Amp for post-metal - Laney, Marshall, Engl?

[Entangled]

Hi! I need a new amp for post-metal (I use Fender Hot Rod Deville III currently), I hope to get a Russian Circles/Pelican sound with dark, heavy distortion with plenty of low-end and not too bright cleans. It would be an added bonus if the amp worked well with Rat and bass Big Muff. I play a Fender Telecaster Deluxe FSR with humbuckers (though I might switch to Gibson after I get the amp).

The amps which I'm considering are Marshall JCM 800 2205, Marshall DSL 100, Laney VH100R, Laney GH100L (only one channel though), Laney AOR Pro-Tube, Engl Fireball and Engl Screamer. If anyone has any experience with these amps, especially in the context of this genre, let me know what you think. You can of course suggest other amps but I would prefer if we could restrict the discussion to those, as they are within my budget and readily available used in Poland. I hven' tried them yet, will do it soon.

I was almost set on the VH100R as I read a lot of glowing opinions on that one, however some of it's characteristics put me off - hum/noise, excessive brightness, amount of time needed to find the right tone, apparently it's a tweaker. It's still an intriguing option though.

Peace

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Amp for post-metal - Laney, Marshall, Engl?

Cool to see another Russian Circles and Pelican fan!

Every time I've seen Russian Circles, Mike has been using two Sunn amps and pedals (Fulltone) for drive. Pelican has been Sunn and Marshall. I'm also struck at how comparatively clean Pelican usually is compared to others in the genre. A lot of the darkness and heaviness comes from the low tuning and heavy riffs, not loads of gain. They've definitely studied at the altar of Imommi for heavy riffing.

I'm not familiar with the Laneys. The Marshall can be pretty bright... Sunn amps are the typical sound of the genre, have you had the opportunity to try one out?

Also, what are your delay and reverbs for ambiance? Are you doing any looping?

 

[NecroPolo]

Re: Amp for post-metal - Laney, Marshall, Engl?

I had an AOR 50W for approx. a decade. If you tame it with the presence and overdo the gain it will produce dark matter sounds that you're after. Considering reliability, it was immortal. I think it must have beheaded Conner McLeod at some point.

The VH100R is a fit.

From the Marshall breed, the JCM800 has an edge that may not be what you need. GH100L is in the same league (or very near). Still, if you're rather into the Pelican side, you can't go wrong with these. Keep an eye on the used marked for a JCM900 SL-X too as with JJ tubes it can be darker than normal JCM900 amps and they are kind of cheap. Kick its mouth with a Big Muff, keep an eye on the EQ and you're somewhere there.

I have reamped a band a couple of years ago with the new DSL, dismantling its texture to cellular level and it is capable of what you need. You may need some pedals.

Engl Screamer and Thunder are rather edgy and bright (tested the later a lot recently), Powerball has a totally different texture, more into modern metal. Not as if it wasn't cool, it's just different from the sonic direction you described.

 

[Johnny the Kid]

Re: Amp for post-metal - Laney, Marshall, Engl?

If you're going for a Russian Circles vibe, I'd recommend the Verellen Louks or Meat Smoke which is what Mike Sullivan uses live.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Amp for post-metal - Laney, Marshall, Engl?

If you're going for a Russian Circles vibe, I'd recommend the Verellen Louks or Meat Smoke which is what Mike Sullivan uses live.

Ah yes, Verellen not Hovercraft.

Also, Brian Cook's fuzz boxes are getting ridiculous.

 

[Johnny the Kid]

Re: Amp for post-metal - Laney, Marshall, Engl?

Ah yes, Verellen not Hovercraft.

Also, Brian Cook's fuzz boxes are getting ridiculous.

Both of those amps are very dark sounding amps which is exactly what the OP is asking for too.

 

[Entangled]

Re: Amp for post-metal - Laney, Marshall, Engl?

Cool to see another Russian Circles and Pelican fan!

Every time I've seen Russian Circles, Mike has been using two Sunn amps and pedals (Fulltone) for drive. Pelican has been Sunn and Marshall. I'm also struck at how comparatively clean Pelican usually is compared to others in the genre. A lot of the darkness and heaviness comes from the low tuning and heavy riffs, not loads of gain. They've definitely studied at the altar of Imommi for heavy riffing.

I'm not familiar with the Laneys. The Marshall can be pretty bright... Sunn amps are the typical sound of the genre, have you had the opportunity to try one out?

Also, what are your delay and reverbs for ambiance? Are you doing any looping?

Interesting observation about Pelican. There is definitely some truth to it. I saw them live recently and it was one of the best tones I've ever heard, simply crushing.

I'd love to try out a Sunn but they are unobtainable in Poland, and even if they were available, I imagine it would cost a stupid amount of money

I'm using Boss DD-3 delay and Red Panda Context reverb, which also has delay built in although I mainly use it for reverb.

 

[Entangled]

Re: Amp for post-metal - Laney, Marshall, Engl?

I had an AOR 50W for approx. a decade. If you tame it with the presence and overdo the gain it will produce dark matter sounds that you're after. Considering reliability, it was immortal. I think it must have beheaded Conner McLeod at some point.

The VH100R is a fit.

From the Marshall breed, the JCM800 has an edge that may not be what you need. GH100L is in the same league (or very near). Still, if you're rather into the Pelican side, you can't go wrong with these. Keep an eye on the used marked for a JCM900 SL-X too as with JJ tubes it can be darker than normal JCM900 amps and they are kind of cheap. Kick its mouth with a Big Muff, keep an eye on the EQ and you're somewhere there.

I have reamped a band a couple of years ago with the new DSL, dismantling its texture to cellular level and it is capable of what you need. You may need some pedals.

Engl Screamer and Thunder are rather edgy and bright (tested the later a lot recently), Powerball has a totally different texture, more into modern metal. Not as if it wasn't cool, it's just different from the sonic direction you described.

Thanks for those comments! I read that the 8 knob version of AOR is the one to get. Do you know if the 6 knob version is much worse or there's not much difference?

Have you played a VH100R? Any comments regarding overall tone plus noise/brightness/time-consuming tweakability?

I also heard good things about Marshall JVM, so will try to play through this one as well.

 

[Entangled]

Re: Amp for post-metal - Laney, Marshall, Engl?

If you're going for a Russian Circles vibe, I'd recommend the Verellen Louks or Meat Smoke which is what Mike Sullivan uses live.

Beyond my budget completely, unfortunately... The same with Hovercraft.

 

[NecroPolo]

Re: Amp for post-metal - Laney, Marshall, Engl?

Thanks for those comments! I read that the 8 knob version of AOR is the one to get. Do you know if the 6 knob version is much worse or there's not much difference?

You're welcome man. I had the 8-knob version. I have no practical info about the 6-knob ones other than all guys I saw using these tended to have some sort of pedalboard or multi-FX unit (BOSS GT and the like) and I just had guitar, cable, amp and the rig was ready to massacre. I guess the 8-knob version with its push-pull pots offers a much bigger tonal variety so it's a better choice. I am completely sure that it was the loudest amp my gutar was ever plugged in. It punched through everything. Not because of its volume but its sound, reliability and functionality I regret selling it.

Sure it's not the tone you're after but maybe a good and raw sample of the pure sound of an AOR. This track has little to no EQ on the guitar tracks and one single AOR amp was used here with a Greenback-loaded cab for everything:

Have you played a VH100R? Any comments regarding overall tone plus noise/brightness/time-consuming tweakability?

I did not play it (apart from some non-reference fun noodilng) but I recorded a band using it. It was on-par with the other guy's JCM 800. It was just as noisy as a normal high gain head. Very nice cleans though. The most accurate video to demonstrate the high gain range is maybe this one but please note that it slaps a pair of Vintage30 speakers that are edgy and modern, with Greenbacks everything goes smooth warm and woody:

I also heard good things about Marshall JVM, so will try to play through this one as well.

Again, experience with recording only. The actual studio I worked for had an in-house Satriani JVM. It is a hell of an amp but I guess it can produce sounds you're after only with a Big Muff or something like that. It is a typical (and rather nice) Marshall: edgy and midrangey with nice sustain.

 

[Hank-]

Re: Amp for post-metal - Laney, Marshall, Engl?

Having tried the gh100l and vh100r being two channel version of it, its a very bright amp. Lots of gain but not exactly voiced for modern gain sounds, more mid 90s or 80s sort of gain, although a EQ in the loop would help a lot imo. Since it gets all its gain from the tubes, you might find it noisier if the tubes are high gain or noisy, a noise gate might help too here. Its not really a marshall voicing but around that zone. Not a lot of low end like a mesa but still punchy. Also a very loud amp, i think the brightness makes it appear louder but yeah, its meant for loud gigs.

Laney has introduced a new series, the GHR amps, those might be more modern sounding with reverb, not sure if they are two channels, i think they are but can't remember.

 

[Entangled]

Re: Amp for post-metal - Laney, Marshall, Engl?

Thank again for all the replies! I'll play through several amps on Friday, I'll know more then I plan to try out VH100R, GH100L, AOR, JCM 800 2210, JVM 410. Maybe ENgl Fireball too if I have the time but somethng tells me I'll end up with either Marshall or Laney. There is something about this VH100R. I've seen before the Laboga Demo posted by NecroPolo, it sounds awesome. He loaded the head with 6l6s and it probably contributed to it sounding less bright and more beefy.