Line 6 or Crate?

[whackmaster]

Ok, here's my situation - I have around $350-400 to spend on a 2 speaker combo. I'm mainly using it in a small venue with another guitarist who runs thru a mixing board. All I really need is a decent clean with a fuller distortion and a nice dirty sound. I'm using my PC1, so it's pretty bright to start with so recto sounds are not in my favor (imo) . I'm looking at the Crate gtd120 or spider III 210. My main concern with the spider is overkill and the added expense of a pedal to switch during songs. Effect wise , I have a AX3000 so I'm covered if I need anything there. The crate has some effects built in also and a footswitch. I've played thru both and to be honest, I see pros and cons with both. I don't know if I'm afraid of the crate just because of the name or what. Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks guys!

[jgcable]

Try to go with 12" speakers. IMHO.. 1 x 12 is better than 2 x 10. Especially if you are playing live.

[Mario8672]

Crate are great amps!

[Mordor]

The Korg multieffect has nice amp emulations too. My suggestion is to find a good non modeller combo amp with a good clean channel and a good speaker. Then set for the more powerful you can afford.

[Sinistas]

I'm using my PC1, so it's pretty bright to start with so recto sounds are not in my favor (imo).

Recto and bright are two words I've never seen used in correlation.

[whackmaster]

Maybe bright's not the right word. How about it sounds craptacular? Yeah, I think the crate may be the way to go. I will keep you guys posted with what I end up doing. Thanks for all the info.

[mjl927]

Personally, I would avoid amps with built in effects. I'd look for a good combo tube amp with great cleans. Maybe something like the Fender Blues Jr. Amps like these take pedals in front of them really well. Your AX3000 should provide you with everything you need FX wise.

[jwoods986]

People like to bag on Crate but I have an XT120R (120 watts, 2x12s, no effects except reverb) and it's pretty damn good. The clean channel is very clean, the first gain channel gets a good crunch with the gain up, and the high gain channel rocks! The only thing I haven't been able to get is a good, low-gain, slightly overdriven, bluesy sound. But you could probably get that with a pedal (or your Korg). What kind of music do you play? Also, since you have the Korg, I would get an amp without effects like mentioned above.

[whackmaster]

Yeah, I think everybody's right about the effects. I just thought it would be nice not to always have to use the Korg. I play in a worship band that plays heavy and mellow stuff ( kumbaya anyone? At home, it's much heavier stuff. I'm open to other amps as well. Tube may not work because my volume isn't always going to be loud enough to get real use of it.

[hippietim]

Get a used Fender Hot Rod series amp and a couple pedals.

[siggy14]

Find a used Line 6 Flextone II on ebay, get a pedal board with it, usually you can score them for about $400. Reason i say this is not only is it alittle combo, but you can also run direct out to the board as well and get a great sound.

The Flextone II's are some of the best bang for the buck, plus sound great for a solid state. I eventualy want to pick up one just for cleans or low gain distortion parts.

[Robert Burns]

Check out the Fender G Dec 30 wt also...$370.00 And then make sure
you at least once play a Roland Cube 60! Both of these rock for under
$400.00!

[IrfaanSE801]

A friend of mine is actually using a Korg AX3000G (I think the same as yours, forgot actual model name) through a tube power amp and a 4x12 and it sounds fantastic. I would actually recommend getting something like a Crate Powerblock and running it to a 2x12 cab of some sort. The guitar modelling on that Korg unit is great, and I think the Powerblock has a Line out so you can also send your signal to the PA if it's not loud enough.

Oh yah, wanted to mention too, ever Spider amp I had never really played well with FX unless you tweaked the hell out of it, and even then it's not as good as having an amp with an FX loop. If my suggestion won't work, I would try the Crate

[whackmaster]

Thanks everybody, looks like I've got a few more options than I thought. I'll let you guys know what I end up going with.