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Journeyman
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I just purchased a Telecaster for learning "chicken pickin". Now I need some advice finding an amp to match.
I do not need a high power amp as I will not be Brent Mason anytime soon and do not plan a North American tour.
I live in a home with small children and a audio-sensitive wife.
I know the Twin-Reverb is the de-facto standard, but that is too much power for my situation. Is there an amp that will give me the clean tones needed for country playing that won't force my wife to move? I really do like her.
I'm open to solid state if it sounds good and is quiet.
Thanks for your help.
Last edited by RobbMiller; 06/04/13 06:17 PM. Reason: grammar, clarification
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Roland Cube 80 http://www.musiciansfriend.com/amplifier...r=1&nN=trueRobb, You might want to zoom in on the pic with the controls so you can see what's available on this amp. It's probably one of the most versatile and great sounding amps you can get.
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I have been playing a Peavy Classic Twin 12" speakers for quite some time now and it was as close to the Fender Twin (for my ears anyway) I could get.
Later,
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Robb: What I'm about to suggest is probably a sacrilege to devoted electric players but ... I have a Strat that I primarily use as a midi controller, but when I want to play it as an electric I run it through my Digitch RP355 and listen through headphones. http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/RP355/It has 34 amp models, 18 cabinet models plus effects and a WAH pedal - and you can use the audio outs to record in a DAW. You can also save 70 presets of your own. Not exactly what you asked for but obviously is very quiet and very flexible for tone. John
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Wait, don't you have BIAB? If so, you have a great emulation of a Twin Reverb right inside of Amplitube that ships with BIAB. DO NOT BUY AN AMP YET - until you have fully sussed out Amplitube that comes with BIAB. VERY quiet, and you'll be able to dial in tone galore. Or, have an iPhone or iPod touch or iPad? Get the freebie Amplitube Fender Free app and spend $39 or so to get the iRig interface. Seriously good Fender tone in there. Just listen to this on the PG Music site with Brent Mason real-track going through Amplitube http://www.pgmusic.com/amplitube-demos.htm (scroll down to where it calls out Brent Mason - first one). I can't get any of the direct input parts to play in my browser on either FireFox or Chrome - but you have a great amp simulator in Amplitube - and it weighs nothing. Unless you plan on gigging, save your cash. Let the nay-saying begin about authenticity of tone and what not - I'm a loud and vocal proponent of amp simulation of all flavors and it's great that PG includes Amplitube with BIAB. It's the best known amp simulation software out there. Let the fact that Moore's law turned out to be true and use the power of your CPU to simulate the tubes.
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@John: I'm not against a multi-effects pedal if it could produce that country "chicken picken" twang. Perhaps: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MustangFLR/@Scott: Good idea. The only thing I would worry about with the plugin route is processing delay. I will defiantly give it a try. I also have Guitar Rig as part of my DAW software.
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Would a Super-Champ work? Absolutely. Good choice. ROG
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Fender guitars played through Fender amps is a match made in heaven. I have had great luck with my Strat copy (which can put out a pretty fair Tele tone via phase switch) and a couple of small solid-state Fender amps, each producing about 40 watts through a single speaker. You can find them used at very reasonable prices.
You will get more versatility with an emulator such as the one suggested above or Behringer's V-Amp. But if you're strickly chickly-pickly, I'd go with the real thing. Heavy, noisy, outdated--Heaven!
"My primary musical instrument is the personal computer."
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I have Amplitube,Guitar Rig, Korg Pandora, etc. I also have a Classic 30. No way emulation can touch a real tube amp. Regards, Bob
Last edited by 90 dB; 06/05/13 03:03 AM.
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The Roland Cubes have some real nice amp emulations. I have a micro cube RX that I use in hotel rooms and when my wife is fussing at me to be quiet. It has a headphone jack in it that cuts off the speakers.
Like several folks have said, no digital emulation exactly duplicates a tube amp. There is more than just the sound. There is a feel to it. Tubes respond to the input in a way that modeling amps do not. The last few years I have been using a DT50 tube amp that does a major part of its amp modeling by actually reconfiguring the analog components. The DT50 has a speaker emulation out that can be fed to a PA system, a DAW etc. I also have a Dr Z airbrake that I can put between the head and the speakers to attenuate the output.
Keith
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Robb,
My recommendation to you to try simulation first is echoed in your question about the Roland. - can it play quiet without sacrificing tone.
Look, I love the sounds of various tube amps. I played through a Park (either a Marshall knock-off, or some subcategory of Marshall) head and cabinet that was borrowed, played through a couple of blackface Fender amps, etc.
Tube amps are GREAT when you really push them. Agreed that you can't get the same vibe with an amp simulator as moving your pant legs and chest while wailing away with a tube amp live.
HOWEVER,
your post specifically asked about playing quiet at home. You've reiterated that with your post to Bob about the Roland Cube (great series of amps IMO).
Here is where you will have to compromise a bit, or spend major coin on an iso cabinet. I'm suggesting that the software you have right now, is a more ideal solution than any hardware solution - since it seems your main purpose is playing/recording at home and not gigging. Maybe I have that wrong.
You asked about an 'acoustic amp'. Without a hardware amp simulator feeding that amp, you will be disappointed with almost all of them on the market. Reason: They almost all have a full-range speaker setup, whereas all of the famous guitar amps have cabinets that seriously color the sound of the guitar - they do that either intentionally or by a happy combination of how the head drives the cabinet.
If your main goal is to gig with the guitar, lean towards an amp (though if were me I would lean toward a modeling amp like the cube, the Fender GDec series, Line 6 stuff, etc.), but if your main goal is to record at home, I would exhaust amp simulation first.
As for latency, ASIO should take care of that with a low enough buffer setting. Low enough that you won't be able to feel the latency with playing.
I'll see if I can record some stuff over your rollin on song in the next week or two using just amp simulation; guitar plugged into my interface. Actually, it will probably be July before I can seriously attack that. I have a trip this month and a 'gig' on the 30th, where I need to practice and will be using a Digitech RP500 only with my Epiphone Nighthawk Custom Reissue. Normally they record these and if there's a decent two-track off the board that results, I'll send you some snippets.
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For $40 you can by a box that Dean makes that plugs into the guitar and then you listen through phones. I had a similar device that I used to death! I was in an apartment then, and this thing was perfect for that environment. Taped it to my strap and could walk around and play if I wanted to. Remember, you practice to refine skills, not to play with stomp boxes and such. Practice clean, play clean!
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Bob,
Can the Cube 80 play quietly without sacrificing tone? It definitely can. The vast majority of the time I've played mine was at a very low volume setting and the tone is still great.
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You might also look around for a used Peavey Bandit. SS, but they sound great at low volumes, and they can be had for cheap. I got a mint condition red-stripe bandit for $75. The new Transtubes are good as well. Or, you could get something that will make your Tele sing - like one of these: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/amplifier...uitar-combo-amp
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There are zillions of small amps out there that can be pressed into service for chick'n pick'n practice.
Some of those Peavey solid state amps, like 90db mentioned, are gems in the class.
Likewise, there are plenty of different Crate models out there, some discontinued but still very viable.
I recommend visiting the used instrument stores and pawn shops, etc. as vs brand spankin' new prices, for one thing, most of the youngsters want the sound of six overdriven Marshall stacks and thus the street value of the cleaner amps which are less in demand is attractive indeed.
And, for the stated intended purpose, there is no need to pay for 80 watt level power. A 5 to 10 W little amp is enough to make the wife tell you to turn it down of an evening.
Look also for amp with Headphone jack, most of them will have that these days.
--Mac
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Aw, just go ahead and get a Twin and crank it up. Your wife did promise for better or for worse, quieter or louder, right? 
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Aw, just go ahead and get a Twin and crank it up. +1 ROG.
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Not trying to be snarky . . . but why not just turn down the volume?
Later,
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