I've written before about the various cheap electric guitars I've stashed at relatives houses around the country. I've also bought several cheap practice amplifiers and I'm not particularly fussy about them. They get used for a few hours a few times a year. So I focused on getting something cheap, sturdy and portable. The best thing is, used practice amplifiers are relatively easy to come by. You can find them in just about any used gear shop and they typically sell for less than half the list price.
I have a Kustom KGA10 parked at my father-in-law's place near Detroit. It's a basic 10 watt practice amp with volume, gain, voice and overdrive controls. It sounds decent for clean tones and if you turn up the gain just a bit, you've got AC/DC worthy crunch. Put it into Overdrive and youv'e got some pretty hard core tone. The list price is around $100 and online they're usually under $80. Not as cool or as loud as the Randall KH Kirk Hammett, but more likely to be found in a pawn shop for under $50. Note: The KGA10 has been superceded by the Kustom Dart 10 with a 3 band equalizer and Dart 10FX which adds reverb and delay. Available at Musician's Friend for around $60 and $80 respectively.
- Kustom: Main site, Dart 10, Dart 10FX
- Musician's Friend: Main, Kustom Dart 10FX
I have a Kustom Arrow 16R. It's a great little amp. I use it for practice and have even used it as a stage amp. I think they're about $120.
Posted by: wheat | September 30, 2008 at 11:21 AM
I'll have to check this out. I use the fender pro-junior st home.
Posted by: Dave - The Gear Mall.com | October 08, 2008 at 07:29 AM
this is a great little practice amp for a beginner or some one who just wants to hear his own tunes. i've had the kustom kga10 10 watt amplifier for about a year now and i love it! its great for just practicing in your bedroom and just enough to make ur parents crazy! i would recommend this amp to any beginner!
Posted by: tilley | January 04, 2009 at 06:50 AM
also, i posted the comment above me...i am selling this amp on ebay.com in about 1-3 weeks or so.i am taking no lower than $50...this amp has no scratches dents or dings on it. its in *MINT* condition. 10 watt rms with 15watt peak output. check it out!
Posted by: tilley | January 04, 2009 at 06:53 AM