Need help on deciding on AMP!!

[broken.]

Hey guys, im still relativley new to the forum but I am looking for your suggestions.

Well I went into the music store and Im torn. I cannot decide on which amp to buy!

I played the Vox AC30 and the Fender Hot Rod Deville 410. Now the Fender has such a crisp and wet sound to it, it sounds really strong too. The Vox is more pleasent to the ears and has a more distorted tone .. I have no idea which one I should go for they are both in the 1200 dollar range.
(One problem with the VOX i just learned that they are made in China, they are not really the real Britian amps, I don't know how many people know that. They are still really expensive but the real Brit Vox amps are in the 3-4 grand range)

Now for me it wouldn't be a big deal to save up to 1500 or even 2000 dollars to buy an amp. I am just so undecided, I want a very good amp that will last me a long long long time. I need this amp to play through a system, to gig with it, and possibly in the future to do shows.

Now I am no way the expert on guitar amps. But I still want to get the best amp I can afford, so that I won't change my mind in a couple of months.

One other thing though. I have only one pedal its the Boss DS-1 Distortion, if you've heard anything by Haste the Day that is the guitar sound Im trying to get, a really grungy, crunchy distorted sound with a bit of bass in it (Kutless too). So what pedals would I need for that? And what amp best suits that?

So some of you guitar gurus help me out! (By the way I disklike Marshall.. so thats out of the question off the bat)
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Thanks.

[Benjy_26]

Re: Need help on deciding on AMP!!

Why do you dislike Marshall? Also, how big are the venues you will be playing? Do you plan on getting you OD from the amp, or from pedals? Is clean important to you?

[broken.]

Re: Need help on deciding on AMP!!

Well in my opinion Marshall sucks from a sound engineering point of view. Of course there are diffrent points of view. I just dislike Marshall. But by the time they get in that price range, (JCM2000 and Mesa Dual Rectifier) They about sound the same anyways. Thing is Im not investing 3 + grand :P

I am looking for distortion, clean is not that important to me because I do not play blues or anything of that sort. Playing styles vary from rock - hardrock - metal. So i need that bite and crunch.

Venues, we are starting up a band right now I've already played acouple mini concerts on my valvetronix but sounds crap. Not to the average ear. Ill be using it to play through a church PA system to begin, its not a crappy church PA system either 1000 + ppl.. so you get the idea. We've built an amp isolation room which is pretty intense.. but thats offtopic

[Scott_F]

Re: Need help on deciding on AMP!!

You lost me on the "metal" part of your description in that I really never have played metal nor do I ever see myself getting into it. Up until then, I was about to give some advice.

So, play along and assume I never read metal in your post and answer a few questions.

1. it sounds like you'll have the ability to mic your amp via the PA system. That just opened up an endless possibilities to the world of small amps. Low wattage amps that snarl are wonderful things. Plus, they dont weigh a ton. But, if you plan to play large halls or clubs with no PA's, they won't cut it. So you have to decide where you are on that one.

2. Do you prefer overall american fenderish tones or are you more into british marshal-voxy tones?

3. Do you prefer combos or are you looking for a head and a cab as seperates?

4. Any examples of music you listen to where you completey and utterly love their tone? If so, find out what they are using.

5. What guitar will you be playing into it? Or multiples?

6. Pedals and other FX? Is an FX loop a deal breaker?

7. Do you like the tone of 10" speakers or 12 or 15? Do you know? Have you ever plugged into a big Fender Bassman 4x10?

There are so many great choices out there. If you are complaining about Marshal build quality, you can still get that tone in an uncompromising build if you take off the Marshall logo and look to a smaller builder.

Answer those questions above and there'll be a ton of guys with suggestions.....

[broken.]

Re: Need help on deciding on AMP!!

1. it sounds like you'll have the ability to mic your amp via the PA system. That just opened up an endless possibilities to the world of small amps. Low wattage amps that snarl are wonderful things. Plus, they dont weigh a ton. But, if you plan to play large halls or clubs with no PA's, they won't cut it. So you have to decide where you are on that one.

I plan to play through a PA but I also might have to do gigs without a PA so I need a medium size amp that can also handle large halls

2. Do you prefer overall american fenderish tones or are you more into british marshal-voxy tones?
I own a VOX Valvetronix at the moment and I love the tone, I have tried the Fender its got a nice sound but I read alot on it that it is more of a blues amp. Thats the only thing hindering my choice.


3. Do you prefer combos or are you looking for a head and a cab as seperates?

It doesn't matter.

4. Any examples of music you listen to where you completey and utterly love their tone? If so, find out what they are using.

I have uploaded one song, 4 megs, to show you what sort of sound I attempting to achieve. I'd have to be able to go harder than this but this is the medium.

http://www.f-forge.com/?d=lLBzucGxRfOC9KHkIEn6

5. What guitar will you be playing into it? Or multiples?

I own a Fender Standard Strat at the moment, not the greatest guitar. But I am soon going to buying a Schecter C-1 Elite

6. Pedals and other FX? Is an FX loop a deal breaker?

I am looking for pedals that will help me acheive this distorton. I currently own the Boss DS-1, but I do not think it will be enouhg. I am not a fan for processed sound. I tried out the Voodoo Sparkle drive but must have been me not knowing how to use it, but it didn't sound that much diffrent from the orginal sound (tested Fender Hot Rod Deville 410)

7. Do you like the tone of 10" speakers or 12 or 15? Do you know? Have you ever plugged into a big Fender Bassman 4x10?

I am new to this. I have been told for my situation the 410 sounds the best. My amp has a 1x12 and it sounds good as well. I guess this does not matter.

[drew_half_empty]

Re: Need help on deciding on AMP!!

well, the vox is a modeling amp, so why don't you just buy whatever amp you're modeling?

and for your situation i think a 2x12 or 4x12 would work best

[broken.]

Re: Need help on deciding on AMP!!

I think I have an idea of what you mean by modelling amp but can you please elaborate on what you mean by that?

[jony]

Re: Need help on deciding on AMP!!

Your Vox digitally models many different tones.

So which tone do you commonly model?

[75lespaul]

Re: Need help on deciding on AMP!!

A modeling amp tries to replicate the sound of another amplifier, usually a classic that costs big bucks like an AC30 or Plexi Marshall to name a couple.

[broken.]

Re: Need help on deciding on AMP!!

Does anyone own the Fender Hot Rod Deville, I just changed my opinion again after playing it. It sounded awesome to me. Its great its a blues amp cause putting distortion to that baby will sound awesome. Can anyone provide any feedback on this amp ? How'd you like it, thigns you found you didn't like etc...

[75lespaul]

Re: Need help on deciding on AMP!!

I had a hot rod deluxe which I know is a different animal, but part of the same family. I liked the cleans but when it was overdriven it sounded (imho) pretty solid state. I never used a pedal with it.

[greendy123]

Re: Need help on deciding on AMP!!

I had a hot rod deluxe which I know is a different animal, but part of the same family. I liked the cleans but when it was overdriven it sounded (imho) pretty solid state. I never used a pedal with it.

+1 on that, once I engaged the drive channels on the amp it sounded very solid statey distortion-wise, not very smooth like in other amps. It sound fine clean, but not distorted.

[Gunny47]

Re: Need help on deciding on AMP!!

As much as I would love to reccomend a Fender amp to you, broken, because theyre my favorite amp company, if you play alot of metal and hard rock, you will probably not be satisfied with the distortion tones it offers after owning it for a while. Metal you need a tight bass end with lower mids, this tone you will not get from a Hot Rod Deville and a Boss DS-1. I really think you should try out some Marshalls, give them another chance. Try out the Marshall TSL602 or TSL122 or DSL401. Those are pretty good combos IMO and deliver metal tones and classic rock tones. Im not the biggest fan of them, but if you want to play harder styles, it might be better. You can always retube them and give them better speakers to increase the sound quality. Just my 2 cents.

I mean, the Fenders are great, but you said that you dont play blues or jazz and dont care about clean too much, so it doesnt make much sense to me. Maybe you can try out a Mesa Boogie Lone Star, that is a great amp. Got good cleans, good crunch/overdrive and a lot of sustain for good solo leads.

[daemon barbeque]

Re: Need help on deciding on AMP!!

if you are going with distortion anyway ,why don't you try to buy a high-gain amp!!!the best distortion is the amp distortion.Buy a 2 channel amp like a peavey 5150 or Cornford mk50(a real nice-bad ass-britt amp) or an orange ad140 .they have al a nice high-gain channel and a moderate clean channel!!!
they are all head+cabinet about 2000 $ and they will serve you well.
or ,if you are from U.S ,buy a marshall jcm 800 and let it be modded by JEff SEAL!!!

[Scott_F]

Re: Need help on deciding on AMP!!

There are a lot of great comments here. My advice is to play as many as you can. Find one that you like the cleans on. Then it's a bit easier sometimes to find a pedal that will give you the crunch you're after.

You mentioned several times the phrase "what I'm told" or "what people say".

Stop that.

Trust your ears. I'm assuming the Schecter uses humbuckers. So, when you play amps in stores, try to use the same guitar you are going to get. Once you get it, take it with you to try out amps.

Trust your ears.