# Which Amp is best??? (POLL)



## Marlon (Sep 9, 2007)

Which one do you like best???
Please comment on why chose the particular amp...


----------



## Budda (May 29, 2007)

i'd have to spend a lot of time with all 4 of them lined up with my LP to tell you.


----------



## GuitaristZ (Jan 26, 2007)

this is a no brainer...the vox...I cant believe anybody would vote for anything else...thats sad...the roland comes in a close second...but it just sounds pretty synthetic to me...the vox is better anyway


----------



## ne1roc (Mar 4, 2006)

I'm gonna have to go with the Vox too! It is a great sounding amp and it records well too!


----------



## nonreverb (Sep 19, 2006)

Hate to break the chain here boys but I'd have to go with the Roland.


----------



## Steve P (May 9, 2007)

I haven't spent enough time with the Roland to comment. I compared the microcube to a Vox DA15, and I preferred the Vox (although the Roland had some good distortion models). The Vox had better cleans and, to my ear, better effects built-in. And the Valvetronix has, to my ear, better tone than the DA15. 

During my last round of amp shopping I tried the Fender Frontman -- I don't remember why I rejected it, but I moved on to try other amps. 

The spider had a lot of effects, but I didn't like the tone very much. For a modelling amp, I think a buyer is better off going with a Vox Valvetronix -- good cleans, very versatile, OK effects (except the auto wah!) built in, too. 

For a bedroom amp, especially for beginners, I'd recommend going with a smaller digital modeller, like the Vox DA5 or Roland Microtube. At band volumes you'll need more volume, and the modellers aren't at their best when played loud. I recommend going for a small modeller, and then saving some money for a nice little 15-30W tube amp for playing at higher volumes.


----------



## Marlon (Sep 9, 2007)

is the distortion good on the vox??


----------



## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

The Vox and the Roland. Personal preference now enters here. Like someone said, line them up and try them out.


----------



## GuitaristZ (Jan 26, 2007)

vox is all about distortion my friend...


----------



## Budda (May 29, 2007)

i consider myself lucky, i get to plug into my jsx to practise - and it smokes at distortion!


----------



## violation (Aug 20, 2006)

If you had a gun to my head and I absolutely had to choose from those I'd say the Vox.


----------



## Marlon (Sep 9, 2007)

seems that the frontman sucks.

i like the vox a lot but i think it would be cooler if the turn knobs were in the front


----------



## GuitaristZ (Jan 26, 2007)

but then it wouldnt look as cool


----------



## Budda (May 29, 2007)

i've heard reasonable tones come from an FM.


----------



## adamthemute (Jun 18, 2007)

I've played Roland Cubes and the Vox, and they're pretty good amps for the price.

All I know is don't buy the Line 6. My friend has it and it's horrible.


----------



## Spikezone (Feb 2, 2006)

My amp of choice isn't on your poll: it's my Traynor YCV50Blue...
-Mikey


----------



## JSX/6505 (Nov 18, 2007)

I'd also go with the VOX.

Most authentic digital amp sims IMO.

Has one 12AX7 preamp tube too.


----------



## Ophidian (May 22, 2006)

I say Vox. Love mine. But I never tried the other ones.


----------



## Lemmy Hangslong (May 11, 2006)

I prefer tube amps and own a Soldano Hot Rod 50, Koch Multitone 100 2x12 combo and Randall Lynch Box full stack.
All these amps are a lot to lug around, especially for practice. For tha treason i wanted a small amp i could easilly carry in one hand that had certain features such as mult channel and multi voicing. Most of all it had to sound respectable. Of all the modelling amps I tried and they include those listed in this pole plus some more... I liked the Vox AVT the most... so I bought one.


----------



## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

You guys are understimating the Line 6 Spider III 75 watts, it is WAY better then any other listed. i<ve own one now for almost a year, and that's the only amp i need for now. you're not limited to a few sounds and don't need to buy a full board of pedals. i've programmed most the amps i used to run on it, and then set-up sounds for every band i play. it's just nuts how good this thing can sound.


----------



## Bob Rock (Mar 11, 2006)

Spikezone said:


> My amp of choice isn't on your poll: it's my Traynor YCV50Blue...
> -Mikey


Mine as well, a Crate V3112


----------



## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

I havent tried all of those amps, but I can say if I was stuck on a desert island (that had electricity) I would take the Line 6. It has a real great metal sound, and the built in effects can be real handy. Its just overall versatile, and reliable.

But I dont think I know enough about your musical preferences, guitars, etc what you're lookign for, and how you plan to use that amp to give a fair response.

FWIW, I have a Line6 Spider III 15w combo at the cottage and for what it is, I love it!


----------



## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

I don't know much about the Spider, but if it has the same technology in it as the Flextone III, it has to have some decent sounds in it. The Flextone III is the best modeling amp I have heard. I gigged with it for a bit, and decided modelers weren't really for me. But if I was ever to look into one again, I'd probably check out the Spider because I assume it's a more compact version of the Flextone?

I think one difference might be the Line 6 stuff has so many options that you do need to spend some time dialing in the amp. It's one of the strengths AND one of the weaknesses of them. The Vox ones are way more 'plug and play', where the Line 6 stuff is way more configurable.


----------



## Canman (Oct 21, 2007)

I voted Roland-nice, simple, small, and powerful. works great with SB's as well as acoustics with soundhole pickups(Ive never tried it with a peizo).
Roland has a reputation for quality. These things been around for a long time. 
I wouldnt touch any of the others for playing live.

The Fender an excellent practice amp hasnt got the clean headroom due to the low power, the other one is digital?? and the Vox seems too over built and engineered at least at first appearances, Ive never thought the company to be well established nor do I like the looks, although for sure they have made some great sounding amps in the past.

The roland is the only real professional quality amp on the list IMO.

Thats the OLD roland cube 60...Ive never tried the newer ones with all the buttons.


----------



## Fajah (Jun 28, 2006)

My vote is obviously for the Cube 60, probably because I own one. I did have a Vox AD30VT which I eventually sold after a year. What I didn't like about the Vox was that there wasn't a clean channel completely seperate from the modeling channels. Since I'm a jazz/blues player, I needed something light, versatile, powerful enough to jam with, and virtually maintenance free. Since owning the Vox, I've owned the following:

Peavey Bandit 112 - Nice for rock/blues, lousy for jazz. Too heavy to lug around.

Fender DRRI - Great sounding amp. It can do it all, but I wanted some some built in effects (for the odd time I'd use them) and didn't want to mess around with tubes. The newer DRRI's electronics are kind of crappy in my opinion. I had all sorts of solder joints break, hence the amp kept cutting out on me.

While looking for a replacement for the DRRI, I went the Twelfth Fret here in Toronto to try some of the "boutique" amps. I spent quite a bit of time playing through Polytone, Henricksen, and Jazzkat. They were all nice, but nothing turned my crank. In the same room as the Jazzkat, there sat a Cube 30 and Cube 60. I've played through the Cube 30 before, and it's not bad, although I prefer a 12" speaker, and it's too underpowered for my jamming needs. I plugged into the Cuba 60 and fell in love with it. I added the Boss FS-6 footswitch. 

Lawrie


----------



## Lemmy Hangslong (May 11, 2006)

The line 6 Spider III is a cool amp... my buddy owns one... for me tho the Vox just sounds better.


----------



## Steve Adams (Dec 31, 2009)

I had the spider iii 120 and it sucked bad. It was dead to play. It had no feel. I cannot see the poll. I am going to toss the stang iii in. For tube tone and feel, nothing in the modeling world comes close.


----------



## marcos (Jan 13, 2009)

Hands down,Roland Cube. Owned a few of these and it had lots of power and could sound really cool with a few stomp boxes, plus they were built like a tank and could stand up to road abuse.Getting harder to find and not cheap anymore.


----------



## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

i've played through all the choices, and i chose the vox. if you had said cube 30, i would have picked it instead. the cube 60 to my ear just doesn't sound as good as the 30. i've been told it's the speaker, but i don't actually know. i tried the line 6 for a few days when a buddy brought one over. it just wasn't for me. if i had spent more time with it who knows? but i thought it was a little harsh at the time. my neighbor across the hall has a valvetronix, so i hear it every single day. 
i think it makes a really nice clean sound, and the chorus effects are better sounding than the cube. i know that makes little sense considering roland is all boss effects, but you know what they say about opinions.....


----------



## georgemg (Jul 17, 2011)

I picked the Fender. They all sound awful but at least the Fender looks cool. Plus, the Fender can sound decent if you put a better speaker in it.

PS Not sure if the Frontman was the best Fender amp to be compared with the other amps. The others are all modelling amps - a G-DEC, Mustang or Vibro Champ XD may stood a better chance.


----------



## Petey D (Sep 8, 2011)

I chose the Roland because a buddy of mine had one back in my tech school days, and I was impressed with it's versetility and I thought its effects were better than the Vox. The Vox is a very close second I have to say, its models are pretty darn good. I had a Frontman for a little while when I was first getting back into playing, and I had a lot of trouble getting good tones from it. The line 6 Spider line is pure shite, not worth the plastic it's stamped from. Line 6 Flextones & Vettas are WORLDS better. Cheers!


----------



## WCGill (Mar 27, 2009)

To use the "gun to the head" analogy used earlier, I'd just pull the trigger.


----------



## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

Personally, I don't think the poll was given a chance to be anything but the VOX. All the others were already in second place or worse from the first.


----------

