New to the forum...

I've always wanted to learn to play guitar but never fealt like spending so much $$ on an instrument i didnt know how to play, i'm a huge metal music fan and love Black Label Society, so when i found an epi LP custom Zakk Wylde Buzzsaw brand new for $158 i had to buy it, does anyone know a good amp to buy thats not way to expensive that will maybe give me the zakk wylde sound?

I obviously know it will take a lot of practice and time to get even decent at guitar but i willing to do it, Im new at this whole guitar thing so if i say something retarded dont flame me :D

well you have alot of ensuthiasm for guitar. how much cash are you going to spend? we all don't have the same idea of "not too expensive".

well being that i got that guitar dirt cheap, i do have a bit of extra cash, i would say $200 at most, unless I cant get anything good for that, then maybe i would go higher, but also i dont the the criteria for a good amp :confused:

do you want a certain size? like a 2x10, 1x12... etc?

I recommend going analog, but you really cant get any tube amps for 200 bucks.

some good cheap amps are the Line 6 Spider, Peavy Bandit, just about anything Marshal, Roland Cube, Fender Frontman. save up another 200 bucks and get the Peavy valveking... thats what Im saving for.

Definitely I'd go with the Line 6 Spder II series. check em out. alot of metal players use em:

http://www.line6.com/spiderii/

those amps are the amps i wish i would have bought. there are many different versions so i'd do some researching. with these spider II amps, the more expensive, the better. so you might wanna squeeze in some cash.

with your price range, I'd squeeze in $50 more to get the HD75. 75 watts is plenty of watts. plenty. especially for a first amp. you can play that thing live on stage if you want. and it has alot more features than the 30. I'd definitely get the HD75.

I would agree...a Spider II 1x12 all the way..if the 1x12 is not in your price range, a Line6 SpiderII 30watt is also an amazing amp for the price, just search the forums for spiderII's...no one has a bad word to say about them.

I did a little review of the Line 6 Spider II.

http://www.guitartricks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15642&highlight=Line+Spider

It's a great amp. Especially for someone just starting out. It let's you get acclimated to using effects and different gain channels. I think it sounds great. Every recording I did on my soundclick page was done with a Spider II. If you wanna give a listen. www.soundclick.com/magicninja

Crate makes some "decent" low end model amps in that price range. Even though they are solid state you canstill milk a decent heavy tone. Good for beginners.

you dont need to wait and see on this one...a SpiderII IS better than anything else in its price range, unless you start looking at the SpiderII 150watts, which are pricey enough to make a small tube combo a viable choice...but at your price range, you wont find a better amp.

well, I am going to also recommend the line 6 spider II... I own one, and I think it would be the perfect amp for beginners, it has lots of different tones from playing jazz to metal. It'll get you started, and will be a good amp for quite a long time to come.

HOWEVER, I will not recommend the 1x12 version with 75 watts! this is WAY too loud for someone just starting out. sure, it has alot more features, but that'll only confuse you because you won't know what you're doing yet. I say get the 15 watt version, because:
A: it's the cheapest, at $160, saving you enough money to buy other things you'll need (tuner, cable of at least 10 feet, and a stand will be the bare essentials)
B: it offers plenty of features to get you lots of different tones to try alot of stuff out to see what you like
C: at 15 watts it won't be so loud that you disturb everyone in a 10-block radius of your house! sure, it's not loud enough to be an on-stage amp, but you're just starting, so I'm thinking that you aren't thinking about playing on stage anytime soon anyway.

also, spend the $5 a month on this website, seriously, the thousands of lessons that you get ARE worth it! I'm not an owner of this site trying to sell you anything or anything like that, I'm just a member, and I think that the lessons on this site will definately help you out in the beginning. plus it's only $5 a month!

Originally Posted by: 6strngs_2hmbkrswell, I am going to also recommend the line 6 spider II... I own one, and I think it would be the perfect amp for beginners, it has lots of different tones from playing jazz to metal. It'll get you started, and will be a good amp for quite a long time to come.

HOWEVER, I will not recommend the 1x12 version with 75 watts! this is WAY too loud for someone just starting out. sure, it has alot more features, but that'll only confuse you because you won't know what you're doing yet. I say get the 15 watt version, because:
A: it's the cheapest, at $160, saving you enough money to buy other things you'll need (tuner, cable of at least 10 feet, and a stand will be the bare essentials)
B: it offers plenty of features to get you lots of different tones to try alot of stuff out to see what you like
C: at 15 watts it won't be so loud that you disturb everyone in a 10-block radius of your house! sure, it's not loud enough to be an on-stage amp, but you're just starting, so I'm thinking that you aren't thinking about playing on stage anytime soon anyway.

also, spend the $5 a month on this website, seriously, the thousands of lessons that you get ARE worth it! I'm not an owner of this site trying to sell you anything or anything like that, I'm just a member, and I think that the lessons on this site will definately help you out in the beginning. plus it's only $5 a month!

i seriously think he should get the 75 watt one because if he is like me, (on a very cheap buget) he wont be getting a new amp for a long time. the 75 watt amp will last him alot longer than the 15 watt one. if he really wants a quiet basic amp he can get a 15 watt amp much cheaper than $160.

ok and A: why would he need a 10 foot cable if the amp's not good enough to perform live?

B: the 75 watt version offers plenty features also

C: there's something a very smart guy invented called a "volume knob" that can make things louder or quieter when turned. plus on my 15 watt amp i still had to keep the thing at 1-2 or else itll be too loud.

if all the features are gonna confuse you, then just research them. even "gain" confused me and its on like every amp.

I think he should get the best he can afford for what he wants so first if he can get it I'd say take the 75w version too. It has more features than the 15 or the 30. Don't let the "15" fool you. This amp gets pretty loud. Way louder than you'd expect by just looking at it. So yes like 6strngs said the 75w would get up there. I reccomend buying headphones and playing with them if you have neighbors that will complain during the day. However a ten ft cable is handy. Sometimes you need to move around.

Originally Posted by: purei seriously think he should get the 75 watt one because if he is like me, (on a very cheap buget) he wont be getting a new amp for a long time. the 75 watt amp will last him alot longer than the 15 watt one. if he really wants a quiet basic amp he can get a 15 watt amp much cheaper than $160.[/quote]
yes, but he can't get a better 15 watt amp for cheaper than $160. so, if all he wants is a practice amp, which is what I assume since he doesn't even know how to play yet, the line 6 spider II 15 watt is (imo) the best bedroom practice amp you can get for under $200.

Originally Posted by: ok and A: why would he need a 10 foot cable if the amp's not good enough to perform live?[/quote]
10 feet is a pretty basic amount of cable. I wouldn't go onstage with a 10 foot cable though. if I'm playing live, I need at least 15, if not 20 feet of cable, otherwise I feel very constricted to one little area of the stage.. and yanking the cable out of the amp halfway through a song is no good.

Originally Posted by: B: the 75 watt version offers plenty features also

yes, I agree, the 75 Watt version offers way more models to choose from, so many, in fact, I think it might be a little confusing and/or overwhelming to someone who is just trying to learn the fundamentals right now and doesn't really care about having 12 different tones to choose from.

[quote=]C: there's something a very smart guy invented called a "volume knob" that can make things louder or quieter when turned. plus on my 15 watt amp i still had to keep the thing at 1-2 or else itll be too loud.

now you're just getting smart with me. the fact of the matter is, on solid state amps, the volume knob is rather ineffective. if you've noticed, there is a HUGE jump in the amount of volume between 1 and 3, and not very much difference between 3 and 8, and it just gets muddy past 8. although the spider is a little better about this than other solid state amps, it still applies. so the truth is, with 75 watts, it's going to be hard to play at bedroom volumes, and with 15 it's relatively easy, though if you do crank it all the way, it can still be too loud.

[quote=]if all the features are gonna confuse you, then just research them. even "gain" confused me and its on like every amp.

so he should spend an extra $100 above what he said his max budget was for features that he doesn't even know about at all, so he can just research them later?

sure, the 75 watt version will have more features so the amp will "last him longer" but seriously, I doubt he's worried about that right now, and if he decides he's serious about this, and decides he wants to upgrade, then I'm sure he can move up to a nice tube amp by then (which sounds so much better than a spider... don't get me wrong, the spider's do sound good for what they are, and are well priced, but they just won't ever sound better than a nice tube amp)

having rethought this whole thing, I take back what I said about getting a 15W, and he should get the 30W version. the 30W is only $40 more, has a celestion speaker (sounds so much better), a headphone/line out jack (I forgot that the 15W didn't have this), and a footswitch jack. PLUS, it is low enough wattage for playing in the bedroom (I do it everyday!) and has enough potential for playing small gigs (I did it just yesterday!) The headphone jack is a nice feature when you really want to play some metal, but it's 2 am and your family is asleep.

I agree get the 30 or the 75..

you said you had $200 to spend.

well check out the prices for the 30watt and 75watt: ( from http://www.musiciansfriend.com )







you have just about enough for the 30 watt amp but if you save up a little more you can get the better 75 watt version. get the 75 watt version

^^^^ That is a head.... not a combo... He would spend 50 bucks more for a pre amp and power amp.... without speakers. Which means he would then have to buy a cab. Which is another 150-300 depending on what he buys... It's not a better value at all...

A few more points:

1. 15w is all you wil need... honestly... Anyone else telling you need more doesn't understand tone very well... It's not how big it is, it's how you use it... It's really true. Think of it this way... the volume knob is a percentage gauge... it gauges the percent of use you're getting out of an amp... If you have a 15w practice amp you bought for 100 dollars... and you're running it at 10 on the volume knob... you're getting 100 dollars worth.... if you have a 100 watt amp that you bought for 1000 dollars... and you can't turn it up past 2... because all you do is play in your bedroom... then you're only getting 200 dollars worth of the amp.... think about it. No one needs a half stack... in all actuallity... unless you're Zakk Wylde himself. I will blow your eardrums out with my Mark IV Mesa... it' "50 Watts" with a single 12" Black Magic speaker... I drown out JCM's all the time with it...

2. See for yourself.... you're trying to get a Zakk Wylde BLS tone... Here's the rundown of his tone.... He runs Marshall JCM's (Tube amp...) so look for an amp with a tube amp model... He uses a lot of distortion with a lot of overdrive over the top... He uses a lot of wah also... these are some things that no matter what wattage you're pushing... with 200 dollars... you're not going to have enough cash to get a wah and an overdrive pedal...

3. See for yourself again!! Play the amps... make your own decision... The Spider II is a killer amp either way. But look at the Fender FM series amps...they're cheaper because they're not modeling amps... but you'll have plenty of cash left over to grab a DigiTech RP80... which is a nifty little multi effects processor. It's only about 70 bucks... or you can find'em cheap on ebay. They'll give you a wah... and all kinds of chorus, delay, and other modulations.... good stuff. To say that you're a beginner and shouldn't be overwhelmed is true... but either way, you're going to have to learn sometime.

Rock on.

Originally Posted by: pureI agree get the 30 or the 75..

you said you had $200 to spend.

well check out the prices for the 30watt and 75watt: ( from http://www.musiciansfriend.com )




you have just about enough for the 30 watt amp but if you save up a little more you can get the better 75 watt version. get the 75 watt version

so for $50 more... he can get something that he can't even use because it won't make any sound whatsoever because it has no speakers? the line 6 spider II cab is an additional $300... so basically you are telling him to spend $550 on a halfstack when a halfstack is too much amp for practically EVERYONE!

Come on now, everyone makes mistakes. I think he may have been refering to the combo next biggest up from the 30w, The 1x12! http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Line-6-Spider-II-112-Combo?sku=482244 Which is $300 but has more amp models and more effects than it's little brothers. Anyway you slice it we all agree on the Spider II, so any model he gets is gonna be great. It's all up to him now so let's go ahead and leave it at that.

ok so everyone agrees spider II, but the decision i have to make is how many watts and different effects i want for the price, when i go around to the guitar shops checking out what i want i'll bring one of my buddies who already plays guitar and we can figure out what would be best for me, thanks for all the input fellas :)

Yeah get the Spider II, the biggest one you can afford. Even seasoned players love it but it is absolutley the perfect beginners amp.

Originally Posted by: magicninjaYeah get the Spider II, the biggest one you can afford. Even seasoned players love it but it is absolutley the perfect beginners amp.

i agree. however, I learned on a Fender Frontman 15w... makes you learn to make your own tone, not rely on effects. thats just IMHO, though.