I've been through a series of small amps over the past two years, including the MG15 and Fender Frontman 15. Because I live in an apartment, I couldn't turn either of them up sufficiently to get their true tone. Same thing with the Vox Mini 5, but on that one the effects models were driving me crazy. I prefer pedals. I haven't tried the Line 6 Spider, but they seem to be very popular. A few months ago, I opted for the 10W Vox Pathfinder because I wanted a low power amp without any onboard effects. Just Volume, Gain, Bass, and Treble controls with two channels for clean and overdrive. It also has a Line Out/Headphone jack. The tone is very good and I'm really happy with it.