Starter Amp

Hello All,

I have been going through the lessons on this site for several weeks and as I am (very) slowly increasing my skill I am quickly learning that the old amp I received with the purchase of a guitar several years ago may not be helping much, the sound is one dimensional and just not great.

Since that failure of a purchase I have upgraded and am learning on a PRS SE EG, like I said I am very new to guitar and don't really even know what style of music I am looking to play, the best I can do is say that I want to pick up a good well rounded amp that will give me good value. I live in an apartment so playing loud is not something that I will need any time soon and portability is a plus. Through my research I have found two that stand out to me, Fender Mustang I and Roland Mini Cube. Both seem to have a good set of features and appear to give me a lot of bang for my buck. I am open to other suggestions but was hoping to get some input from the community and possibly find a hidden gem that I missed.

Glad to hear you are making progress learning guitar! You are taking a really good approach to start out small and upgrade as your ears and ability dictate.

An amp like the Mustang would serve you well. The idea is to get an amp that can model the sounds of other amps and has some effects built in. Line 6 has some amps that do this too that are held in high regard that don't break the bank. You might also consider the Peavey Vyper series.

Something else to look for is USB connectivity to both manage the settings in the amp and recording.

As you work with that, you may find that you migrate to a particular type of sound. At that point in the future, you may want to upgrade to that particular type of amp. Same thing with effects - you may one day find you use certain ones and the emulation in the amp doesn't cut it for you anymore. At that point, you can go out and purchase individual pedals.

Or you may find that this amp does it all of for you and is good enough!

If you can, I'd check out the Peavey Vyper series... their entry model is super affordable.

I'd also recommend that you take a look at some "non-amp" options, such as BOSS's JS10 or their BR80 Micro, or Korg's "Pandora"... these units offer built in effects that actually sound quite good, you can play with headphones (you can on a lot of amps too) and you can jam to backing tracks which I think is one of the best learning tools you can have.

Something that might be a good option for you right now is the Korg PDX 4 that you can buy used on e-bay for usually less than $100. A lot of amps and effect units feature a USB connection so you can plug the sound into your computer. However, the Korg (along with all the other units I mentioned) simply has a 1/8th jack so you can plug the headphone output of your computer into it. I find this is a much simpler method of jamming to tracks, going through lessons, etc. The USB into your computer is good if you want to record your guitar though.

You would be doing yourself a huge favor by starting with a so-called modelling amp, like the Fender Mustang, Peavey Vypyr and Roland Cube (they all have one thing in common: They can emulate other amps, though they may not make it obvious which ones they're emulating). I personally play through a Fender Mustang II, which I love, but both the Roland Cube and Peavey Vypyr are quite good too.

The Roland Cube is one of the most popular solid-state amps around where I live. I personally didn't really like its interface that much, but it's a pretty good amp anyway. I don't know if it has a USB-connection, though it would surprise me if it doesn't. I've only played it once or twice, though.

The Peavey Vypyr is another pretty good (quite low-budget) amplifier. I don't know a lot about it other than that, though. I've seen them at a pretty low price where I buy gear, but they sound really nice. I considered buying it instead of the Fender, but its presets were a bit confusing to my. It probably has a USB-connection as well.

Finally, there's the Fender Mustang Amplifiers. As mentioned earlier I play through a Fender Mustang II, but the only real difference between I and II is that I has a smaller speaker and half the Watts compared to II. All Fender Mustang amps have a USB-connection, which you can use to turn it into a recording interface, or use a program called Fender Fuse to change the settings in the amp (on II, there's no physical Middle-knob, so to adjust that as well as effects, Fuse is necessary, which I consider it's only problem). It also has a few built-in effects that can actually sound surprisingly good, considering the price. They don't beat physical Pedals, though, in my opinion.

I could easily talk for minutes about the Fender Mustang, since I'm by now fairly familiar with it. I don't know enough about the Roland Cube or Peavey Vypyr to judge which one is best out of the three. You'll have to try them all for yourself in a store (or get an employee to help you), before you buy. It's no good to just pick the one that looks coolest if you don't like its sound or if you can't figure out how to operate it properly.

Originally Posted by: KasperowYou'll have to try them all for yourself in a store (or get an employee to help you), before you buy. It's no good to just pick the one that looks coolest if you don't like its sound or if you can't figure out how to operate it properly.

With these types of amps, that's really the key - how easy is it for you to operate it. With all of the features, there is some complexity in operating it. If accessing the features isn't intuitive to you, then they are useless because you won't use them.

If going into a store isn't an option, I'm sure you can find tons of demos and reviews on YouTube. You can probably download the owner's manuals from the manufacturers' websites.

Wow, thanks for all the great responses, far more info than I expected.

I did find a video comparing several of the suggestions, or their one step up model and spent the last hour or so of work watching it, don't tell my boss! After watching this and few other videos I am leaning toward the Mustang at this point but while most options are under $200 I don't want to jump the gun, will give my brain and ears a few days to think things over.

Great call on downloading a manual for each, I have a fairly technical background and have yet to find a piece of electronics I can't figure out eventually but in all of the videos I see them "fiddling" with a bunch of dials and see lights moving around but I'm not really sure what they are doing.

Going to a store is not out of the question but I don't have near enough confidence to try to play anything at all in the store, I'm sure a sales rep would be willing to help me out but there is still that first day at school where do I sit at lunch feeling. I actually drove right past Sweetwater over the weekend but didn't have time to stop, in hindsight I should have made time.

Again thanks for all the information, my mind isn't made up yet so feel free to throw any and all suggestions my way, it seems with amps preferences are more subjective than pizza toppings.

I use a Tech 21 Trademark 30 and couldn't be happier. IMO, Tech 21 is a small, little known company but trust me...it and this amp deserve a look. http://tech21nyc.com/products/amps/guitar/trademark30.html

New ones can be had on EBay for $329 with free shipping. There is also a used one described as "very good +" for $279. Guitar Center stocks the amp too for the same $329...you might give the Ft. Wayne store a call.

rmr531

Please check out the Line 6 Jam before you by. I bought one about 2 years ago and I have not seen another amp that is better for a beginner. It has backing tracks, can record. What ever you record to it can be changed.
Meaning you can slow it down, speed it up even change the
key it plays the song back in. You can change the speed or key of any of the songs prerecorded on the amp. It has onboard effects.

It has a jack for a guitar it also has a jack you can plug a bass, or piano or mic or another guitar or....... and use and record both at the same time. It only has room for 24 minutes of recorded music, but that's ok, because you can plug a SD card in the thing and write what ever you have recorded off to the SD card. Delete the current memory and you have another 24 minutes to play with. It will write to the SD card in a number of different formats. Of course you can bring anything you sent to the SD card back into memory.

I'm just scratching the surface of what this amp will do. It pushes 75 watts thru a 12" speaker. I have no connection to Line 6, they run about $400.00 new.

Originally Posted by: haghj500
Please check out the Line 6 Jam before you by. I bought one about 2 years ago and I have not seen another amp that is better for a beginner...

Looking at that amp, I'd say its an excellent choice. I can't stress enough how good, great, important, useful it is to be able to do two things easily:

1) jam to backing tracks

2) record yourself (either with or without a backing track).

When I bought my BOSS JS10, the recording feature wasn't something I would have said "I'll use that a lot..." and yet now I use it all the time..

-I record myself playing to a backing track, so I can listen back and hear how my playing sounds with the music... extremely useful and important in developing your sound... much easier to critique when you're not playing, just listening.

-I'll be working on a solo, get an idea... "hey, that sounds really good!". With the touch of one button, I'm recording that idea for future reference.

-I'll be working on scales or chords... and then think "this scale would sound good over this chord" or vice versa. I just hit record, then play the track back, and play over it. I do this all the time... even just to hear how something sounds, and then instantly delete it. Really helps sometimes in figuring stuff out.

I got my JS10 used, for less than half of what they go for new. Probably the biggest thing it has that other amps or effect units don't have is that its setup to play MP3's via USB drive. This is really slick... you just load up a thumbdrive with MP3's (I think WAV files work too), stick it in, and you're good to go. Very easy to get backing tracks off the internet and then jam along to them.

I'm not sure if the Line 6 works in that you can load MP3's onto an SD card, and then play them back through the amp? (Haghj?). Even if it doesn't do that, you still have the "CD" input... so you can plug your computer into it, or an MP3 player (your phone probably!) and play songs back that way.

If you're not including backing tracks as part of your practice routine, you're missing out. If I didn't have the JS10, I'd probably take a strong look at the Line 6... its almost the same price (slightly cheaper actually) and you'll get a better live sound than the BOSS JS10, which really is just a practice tool, albeit a very good one. I love those big record & play buttons on the Line 6!

Slipin advice is spot on. I really really wish I had realized this years ago. I think my skill level would be much higher if I did.

I used to practice with no metronome and not even plugged into my amp. I would get the notes and patterns down, but I was doing it in a vacuum. If I went to the song to play over it, I would often find I was practicing it too slow or sometimes too fast!

Simply putting a drum beat behind scale pracitices makes it musical - it's an amazing thing. Practicing over a drum beat also forces you to get your timing down, especially if you are practicing a song. If you timing is off, it becomes glaringly obvious! It makes it so much more fun because you feel like you are playing over a band even though it is only a drum. The advantage of playing over a drum beat as opposed to a backing track is you are free to play in whatever key you want - it's wide open. You can also move from song to song and it sounds like you are putting together a medly. Playing over a backing track is important too because that forces you into a musical context, but don't underestimate the power of just a drum track.

Just like a metronome, you can change the tempo so it allows you to practice passages or scales at a comfortable tempo.

Another skill you develop practicing this way is *listening* to what is happening as you are playing. Listening and timing are two skills that are really important but are often overlooked. Simply using backing tracks and drum tracks to practice over incorporates learning of these skills into everything you do.

...and that's not all! Something else you can do is combine the functionality of a drum beat and a backing track in something called a looper. My Zoom G5 pedal has this capability. You call up a drum beat, record a riff, chord progression, whatever over it and loop it. You are now free to jam over your creation unti the cows come home. Something like that might be more appropriate once you've developed you playing skills a little more, but it's something to think about. Look on you tube for "guitar looper" or "g5 loops" and you'll be amazed at what people can do with it.

I probably sound like an advertisement for a drum machine/amp company, that's not my intent. Practicing this way just completely transfomed my enjoyment and effectiveness of my practice sessions in a way I could never have imagined.

So, (in short :-), if you can get an amp that offers some of this, it will significantly help you develop your playing skills.

Slipin Lizard

"I'm not sure if the Line 6 works in that you can load MP3's onto an SD card, and then play them back through the amp? (Haghj?)."

The Jam has a mp3 in jack so you can play the mp3 through the amp, you can also record off the mp3 device to the amp, you can jam with mp3 player and record yourself. You can record a little over 90 tracks. The draw back is, is its like an old cassette recorder, once you hit record it start recording, so it can be hard to time each of the tracks you record and no onboard editing software. The up shot, you can save it off to a SD card, pop it in the computer and edit away.

If a buddy drops by with another instrument he can plug in and both play with separate setting for both instruments and record it all if you choose. It also has a separate mic jack.

Its really not a mp3 jack, it will record from what ever you plug in the jack, once recorded it can be slowed down to just 25% of its original speed or the key changed. So you record something you want to learn, figure out the bass lines or leads in the key it was recorded in, then change the key of the song and relearn the lines or leads much quicker in another key. Maybe at 40 % of the original speed ha ha.

So did I say I'm was still just scratching the surface of what this amp can do to help a new player, or like myself, long time player looking for something to jam with and continue to enjoy learning.

I got this unit a week ago and can't stop using it. This sounds ridiculous to say but I swear it's true. In one week my playing and my confidence have improved substantially.
I've always thought I'd improve more quickly if I had someone to jam with and now I do. The only difference is the guy I'm jamming with is me. It's also made me realize how terrible I was at keeping time and now with a drummer setting the time (and by the way you can adjust the bpm with drums, or the full song), its fantastic.
Jim F

Anybody have experience/comments re; Line 6 JM4 Looper Guitar Effects Pedal?

Supposedly has all the capabilities/tracks/modeling of the Spider Jam but for those who already have an amp...

OOOPS! Nevermind...I just found fretsmith's post a couple threads down...

If interested.
There is a guy on gt,selling his boss js10
He claims he has no need for it,he posted his #
Worth checking out.they sell for $429.
I paid $386 for mine and love it.
Since buying the boss,i barely play my other tube amps...
Its has amp modeling and effects,and you can record ur self over a back track of any genre.blues,metal,rock ect.
or you can play and record without any tracks.
Its an awsome learning tool too.hit him up u may get a good deal.btw you can find that js10 for sale on the recording forume thats were it is.and the js10 has drum beats too..,.go for it goodluck.

Outx40,

I'm glad you like it, not sure if you know this yet, but you can also speed up, slow down or change key of anything you record off a MP3 player. As far as jam tracks, you can choose just 50's or 60's or ........ on up the line.

I recorded a song using my acoustic I wrote 30+ years ago. I'm amazed how many and how freely lead ideas for it come to me as I play along with my electric.

haghj500
Yes I have used the speed change mainly because I'm just not that fast yet with some of the more difficult chords. What I find great about that you not only have a hundred different drum patterns to play, but actually many hundreds or even thousands once you change the pitch.
For me the value has been in practicing with essentially a back up band that can play down my level (speed). It's great being able to lay multiple overdub tracks over my play and allows me by trial and error what works and what doesn't in real time versus just reading what the rule book says.
Feel like a kid with this thing.
Jim F

Hi , I found a guitar store maybe the amp can help you . =)
guitar amp store