AMP STACK IDEAS

[Louob]

Hello all!

New member to the forum here.
I am planning to build and amp stack with mid priced amp heads. Does anyone have any suggestions for possible ideas?
So far I have decided on a marshall jcm900 50w and orange th30 (or similar).
I play mainly van halen, sabbath, and early metallica and I was thinking of what kinds of amps I could consider dropping some money on.
Any suggestions welcome

(Edit) Btw I am looking to have a variety of amps on hand as a complete setup

 

[devastone]

Re: AMP STACK IDEAS

You might consider some cabinets.

 

[Louob]

Re: AMP STACK IDEAS

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I wanted any 2x12 cab

 

[devastone]

Re: AMP STACK IDEAS

Maybe a Mesa Recto or Mark for the Metallica sounds.

I'm kinda confused at what you are going for, are you planning on having different rigs or do you want to run them all simultaneously?

 

[Louob]

Re: AMP STACK IDEAS

Im thinking of one cab with a couple of heads to go on top to use as a single setup

 

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: AMP STACK IDEAS

I'm not sure what you want to do here? Have a variety of amps on hand? Run multi heads through a switching system? By listing a JCM900 I am assuming you you are defining mid range prices as $500-$750.

Besides those two, consider a amp head for cleans such as a Fender Bassman head.
And consider a fire breather such as the Peavy 5150/6505 amps or the EVH versions.
The 50 watt 900 to get is the MKIII or 2500, or the SLX version of the 2500.
If you have multiple amp heads then you don't need to use channel switching.

 

[devastone]

Re: AMP STACK IDEAS

So, you are going to use a stereo cab with one head running each side or do you have some switching system in mind?

 

[Louob]

Re: AMP STACK IDEAS

Im going to use separate amps for different occasions to have a variety of different tones

I believe you may be overthinking this slightly

 

[devastone]

Re: AMP STACK IDEAS

Im thinking of one cab with a couple of heads to go on top to use as a single setup

This sounds like you want to run multiple heads through one cab, so, kinda thought you weren't thinking about it enough...

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: AMP STACK IDEAS

Just buy a Mesa Mark V head. Going to be a little over your budget, but the versatility and quality are there. Great tones...an amp that will last you for a lifetime, and cover any genre you would ever want to play. It's got TONE. Imagine nine amps in one head.

(And a lot easier to manage than a two amp rig!)

Bill

 

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: AMP STACK IDEAS

If you want to run one single channel head at a time and have other single channel amps in the bull pen so to speak for other more specific tones, I can understand that, but most build up their amp collection over time. You usually want each amp in such a situation to be very good at the specific thing it does. That can get expensive, such as a Fender showman Reverb for clean, a JCM 800 for crunch, a Soldano for high gain ect...

Another way to look at it, is that three or four mediocre amps can cost as much or more as one really good multi channel amp. On the other hand a multi channel amp might be a jack of all trades and a master of none.

But another approach is to use one real good single channel amp that responds well to pick attack and guitar knob adjustments. Such an amp can get a wide variety of tones with out much complexity. Playing an amp like this at a gig really can be a pleasure. No tap dancing. A good one for this is the Marshall Vintage Modern.

Yet another approach is to use an amp with a good core clean sound and a lot of headroom and get more specific tones from well selected pedals.

Another approach is to go digital.

 

[Van Noord]

Re: AMP STACK IDEAS

You'll need a Headbone type amp head switcher if you want to run multiple amps through one cabinet.
Otherwise you'll have to remember all the impedance settings for each amp and constantly be plugging in and unplugging speaker cables.

 

[Adieu]

Re: AMP STACK IDEAS

Just buy a (tube) Laney & done.

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: AMP STACK IDEAS

Play lots of amps, buy the ones that sound good to you. **** the forums.

 

[PAPADON]

Re: AMP STACK IDEAS

Would a Katana fill the bill?

 

[chadd]

Re: AMP STACK IDEAS

For the price of a few mid-priced heads, you could get a used Mesa Roadster. Four channels, three modes per channel and can cover just about anything you want to play through it.

 

[Little Pigbacon]

Re: AMP STACK IDEAS

I played through a Roadster combo earlier this year, and it was amazing. It made EMG 81s sound like a range of pickups you’d never imagine. Touch responsive and sweet and brutal. Makes me want to save up a few grand and go amp shopping.

 

[Wattage]

Re: AMP STACK IDEAS

EVH 5150 III 50 wt and 2x12

 

[SlyFoxx]

Re: AMP STACK IDEAS

Some multi channel mesas would work...or a marshall JVM....or an H&K switchblade.

 

[chadd]

Re: AMP STACK IDEAS

I played through a Roadster combo earlier this year, and it was amazing. It made EMG 81s sound like a range of pickups you’d never imagine. Touch responsive and sweet and brutal. Makes me want to save up a few grand and go amp shopping.

I loaned my Roadster to a friend and never got it back, had to go buy a Road King to replace it. I can honestly say that the extra stuff on the Road King doesn't really do anything for me and the Roadster was good enough.