New Guitar + Amp

fishtastico

First off, anyone know a place to get a reasonably-cheap (under 1K), possibly used American left-handed tele?

(pause for laughter)

Anyway, was looking at the Roland cube 30X, and was wondering if it's worth the €200 pricetag. Looking for a versatile practice amp that could possibly be used in jam sessions, and hoping this fits the bill. Any ideas?

Welease

I'm not a tone snob but specifying an expensive American made tele and matching it with a cheap cube seems a bit like buying a BMW and putting tractor tires on it

The Cube's do get decent reviews so buying it is not a disaster, but I personally would be more likely to try and get a Japanese tele and use the cash saved to buy a better secondhand tube amp..

fishtastico

Are the current Japanese Teles any good? I've heard the mid-80's ones are amazing, but is that still the case? I also hear the Mexicans can be dodgy as hell, so I don't want to fall into the same thing with a current Japanese model

68 lost souls

Nope mexicans have gotten better and better the last few years. They upgraded them all last year with new hardware and paint. I would not turn my nose up at them, the roadworn series is actually better then the US standard, although saying that they are the same price. So if you go Mexican go late 08/09

I would go with a nicer amp alright. In saying that though the cubes are great for practice amps. I recommend every guitar player should have a microcube. They are definately worth it, especially since the in built effects are all based on the moss effects pedals so you get a nice variety of sounds from somethings small and cheap. Great for around the house or backstage warmups.

CianRyan

Brand new Mexican thinline Teles are only about €600 I think are are bloody lovely to play.
Grab one second hand for ~€400 and you've €600 left for a nice amp. Result.

Dave Total

The cubes are great amps no doubt, also you might want to consider the Peavey Vypyr Range, They are great amps with a ton of effects and amp models, similar to the line 6 spiders.

fishtastico

Where is a good place to get Japanese lefty Tele's anyway? Are there many in Ireland, or are there particularly good sites?

And is there agreement that the Mexican jobs are much improved?

Havermeyer

Welease speaks the truth.

If you're budgeting, I'd budget on the guitar and splash out on an amp imo. I've heard squires sound pretty decent on a good amp. I couldn't say the same if the roles were reversed, however.

Cheap amps are just that, cheap.

*Edit*

Fender Blues Junior wouldn't be a bad amp to look at. Not too pricey, and you'd have a fair few quid left over to spend on the guitar. That's just my opinion though.

Good luck with the purchase.

Sandvich

There's no real reason to get a US Tele. I agree, get a decent Amp with the money instead. If you are going to get a modeler, get a higher end one like one of the Vypyrs with tubes in them.