Hi, I'm currently stuck with a cheap 15w practice amp. So im planning to buy a new amp, but I've got 4 options and I have no idea which one would be the best value.

1) Roland Cube 15/30

2) Laney LX20D

3) Line 6 Spider 2 HD75/150 head

4) Line 6 Spider 2 30w

I've recently been offered a second hand HD150 spider 2 head for the same price as a Spider 30w amp, but In don't know much about these amps so any help would be appreciated.

Well, I'd say a better way of looking at it would be to state your budget and then let us recommend something. I'd say that apart from the Line 6 head none of those will be a marked improvement on what you already have. What kind of stuff are you looking to play? If you bought the head then you also have to budget for a cab to pair it with. I'm guessing we're looking at about $150 budget right? I'd always recommend eBay-ing it and getting something used but a lot better.

I can absolutely guarrentee you those are all absolute garbage. What kind of money do you have to spend? These might be useable for a total beginner but for a 2nd amp they're really not substantially better than whatever amp you may have. Let me know your budget and I'll toss some candidates at you. Also let us know if you plan on using it with a band or just at home.

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Yeah, I will only be using this amp at home for personal use and don't want to spend anymore than $150-200. The amp i got atm is one that i got bundled with my old guitar so it isn't very nice at all.

My old amp was a Cube 30, the rectifier setting has a very nice sound to it (fucking brutal). I can't testify for the other amps though.

I think I've played all of those(different Laney LX model though), and was really not impressed. Buy this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/AMPEG-Guitar-Am...1QQcmdZViewItem

Or if you'd rather not go with ebay, these:
http://www.musicgoround.com/gear/in...s.asp?id=509074 (buy this one)
http://www.musicgoround.com/gear/in...s.asp?id=447032 (a bit more expensive)

or this one: http://www.musicgoround.com/gear/in...s.asp?id=495286
but I really suggest the ebay auction or the SS-70C 2x10 combo.

1000000000000000000 times better than any of those amps. Listen to me and do yourself a favor, don't buy into the Laney SS's, Line 6, or Cube series amps. You won't regret buying any of the amps I mentioned. The Ampegs = all good tone, no digital/modeling bullshit, and they're extremely reliable. Won't crap out after a few years like those other amps.

And yes they'll put off brutal sounds very well.

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Well - here'm my take:

Roland Cube XX: Sounds like somewhat of a kid trapped inside a cage, like a KICKASS amp but it's trapped in something and it's no way of getting all that bottled up kickass-ness out. It feels like it has so much potential but there's no way to make use of it. I don't think i can explain it better than that, if you've owed one you'll know what i mean.

Spider series: Hmm, not sure, feels like playing a computer, i haven't owned one myself but my friend has had one for some time and I hve played that alot. Thought it had a good chug and a thick type of gain, but there's something that feels very very wrong when playing - it like it's no interaction between you, the guitar and the amp. It had TOO much gain - when you turn it down it just kils all sustain and fluidness and when turned up it's typically overgained sounding. No clarity.. Plus, it feels like playing a synthesizer with a "heavy metal" soundbank.

Never tried the Laney you mentioned.

As for Soeru's suggestion: Go with it. They kick an imane amount of ass. Cristal tone at frexinet price. Thick, chunky, and agressive voicing, and from googling they should have an incredible clean sound too.

wth u can play on the line 6 head w/o any speakers, sounds good too. get tht imo

Play a head without any speakers?
Ive never heard of such thing..i know you can play it with headphones...
deathmasta hate to say it, but i think you may be very wrong.
Any solid state laney will not give you any huge gain boosts, or anything at that..i hate laney anyway, who uses them? Mastodon? exactly.
For the Line 6's, they are very digital, but in all honestly, for the price that they go for they are incredibly nice. Only thing you have to watch out for is the service on them, you cant really replace anything, you needa send it away for a technician to work on it...neverthe less, if you are playing guitar now, you'll eventually wanna get in a band, and will evenentually need a head, i say go for it if you have a pair of headphones.
The roland has a couple neat settings you can play with, for a starter amp it is decent, especially since it has actuall distortion compared to your starter amp.
all in all, for the buget you have, take the line6, if not, go for the ampeg.

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ok... if i must

http://www.line6.com/store/hardware.html?modelID=6

look at the image of it. It clearly has speakers in it. It's a powerhouse on its own

you're dumb.
Laney makes amazing amps, and theres no way you can make an SS sound as good as you want it, so dont jump all over Laney. And if you think SS cant get big gain boosts, you SERIOUSLY need to get out more.
Line6, you dont have to mail them away if you buy them from an AUTHORIZED DEALER. When it breaks, you bring it there, they test it, and ALL repairs on line6's can be done with COMPUTER REPAIR SUPPLIES. You can get everything you need at a fucking Radio Shack.

In all honesty, start with small gear and upgrade ONLY IF you ever actually get into a band. Not everybody who plays guitar does it so they can wank off on an album with 4 others, some liek to do it by theirself, just look at steve vai.

One thing i MUST say with the HD is that it sounds 10x better through the cab than headphones. I have a pair of shure e4c headphones (very nice), and it just sounds like crap. The cab is voiced for the head so its probably the best thing you can plug it into... which also explains why my marshall sounds like shit through it

Now, all that said, if you're guna get a spider, get a small one unless you really need an amp fast for a gig with only a small amount of money. Theyre fun for practice...

Anyways, if you really want the HD, i have one for sale fairly cheap.


EDIT: added
YAY IM A POST WHORE

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ok im confused now, is deathmasta telling the truth about being able to use the Line 6 HD without a cab??

and thanks for the commecnts every1 - im pretty sure Ill be getting the ampeg

is deathmasta telling the truth about being able to hear on the line 6 head without a cab??

And thx for the comments everyone - Im pretty sure I'll be getting the ampeg.

Edit: Sorry for the two posts, seemed as though my first post wasn't going through

You won't hear it unless you use headphones in the headphone jack it has, but it's a crappy head man, don't grab it.

You're welcome, the Ampeg will fit the bill, there are no SS combos out there for over twice as much that sound as good as the old Ampeg's these days.

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I hate to tell you this but there are no speakers in that

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Yeah, the Ampeg isn't a bad choice.

However theres so many decent Marshalls out there - Consider the MArshall Mini Stack (15w), I used to use one, produced sound like a dream, probably as good as the ampeg, if not better (looks pretty pro too)

Also don't forget the Peavey Bandit 112, AMAZING value, maybe not as good as the ampeg but you can find it cheaper

If you're feeling hungry for the brutal sound, you should try a Marshall MG30DFX (digital effects - awesome) or possibly a G80R. They wont disappoint you if u want to play anything metal and wont sound bad clean either. \M/

---Oh and about the Line 6 head, I was thinking about a diff amp

MG is very un brootal. I have one, all my friends have one... the heaviest i've heard it get is when it mimics a laney protube head. (try listening to the band The Sword or Sleep if you want the tone). Its rockin... but not brutal. The effects are knob based... so you haev to drop everything and turn the knob to get them to stop. The spider can infact get pretty brutal sounding, get a nice REALLY high gain sound (on the metal and insane settings), but its very synthetic and its definately not for everybody. It also has all of the MG's effects plus some more, which if you program the channels and get the footswitch, you can have fx on and off depending on channel. Perfect for industrial imo.

the Ampeg will outdo any of these.

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Hmm, well I havnt got a MG but ive heard stuff about them.

Anyway, if you want value, get the Ampeg - but seriously, you might as well just pay a little xtra and get the Marshall 15w ministack - Sounds like a full on stack, throw in some fx pedals and you wont regret paying a little more .

omg LOL, i asked one of my friends if theyd be willing to sell their Microstack and they will LOL(and for the same price as the ampeg), do yourself a favour, grab a bargain. PM me if you're interested.

remember the MG has 10" speakers...

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yeah, has 10" speakers which aren't exactly huge, but hey, its got 2 and it is a STACK - I've once played with one, felt as if I was on tour lol. Chances are you're not after volume, if you want good sound Marshall will never fail. As I was saying, I can offer you one, my friend will probably miss it but hes bought another amp with a slightly higher budget.

A Marshall micro stack is a piece of shit. It's a 2x10 put into vertical position....one that sounds like shit that is......Best small, portable amps for the price are the Cube series, especially the new X series or whatever they're called.

No offence but that MG 'stack' is a piece of shit. The Ampeg would absolutely kill it in every department, not even in the same league. I seriously doubt that a 15w (even if it has 2 speakers...) would be able to keep up in a band situation. My bandmate has a MG100 head and cab and that struggles..no shit. So that means if he ever wanted to play with a drummer etc he would have to change amps again.

Yeah fuck the MG's. They're particle board Chinese made pieces of shit with a plastic Marshall logo on em, which constitutes 90% of the price.

The Ampegs = oldschool USA-made reliable amps that are simply unsurpassable in the solid state territory. It'll slay any SS combo you can find new in stores these days, they just don't make em like they used to now.

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Totally agree, I've been playing 12 years and had numerous bits of decent gear and I'd still love an old Ampeg. If you can find one grab it and hold on to it, they are getting rarer and more prized each year.

Word, I'm seriously gassing for an old SS-70C 2x8" combo, 70 watts stereo, like a mini version of the SS-140C/VH-140C, which is exactly what I need: kickass tone, portability, and enough headroom for jamming with a drummer. I'm tired of putting off playing with a drummer cuz I don't have a portable amp.

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I enjoy the clean's on the mg's. I havent tried all of them, but i have the mg200, but i didnt get it for the distortion.
But deathmasta, the MINI stack is not like playing a stack, it in fact, is like playing a smaller version of a stack...some sort of..smaller..MINI version of a stack, ah well.
I've never used an ampeg, i never actually relied on a built-in distortion, i've seen a bunch for really cheap...do they have any non-bass stacks?

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You peaked my interest, what amp is it that you speak of?

I've played an MG 2x12 combo. Sounded good at low volumes, but it definately gave the impression that if you crank the thing to a band volume it's not going to cut through very well. It got thinner sounding as you cranked it, and the EQ became less and less responsive...

The Ampeg's/any good amp are all about built-in distortion. Don't buy one if you're just gonna pedal the thing, get a crappy amp for that.

Yes Ampeg made guitar stacks. Both tube and SS. A ton of tube heads for guitars like the SVT, V-4, other 70's heads that obviously wont do metal on their own given their age.

Then the legendary VH140C head and it's predecessor SS-140C head and SS-70C head(all of these come as combos in different sizes too).

And then there's the Lee Jackson-designed series, the VL, like the VL-501/502(50 watt tube heads), VL-503(70W ish tube oversized 1x12 combo), and the VL-1002/1001(100W tube heads). All had built in attenuators, an ASSLOAD of gain, lots of tubes(including one for the FX loop), and other features. Very complete amps, and sell for relatively cheap on ebay (400-600 bucks). Awesome Marshall with an extra set of testicles sound, too bad they're discontinued. I'm bent on owning one of these at some point. Erik Rutan used them for most of his leads on the Morbid Angel records.

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The one that doenst make him look like a retard

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I can vouch for the Ampegs as well... I've got an SS-140c head with the matching 4x12 with whatever Celestions it came with, and it pretty much does whatever I want. Gets an awesome brutal death metal tone, really beautiful cleans, and built well/reliable...very happy with it and don't see myself amp shopping again for a long time. Total set up footswitch and all cost me 500 US dollars. I even was thinking of hunting down an SS-70 myself for a practice amp here at home. Then again...tone is subjective and I'd recommend listening to one or trying one first as some people arent fans.

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