opranks612 Posted March 15, 2004 Report Share Posted March 15, 2004 I've been playing my dad's acoustic for a while, while saving up for an electric. I finally got the electric (a very nice one. I can't remember the brand right now but it's a $600 humbucker-single coil-humbucker with licensed floyd rose trem and grover locking tuners that I got for $300 because no one bought it after a few months), but I still need to get an amp. I'm willing to spend up to around $200 for a good one, maybe even a little more if it's worth it. I want an amp that has distortion that works well for metal type music, has a headphone jack, and maybe a few programmed in effects but that's not a must have. Also, I'd like something that can get decently loud (from what I can determine, probably somewhere between 15 and 30 watts). Does anyone have any recommendations on what I should look at? Is there any one definitive amp in your opinion that just blows all away for the price range? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Brown Posted March 15, 2004 Report Share Posted March 15, 2004 Well... I wouldn't look at fenders for that price...cause their low ends are kinda cheapies... Although, I'd hate to say it...my first amp was a Peavey Rage, and it did me wonders...it was only 15 watts, but you can hear it over the drums... Mind you..if I had to do it all over again, I would find something second hand, that was louder and had more natural distortion... (ps. I don't know if it is possible to go wrong with Marshall... although I haven't really heard their lower end stuff) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarMaestro Posted March 15, 2004 Report Share Posted March 15, 2004 You won't get a really good amp for $200....not even second hand. Either you settle with an bad to ok amp or you invest more money. If you want something that sounds good and has a headphone jack, then buy the Line6 POD. It sounds quite good for the money. It is no complete amp though, but it has a line-out with speaker simulation so you will be able to play it over your stereo or a good set of headphones. Another option would be a cheap Peavey, Fender or Marshall transistor combo. They sound ok if you take some time to find a good model and they should go arround $200-$300 second hand. HTH, Marcel Knapp! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyG Posted March 15, 2004 Report Share Posted March 15, 2004 for someone looking to buy a first time amp i would heartilly recomend the marshal MG series. if have the MG15DFX and its fairllyloud, has the headphone jack as well as clean/distortion channels and also has reverb, delay, chorus and flange built into it. the distortion on it is ok tho you may want to fork out a little bit of extra cash to get a distortion pedal of some sort Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opranks612 Posted March 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2004 Yeah, I'm definitely not going for a top of the line or anything. There's not much I can afford as a student, so around $200 is probably as good as I can go. I just want something decent that will be able to get me through college, and if I'm still playing by then I'll get a really good one. Oh, and by the way. Anyone have some links to the products you were talking about? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opranks612 Posted March 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2004 Update: Just calculated my income/expenses again It appears that if I really pench my pennies, I'll be able to have $330 for an amp, or if I wait 2 more weeks (which I might if it gets me a much better amp) $400 What are some good amps in this price range? Or at least what can I expect from the average amp for this amount? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
syxxstring Posted March 15, 2004 Report Share Posted March 15, 2004 You might be able to find a mesa subway series in the 400 range. They are great amps, all tube and all mesa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opranks612 Posted March 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2004 I've heard tube amps are generally better for metal. Is this true? Also, what model do you think I could afford? From what I can see they don't sell online. And I don't have any guitar shops around here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biblical Posted March 15, 2004 Report Share Posted March 15, 2004 its a two way arguement, either you get an transistor amp with loads of distortion (which i think gets lost in the bass frequencys) or a valve which distorts real nicely and has a defined sound if i were you id go for a jcm800(valve) like many of the metal players use 2nd hand these go quite cheap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted March 15, 2004 Report Share Posted March 15, 2004 go to guitar center and check out what they have in the price range...the randall amps are quite savage for the price.also the mg series jonnyg mentioned are really good for the price.my wife has an mg250dfx,it has 2 speakers(closed back),50 watts,and a ton of built in effects.best beginner bang for the buck imo. and if you stick with it and get good you can upgrade to a mode 4 or a jcm800(which,as biblical says,rocks) later on. having said that i will now move it to the proper spot as far as tube vs solid state...solid state can sound quite good,but will not have the extra presence that the tube amp does Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarMaestro Posted March 16, 2004 Report Share Posted March 16, 2004 I was quite the transistor fan as I started playing, but I soon discovered that there is NO transistor amp giving you that nice and full and smooth distortion like a really good tube amp like the 5150 or Mesa's high end stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whisky182 Posted March 16, 2004 Report Share Posted March 16, 2004 the mg series jonnyg mentioned are really good the mg series rule, i'd recomend them to anyone, the're cheap, loud (for the prices) reliable, and most importantly, they sound great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted March 17, 2004 Report Share Posted March 17, 2004 the mg series jonnyg mentioned are really good the mg series rule, i'd recomend them to anyone, the're cheap, loud (for the prices) reliable, and most importantly, they sound great! compared to a good amp,they sound quite inferior,but compared to others of the same price range,they are quite good. i love my mode 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsera Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 Behringer make nice amps for cheap so try em out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hezochiah Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 I have a Line 6 Spider 2 1x12 that I like a lot. It does have a headphone jack which is nice when you live in a townhouse and don't get home from work 'til midnight. They have 75 watts, 12 different amp "models" (11 if you don't count the one very useless one) and some decent effects. This won't win the best amp in the world award, but it kicks ass for $300. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wylde1919 Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 I have a Line 6 Spider 2 1x12 that I like a lot. It does have a headphone jack which is nice when you live in a townhouse and don't get home from work 'til midnight. They have 75 watts, 12 different amp "models" (11 if you don't count the one very useless one) and some decent effects. This won't win the best amp in the world award, but it kicks ass for $300. well said, its versatile enough to keep you twisting your sound around as you grow as an electric player as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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