I need a guitar amp.

[mfratt]

I haven't really played the guitar all that much, but I've been starting to more and more lately. The problem is that I've been relying on my big Peavey bass amp and a distortion pedal, but I want something with a few more effects and a sound better suited for the guitar (I also don't want to go out and spend $250 on effects pedal). So I'd like a combo amp with decent power and good tone for somewhere around $300. I played on a Line 6 at GC and liked it, any other suggestions?

[mortkort]

this is supposed to be really good

 

Vox Valvetronix VT30

 

but if you can cash out about $100 more i would suggest this

 

Fender Super Champ XD

[1-0-0-1-0-0-1]

QUOTE (mortkort @ Mar 2 2009, 01:22 PM)

this is supposed to be really good Vox Valvetronix VT30 but if you can cash out about $100 more i would suggest this Fender Super Champ XD

The Super Champ sounds real good for the money.

[jdouglas]

 

Check out this guy's post in the boston's CL.

 

He has a Dean Markley tube amp from 1984 and he is looking to trade for bass gear. Sounds like a match.

 

Didn't someone we know have a Dean Markley Combo in 1984 also?

 

Can't hurt to give it a listen.

 

Dean Markley Tube Amp

[CygnusX-1Bk2]

Alex used those in the mid 80's around the time of Power Windows.

[DallasRUSHian]

I like my Marshall combo:

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product...-Amp?sku=483189

 

It's got mixed reviews for reliability. The cooling fan had a bad bearing when I bought it, and was replaced. Otherwise, it's worked fine.

 

The clean channel is really nice and full, and has a lot of low end. I also like the chorus and reverb. The overdrive is too muddy and not bright enough for my taste, so I use pedals.

 

 

[Der Trommler]

QUOTE (mfratt @ Mar 2 2009, 01:17 PM)

I haven't really played the guitar all that much, but I've been starting to more and more lately. The problem is that I've been relying on my big Peavey bass amp and a distortion pedal, but I want something with a few more effects and a sound better suited for the guitar (I also don't want to go out and spend $250 on effects pedal). So I'd like a combo amp with decent power and good tone for somewhere around $300. I played on a Line 6 at GC and liked it, any other suggestions?

Line 6 has what you're looking for. It has all the effects & amp modeling as their POD's do. This means you spend less & get one thing. There are a ton of amp out there that are decent.

First, listen to every amp you can at GC. Yeah, you might get looks, or the salesman who comes over & checks up on you...however, this gives you an idea of what to look for later as well. How can I tell what amp sounds best when your ears are the ones liking something?

So, try out EVERYTHING, spend as much time at that GC as you can. Go to other stores (Best Buy is selling instruments BTW- )Go with whatever your budget allows but still sounds best to you.

On that note, I like Fender for the clean tones. They work very well with effects. Peavey are getting better in tone & can take one hell of a beating (I saw a TKO on rollers fall down a flight of cement stairs & still play the next as it always had). Vox is pretty decent too. Marshall really only is good for one thing-distortion! The clean tones sounded a little muddy to me IMHO.

Anyway, I hope this helps....

[kazzman]

QUOTE (Der Trommler @ Mar 3 2009, 12:25 PM)

(Best Buy is selling instruments BTW- )

And failing miserably I might add...

 

btw, avoid Crate at all costs.

[1-0-0-1-0-0-1]

QUOTE (kazzman @ Mar 3 2009, 12:35 PM)

QUOTE (Der Trommler @ Mar 3 2009, 12:25 PM) (Best Buy is selling instruments BTW- ) And failing miserably I might add...   btw, avoid Crate at all costs. Are a lot of Crates being returned to your store?

[kazzman]

QUOTE (1-0-0-1-0-0-1 @ Mar 3 2009, 12:40 PM)

QUOTE (kazzman @ Mar 3 2009, 12:35 PM) QUOTE (Der Trommler @ Mar 3 2009, 12:25 PM) (Best Buy is selling instruments BTW- ) And failing miserably I might add...   btw, avoid Crate at all costs. Are a lot of Crates being returned to your store? We stopped carrying them because they kept breaking and if they didn't break then they were returned.

[Der Trommler]

QUOTE (kazzman @ Mar 3 2009, 01:35 PM)

QUOTE (Der Trommler @ Mar 3 2009, 12:25 PM) (Best Buy is selling instruments BTW- ) And failing miserably I might add...   btw, avoid Crate at all costs. Crate go downhill? They were up & coming....

[kazzman]

QUOTE (Der Trommler @ Mar 3 2009, 12:51 PM)

QUOTE (kazzman @ Mar 3 2009, 01:35 PM) QUOTE (Der Trommler @ Mar 3 2009, 12:25 PM) (Best Buy is selling instruments BTW- ) And failing miserably I might add...   btw, avoid Crate at all costs. Crate go downhill? They were up & coming.... They're good if you want something cheap that has a lot of gain on it. But that's about it.

[WCFIELDS]

I tried out a Crate V30 Head a few months back because it was ridiculously cheap (like $219)......man did it sould like shit. I ran it through my Marshall cab and it honestly sounded like there was a blanket over the cabinet. It sounded like supreme shit (especially on the gain channel).........

[mfratt]

The Marshalls are real nice from what I can tell, but I've heard that you really need pedals for them if you want more than a clean tone. I don't want to go off investing hundreds of dollars in pedals on top of the amp itself - plus those things are expensive to begin with.

 

Though I did see a Marshall full stack at GC the other day for like $2500 all together and it did make me want to go out and sell my car. But I like wasting money

 

Anyway, I'll check out Vox.

 

The Line6 I like is this one, and its what I'm leaning towards at the moment http://www.guitarcenter.com/Line-6-Spider-...773-i1168992.gc

 

Are Peaveys any good? I do like my Peavey Bass amp... maybe something like this http://www.guitarcenter.com/Peavey-Envoy-1...333-i1167403.gc

[jdouglas]

I'm not a fan of line 6 at all.

 

If you are looking at a peavey, get a used classic 30 tube amp for 350, or a fender blues jr. Those are the best inexpensive tube amps, imo.

 

For under 200 solid state with effects, go with a roland cube30, the vox, or a marshall dfx50. For 300 you can score a used JC120 chorus. sweet.

 

 

[rushbass]

QUOTE (jdouglas @ Mar 6 2009, 05:59 PM)

For 300 you can score a used JC120 chorus. sweet.

I've always been partial to the Roland Jazz Chorus 120... that definitely will be my choice, once I finally get a guitar rig.

[1-0-0-1-0-0-1]

QUOTE (WCFIELDS @ Mar 3 2009, 05:57 PM)

I tried out a Crate V30 Head a few months back because it was ridiculously cheap (like $219)......man did it sould like shit. I ran it through my Marshall cab and it honestly sounded like there was a blanket over the cabinet. It sounded like supreme shit (especially on the gain channel).........

A while back I tried the Crate V50 combo and thought it sounded okay for the money. I figured it wasn't bad for someone looking for a relatively inexpensive tube amp with on-board effects. Since then I've heard about how NOT durable they are, so I can't recommend them now.

[WCFIELDS]

QUOTE (mfratt @ Mar 3 2009, 08:59 PM)

The Marshalls are real nice from what I can tell, but I've heard that you really need pedals for them if you want more than a clean tone.

Which "Marshalls" are you referring to? Are you talking about their bottom line series?

[WCFIELDS]

QUOTE (jdouglas @ Mar 6 2009, 05:59 PM)

I'm not a fan of line 6 at all. If you are looking at a peavey, get a used classic 30 tube amp for 350, or a fender blues jr.  Those are the best inexpensive tube amps, imo. For under 200 solid state with effects, go with a roland cube30, the vox, or a marshall dfx50.  For 300 you can score a used JC120 chorus. sweet.

I'm really not either (besides my DL4, I love that).......but for someone on an extreme budget, the Spider II series amps aren't that bad........they even come loaded with onboard effects for anyone who may have a use for that........

 

Edit - Yes, the Classic 30 is a great tube amp for the price.....I've tried one and thought it actually sounded pretty good.........

Edited March 8, 2009 by WCFIELDS

[1-0-0-1-0-0-1]

QUOTE (WCFIELDS @ Mar 8 2009, 12:27 AM)

QUOTE (mfratt @ Mar 3 2009, 08:59 PM) The Marshalls are real nice from what I can tell, but I've heard that you really need pedals for them if you want more than a clean tone. Which "Marshalls" are you referring to? Are you talking about their bottom line series? Yeah, due respect to any Marshall MG series owners out there, but the quality of those solid state amps is nowhere near their higher end tube amps. Fine for a beginner but not for an intermediate who knows how to play and is looking to get serious with their equipment. A Marshall is not always a "Marshall."

[WCFIELDS]

QUOTE (1-0-0-1-0-0-1 @ Mar 7 2009, 11:40 PM)

QUOTE (WCFIELDS @ Mar 8 2009, 12:27 AM) QUOTE (mfratt @ Mar 3 2009, 08:59 PM) The Marshalls are real nice from what I can tell, but I've heard that you really need pedals for them if you want more than a clean tone. Which "Marshalls" are you referring to? Are you talking about their bottom line series? Yeah, due respect to any Marshall MG series owners out there, but the quality of those solid state amps is nowhere near their higher end tube amps. Fine for a beginner but not for an intermediate who knows how to play and is looking to get serious with their equipment. A Marshall is not always a "Marshall." Have you ever plugged into an MG? Just wondering if they really sound that bad........

[jdouglas]

I had the Marshall MG15 (with the 8" park speaker) and it was great for the bedroom, but also had a MG30 (with 10" non-park series speaker) and it was awful. So I bought an upgraded speaker and it sounded ok for what it is.

 

On both the gains are bad, but the cleans are ok IMO. Traded both. My other guitarist has a JCM800 stack, and yeah the MG series ain't that. Depends on your use / needs.

 

My bassist got a 2x12 tube crate, replaced the tubes, and it's not bad for $200 (plus cost of better tubes). It does dirty better than a regular solid state.

 

1001, There is a guy in Brooklyn with a Roland JC-77 (two 10' speaker little brother of the JC-120 for $150). If I was still in NYC I would jump all over that! He leaves for Germany on Wednesday, check CL New York.

Heck, you can buy it, use it for free for a few months, then I'll buy it off you next time i'm in NYC. A bedroom jazz chorus...yes!

Edited March 9, 2009 by jdouglas

[1-0-0-1-0-0-1]

QUOTE (jdouglas @ Mar 9 2009, 12:19 AM)

I had the Marshall MG15 (with the 8" park speaker) and it was great for the bedroom, but also had a MG30 (with 10" non-park series speaker) and it was awful. So I bought an upgraded speaker and it sounded ok for what it is.  On both the gains are bad, but the cleans are ok IMO.  Traded both. My other guitarist has a JCM800 stack, and yeah the MG series ain't that.  Depends on your use / needs. My bassist got a 2x12 tube crate, replaced the tubes, and it's not bad for $200 (plus cost of better tubes).  It does dirty better than a regular solid state. 1001, There is a guy in Brooklyn with a Roland JC-77 (two 10' speaker little brother of the JC-120 for $150).  If I was still in NYC I would jump all over that!  He leaves for Germany on Wednesday, check CL New York.  Heck, you can buy it, use it for free for a few months, then I'll buy it off you next time i'm in NYC.  A bedroom jazz chorus...yes!

I have a couple of 50w Marshall combos (JCM800 and 900) that are fine for bedroom levels and rehearsing and recording. The only drawback on both amps is that the clean channels are not clean enough.

 

The Jazz Chorus has seriously nice cleans, but if I were in the market for a new amp, I would opt for one that has both great cleans and great distortion. The only amps that will give you that are a top shelf tube amp like a Bogner or a good modeling amp like the H&K zenTera.

[1-0-0-1-0-0-1]

QUOTE (WCFIELDS @ Mar 8 2009, 03:27 PM)

QUOTE (1-0-0-1-0-0-1 @ Mar 7 2009, 11:40 PM) QUOTE (WCFIELDS @ Mar 8 2009, 12:27 AM) QUOTE (mfratt @ Mar 3 2009, 08:59 PM) The Marshalls are real nice from what I can tell, but I've heard that you really need pedals for them if you want more than a clean tone. Which "Marshalls" are you referring to? Are you talking about their bottom line series? Yeah, due respect to any Marshall MG series owners out there, but the quality of those solid state amps is nowhere near their higher end tube amps. Fine for a beginner but not for an intermediate who knows how to play and is looking to get serious with their equipment. A Marshall is not always a "Marshall." Have you ever plugged into an MG? Just wondering if they really sound that bad........ Never tried an MG, but I've heard others trying them out in stores. Not good.   I have one of those little Marshall G10 toy amps. You know, about a foot tall with one 8" speaker. I bought it as a goof. The distortion sounds like the worst amp you ever heard, only twice as bad.   I've yet to hear a solid state amp with built in distortion that sounds good. You're much better off with a nice little Fender amp with a good old-school stomp box in front, like a Distortion+ or a Tube Screamer. Or, like jdouglas suggested, a Roland Jazz Chorus with a pedal. Those amps take distortion pedals VERY well.