Hey guys. I am about two months into learning electric guitar. My guitar is just a cheap department store model. I want to buy an amp that is economical (I don't have a lot of money to spend. Probably around $100 or less) and versatile. I play mostly rock music and some lighter stuff. Any suggestions on particular effects that I should be looking for? I saw a guy on one of the home shopping channels with a guitar and amp and he was able to play different styles from country to hard rock fairly easily. Thanks.
I would stay away from stuff advertised on TV.
Try to get a name brand like Marshall, Fender, Peavey, or Ibanez. Here are a few good amps I found on Musicians Friend
I always try to pay careful attention to the ratings. That tells you generally how happy customers have been with this amp. Some sites like Music 123 have reviews you can read. I find these very helpful, and usually very accurate.
Let us know what you get.
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
Thanks Wes. I'm also going to check with my local guitar store (I live in a small town so their aren't any big stores) to see if they have any used stuff. Are overdrive, reverb and clean/dirty channels the main effects that I'm looking for?
I think Wes pretty well covered everything. Other than I'll say maybe you'll want to look into Crate GX15R, their under your price quote. I would get an amp which ever you choose that has at least a 10 inch speaker, Those 8 inch speakers just don't cut it.
My Opinion
joe
Yup, what Wes and Joe said. If I had to chose, it would be (big surprise here) Behringer GM110. Of the four mentioned, it is the only 10" speaker (rest is 8"), the only 30W (the rest is 15W), and it is the only one with that much connection-options (Effects-loop, Speaker out, Line-out, headphone etc). Also don't forget that often the headphone signal is pure crap through cheaper heaphone-outs. The behringer one uses a really nifty speaker simulation to keep the distortion sounding great through headphones.
And if this isn't enough, the modelling part will add so much variety (3^3^3=27 'channels' vs the 1 or w the others have!) the other three are simply left miles behind. Many miles, to be honest.
Are overdrive, reverb and clean/dirty channels the main effects that I'm looking for?
Reverb is definitely nice to have, though you might end up with pedals and effect units later on. The most important things are:
-How does it sound on it's own?
-Is it versatile?-
-Is the overdrive/distortion convincing?
-Is the clean channel good enough for pedals?
-Is the speaker good enough, or will it 'fart' at high volumes?
-Does the headphone work properly?
-Any extra's that are nice to have?
Now be gentle everyone. I went to my local store today. He had a Crate GFX 15 for $99, so I bought it. It seemed comparable to some of the stuff that you guys recommended. I could have bought on-line, but I didn't want to mess around with shipping and stuff. Here are the features:
Features
8 in. Speaker
12+ Watts RMS
2 Channels
Headphone Jack
External Speaker Jack
Digital Reverb, Delay, Flange, Chorus, and Multi-Effects (GFX)
Dimensions: 13 x 13.5 x 8.25 in.
Let me know what you think. I read some online reviews and they seem to be favorable.
Congrats on your purchase! Â I can't tell you if it's good or bad quality. Â Yet I can say that, if it works, it puts you closer to your goal of playing guitar well. Â You could use a modified $10 transistor radio or a $2,000 Marshall stack to play through but it is much more important at this point to just be able to hear what you are playing. Â You'll make corrections to how you are playing (fret buzz, missed strings, accidental strings) and that will far outweigh what you are playing through.
I'm glad your local shop had something for you! Â :-)
"Nothing...can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts."
Thanks Corbind. The amp I had did not have any affects or anything. I think that even from an interest standpoint, the varied affects will help. I find already (after a few months) that I get into grinds already. Plus it will help me duplicate songs a little better.
Crate has a reputation of making solidstates that often offer more stuff then you would have got when buying similar small amps from Big Brands like Fender and Marshall.
For the price you paid, you've got a perfect bedroom amp. The volume isn't enough to play with a drummer, and the 8" speaker might not sound all that great when cranking it up, but as long as you keep the volume at neighbour-friendly levels, then I am quite sure it will be cool.
Onboard effect processor on a 99,- amp? What's next? A tube in a 50,- amp? A 4x12" stack for a dollar? Silly world we live in :D
Promedics,
I've just bought a tube amp for less than $50. I have a tube preamp, a tube power amp and an inbuilt cab emulation - I'm very happy. No speaker though.
I started with nothing - and I've still got most of it left.
Did you know that the word "gullible" is not in any dictionary?
Greybeard's Pages
My Articles & Reviews on GN
Promedics,
I've just bought a tube amp for less than $50. I have a tube preamp, a tube power amp and an inbuilt cab emulation - I'm very happy. No speaker though.
Yeah I saw it, really wicked deal you'd had there. :o
Hey everyone
It's 1 O'Clock in the morning and I just got in from an open mic. My bass player said he was going down, so I went too. This guy was up on stage with a Mexican Strat and a 10W practice amp. This place was pretty big, plus the drummer plays very hard and loud and my bass player as well. You would be surprised how that little amp held it's own. I don't know if it had a 8" or 10" speaker, but I know it didn't have a 12".
I got to get up and play a few songs. That little amp was cranked up about 3/4 but it was loud enough. For some reason I didn't notice the brand. I just didn't.
Anyway, the point is, you can do a lot with a little practice amp. You can play a gig in a club with a 10W solid state. You don't have to have a 100W Marshall head to play out.
Browns- Congratulations on your new Crate amp. Work with it and get some good sounds. Then hit an Open Mic!
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
Thanks Wes. I've been able to play on it a little and I love it. The amp I had came with the guitar from Sears. It amplified the sound, but there were no effects at all. So far, I am loving the new one and it is way more power than I will ever need in my home. As for the open mike, I don't think that I'll be playing in public for a while. Thanks again though. As a new player, I love this site. The info is great and everyone is so helpful in the forums. I feel the love.
