Gig worthy Solid State Amps

[atf]

I’m sure there have been times in a guitarist musical career when they have had to play live in less than ideal places. I know I have. Some of the places I have gigged in the past were so small you couldn’t even place a small PA system. And in other places I have played, the venue helpers are tossing your gear around like furniture and have the electricity supply for the gig rigged up to generators. Gigging with tube amps in venues like these makes me very uneasy, so I have to resort to Plan B-Solid State Amps.

Here is my list of gig worthy solid state amps. They have to meet certain criteria in order to be up on stage. They must be:

1. Analog and built well
2. Reasonable cost
3. Easy to transport
4. Loud
5. Take ODs, distortion, and modulation very well
6. Can be hooked up to an extension cabinet
7. Quite enough for bedroom practice

So here is my list in no specific order:

1. Vox Pathfinder 15(R) - At half volume and half gain, this combo on its own was loud enough on stage with a small crowd of 100-150 people and a hard hitting drummer.

2. Hughes & Kettner Edition 60 DFX- lots of clean headroom. The EQ may be a little finicky, but with a little patience you can get a variety of LEAD tones out of this beast. My favorite amp.

3. Marshall Master Lead 30-This amp is LOUD. And it has some very decent headroom. With high output single coils the distortion sounds like a grainier, coarser Blackstar HT-5 Gain Channel. Made in England and built like a tank

Well that’s my list. Apologize for the length, but I want to hear about your favorites. Please chime in.

Thanks for reading.

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: Gig worthy Solid State Amps

I believe my Laney should be on your list
At fifty pounds it ain't light

GC80A

I would imagine any of the Laney GC line would be a good candidate



*(Sent from my durned phone!)*

 

[atf]

Re: Gig worthy Solid State Amps

I believe my Laney should be on your list
At fifty pounds it ain't light

GC80A

I would imagine any of the Laney GC line would be a good candidate



*(Sent from my durned phone!)*

Yeah Laney would be a good candidate

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[Rex_Rocker]

Re: Gig worthy Solid State Amps

Randall RG100 and Marshall 8100 heads.

 

[Securb]

Re: Gig worthy Solid State Amps

I would look at the JC-40 Jazz Chorus it takes to effects including overdrive and distortion very well. With the right stomp you can even push a great Marshall tone out of it.

 

[atf]

Re: Gig worthy Solid State Amps

I would look at the JC-40 Jazz Chorus it takes to effects including overdrive and distortion very well. With the right stomp you can even push a great Marshall tone out of it.

Yeah the only reason I didn't mention the Roland jazz amps is because I haven't played them with pedals. But I have used them in studios clean. Beautiful amp. Lousy built in distortion though. I guess it takes pedals well then.

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[Matt42]

Re: Gig worthy Solid State Amps

Roland Cube 40/60/80 (I have the 60). Light, loud, takes ODs and has a great sound. I've been using my Cube 60 for pedal and lap steel at gigs lately.

I'd also add the new Roland Blues Cube to that list. I got to play one at a shop recently and really liked it.

 

[atf]

Re: Gig worthy Solid State Amps

Randall RG100 and Marshall 8100 heads.

Are the v2 ninjas any good? There is one on sale here for 160 bucks

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[Diego]

Re: Gig worthy Solid State Amps

Old Peaveys like the Bandit and the Renown. Lots of analog SS volume.
Also, the Laney LV300 is a proper workhorse. Takes pedals as well as it should.

 

[atf]

Re: Gig worthy Solid State Amps

Roland Cube 40/60/80 (I have the 60). Light, loud, takes ODs and has a great sound. I've been using my Cube 60 for pedal and lap steel at gigs lately.

I'd also add the new Roland Blues Cube to that list. I got to play one at a shop recently and really liked it.

I'll look into the cube. I always wanted to try a blues cube

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[Diego]

Re: Gig worthy Solid State Amps

I wanted to say the Cube 60 too (got one and gigged the crap out of it) but I don't think it takes distortion pedals that well on it's own.
The stock speaker is way too bright and lacks high-mids and it's impossible to EQ that out.

Add an extension cab with good speakers and it's fixed, though. The 5150 mode sounds absolutely sick through a nice cab with Vintage 30s or something and you won't want a distortion pedal with it.

It also has a cab-simmed line out that sounds EXCELLENT through a PA (put your FX pedals in the line-out and it works as an FX loop through the PA output. Very useful!) and the external cab takes it from 60 to 80 watts.

And it's very cheap used, and crazy sturdy. So there you go.

 

[Wormhelmet]

Re: Gig worthy Solid State Amps

AMT Stonehead SH-50-4, 4 channel, 50 watt head

Clean, Crunch, Lead 1, Lead 2 -
Shared Bass, Middle on clean/crunch, separate treble and treble shifts
Shared Bass, Middle, Treble on Lead 1/Lead 2, separate voicing on Lead 1


Separate volumes, gains, two masters, Presence, Resonance, up to three two button footswitches for all 4 channels plus fx loop on/off and Master A or Master B. Cab sim out, preamp out, power amp in, level control on fx loop, single 8 ohm speaker jack, 10 lbs

Killer sounds on all channels. Sound and definitely feel of tubes, but no tubes.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: Gig worthy Solid State Amps

Are the v2 ninjas any good? There is one on sale here for 160 bucks

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160 for the head? For sure... if your cab can take the hit. 400W is a lot and not a lot of cabs can handle it.

I have not tried the combo. The combo is just some generic Randall design with the V2 graphic, AFAIK.

 

[Matt42]

Re: Gig worthy Solid State Amps

I wanted to say the Cube 60 too (got one and gigged the crap out of it) but I don't think it takes distortion pedals that well on it's own.
The stock speaker is way too bright and lacks high-mids and it's impossible to EQ that out.

Add an extension cab with good speakers and it's fixed, though. The 5150 mode sounds absolutely sick through a nice cab with Vintage 30s or something and you won't want a distortion pedal with it.

It also has a cab-simmed line out that sounds EXCELLENT through a PA (put your FX pedals in the line-out and it works as an FX loop through the PA output. Very useful!) and the external cab takes it from 60 to 80 watts.

And it's very cheap used, and crazy sturdy. So there you go.

I have had really good luck running most of my OD's into both the clean channel and the Tweed and Blackface settings on the second channel. The only thing it didn't really like is the MXR Custom Modified Badass OD, but I'm not to keen on that one anyway.

 

[BrianS.]

Re: Gig worthy Solid State Amps

I've seen Peavey Bandits, a Fender M80, and a Randall something or other all put to good use by excellent guitar players at a variety of gigs.

 

[Securb]

Re: Gig worthy Solid State Amps

I've seen Peavey Bandits, a Fender M80, and a Randall something or other all put to good use by excellent guitar players at a variety of gigs.

I have a Fender M80 it has great cleans and great onboard distortion. The drawback is the onboard distortion is great for high gain and that is about it. If you are going for a brown tone with that amp it is difficult to dial it in even with a pedal. It has a cool but very compressed tone. It is an awesome amp but not the most versatile I have ever had.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Gig worthy Solid State Amps

I love my Tech21 Trademark 60. Loud enough for gigs, and quiet for practice. XLR direct out for recording or live. Sounds great with pedals too- all analog.

 

[atf]

Re: Gig worthy Solid State Amps

I love my Tech21 Trademark 60. Loud enough for gigs, and quiet for practice. XLR direct out for recording or live. Sounds great with pedals too- all analog.

Mincer, im just wondering,can the trademark pull off chimey cleans, cause I need it for some the stuff our band plays

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[Mincer]

Re: Gig worthy Solid State Amps

Actually, that is what I use it for, and throw an overdrive in front if I need it, but mostly clean.

 

[JRSOLDJA]

Re: Gig worthy Solid State Amps

I've head the randall RG1505 ( i think it is) and the RG3003H heads are badass! unfortunately the only video demo I found on youtube for the 3003 was from some dumb hick that had the volume turned way high so you couldnt make out anything other than static. But back in the day I used a Ibanez toneblaster with a behringer cab for my first gigging amp (solid state) with a line6 uber metal dist. pedal it actually sounded pretty good! so ALMOST any solid state nowadays you could get away with...