Guitar amps £300 or less.

[conkerman]

Hi all.

Currently have a Fender Mustang 1 and think it is a pretty nice little bit of kit, but it must have a PC connected to even be able to access half of the amp models. Which is annoying.

I am looking at spending up to £300 or so a nice new amp. Probably going to look at a modelling amp.

I am still pretty much a complete novice, and practice in my living room when the kids are asleep, desirables are.

Reasonably small box.
Headphone socket.
Does not need a PC to make use of most functions.
Must sound decent at low volumes.

My shortlist to try at the weekend is.

Fender mustang III. (not sure I need 100W though, and is quite bulky, but level of control onboard appeals).
Fender Superchamp X2. (No headphone socket)
Blackstar ID 15/30.

Any other suggestions?

[dern]

Have a look at the Yamaha THR range. Sounds like they might suit your needs.

[conkerman]

Couple of bits I forgot to add.

I divvnt dea any slayer* or other metal.

I also have some drums so it would be nice to be able to play along occasionally.

• When Viz was good.

[JaymzDead]

Line 6 Spider IV 75
Marshall MG50CFX
Orange Crush PIX CR35LDX
Peavey Vypyr II VIP 3
Roland Cube-80GX Guitar Amp

Depends if you want to keep the amp modelling capability really. If you don't I'd highly recommend the Orange, until I got my Orange I'd always been a Marshall man but since I got my CR120C I've never looked back. If you want modelling capability, the Peavey takes some beating in the value for money stakes.

[SWoll]

As you don't need or want the extra size/power that comes with more expensive modelling amps have you considered something like this?



Offers all the FX you can think of, loads of amp models and everything footswitchable (including an expression pedal). Just run it through your current amp if you want to use it without headphones.

£219

[BorkFactor]

I had a Line 6 Spider 2 75 for years and years, it was a great amp. Sold it for about £100 last year so you should be able to get a much newer and better one for that money

[Tom_C76]

I know I've mentioned my dislike of modelling amps in the past, but do you really need loads of models if you're noodling around at home? Why not try a nice little valve amp which would do a few things really well?

For home use I love my Laney Cub 12R, it does clean through to rock, and at sensible volumes. If you want to start gigging it will do small pubs too if you upgrade the speaker.

[SWoll]

OP clearly enjoys messing around with FX, amp models etc. so don't see a lot of point in suggesting a valve amp TBH. Horses for courses.

And if I did, I'd suggest he found a few extra £ and got the Blackstar HT5R.

[Mr Kitten]

I had a Line6 Spider (112 I think) and found it was fairly loud for home use.

Have a look at the Roland Cube amps - they're excellent, and the lower wattage ones still sound really good.

[Gaspode]

The Roland cubes are perfectly good enough for home use, and being under the OPs budget, would leave enough change for a Loop pedal- which has got to be the absolute bestest gizmo it is possible to buy for a home noodler.

[SWoll]

Gaspode said:

The Roland cubes are perfectly good enough for home use, and being under the OPs budget, would leave enough change for a Loop pedal- which has got to be the absolute bestest gizmo it is possible to buy for a home noodler.

The cube XL comes with an in built looper I believe so no need to add one.

I still think the OP would be better off using his existing amp and adding a multifx board as above, gives him more options moving forward also.

[Gaspode]

SWoll said:

The cube XL comes with an in built looper I believe so no need to add one.

I still think the OP would be better off using his existing amp and adding a multifx board as above, gives him more options moving forward also.

Not a bad plan, although I confess to having mixed feelings about multifx. Good to hear the XL has a built-in looper, my RX doesn't.

[MGZRod]

I've a 120w line 6 spider III and it's too loud for home use IMO. Great amps though, really perfect for home use (just don't impulse buy a huge one like I did )

[SWoll]

Gaspode said:

Not a bad plan, although I confess to having mixed feelings about multifx. Good to hear the XL has a built-in looper, my RX doesn't.

Not used the Cube myself, just remembered seeing a review on YT (I think it was Chappers and Capt Lee) when the looper was mentioned as an unusual addition in the price range.

I'm very new to guitar myself and TBH still enjoy Multi FX as they allow me to experiment with different effects and layering them together quickly and easily. There will always be the digital issue though, especially with distortion effects.

Perfect setup for me now would be a 1x 12" all valve amp (HT5R, AC4 etc.) and a small collection of pedals (big muff,
etc.) as I've come to realise what tones I like to use most often. Next bonus day maybe...

[conkerman]

I'm going to give my old man the mustang.

My only issue with valve amps is the general lack of headphone output.

I'm pretty happy with the Mustang, soundwise (once I got busy with Fuse).

Lets see tomorrow

[OldSkoolRS]

The Blackstar HT5-R has a headphone output and an MP3 input too if you like. The headphone output has a basic speaker simulation on it with a choice of 1 x 12 or 4 x 12 simulation.

I bought a white HT5-R as it was about £80 less at £280. However, it does have it's own issues: The gain is far too abrupt on the dirty channel so you get either nothing or full on metal saturation. The clean channel doesn't share the EQ/ISF controls of the dirty channel and only has a basic treble roll off 'tone' control.

I've replace the 12AX7 pre amp valve with a lower gain 12AU7 which has given me much better control of the dirty channel, seems a common (and cheap enough) mod. I can now set the gain lower and have a clean tone and use the EQ/ISF controls to get a better clean (or just breaking up) tone using the dirty channel. I've also tried it into a 4 x 12 cabinet and it sounded much richer, so perhaps a better speaker might be worth fitting.

However, I think I might just cut my losses and sell it on and buy a Fender Deluxe Reverb or similar (or maybe just the head). I have enough pedals to get the dirty sound I want, but it's getting a good clean sound that bothers me.

FWIW I also have a modelling amp an older Line 6 Flextone III, but since getting the HT5-R I've hardly played with the Line 6, which maybe says something...

EDIT: PMT are still listing the white version for £279:
http://www.pmtonline.co.uk/blackstar-ht-5r-combo-w...

Edited by OldSkoolRS on Friday 26th September 23:46

[conkerman]

Blackstar ID30 bought. (selected by my 7 yr old )

I was bought the footswith as well.

Happy days..

[Turn7]

conkerman said:

Reasonably small box.
Headphone socket.
Does not need a PC to make use of most functions.
Must sound decent at low volumes.

Ticks all the above

http://www.andertons.co.uk/combo-amps/pid25486/cid...

Loving mine to bits.....