Re: Best high gain amp with Marshall distortion and GREAT cleans?
The Rivera Knucklehead will do what you ask. If you have to have reverb, their Knucklehead Reverb is about 1200 or so, but the KH55 without reverb is a freaking steal in the 550-600 range.
I promise you one thing.... It will do it all, exactly what you ask. And you'll save some money. It'll do both Tweed and Blackface Fender on one channel and a serious Marshall Plexi on the other. Both channels have a boost type mode. So, If you go by just your ears, it's more like a 4 channel amp, but it's really just two. Footswitch on the regular KH55 is a two button type that allows you to change channels on one button and then boost that selected channel with the other button. The Knucklehead with reverb has a much enhanced pedal that allows for all sorts of patches and stuff.
I mistakenly sold mine when I got it in my head that if an amp used a circuit board and wasn't point to point wired, it wasn't a good amp. how wrong I was. I saw the circuit board on a buddy's Rivera a while back and that thing is solid thick. Built liek a tank. Components looked easily serviced. Not the cheap flimsy boards that Fender and Marshall have been using the last 10 years.
You've got a huge budget. If you have to go all tube, handwired PTP stuff, then you're going to have some difficulties I'm afraid. I've got a Two Rock, but it's more of a clean Fender on one channel and a Dumble Overdrive Special on the other. Definitely not a marshall.
Bad Cat Hot Cat would be a cool choice, but I think the cleans are not up to par with the Rivera. Then again, it depends on what type cleans you want. That KH55 has great fender cleans, great fender distortion, decent Marshall cleans and great Marshall distortion.
). I think It would be better to set it up with a heavy crunch rhythm sound and then goose it with a pedal for leads to keep it tight.
