Which modeling amp?

[TS808]

I have two tube amps but am considering buying a modeling amp for home use.

Which of these would you pick?

Tech 21 Trademark
Vox VT50
Line 6 Spider IV
Peavey Vypr

So far I'm leaning towards either the Vox or Tech 21. I'm a little hesitant with the Peavey because of reliability issues, and the Spider IV I've seen mixed reviews on.

My guitars are strats and teles and I play blues and classic rock so high gain is not something important for me.

 

[BadMelonFarmer]

Hi TS808,

if it is for home use I would have a look at the Line 6 Spider Jam too, it has a looper, full range speakers, SD Card for recording and playing WAV's, built in drum patterns (very useful) and songs to Jam to (not so useful - IMHO).

Best practice tool I have ever used.

Worth a look.

Cheers

BMF

 

[Geiri]

I would check out the boss e band. Brilliant for learning songs.

 

[ÖÖÖ]

I've gotten some beatiful tones from Vox AD50VT, which is the older version of VT50, so I would recommend the Vox, although I haven't tried the other ones.

 

[Axe-Man]

What about the Spider Valve 2?

Best of both worlds.

Better than pod X3 sounds with a Bogner power section. Sounds pretty good from what I've heard.

 

[Member 1762]

Line6 Spider Valve (MK1) was my fave Line6 amp. I liked it better than the Tech21 amps I've had and I'm a big Tech21 fan. I've heard that the MKII 1x12 combo has a preamp tube and sounds even better. I bet that would make a nice amp for the house.

 

[crazyForce]

I had Spider Valve MKII for a week. It's not a bad amp at all, but I found that I was turning it up to a substantial volume to get it to sound its best. I intended to use it live and not so much for bedroom playing. Though, realistically, some might be perfectly satisfied with it as a bedroom volume amp, I felt like the power tubes and/or the Vintage 30 had to get working to get the best sound from it.

 

[metallica86]

if for home I will choose Pod Studio, cheap, practice, just plug in headphone and you can jam all night long. Btw I will take a couple of Tech21 Serie for sure, great analog sound and easy to carry as backup

 

[HolyMuffDiver]

I have a Trademark 60, and it's a killer amp. Perfect for rock and blues — especially blues, it really nails that SRV tone. If you're not looking for teh br00talz, this amp seems right up your alley. It's got a fantastic clean channel that gets pretty dirty if you want, and the lead channel has plenty of juice for a good crunch sound. The controls take some getting used to, but I can dial in pretty much any tone I want with it now.

If you're just looking for a home practice amp, this may be a little too loud. It doesn't sound its best at bedroom levels. The Spider IV is actually a really decent practice amp, and giggable. I like the warm, organic sound of the TM60 better, and I have an M13 for all my effects, but if you want more of an all-in-one deal, go for the Spider. The Plexi and /13 models on the IV are great.

 

[rchiav]

The Vox lower gain models are pretty good. The high gain models are not the greatest, but you said you don't care about those.

You also don't need the 50 for home use. You could play with a drummer with a VT30.

 

[buchla300]

Yamaha DG80
Plays and feels like a "real" amp Nicely sensitive but very loud. You need to keep the master volume down to near minmum for home use.
Superb amps. Even the effects are good. The reverb sounds really nice. The delay is excellent and you have vibrato and chorus but NONE of it sounds fake unlike a couple of other modeling amps I won't mention...
DG80 on ebay

 

[evbrad2007]

I've been really pleased with my VT30 thus far. I agree that it does the clean to moderate gain models best..a couple of the high gain models actually aren't bad, though, with some tweaking.

 

[MarkF786]

I've been trying to decide myself between the following amps:

- Fender Super Champ XD
- Vox VT30
- Roland Cube 30X
- Tech 21 Trademark 30
- Line 6 Spyder IV 75

Crazy as it may sound, I'm more interested in a 10" speaker. I'm personally leaning towards the Fender (which I've owned before) or the Vox.

Mark

 

[TS808]

I wound up finding a used, but mint condition Vox AD50Vt 2x12 on ebay and have had it now for a few weeks. It's a nice amp for home use. It can get seriously loud but with the power level up about 2/3 the way I can get some really good tones from it.

I'm not real fond of the higher gain models, and primarily use the Twin Reverb, Boutique Clean, Bassman, AC15, AC30, UK 70's and UK 80's models. My favs are probably the two UK models though for dirt.

I just sold one of my tube amps on ebay (too loud for home) and ordered a Line 6 Spider IV. Digital is the way to go for me, since I'm a basement player these days. I've found that most tube amps just really can't be used to their fullest without disturbing the neighbors. I did buy a Spider Valve when they first came out, but again, way too loud for home use (especially when living in a townhome) so I returned it.

My only tube amp now is a Blackheart Handsome Devil.

 

[gimmejava]

Guitar rig 4 has worked well for me. Great practice tool with built in metronome, with the ability to open sound files and drop/raise pitch and adjust tempo. Tones are really nice as well with some slight tweaking.

 

[rsm]

Nice score on the AD50. The blue series seem to be holding their own.. I have a AD120VTH head with two AD212 cabs, but it has the power attenuator which works out well. I've read the Korean versions are better than the Vietnam versions, I have a one owner Korean made version. I don't use the high gain amp models or the effects (much). Very happy with it, and it can get as low or loud as I've needed. The eye candy works for me as well with the trapezoid head and matched cabs looks like a modern super Beatle. YMMV. But I dig mine.

 

[LickmyGear138]

I have two tube amps but am considering buying a modeling amp for home use.

Which of these would you pick?

Tech 21 Trademark
Vox VT50
Line 6 Spider IV
Peavey Vypr

So far I'm leaning towards either the Vox or Tech 21. I'm a little hesitant with the Peavey because of reliability issues, and the Spider IV I've seen mixed reviews on.

My guitars are strats and teles and I play blues and classic rock so high gain is not something important for me.

Based on the info you gave, i would recomend the Vox VT50 , I've heard this amp live with classic rock bands and blues. and they are great. , IMO if you want a more digital sound, not so natural , go with something else.

 

[Axe-Man]

What about a Spider Valve 2?

The Spider IV is a good amp if you like L6 sounds...it's essentially a POD X3 used as the front end to the SS power section.

I've listened to alot of clips concerning the others, Vox/Peavey. I find the X3 level L6 stuff just sounds 'better' IMO...even though it's older tech...

YMMV.

 

[trisonic]

Dunno. here's my experience.
I wanted to get my daughter a new amp - she's 13 and needs a bigger amp than the TM10 I passed to her. She's not interested in my "old" tube amps.

I narrowed it down to the Line 6 Spider IV 30 and the Vypyr 30.

I ended up buying her the Vypyr 30 - mainly because of the WYSIWYG factor, the fact that the Spider IV's only have the latest SHARC technology down to the 75 - the 15 and 30 are NOT SHARC - but the Vypyr is. The little Vypyr with a 12" speaker was $199.99 delivered.
It's actually a nice little amp. I really like the Twin, Deluxe, AC30, "Plexi" (more like a 2204) and Bad Cat models.
Whilst not as effective as a tube amp you can control it from the guitar's volume knob, I like the way the "stompboxes" are at the front and the "effects" (including both delay and reverb) are at the end of the amp. I like the Pre-amp gain plus Post - amp volume then Master (you can fine balance each amp to the same volume despite whatever gain they are at). The effects section has a real quality sound to it particularly the Leslie effect - which I have to say is the best rotating speaker simulator I've heard ever - all of which can be relatively fine tuned.
All in all super value - bang for the buck and she's happy.

Best, Pete.

 

[LickmyGear138]

What about a Spider Valve 2?

The Spider IV is a good amp if you like L6 sounds...it's essentially a POD X3 used as the front end to the SS power section.

I've listened to alot of clips concerning the others, Vox/Peavey. I find the X3 level L6 stuff just sounds 'better' IMO...even though it's older tech...

YMMV.

well, the Vox vs. spider valve 2,, makes no sense. If you play classic rock/blues,, why the hell would you want a valve 2? , on top of that, the Valve cost 2x as much. so should the better match up be maybe a Valve 2 vs. AC30 , or something closer to the same price range. , you know what......... buy the VAlve 2 , i'm sure that "insane" setting on that amp will come in handy when you want to play some Megadeath or something.