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Guitar amp for for my daughter

#23
oerk said:
Check out the Roland Cubes. They sound amazing for the money and are much louder than their wattage implies. A used Cube 60 would do the trick nicely, though the new 40XL is probably enough.

Other contenders would be one of the newer Vox combos or a used Line6 Flextone.
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I have a Roland Cube 60, and it would be ideal for her situation. It's durable, relatively inexpensive, and sounds great as long as you don't expect it to match a good tube amp. The clean tone is especially good. In my last band, one of our guitarists used it for several gigs at clubs in Philly and NYC, and it was excellent on stage. In my current band, the lead guitarist normally uses a Fender Pro Reverb, but for recording used my Cube on one track for a particular tone he couldn't get with his amp. The newer Cube 80 is even better, with a cool looping feature.

The newer Vox Valvetronix combos are excellent too. A friend of mine has the 30 watter, and it sounds heavenly with his old Hohner hollowbody.
 
#29
I'd by wary of buying a 14 year old guitarist a 30+ watt amp, just because of the damage it's likely to do to her hearing.

I'd go with a Fender Super Champ XD. Hybrid, with modelling pre and 15-watt tube power. 10-inch speaker, IIRC, and much louder than it has any right to be.

Quick question: How do you make 50 watts sound like 100?
Answer: Stick a Fender badge on the grill.
 
#31
sonic assassin said:
the vox modeling amps arent half bad. it seems they finally made them 2 banks of 4 channels, which is nice. the XL version didnt impress me as much. i wanted higher gain, but those didnt sound very good. at least not as good as newer line 6 stuff does.

looking at the vox site.. it seems they completely redid these. im going to have to try one out now. i doubt it will unthrone my flextone, but i like knowing current gear
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+1 to this..the Voxs are very good.

AND..my fave Line 6 is the flextone 2 XL.

The Line 6 spyders do not have a line out,(IIRC)..don't know if thats an issue.

I'd say a Used Flextone 2(Or XL with 2 12s)

JMO?....
 
#32
If one is doing the all tube thing in the classic rock vein, the Peavey Classic 30 is a great sounding, affordable amp, more than being able to gig with. It also has the respect of many, many, guitarists as a true blue collar musician workhorse that even pros can use. I also have to agree with the Peavey Bandit recommendations already made, for a durable and good sounding solid state amp. If its a gee whiz box you want, with lots of effects, etc, the Line 6's, Vox Valvetronix series, Peavy Vypyr, and Fender offerings will do fine. I will say that some 15 watt and smaller amps, tube or solid state, which can be more than loud enough for recording or home practice, can get buried by a loud drummer by themselves, if a smaller wattage amp is to be a gigging tool in a rock band. In that case one would need some p.a. support in such situations. It's not a deal breaker as some of my friends do gig small amps with a microphone on them at gigs, and sound great. That's my quick 2 cents worth of opinion.
 
#33
I'd go for a Line6 Spider III or IV. Why? It's lightweight, solid state, has a ton of effects, and is loud enough to be used in a full band setting. I would not suggest a tube amp that only has two channels. It's boring and frustrating for younger players, IME.
 
#34
+1 on the Epiphone Blues Jr. or the Valve Jr. (Blues Jr. has more flexibility with controls)

Excellent sounding tube amps with stunning tone for something so 'low end' and inexpensive.

It'll get her used to hearing what a good amp sounds like. I wish I'd had that tone when I was just starting out. It would have made me play more.
If only they'd come out with a good little bass practice amp in the same vein.
 
#36
A modeling amp as others have suggested. Skip tube amps at this age unless they are buying it with earnings from a job.

Skip the pedals at this age, unless she wants to work for a pedal (or similarly priced gear) by accomplishing big jobs/tasks for her parental units.
 
#37
The Mustang amp that the OP mention would probably do the trick. It is a modeling amp, it sounds even better when you use the software to tweak the sound. It will give her a chance to use effects without having to buy a bunch of pedals. It is only $100 and if you feel that you need more power, there is a slightly bigger model for $200 with 40 watts and a 12" speaker. FWIW, I play on a Peavey Classic 30 and have been happy with that but, I believe that it takes practice to develop an ear for creating a good tone. I think a modeling amp (such as the Mustangs or the Spiders) would be the best way to experient with the different sounds a modeling amp can provide. When she is a little more experienced she can go the tube amp route.
 
#39
A year ago I took up guitar (played bass for a long time and wanted to expand a bit). Went out and bought a Vox modeling amp. Lots of features and modeling options and that was the problem. After a week it started going on the fritz and got a mind of its own, switching models and settings all by itself mid song. Took it back to Guitar Center for a full refund and bought a used Fender Super Reverb reissue for about the same price. Love the sound of the Fender clean but at 60 watts it'll make your ears bleed if you turn the volume more than a quarter of the way up. I have since bought a digitec modeling pedal to get the overdrive I want at a reasonable volume as well as many other cool sounds and features.
In hind site I'd suggest a used Blues Jr amp, it's got PLENTY of power and can be connected to a cab extension if more oomph is needed. Hook it up to a digitec modeling pedal (get the $120 one with the looping feature, lots of fun for practice time). She'll be set for many years with that setup. All total you'll have about $500 into the rig and it will be very reliable and quite flexible.
As an option, if you have any old bass amps and cabs you're not using connect them to a digitec pedal and you can get any guitar god sound your looking for. I do this with my SVT and a 610 cab and it sounds fantastic.
 

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