What entry-level guitar amp?

I know a lot of you guys are guitar nuts. My elder son is coming along with his guitar lessons. One of the instruments he has is a Fender Strat. What's a good practice amp?

I've looked at the Fender Mustang II. Seems like a good enough unit. Lots of built-in effects, which is a definite plus. A friend recommends Line 6 stuff. Anything else to consider?

I'm looking to pay around 200 bucks. Looking for recommendations. Thanks!

That Mustang II looks good. It's a solid-state amp, too, so it has a headphone jack. I had a Fender bass amp and liked it. I only replaced it because I was looking for something with more oomf. I l really liked the tone.

Also, get him a longer cord than you think he'll need.

I like the Roland Cube 20 or 40GX. It's pretty inexpensive and has lots of features. All the regular stuff plus 3 channels, Delay, cool effects made easy, hands free changes (foot switch) etc... easy integration with Apple crap too if you like that sort of thing. Easy to take with you somewhere too.

If he might be interested in a variety of tones, look for one of the modeling amps like Line 6...yeah, it won't have the sound quality that other amps will have, but he can get a wide variety of tones without spending extra $$$ on outboard effects. In a few years, once he has a better grasp of what he likes, then he can upgrade and look for higher-quality rig.

Yeah, the Line 6 Spider IV 30-watt is running near the lead right now. I'll look at the Roland.

David S. Wallens wrote: That Mustang II looks good.

+1 on this

I have a 1x12 40W Mustang II that's a few years old now. It was $299. I greatly prefer analog/tube stuff, but the modeling on this amp is fantastic. It sounds very warm and natural. At the time, I though the similar Line 6 sounded like crap--harsh and "digital".

Mind you, my "good" amp is a 50w Marshall JCM800, so that's where my brain is tone-wise. I figured out that a Rat 2 and that amp were my sound sometime around 1997.

That said, guitar players fuss over tone to an uber annoying degree. Guitarists--no one cares about your precious tone that you agonize over for years. That Strat will likely sound like garbage because the person playing it is not a legend (I play Gibsons because I accepted long ago that I couldn't get a sound out of a Fender).

<--self-loathing guitarist

Line 6's are DIRT_CHEAP used, and tough to beat for a practice amp, IMO. The built in effects and modeling stuff is pretty amazing, considering when I was a kid, $200 bought you a E36 M3ty sounding 2-channel Peavey that you had to throw effects at.

Haven't played the Fender. I have played a Fender Princeton and absolutely loved it. No idea what they go for though.

Orange stuff is decent

I'd find a used 3-5 watt tube amp, but that's me. Guitar amps shouldn't be solid state.

Jeff wrote: I'd find a used 3-5 watt tube amp, but that's me. Guitar amps shouldn't be solid state.

Oh, and I guess you're going to suggest we all shift our own gears too?

haha! awesome.

Jeff wrote: I'd find a used 3-5 watt tube amp, but that's me. Guitar amps shouldn't be solid state.

LOL. Guitars shouldn't be electric either.

Line 6 is a good entry level amp. Tubes are nice but even small ones can get stupid loud. I played through a 100 watt tube halfstack for a few years and my hearing has suffered.