When Practice Amps Sound Better Than Real Ones

Great video. Especially for those of us who only plan at home and never gig.🏆

Mike, I don’t know what sort of day job you might have, but you are a talented storyteller. That opening vignette was great.

I love taking my thr30ii to random places around the city or hiking trails, and jamming out in nature. Something special about hiking to the top of a local hill , sitting on the bench with a Vista view of my neighborhood and playing music. Most people welcome the free concert lol

I just started playing electric again for the first time in 20 years. I got a Fender Mustang LT40 desktop practice amp, and it is exactly what I needed. It has an insane number of preset effects and amp models. It also can connect to the Fender Tone app. The big time benefit is the ability to experiment with sounds and tones to see what I would want to have in the form of pedals. The Fender Tone app gives you total control of each effect. This amp has saved me a ton of money by keeping me from blindly buying pedals.

I don’t gig anymore so I sold off my Marshalls, Orange Rocker and assorted tube amps and decided to downsize. Then I bought both the Yamaha THR 10ii and a Positive Grid Spark and I couldn’t be happier! Amazing flexibility and tones, but more importantly still loud enough to annoy the neighbors. Thanks for the great content!

In addition to the portability, i love how responsive the THR30 is. It behaves so much more like a tube amp. I never touch my hot rod deluxe any more, and thats largely true for my pedals too. This amp has really simplified things for me and let me focus more on the craft of playing guitar. I no longer fall into the trap of playing with my gear more than my guitar. You all know what I'm talking about.

I've had my THR30II for years and I love it. It's incredibly versatile and sounds great for practice and recording. I've used it in live jam sessions with line out to the PA, and it worked great. I could see someone using it that way in a live performance where the venue has a good PA system. It also does well as a practice Bass amp (although better through headphones - the little 3" speakers just can't push the low end that much) and I use it as a recording input all the time. For my needs, it's hands-down the best amp I've every owned!

Hey Mike, just wanted to say I really enjoy your style of content where your discussions on gear are very narrative-driven and it all feels very personal. It really helps distinguish your content from all the other guitar/gear related channels, and look forward to seeing more of your stuff!

Pick a Yamaha musical product, be it an instrument or amp, and you will find that it punches far above its weight.

Long ago I had a big amp for practicing at home and I sold it in the end. Right now I have this Yamaha amp and is amazing. Solid, with great sound, built in battery, wireless capability, you can use it as speaker or to hear backing tracks while playing on a secondary channel and is soooo pretty to btw ❤

Love my THR30II! My home recording setup is a Boss GT1000core and support pedals, but I have dropped the THR into some of those sessions with great success too. And you nailed the concept of portability/utility - it's wonderful to grab the THR and one guitar - head out to backyard with my iPhone to practice/jam and still have most of what I get from my gear in the guitar room - at the picnic table in the yard on a nice Saturday afternoon. It's some great kit.

Been watching and enjoying your videos, Mike, for some time now. I think your personality your style are just great, and I even learn a thing or two along the way. Keep up the great work!

I think it’s a stretch to say that a practice amp sounds ‘better’ than a tube amp, but it’s definitely more convenient and portable, and like cameras, the best amp is the one you have with you. My personal favorite practice amp is the Katana head, because it has a built in practice speaker and is small and light, but it’s also a 100w head so you can plug it into a cab and play a live show anywhere.

Tried one of these at my local music shop- was fortunate enough to see how it can shine with both acoustics & electrics as well as a bass. I’m sold on the quality of this being a great practice amp- hopefully going to get mine soon!

Back in the late 1960s and early 1970s there weren't really 'bass amps'. Rock bass players were plugging into generic instrument amps that weren't big enough to produce good low end, so they ended up sounding thin and overdriven. Smart engineers started saying "this won't do at all" and started mixing in some direct bass sound, which was clean and EQ'd for more low end. The combination was magical. So even with a small amp, if you know what you're doing, you can make a good sound.

The THR series is nothing short of magical

I have one and love it! It’s upstairs in the office with my strat. My imperial MKII is in the basement with my pedalboard and Les Paul. I tend to to play my thr30ii a lot

My THR is up there on the list for good purchases that I’ve made over the years. Great all in one practice or small jam session amp. Crazy how much sound comes out of those little speakers.

Back in September I moved from a house into an apartment and knew that my 40 watt fender hot rod wasn’t going to cut it. I bought a THR30ii and it’s perfect. It sounds great no matter how you slice it, the volume is great for playing alone or playing with friends, and the portability, battery life and app is super convenient as well. I will say the effects aren’t the best, but it does take pedals very well. Looking at the big picture, it’s a very impressive amp for the price and will do more than needed for a practice/home amp

Gotta say great video...I love the format and the way you have everything structured. Keep up the good work!