Guitar players share your knowledge?

Question

I'm in the markt for a new, combo amp. However I'm not the type of player who uses single distortion pedals, and ect. I use a Line 6 POD X3 Live multi effects pedals. So my question is.......
What combos would sound better with the POD X3 Live effects pedal used with it solid state or tube amps?

Also, can someone explain to me better what does bypass mean. For example if I'm going to use the POD X3 clean channel and distortion for playing and anot the amps clean does that mean I'm bypassing the to the amp?

Answer 1

So here's the deal. When you rely on a multifx pedal for your tone you are going to want a very clean amp to run it into. Flat, pretty much. Usually you want to run straight into the power amp, actually, through the "fx return" jack.



So why not just get a power amp? Couple it with a PA speaker and you will have a great delivery system for your multifx pedal. The first two links are one example - about 300$ or so, for a clean 150w of speaker power, with more wattage on tap for extra clean headroom. Not a bad way to go, plenty of volume, although more speakers would probably be nice.



The third link is to a powered cabinet. Again, this is the way to go if you're amplifying a multifx pedal - clean, full-range amplification. The disadvantage of this method is that you're limited to the one speaker, you can't add on to it without more equipment (ie a separate mixer, another power amp, more speakers, whatever).



The two links after it are two of the cooler buys I've ever seen... all tube amp heads for less than 200$! The Epi Valve Jr and the Crate V Series V33H.... tubes tend to add a bit of warmth to digital sound, I think you will find that they would work well together! (and that Crate looks like a great deal... just might have to get one... dang... I've got the Epi Valve Jr, which is a great amp, but it's only 5 watts, which means it doesn't have as much clean headroom as I'd ideally like - which means you can turn up louder before it starts to break up, basically - 5 watts is still loud enough to jam with a full band, if you get good enough speakers though!).



If you do go with a guitar amp, then you'll need a cab with guitar speakers... this is important, as guitar amps put out a good deal of high frequency icky hiss (unlike the power amps mentioned above), and thus you need guitar speakers, which have less high end response to filter that out.



EDIT: I didn't actually ask what your price range was, but I figured I'd start by low-balling it. Anything I've mentioned is good enough to play with a full band, both tone and volume-wise! You surely don't need a 100w tube amp to get a rip-your-face-off tone, in fact 100w is usually too much amp to gig with, since you have to turn it up so loud before it really starts to get that sweet frickin cranked sound... (remember what I said about headroom earlier!)



EDIT: Watts work logarithmically. So 100w is only twice as loud as 10 watts! The big difference isn't in volume, it's in headroom... I usually consider 50-60 watts to be the most you ever need, especially if its a tube amp!





Saul

Answer 2

If you have your pedal plugged in and are playing through the amp but don't have the pedal activated, then you are bypassing the pedal. That's all it means. I wouldn't look into a solid state amp if you're looking for something with good sound sound quality at higher volume levels. They are pretty much only good for playing at a low volume level in the house, otherwise they start to break up and sound bad if you increase the volume.



So definitely look strictly at tube amps. The unique thing about tube amps is that even a 5W model is MUCH more powerful then even a 30W solid state amp. Also, increasing the wattage of a tube amp doesn't create a linear increase in power. In other words, a 30W tube amp is probably about 75% as powerful as a 100W model.



Hope that explains some things!

Answer 3

You are partially correct and then there is the other hand. Its not that self taught guitar players are bad. Its that all those who have had lessons are the greats on the guitar. Satriani, Vai, Pass, Benson, Parkening, etc... You can get the basics on the internet but... the internet doesn't watch your hand position for good finger technique and placement. The internet doesn't give you 5 alternate forms for every chord you play. The internet can't teach you how to embelish chords by moving your hand position or finger position. Self taught players just aren't at there potential. I always tell my students where would you have learned that if I hadn't shown you. (I know from the next teacher right). If you want to be a great player you do what great players did to become great. Thats the only guide we really have. There is another problem that we have in the guitar market. Many teachers teach because they are great players. But not all great players are great teachers. Be selective about your teacher. Find one that has a degree on guitar. You will learn the most from him. Try an experiment. Take lessons for 6 months from him/her and then ask yourself what would I be like if I hadn't taken these lessons. Keep Rockin and good luck. BME and BM in Music Education and Music Perf 35 yrs exp.

Answer 4

IF you want good Combo amps that are Solid State...stick to these names. These are reliable brands that wont let you down.



1. Marshall

2. Vox

3. Randall

4. Fender

5. Line 6

6. Epiphone





Now, IF you want REAL TUBE amps...

you're going have to spend about $1,500 to $3,000 for a serious Tube amp. These are the top TUBE amp brands to check out



1. Orange

2. Rivera

3. Soldano

4. Bugera

5. Egnater

6. Fender....... (Eddie Van Halen 5150 Half Stack)

7. Marshall

8. Vox

9. Randall





here is where you can find them



www.music123.com

www.guitarplaza.com

www.americanmusical.com

www.samash.com

www.washburn.com

www.zzounds.com

www.guitarcenter.com

Answer 5

go for a hybrid amp that is which has tube based pre-amp and a solid state power amp!



And if u are going to use thePOD X3 for all d effects then u will be actually bypassing the amp's eq by plugging ur patch cable for pod x3 and the amp between the amp's bypass/ external effects jack!

Answer 6

Look on Craigslist or Ebay for a used Mesa Engineering Stiletto, Trem-o-Verb, or other Mesa combo. You'll never regret buying the best.