Help me choose between a few heads.

TwelveGauge-GT

TwelveGauge-GT

New member
I've had a thread going for a while but it has got to four pages long and is a bit tired. I thought it was time to start a fresh.


I am looking for a tube head with really nice cleans that will take overdrive and distortion pedals well.
I want it to be relatively cheap (sub £600).


From the other thread, I got the list of amps down to four:

Laney GH50L with 6L6s (new)
Sovtek MIG 50 (used)
Trace Elliot Speed Twin H50 (used)
Marshalll DSL 50 (used).


The Laney and Marshall are a lot easier to find than the Trace and Sovtek.


I would be very greatful if you could help me choose between the four.
Which are the pros and cons of each?
Does anyone have any clips of any of them?


Cheers.
 
Re: Help me choose between a few heads.

My quick comments on the amps you've mentioned. Take this with a grain of salt, as my ears are probably different than yours.

Laney GH50L with 6L6s (new) : Never played one. That was easy. (Though I have heard some great reviews on this amp).

Sovtek MIG 50 (used): Not a bad amp, but not the most versatile. Build quality is ok. Sound of the amp didn't really knock me out. Of the 4 amps, this would be last.

Trace Elliot Speed Twin H50 (used): Great amp, but has a different sound than most hi-gain amps. Didn't sound like a Marshall or a Boogie. I only played one, and that was many years ago (model hasn't been made in several years). Quality is very good. My second choice if can be found at the right price.

Marshalll DSL 50 (used).: I know this amp very well as I have gigged with one in a cover band for several years. Simply sounds better then the others mentioned. Great distortion and clean sounds. This amp doesn't want (or like) boost/distortion pedals. Build quality is average, though mine never broke down. My top pick is the DSL 50... unless you can get a Speedtwin for cheap $$$ (and make sure you can play through it first).
 
Re: Help me choose between a few heads.

Thanks man, that was great!

On average the DSL is the most expensive, even used, by quite a bit. And it doesn't like pedals?
Traces do go cheaper than Marshalls, but I have never actually seen a Speed Twin head for sale, not that I've really been hunting for one.
The Laney is the cheapest and the Sovtek varies quite a bit.

I was surprised what you said about the MIG, someone else said they sounded just like a proper fender clean.

Thanks again.
 
Re: Help me choose between a few heads.

Do you need the amp's distortion channel too or just the clean sound?
 
Re: Help me choose between a few heads.

Just the clean, really, but I wouldn't mind if the distortion channel was great aswell!
I will be getting most of my drive and distortion from pedals.
 
Re: Help me choose between a few heads.

I personally think that a good amp's distortion channel is far superior to any pedal, especially for hard rock\metal. But if you only need the clean channel I don't see the point in getting any one of these amps you mentioned. Get a Peavey Classic 30 or Classic 50. What type of music do you play and what distortion pedals are you using?
 
Re: Help me choose between a few heads.

i agree with Cannon.

i used to use boss distortion pedals when i had crappy amps.

these days i only use the distortion from my Marshall or 5150.
 
Re: Help me choose between a few heads.

I already have my Laney AOR head for amp distortion, but I like its overdriven tone so much that I don't want to colour it with pedals. It only has one channel so it is pretty hard to switch between clean and drive on it. The cleans aren't amazing on it either which is why I want a head with good cleans, which I could use pedals with.

I don't want the DSL if it doesn't take well to pedals, did anyone else find this?
 
Re: Help me choose between a few heads.

So are you planning on switching between the two amps live? I still think you should just get a classic 30\50
 
Re: Help me choose between a few heads.

Dr.Mavashi said:
You want cleans? - Marshall Major.
Click to expand...

LOL. Or an Orange 120. Soundcity 120 would do as well. Heck, just get an Ampeg SVT. :) Just kidding. These amps are TOO LOUD.

Hey T-Gauge, when I gave you an answer, I didn't quite know that you were really looking fo a good clean sound. I still prefer to get my distortion sounds from the amp, and so not really big on distortion pedals.

If you really want to use pedals, totally agree that a Peavey Classic 50 has a nice clean sound (also has a nice distorted sound). Also like the older (1970's) Traynors. There are tons of cheaper, cleaner tube amps out there.
 
Re: Help me choose between a few heads.

Yeah, I was planning between switching betwenen them.
I wish Peavey made a Classic 50 head, I don't think 30 watts is quite enough.
The 30 is the same price as a Laney GH new, if not a little more expensive.

Marshall major?
I could probably save for longer and get a plexi reissue, how are the cleans?
 
Re: Help me choose between a few heads.

TwelveGauge-GT said:
Yeah, I was planning between switching betwenen them.
I wish Peavey made a Classic 50 head, I don't think 30 watts is quite enough.
The 30 is the same price as a Laney GH new, if not a little more expensive.

Marshall major?
I could probably save for longer and get a plexi reissue, how are the cleans?
Click to expand...

i used my mid 90's Classic 50 head thru a 5150 cab a fair bit.... For my large rock rig I use a switching system made by this guy at www.axess-electronics.com and i can A/B between the 2 heads into a single cab... saddly the head switcher unit is not designed to work well with pedals so i use the amps own sounds only... 5150 head for dirt and solo, C50 for cleans mostly but dirt as well.. 4 channels of fun..

But i also use the C50 by itself into a few different cabs and some Boss pedals for distortion.... The C50 clean sounds great thru my Marshall 1x12 cab!!!! I also use it thru a Peavey 1x12 and the 5150 cab of course.... It has proven to be the best $200 i have spent! I see them from time to time used for cheap... I've had mine for 10 years now and i think it has the most gigs out of all my gear... first call for most gigs... i bought a cheap used C30 combo that i used at band practices for a few years and i gigged with the C50.. i kept the C30 at my drummers house...

I can assure that the C50 head is a great clean amp for running various pedals into it!
 
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Re: Help me choose between a few heads.

They dont make a reissue of the Major, since its the worst selling Marshall ever produced...and for good reason, I think Ritchie Blackmore was the only dude who used em exclusively, but his was modded out the wazoo and loud as all ****, 288 watts or something on 10.



anyway, Id get the gh50, simply cause when I plugged into it, it roared like a BEAST.

I played a DSL and I hated it, it always had this boomy bass that you simply couldnt get rid of, it was ALWAYS there. (Same as those fricking TSL's)

never played the Sovtek, but heard good things about it, same as the Trace
 
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