Amps to stay away from
- Thread starter taphappy
- Start date
Re: Amps to stay away from
Stay far away from Carvin, I had a SX200C and it was junk and at $ 399.99 i was expecting more. The Kustom Quad 100 DFX for $ 329.99 blew it out of the water, now i use it for my practice amp at home. Stick with a Marshall or MESA, cant go wrong there.
Stay far away from Carvin, I had a SX200C and it was junk and at $ 399.99 i was expecting more. The Kustom Quad 100 DFX for $ 329.99 blew it out of the water, now i use it for my practice amp at home. Stick with a Marshall or MESA, cant go wrong there.
Nigel Tufnel
New member
Re: Amps to stay away from
Most peavey amps are a good bang for the buck, and they're pretty damn reliable too. They've come a long way over the years, my first amp was a little 10 or 15 watt peavey rage, it sounded like a swarm of bees attacking an octopus but it was reliable as hell. A friend of mine had one just like it that he threw off the roof of his house, set it on fire, then tied it to the bumper of his car and dragged it down the street for about half a mile. He brought it inside, re-connected the speaker wire that had come loose and it fired right up and worked just like it always did, it just looked alot worse. But they've got some amps that sound pretty good now too, the 5150's, tripple xxx's, jsx's, and the classic series all sound pretty nice for they're price point, most of them can be found used pretty cheap(especially the classic series) and I would imagine that one of those could take you where you want to go tone wise if you're on a budget.
Most peavey amps are a good bang for the buck, and they're pretty damn reliable too. They've come a long way over the years, my first amp was a little 10 or 15 watt peavey rage, it sounded like a swarm of bees attacking an octopus but it was reliable as hell. A friend of mine had one just like it that he threw off the roof of his house, set it on fire, then tied it to the bumper of his car and dragged it down the street for about half a mile. He brought it inside, re-connected the speaker wire that had come loose and it fired right up and worked just like it always did, it just looked alot worse. But they've got some amps that sound pretty good now too, the 5150's, tripple xxx's, jsx's, and the classic series all sound pretty nice for they're price point, most of them can be found used pretty cheap(especially the classic series) and I would imagine that one of those could take you where you want to go tone wise if you're on a budget.
SlyFoxx
Glossless
Re: Amps to stay away from
I've got the Marshall you mentioned. Have had it for ~3 years...never abused it and when I went to use it the other day it didn't work. I put it in the "needs attention" corner of my attic and haven't fooled with it since. My 12 year old Carvin in still going strong even after hundreds of gigs. Just tossing that out there.
I've got the Marshall you mentioned. Have had it for ~3 years...never abused it and when I went to use it the other day it didn't work. I put it in the "needs attention" corner of my attic and haven't fooled with it since. My 12 year old Carvin in still going strong even after hundreds of gigs. Just tossing that out there.
wixedmords
New member
Re: Amps to stay away from
There is a point in 2003 where Marshall made some changes to the 401. It had severe problems before that, mostly due to heat and colder solder joints.
There is a guy on the Marshall Amp Forum (marshallampforum.com) that was in touch with Marshall about this issue. Marshall actually pinpointed the date of change to the 18th week of 2003.
On that forum do a search for Math2014 to find the thread.
There is a point in 2003 where Marshall made some changes to the 401. It had severe problems before that, mostly due to heat and colder solder joints.
There is a guy on the Marshall Amp Forum (marshallampforum.com) that was in touch with Marshall about this issue. Marshall actually pinpointed the date of change to the 18th week of 2003.
On that forum do a search for Math2014 to find the thread.
T
theodie
Guest
Re: Amps to stay away from
I think Peavey solid state models are rock solid! I cant say the same thing about their tube amps though. The are OK but, I wouldnt put them at the top of the list for being reliable. Maybe somewhere in the middle I suppose.
I think Peavey solid state models are rock solid! I cant say the same thing about their tube amps though. The are OK but, I wouldnt put them at the top of the list for being reliable. Maybe somewhere in the middle I suppose.
SongRider
New member
Re: Amps to stay away from
I used a Carvin X100b half stack for over 10 years and never had one problem (never replaced the stock tubes either) And we played all the time. I know those are dependable. Can be bought on Ebay for about 300 to 600 bucks.
I had the Marshall 4100 full stack and in 2 years it never let me down. Came alive when I put fresh JJ tubes in it. I got mine used (head only) for about 500 bucks.
I had the TSL 100 Marshall and it was horrible. WAY to much money for something so undependable. I am not a fan of Marshalls newer stuff. Footswitch shorts out, and runs WAY too hot. Basically cooks itself. I had over 2 grand invested in the full stack.
Just switched to a Mesa Maverick about 6 months ago and so far so good. By far my favorite amp I have ever owned. very musical and sensitive. Seen these on Ebay for about 800 used.
Good luck!!!
I used a Carvin X100b half stack for over 10 years and never had one problem (never replaced the stock tubes either) And we played all the time. I know those are dependable. Can be bought on Ebay for about 300 to 600 bucks.
I had the Marshall 4100 full stack and in 2 years it never let me down. Came alive when I put fresh JJ tubes in it. I got mine used (head only) for about 500 bucks.
I had the TSL 100 Marshall and it was horrible. WAY to much money for something so undependable. I am not a fan of Marshalls newer stuff. Footswitch shorts out, and runs WAY too hot. Basically cooks itself. I had over 2 grand invested in the full stack.
Just switched to a Mesa Maverick about 6 months ago and so far so good. By far my favorite amp I have ever owned. very musical and sensitive. Seen these on Ebay for about 800 used.
Good luck!!!
wixedmords
New member
Re: Amps to stay away from
NP SlyFox. If I remember correctly, the majority of the changes were in the tranny. Now, I wish I remembered if it was the PT or OT.
But, with the older ones, if you aren't having issues, a fan helps.
SlyFoxx said:
NP SlyFox. If I remember correctly, the majority of the changes were in the tranny. Now, I wish I remembered if it was the PT or OT.
But, with the older ones, if you aren't having issues, a fan helps.
itbepopples
New member
Re: Amps to stay away from
MESA BOOGIE LONE STAR. I bought it after trying it out and listening to all the hype. The specs and description made me drool...it had all the features I could ever want and it looked pretty sweet to boot. I got it home and it was the worst sounding amp I've just about ever played. I can only think of one analogy for this situation...tube amps are supposed to be warm and have a nice soft round clean tone that lets the notes bloom. Just like tits. Imagine feeling a set of tits that was hard and felt "like a bag of sand"-40 year old virgin haha. This amp was boxy and hard feeling and the notes didn't bloom at all. The reverb was truly terrible too...I mean terrible. On any setting it just sucked. All those little switches did nothing and after trying two LS's I returned it and got a Strat. Stay away from that Boogie...but try out anything from the Mark series they are badass.
MESA BOOGIE LONE STAR. I bought it after trying it out and listening to all the hype. The specs and description made me drool...it had all the features I could ever want and it looked pretty sweet to boot. I got it home and it was the worst sounding amp I've just about ever played. I can only think of one analogy for this situation...tube amps are supposed to be warm and have a nice soft round clean tone that lets the notes bloom. Just like tits. Imagine feeling a set of tits that was hard and felt "like a bag of sand"-40 year old virgin haha. This amp was boxy and hard feeling and the notes didn't bloom at all. The reverb was truly terrible too...I mean terrible. On any setting it just sucked. All those little switches did nothing and after trying two LS's I returned it and got a Strat. Stay away from that Boogie...but try out anything from the Mark series they are badass.
Animal
Well-known member
Re: Amps to stay away from
HAHAHA! I wish you filmed that and posted it on the internet for us.
The Peavey Rage 158 is worthy of going down in history among the guitar amp greats simply because of how infamous it is. When man dies out, Aliens will visit planet earth and take a Peavey Rage 158 back to their home planet for it's legendary buzzsaw tone to echo on for the rest of eternity.
It wouldn't be a seires II model either. It would have to be one with the pointy logo without the vintage/modern switch.
Nigel Tufnel said:
HAHAHA! I wish you filmed that and posted it on the internet for us.
The Peavey Rage 158 is worthy of going down in history among the guitar amp greats simply because of how infamous it is. When man dies out, Aliens will visit planet earth and take a Peavey Rage 158 back to their home planet for it's legendary buzzsaw tone to echo on for the rest of eternity.
It wouldn't be a seires II model either. It would have to be one with the pointy logo without the vintage/modern switch.
The Golden Boy
Fleecy Sweaterologist
Re: Amps to stay away from
Behringer. Not only are they poorly constructed, but they completely steal the designs. I know a dude who writes manuals for QSC, Behringer not only stole the design of the amp but blatently completely lifted whole paragraphs of his work and put it in "their" manual.
Behringer. Not only are they poorly constructed, but they completely steal the designs. I know a dude who writes manuals for QSC, Behringer not only stole the design of the amp but blatently completely lifted whole paragraphs of his work and put it in "their" manual.
itbepopples
New member
Re: Amps to stay away from
Amen. My friend interns at a decent size recording studio and he knows everything there is to know about mixers and he says almost every mixer Behringer makes is a ripoff of a Mackie board.The Golden Boy said:
itbepopples
New member
Re: Amps to stay away from
I hear that if you treat it right it won't break down at all. I'm dying to get one but I can't seem to ditch my current amp at a price that could cover a C30.taphappy said:
