Looking at amps

I am looking at the Line 6 Spider Jam 75 w combo. Mainly because it's hard to find anyone to jam with around here.

Anyone here have one or used one before? It's 499.99 at musicians friend,and is about what I can afford right now.

Any help is appreciated. :cool:

Originally Posted by: Dirty BillI am looking at the Line 6 Spider Jam 75 w combo. Mainly because it's hard to find anyone to jam with around here.

Anyone here have one or used one before? It's 499.99 at musicians friend,and is about what I can afford right now.

Any help is appreciated. :cool:

As someone who's bought alot of equipment over the years, I would say to stay away from the all in one amp that does it all. They tend to do everything a bit, and nothing great, and you can usually get mutiple products to do the same thing at a better price.

I'm old school. I love my vintage tube amps. But I just can't recommend them as a purchase to anyone who isn't regularly playing for pay in large rooms.

From your post, I assume that you don't jam with anybody, so really, all you need is a good-sounding amp for use at home.

Most of my friends who are playing gigs in clubs find that even with 30 Watt amps, they are being told to turn the volume down. There's no way you need 75 Watts. I can tell you from personal experience that even 5 Watts can be loud enough to get complaints from the neighbors.

Line 6 makes a lot of lower power amps with a lot of built-in effects. These are plenty good enough for home use, and even recording demos or Youtube clips.

The Roland Micro Cube is another very good choice, giving great tone for the money.

... or you might take a look at the Reason amps. CSchlegel raves about their Bambino amp >here<.

The Reason amps are about 2500.00..... :eek: I'm just a hobby player,new to the blues...I think I'll pass until I can actually play well enough to get paid for it..( I'm thinking it ain't gonna happen) :cool:

Originally Posted by: Dirty BillI am looking at the Line 6 Spider Jam 75 w combo. Mainly because it's hard to find anyone to jam with around here.

Anyone here have one or used one before? It's 499.99 at musicians friend,and is about what I can afford right now.

Any help is appreciated. :cool:

75 watts does seem a bit over the top!

Why not just get a basic low-priced practice amp until you know more of what you're looking for? Once you've learned to play then you can discover your tone and pay more money to get what you're after :) .

Where in WV do you live? I am in Hurricane, between Charleston and Huntington. If you are just playing at home, I would go with a small 15 Watt amp. I have used one to play in larger places and just ran it through the PA system. You can get an attenuator if you get a more powerful amp. It is a device that is designed to cut the power before the signal goes to the speaker so that you get full tube action on the circuitry, but with far less volume coming out the speakers. I bought a Fender Hot Rod DeVille and I can't play it at home without the attenuator.

I live a few miles above wheeling. I was thinking of joining the wv blues society. Are you a member?

I'll just get a small practice amp. I wont be needing a high watt high dollar amp. Thanks for the input. :cool:

Originally Posted by: Dirty BillI am looking at the Line 6 Spider Jam 75 w combo. Mainly because it's hard to find anyone to jam with around here.

Anyone here have one or used one before? It's 499.99 at musicians friend,and is about what I can afford right now.

Any help is appreciated. :cool:

I'd say get it from Sweetwater. No savings but they are often the supplier of the excellent GT giveaways...and I've bought some stuff from 'em and the are very good.
:D
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SpiderJam/

Also, whether at Sweetwater or a MF, read the reviews. Seems pretty good from the few I read.

I have a Spider Jam. I wrote a review on it on the gear review section of this forum.

http://www.guitartricks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29726

A few things I will say about it however are, it does have a ton of features, effects, models, jam track, recording etc. It is a good tool for practicing, learning, and working on your licks. BUT, personally, I am a tone snob. I am really picky about tone and tonal quality. I am quite partial to the old fashon sounds of tube amps and analog effects. For me the Spider Jam is too "digitaly" sounding. You dont get the true tone of your guitar and all the subtle nuances of your style and technique. I use it for the jam track and drum machine feature to keep time while i am practicing, bit when I play for pleasure or with others, I wont use it. The tone doesnt cut the mustard for me and my style. I play blues, rock and classic rock, and all that digital hoopla doesnt fit. It may sound great for shredheads that play at high gain/distortion levels and arent to concerned with dinamics and subtle response. I would never use it at a gig. The 75 watts is pretty loud, but I have to say I have heared 20watt tube amps that sound actually louder and fuller.

I also have a Vox AC4tv. It is a small tube amp with a 10 inch speaker. It is very simple, volume, tone dials only. It has a built in attenuator which allows you to cut the output from 4 watts, to 1 watt, and even 1/4 watt. This allows you to crank the volume for the "high volume tube overdrive" (Think Angus Young) without ear bleeding volume. At 4 watts is plenty enough for me to be heard with another guitarist, bassist and even a drummer. I am 110% happy with the Vox amp it fits me, my style, and small home perfectly. If you are into blues playing, which i think you mentioned, this will be something you should check out. It was 230.00 if i recall. Bottom line, play every amp in your target range (price, size, valve, tube, digital) and get one just right for you.

Originally Posted by: Infinite-TBUT, personally, I am a tone snob. I am really picky about tone and tonal quality. I am quite partial to the old fashon sounds of tube amps and analog effects.

I'd be willing to guess that, like me, you've played not only the modest rigs but have trailed a few higher end rigs too and even when you dial in something pretty amazing, you still find yourself going 'hmmm...close but there's just something a little more I need to tweak.' Being a tone monkey is to understand that you will live a life of knob twiddling.

Tone is like crack for guitarists: You chase that thing that you will never actually get; the ultimate.

I have a bid on for a line 6 spider III. Probably won't get it. One like that would be all I need. :cool:

That's what I have. Plenty loud for playing on your own in the house.

Originally Posted by: JeffS65I'd be willing to guess that, like me, you've played not only the modest rigs but have trailed a few higher end rigs too and even when you dial in something pretty amazing, you still find yourself going 'hmmm...close but there's just something a little more I need to tweak.' Being a tone monkey is to understand that you will live a life of knob twiddling.

Tone is like crack for guitarists: You chase that thing that you will never actually get; the ultimate.

Lol yea you are correct. I have tried, borrowed and owned/own hundreds of amps over the years everything from multi thousand dollar units down to the 50 dollar battery powered ones looking for "that sound" It has always ended up being a tube amp, Vox, Marshall, and a few Fenders, REALLY dont like any of the all digital ones like the line6, ravens, etc. But Marshall makes a new hybrid tube amp with built in digital effects that sounds very good, the Haze.

But yes us tine freaks are doomed to a life of tweeking, moding, pedal swapping, amp changing, pickup/pot swaps, etc. But this little Vox sounds great with my Strat and SG, a Tube screamer pedal and the volume at 7 is as close to perfect as i can get for a rig under 500 bucks.

Happy playing!

Well,I didn't win the line 6 spider III. Which means I can still check out all the other options. How cool is that... :rolleyes: :cool:

Unless you already have a particular amp or tone in mind, I would suggest alternatives like the Line 6. Something with some amp modelling & effects.

Tone snobbery (;)) and tone purity aside, this might help you define the sound you seek without dropping tons of bucks right off the bat. There's lots of amps around with that capability.

I have a Fender Vibro Champ, which is a little 5-watter I have reviewed in the Gear Review section. Thanks to it, I have a better inkling what more expensive amp I would go for, should that day ever come.

Another alternative, if you have not considered it, might be a less expensive 1 or 2 channel amp with no effects and adding a modelling pedal to your equipment instead.

Originally Posted by: Dirty BillI can still check out all the other options.

For beginners, I recommend the least expensive object with the most options, so you can figure out what you like. The ones with effects are great for beginners and hobbyist, because you don't have to buy more stuff, it's all in one box. The Line 6 Spider is a great choice. Here are some others.

http://www.sweetwater.com/c625--Guitar_Combo_Amps/low2high

Lots of great amps from Marshall, Fender, Peavey, Vox, Roland, and more for around $100 and less! :)

Well another line 6 spider III came up for bid...lol.. :p I'll try again.. :cool:

Originally Posted by: Lordathestrings... or you might take a look at the Reason amps. CSchlegel raves about their Bambino amp >here<.

Hey Lord of the Strings, you suggest an amp that cost over $2000. Why don't you read the post. You sure make it obvious to anyone who follows your directions and then you don't understand what you wrote yourself. Then you don't answer the question that I sent you. That's one of the reasons my membership is ending soon.

For a small pratice amp I would suggest the Vox Pathfinder. I have the 15watt w/ reverb and cannot be happier. It will certainly outplay anything that I need inside my house.

If you want larger/more powerful look into the Peavey line of amps. They are American made, great reliability, built like a tank, and have a great sound. Not to mention the customer service is second to none. I found an old Classic 212 tube amp for about 160.00 and it blows me away.

Look in pawn shops, Know what you are buying, don't be afraid to haggle, set a price and be willing to walk away. If you do walk, don't worry chances are it will be there when you return. ;)