Yeah, I've been aiming for a Cube 30 but I recently heard about the MG30 from Marshall. They both deliver the same wattage, but Marshall's is like 40 bucks more, and has more knobs to fuck around with... So yeah, I don't know much about it. Which would be a better buy? Should I shell the extra 40/50$ for something with the shiny Marshall name on it? Any help is greatly appreciated.

I already saw this thread, but no comments on which was better between these two:
http://metaltabs.com/forum/showthre...arshall+MG30DFX

Reread that thread.. you'll find your answer in the first five post.

__________________

Everyone sais either the Cube or the MG30... I need to narrow it down to one, you know.

I can't find any audio samples for the Marshall... I trust that they make kickass amps, but I've never tried one, and only have been able to hear the Cube's audio samples.

Basically get the Cube if you have to choose a solid state combo. MG30DFX's aren't worth the plywood their built from.

to sumerise:

get the fucking cube

i dunno... i got a MG15 dfx... and it sounds way better than my friends cube. volume is better... sound is clearer... but its quite pricey... somthing like 300-400?

__________________

dude, your freind got ripped! its such a shit amp!

you paid $300-400 for a mg15dfx???

musician's friend sells them for like $170.

__________________

im in canadia (exchange rate)... and it was a year ago... didnt know ANYTHING back then... so poo on you

(edit add)
and actually... i think i lied... all i know is i got a ibanez rg370dx and a marshall mg15dfx for around 700$, both fresh out of the box. *shrug* you do the math...

__________________

ive played thru the mg10, mg15, mg30, mg100 and the mg100h, there all pretty shit.

ive herd good things bout the cube tho.

__________________

Why can't you just buy a used Peavey classic 30? good tone, cheap prices

Marshall MG's suck the big one.

i have a feeling a classic 30 isnt the kind of amp he's looking into. this is www.metaltabs.com so i'd bet money he's looking for something, metal.

and to get a peavey classic 30 into metal territory you'd need a boost pedal.

don't get me wrong, i agree that ultimately it's a better amp. but not for what he want's. he's looking into a practice amp that sounds great.. a classic 30 isnt exaclty that. it's a tube amp.

__________________

I don't know if these amps have been mentioned yet, but if not then here :

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7...ase_pid/480205/

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7...ase_pid/487780/

The Trademark amp seems too pricey... $250 for a 10W? :/

The Crate XT65R 65W Combo looks appealing. 65W seems hefty, and I know Crate amps are used by Cannibal Corpse and some other DM bands, but I have no idea what tone this specific amp has.

xdislexicx, what would you say about the Crate amp? Should I stick with the Roland Cube or pop an extra $20 for slightly over twice the wattage? I'm asking you since you seem to have tried every amp in existence.

I'm just looking for the one with the best sound and tone for metal but also be able to get some decent cleans(but it's not really a priority), and the more features and wattage the better.

The Trademark amp is only ten watts, yes, but Tech 21 is in a league entirely of their own regarding solid-state amplification. Those things are loud. Cannibal Corpse have used Crates, even the solid-state ones of old ( I believe ). Basically run it by xdx and have his opinion : He always has a good one.

While searching for the Crate XT65R at Music123.com, I found the Crate GT65, both amps look similar but they're different: http://www.music123.com/Crate-GT65-i114105.music

If Crate is the best way to go, which of these two is the best? GT65 or XT65R? Damn, that was a great reccomendation, Holland... same price range, twice the watts, a brand that I've heard of, nice reviews, etc. Thanks for the help.

Edit: Wow, I've read up a bit on the Crate GT65 and I'm really starting to like it more. If xdislexic hasn't mentioned it before, either it's crap or he forgot about it, but I trust in his knowledge.

I think I've heard xdx say that these are good amplifiers, for the price, as intended for home practice/beginners. But I'm not going to say for sure what he said, since I know he hates being misquoted

I've played that exact 65 watt crate myself and was very surprised at how well it performed as a stay-at-home solid state practice amp. For someone starting out, it is inexpensive and if you ever do want to crank it just for the hell of it, you can have a bit of fun. And as far as a "metal" sound goes, it will do that. All in all its a great amplifier to hold you over until you can get your pro-level half-stack

EDIT : The only difference that I can see between the older GT65 and the XT65R is just how old the GT is. The XT is an updated version of the GT, I suppose. But the price is the same, have to think about that. The all knowing oracle known as xdx can tell you for sure.

I think that when xdx is talking about crate amps.. he's talking about the blue voodoo tube amps..

I might be wrong but I haven't heard a single word from him about crates practise amps

the tech 21 trademark... awesome. for s.s. tech 21 is hard to beat. don't let wattage fool you. besides, you're just looking for a bedroom jam amp right? 10w can be loud enough to piss the people in the next room off in the middle of the night.

the crates... i'm a fan of all the tube crates, and some of the older s.s. stuff like the g1600xl and the gx130c(jack owens from cannibal corpse used to use this head back in the day). the new stuff however is hit or miss. nothing really wows me. but then again, we're just talking about affordable s.s. combo amps. not serious rigs right? so that shouldnt matter too much.

though having said that. i'd like to point out that you can purchase a used 60w 1x12 crate blue voodoo for about $200-300.

why not look at a randall combo? if you like tight metal grind built into the amp, randalls have it. it's not a hotroded tube amp, but those things have some bite. my friend has the 200w 2x12. it's pretty loud, and has some serious distortion on it. very tight and not muddy.

don't you have a guitarcenter near by that you can go jam on some amps at?

__________________

I totally forgot about that.

Randalls are great too : My co-guitarist runs a Randall RG200 2x12 combo into a Peavey 5150 cab --- sounds great, especially considering that he paid no more than 600$ total for his entire amplifier rig.

If I had an instrument shop nearby, I'd be bugging the fuck out of them every day. :P

I understand that it isn't all about wattage, but I don't think 10W could cut it for rehearsals with a drummer right? (I've recently met an amateur drummer and we'll be getting together over the summer to play some stuff). I checked out the sounds samples for the Trademark 10, damn did it sound nice, but I feel like I'd be getting a much better deal with the Cube 30.

I also don't plan on upgrading to a better rig for a long time, so I want something powerful that will last me a while.

I took a look at some Randall amps... I only found a sound demo for the 75W combo, it has a pretty neat sound -not as much gain as I was hoping for(not too many sound demos)- but the amp is $300, not in my price range.

I also took a look at the Randall RX20D(20W) and VMX30(30W), and strangely the 30W combo was cheaper. But I can spend a little more than $175, and the Randall 75W wasn't very convincing.

The Crate GT65($250) has a built-in Flexwave preamp, 3 different channels with lots of knobs, and includes a footswitch... just thought I'd mention that.

So I'm not convinced by the Randalls, not my kind of sound, but I really appreciate the suggestion. I'm comparing the Cube 30 and the Crate GT65. I can't find any sound samples for the Crate, maybe I'll make a thread to ask people's opinion for it since not many people that own/have used one will take a look at this thread, except for people who have tried out lots of amps.

guess that means you have to buy this one!

lots of shiny knobs...

__________________

Indeed. :P I think I've made it clear enough that I don't know crap. If it has more settings to play around with, that's cool, because I don't want to be limited to only a few sounds. Wouldn't you say?

So it lies between the Crate and Cube, but any other suggestions are highly welcomed and appreciated. I think I'll go make a thread to ask about the amp.

volume and headroom, the crate is going to have some edge over the cube... but fx quality, the cube owns the crate.

i'd say their distortions are equally "ok".

*cough*buy used*cough*

__________________

Which one do you think will last longer?

Does the Crate sound muffled or fuzzy compared to the Cube or does it sound clearer?

Depending on your response I think I'm going to go with the Crate, hate to not follow your words of wisdom, but it's much more powerful, is about the same price, has more knobs :P, and you said that they both have pretty much the same distortion. Now it's all a matter of if it sounds fuzzy/muffled and if it will last long. Crate does hook you up with a 5 year warranty though...

... if the Cube is the type of amp that lasts forever I might not push it out of the picture yet. I really appreciate your help, thanks.

Edit: I also don't know which one has more gain, but I assume it's the Crate.

I'm so stunned by the tone of the cube at bedroom levels.. but it hasn't got more than one usuable metal modelling, and even if you're tweaking the EQ and presence controls, the tone won't change much so you will be kind of limited to one very kickass sound..

note that this kickass sound is only kickass for bedroom levels, and I haven't found another amp which I thought sounded better for bedroom / home use..


you said you won't be getting anything for a while.. if that's the case.. I think you should save up a month or two for an amp that can do reharsals and gigs without sounding crap, because I think you will be able to do that.. right?

...line 6 it is...those spider knobs made me blind ...