What Amp?

sean1968 · #1 March 25th, 2007

I have just bought a Aria Pro II Knight Warrior electric and am now looking for an amp. This has to be reeeeeeeeally cheap as I spent all my money on the guitar. I have no idea what type to buy and what different sounds come from what different amps. Any help on a type of amp is gratefully recieved. Names and models would be better and I will look for them on ebay. Cheers in advance

Stratrat · #2 March 25th, 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by sean1968

I have just bought a Aria Pro II Knight Warrior electric and am now looking for an amp. This has to be reeeeeeeeally cheap as I spent all my money on the guitar. I have no idea what type to buy and what different sounds come from what different amps. Any help on a type of amp is gratefully recieved. Names and models would be better and I will look for them on ebay. Cheers in advance

Hard to beat the Roland Micro Cube on the low price end. You can get everything from pristine clean tones to metal-type distortion, plus onboard effects for you to experiment with. It's small, but it's MORE than loud enough for practicing! Also very portable.

Mike8307 · #3 March 25th, 2007

You didn't give exactly how much you have to spend. Usually you think about the guitar and amp as a total expenditure at the same time if you don't have either.

I'll have to agree with the Roland cube. While I don't own one (never read a bad/unhappy review) they seem to be the perfect 'in between' amp, priced between $100-125. In between cheap practice amps that go around $60 and low end digial amps (small Line 6 Spiders, Beringers, Fenders, Vox in the $250 range).

Be careful about the really low low priced amps on EBay, I can't imagine that they sound much better than a kazzoo.

Michael

JessThrasher · #4 March 26th, 2007

Welcome to Jessica's guitar advice corner. Before I can help you...

What's your price range?

What type of music do you want to play?

Are you going to be using clean or distortion more?

Are you ok with a bajillion knobs and buttons?

Do you have a particular brand in mind?

sean1968 · #5 March 26th, 2007

Dont care if the amount of buttons make it look like a planes cockpit. Im a death, Sepultura fan so would like a deep sound if possible. Not really that bothered as long as it doesnt sound like an amplified banjo. Price......? Not really sure as I can wait for a week or two and make a few more quid selling on ebay before I buy one anyway. Cheers

knight46 · #6 March 26th, 2007

Hello All,
This is a real newby question...is "clean" the natural tone of the guitar without unnatural modification. I guess I mean is this the same as you would expect from no amplification. Not doing a good job of this question. Is "clean" what you would expect from an electric played like an acoustic.

Stratrat · #7 March 26th, 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by knight46

Hello All,
This is a real newby question...is "clean" the natural tone of the guitar without unnatural modification. I guess I mean is this the same as you would expect from no amplification. Not doing a good job of this question. Is "clean" what you would expect from an electric played like an acoustic.

"Clean" may not (and usually doesn't) sound exactly like an acoustic or an unplugged guitar - but yes, it's the "natural" tone of the guitar through the amp without added gain (overdrive/distortion) or effects.

knight46 · #8 March 26th, 2007

Thanks Stratrat, that is what I thought it might be.

sean1968 · #9 March 26th, 2007

I have my eye on 2 at the moment. A Roland Micro Cube & a Vox Pathfinder.
Is either ok for a metal(ish) sound?

allthumbs · #10 March 26th, 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by sean1968

I have my eye on 2 at the moment. A Roland Micro Cube & a Vox Pathfinder.
Is either ok for a metal(ish) sound?

Depends on what your after. The pathfinder has a tremolo and footswitch. A gain control for for distortion. The Roland on the other hand has no foot switch but, more built in effects. It should be fairly easy to find a cube to try in a music store. You will have to decide whether you want to put pedals in front of the Vox to get closer to the exact metel sound you want or settle for on board FXs that might not be what your wanting to hear. Either is a good choice. Hopefully some members who have one or the other will chime in with their thoughts.

Stratrat · #11 March 26th, 2007

I've never played the Pathfinder, but I own a Micro Cube. It has an amp model called "R-Fier" which is a model of the Mesa Boogie Rectifier series. With the gain cranked up it will do quite passable metal/metal-ish sounds. It's a great amp for home practice, but if you're going to be jamming with friends (especially if a drummer will be involved) it probably won't cut the mustard volume-wise.