal it has to work for gigs.

2.  If you already have good amps and just want to get close to the same sound at lower volume, get a great attenuator.  The bad cat unleash would be my next one if my current out of production attenuator took a crap.  And you can use it with all of your amps, and for smaller gigs as a master volume.  Just seems like the Swiss army knife of a tube amp rig.

Best on whatever path you take.

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On ‎11‎/‎5‎/‎2017 at 4:46 PM, Carl.B said:

What kind of cab are you using with the Peavey?

I got a oversized 1x12 sealed cab that a guy built locally,  its about the size of a small 4x10, sounds good w/ lots of lows and is super light, I put my fave emi 12" in it (8 ohm manowar)

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Super Champ XD/X2 is perfect as a practice amp and gig amp.  Provided you put an eminence Ragin Cajun in there.  I'd just use it, no pedals or anything for practice, then just drag it off to gigs, even smallish outdoor ones and add pedals as needed. The onboard FX and models may not bee bleeding edge, but they're pretty damn good (I particularly like the '59 Bassman, no subtlety at all, really).  With the Ragin Cajun installed, it's capable of 112 Db cleanly.

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18 hours ago, RobB said:

What kind of speaker did you put in, Brooks. 

I had a rebranded Celestion Century Neo laying around;
 

PS - Tommy, you will be happy w/ the SCXD, I did some gigs w/ mine in my old jazz funk band, great amps. also big +1 on what Dave said, I had a Blackstar ID15 that was a great small amp, although that line has some footswitch issues at gig volume.

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I love my Yamaha THR10. It just sounds good, and can be dialed in pretty easily. Also with the computer interface, you can customize the effects a bunch, manage presets, etc. It's also great for direct recording, and for small jam sessions. I take mine with me to guitar lessons.

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