Recommendations for a good unit for silent practice

[Ian Price]

Morning all,

I've got a lovely amp at the moment but also have a 10 month old son who is the worlds lightest sleeper. This means that anytime I turn my amp on, even at a low volume, he wakes up and screams the house down. It's doing my head in now and I'm really missing playing.

Any recommendations for a good silent practice unit? I have a UX1 but don't really want to be stuck with that, I only really use it to tune up.

Budget will be around the £300 mark. I've though about the Vox and Line 6 units and am not too sure about them.

[Tellboy]

I'm very tempted to get one of these:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEj7HKSMXI0

You can use headphones on the emulated output and might be able to get away with using the 1 watt speaker output if you slip some gin in the baby's milk  :lol:.

Well within your budget (£199 for reverb combo) but I don't think they will be available until end of October.

[Dmoney]

i had a UX1 and it sucked
then i gambled on a second hand pod xt and that was much better, especially after i learned to use it

[AndyR]

I've got a PODXT Live and a Vox Tonelab LE.

I personally feel the POD has better sounding effects, but the amp tones from the Vox are much more to my taste.

I've not heard/tried the later Line6 stuff, I wondered about X3 but decided against. I understand it's the same models as the XT, but the architecture was expanded so that the models can improve/evolve (the XT had hit physical limits in the hardware). It might be that the X3 is therefore better tonally than XT - not sure. I personally wouldn't touch any of the earlier POD 1 or 2 modelling (I have a POD 2.0 as well) after using XT - note that the pocket pod etc use the POD 2.0 algorithms.

[Ian Price]

Cheers guys. I've been mulling over the X3 - I do want to get back into recording stuff as well as just aimless noodling. Could be a decent solution, the only thing I worry about is the sound quality - the UX1 literally sucks tone and isn't a long term solution.

I'd not seen the Blackstar before although having tried a few of their amps I don't really like the tone. I'll give them a look but it's probably down my list.

[Matt77]

I bought a 2nd hand Emerson Willams Bluestone pro last week for £60 delivered
It basically allows me to put my amp head direct in to my multitrack recorder and then straight in to my headphones.
Using a bit of EQ I can get an ok tone
To be honest though it's no better than a POD, it just cleans up better than most digital devices via the guitar volume pot.

For headphone practice, digital is best.
I've used the emulated output of my old 5w Blackstar and a Vox 15w digital hybrid amp, both going in to a mixer and then headphones.
I'd rule out the Blackstar based on the sort of tones you prefer.
The Vox sounded better to my ears but no better than a POD used in the same way.

[Ian Price]

Cheers Matt - very useful. Amps into headphones haven't really done it for me in the past and I doubt they would do in future. Will have to do an A/B on the Vox and X3.

[Mr. Air]

What about some amp modelling software like amplitube 3?

[Ian Price]

Yeah - I'd thought about amp modelling. I'm really looking for something that's pretty portable - I don't use a laptop and don't fancy lugging my mac around with me.

[ToneMonkey]

I've been debating getting a Vox Amplug and the cabinet or the Vox Mini 3.  Don't know if they would be of any use to you.

I also have a lightly sleeping baby and a lack of room in my house for a decent sized amp  :(

[hunter]

Vox Tonelab kills for all kinds of tones. I was very happy with mine but only play my amps these days  8)

[MDV]

I'd start with whatever the relatively negligable sum of money for a microcube is, and if you dont like that, go from there. Microcube + HD202s.

Thats my vote. Its not tonal nirvana, but its way under budget and should get the job done. Whether it does so to taste is another matter, but then you havent lost much/its easy to get most of it back.

Failing that any of pod, tonelab, boss GT 10, that sort of thing, should at least give you lots to play with.

Also, the headphone out and line outs of the vox valvetronix and peavey vypyrs are quite good, so the smallest of those may suit as well.

[Dr. Stein]

I've heard a lot of good things about the AMT pedals, the preamps SS-11 and SS-20 might be worth a look. Some decent demos on youtube and both are within budget. No effects and they won't make your breakfast for you but seem pretty tonally versatile.

[Elliot]

Is there anything that you can use headphones with that doesn't sound fizzy and have the eq totally wrong?  The only thing I have heard that gets near that is the Amplitube IRig IPhone device (which I like very much as it happens).

[AndyR]

:lol: I can't vouch for the eq being totally right, but one of the reasons I went for the Vox Tonelab was because, during an hour or so try-out in the shop, it was exhibiting a lot less fizz on the just breaking up tones that I was after (compared to the XTLive I'd just spent 18 months tweaking!). I took me own guitar, lead, and headphones, warned them what I was doing and what would make me buy, and they just sat me in a corner with the Tonelab and the manual.

Some of the amp & cab models I don't find so convincing/pleasing - but I suspect that I wouldn't find the actual amps and cabs that much to my taste!

However, I am in the same position as Hunter at the moment. I'm very happy with my Tonelab - but it's not had a look in since I got a Laney amp a couple of months back :lol: