Looking for the best possible lower-cost combo amp for home use and portability.. which is better? The Roland Cube 30 or the Line6 Spider II? Both get great reviews; prices are comparable. I am mostly interested in death and black metal styles, if it matters. Thanks..

I would go for the spider. But I love line 6 stuff. They have good gain if you ask me. I still own a Spider I Wich I use sometimes. Sounds great

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glad you're happy with your spider. how is the low end? i know it is asking a lot to expect some good low end from a combo with 30w\10" but I want some "balls" to it, ya know? try not to compare it to a tube.. i'm saying apples to apples, solid state combos only right now.

by the way, does anyody know of any better amps than these two in the $200-300 range?

CORRECTION: the Spider II has a 12".. i was confused b/c the Cube has a 10"

The low end is good on a spider...I can tell you that. But that's my opinion. Some guys say different. And for any other amps. I know crate makes some good amps. Not sure about the price, but some combo's aren't that expensive.

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well i was leaning toward the cube, but between your feedback and the fact that the spider has a larger speaker, the spider II is sounding awfully tempting.

I would just go to the shop and try them both out. See what you like. And listen here to what other people have to say as well. To buy a spider just because I like them wouldn't be a smart idea.

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What size and kind are the combo speakers?

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oh man, no contest. cube all the way.

personally.. i find the spiders are very cold and harsh.. the lows are muddy and rumbly... even the highest gain settings with the gain maxed out still isnt "insane". they also seem to have a really scooped voicing. to me it's korn in a box.

my cousin has an origional spider 1x12 50w... i hate it. it doesnt matter to him.. he doesnt really play guitar much. it's just kinda there.

one of my old bands guitarist had bought a spider II 2x12... i hated it, i actually made him take it back. the tones were even shittier imo than the origional spiders and the volume/projection couldnt cut it in the band environment..

the cubes... imo are much tighter sounding and more flexible. not to mention the fx quality on the spiders are a joke. you could get the same results from mini dan electro pedalboard.

if you don't need the fx.. i say try a crate or randall. maybe even a tech 21 if you're a lucky one.

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i don't care about the fx.. they just happen to be there. what i want is the ballsiest combo amp with the most low-end grrr for $200-300 at most.
i have not ruled out the cube.. i'm not going to decide based upon a couple of replies, but i do appreciate the input. how do you think that modeling is on the cube? i don't care about them sounding exactly like the real shit, i just wanna know if people tend to use them or just try them once and forget them. should the fact that the spider has a larger driver matter? i am not able to find any frequency response specs.

Roland Cube 30: 10" unspecified

Line6 Spider II: 12" Celestion

both amps are 30w

well, if you don't need fx... and you want good tone... tech 21 trademark 10

10w and an 8" speaker. and it sounds really nice. all analog baby.as far as volume goes.. 10w with an 8" speaker isnt going to be much quieter than a 30w 1x12 really. and if all you need it for is just a little at home amp(which you must if you're considering the amps you mentioned) it's perfect. a few great sounds instead of a dozen+ worthless ones you'd get from spider.

it's also got speaker emulations and shit so you can run it into a PA or computer direct without sounding like trash..

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I need to upgrade from a basic 15w\8" Fender amp. Even if the Tech21 is a much higher quality amp than the Fender, are lower wattage and the same size driver going to make much difference on the bottom end? I am not lookin for something to cut razorsharp solos through.. if anything I would like a deeper, more sludgy sound suitable for maybe grindcore or doom metal (goatsnake, cathedral sound.. not opeth). I don't expect to sound like SUNN O))), after all it's a combo amp, but more rumble would be nice.

Forget I said anything about black metal, which I like to try to play, but it seems like those lo-fi treble rhythms can be played on anything. For the purposes of this amp, I need more bottom-end.

I understand the need for bottom end, but with any guitar amplifier pushing no more than 30 watts ( and very little headroom, notwithstanding )through a single 10 inch speaker, due to simply the wattage being handled and the amount of air being moved --- the equipment is going to have a very hard time living up to your expectations.

I understand what you're saying, man. And i hope your basic technical explanation wasn't meant to condescend me.. but the theme here is the best bottom-end for this class of amps.

"Looking for the best possible lower-cost combo amp for home use and portability.. "

"what i want is the ballsiest combo amp with the most low-end grrr for $200-300 at most."

"I don't expect to sound like SUNN O))), after all it's a combo amp, but more rumble would be nice."

Thanks for the input.. unless it was a shot.

Oh no, I did'nt mean that in any spite at all. I'm sorry it came across as that way ...

No need to apologize. Sorry for being on the defensive on that one.. you see I always perceive comments a little more sarcastic since my (minimal) experience with forums has been that they tend to be full of snobs and armchair bullies.. but this one's been good so far, plus informative.

well, the spiders have rumble that's for sure... whether or not that's good.. i dunno.. i don't like it.

my buddy has a little 18w 10" kramer combo.. sounds pretty tough and has balls. i was suprised how good it sounded.. i used it for a preamp for a week or two when i was waiting for my triple giant... just plugged the line out into the poweramp... didn't sound to bad.

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man i made the same thread ages ago...exact same thread, but whatever

i say go for the roland cube...my god it kicks so much ass, i was speaking to the guitar tech at my local guitar shop and he was telling me that the sounds of the line 6 spiders are so strerile and that the only reason people buy it is because mick from slipknot made a video with it (im not saying thats why you want it).

he showed me the cube, let me try it out, and fucking hell it kicked the shit outta the spider....trust me on that.
the roland has a mesa boogie rectifier modeling mode and a metal stack modeling mode (which is based upon the peavey 5150) and it has loadsa other different modes.
the fx's are better aswell, like 10x better.
connectability is cool aswell.

even tho the cube 30 has got a 10" speaker, its still fucking LOUD. easily as loud as the spider, their probably about equal on volume. and you get the bonus point of it being easier to move around.

at the end of the day its up to you, i would go for the roland...

btw, i dont work for roland .
i, like you, was all up for the spider II originally, but then came the cube and i then sided with that imidiately.

heres the site:

http://www.roland.com/products/en/CUBE-30/

heh no kidding.. if anything that is a reason I would *not* buy the Spider.. but seriously, I think you are the third person to assume that I am about the get the Spider. I began this thread more interested in the Cube, and I am pretty much back where began. More people here respect the Cube, though the reviews out there seem pretty balanced. The Cube's modeling is considered a good feature, while the Spider's fx are considered shit.. so thats one up for the Cube. xDx swears the Cube has better tone, which is great, BUT the one thing keeping me slightly interested in the Spider is the fact that only non-metallers seem displeased with it.. therefore, if the sound of the Spider pisses off conventional rock and blues players, it might mean that it just sounds too evil all around, which is a possible point for the Spider in my book. In the end, I think it's gonna be the Cube. . thanx

i went to the virgin instrument store 2day, and i had both the roland cube and the spider with me. and i was comparing them and the cube has a much better distortion. but both of em didnt sound as good as they could do because i was using a shitty epihpone les paul.

well, i am definitely a "metaller" and i fully despise the Spider. the tones shouldnt even be considered tones at all

Line 6 makes a few decent amps... the Spider series isnt one of them

cube all the way, i have a mini cube and it sounds great, the effects are cool to, and its all in one tight package smaller than a computer monitor. And it can get pretty loud. I dont like the spiders that much, MicroCbue is the best practice amp ever IMO so much you can do with it.

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I guess I'm one of the few who likes the spider then The original one. The spider II is actually the same. Only with more useless modeling amps.
And somehow I think the distortion on the original spider sounds a bit better. But that could only be me.

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