help picking a new amp

[man-in-moon]

I want to get rid of my half stack and get a combo amp prefer something with 2 speakers. I like tube combos the best but cant find one amp to do everything i want i play everything from country and blues type stuff to metal. I am considering a laney combo but don't know much about them. i really like the vox modeling amps as well. i play several different guitars from a tele to les pauls. what do you guys think or have any other brands to check out.

 

[moog1000]

Re: help picking a new amp

Marshall TSL's or Mesa F series will do most of what you want, not sure about metal though. A 5150 combo has a ton of gain to do metal but I'm not sure about the other styles you quoted.

 

[pureoldsound]

Re: help picking a new amp

What is your budget? Do you prefer a combo vs. a head and a 2x12?

Peavey Classic with a pedal will give you what you are looking for.
Rivera combos..
Mesa F series will do the blues and hard rock tone but not metal...
I don't know if a VHT pitbull will do the metal stuff??
5150 has plenty of gain but don't know about the cleans?
If you have the cash Bad Cat Hot Cat will do everything....
Those Traynors that you mention have goos reviews, might be something to consider.
Modeling amps...VOx AD series
Voodoo amps Hex will do the classic rock type of tones and metal....(you can find a used head around $600-700 on ebay)

 

[JeffB]

Re: help picking a new amp

I keep seeing people post here and on HC that the F-series won't do metal...

All I can think when I read that is "huh?"

What type of metal are we talking about? cos the amp has TONS more gain than anyone would ever need and with the contour switch on and with tone control tweaking it can get just as nasty and fizzy as a recto or tight as some of the boutique amps like Engl, Bogner, etc. It's all in the tone controls. A swap for EL34s and a rebias would take it even further into the boutique type sounds.

F-50/F-100 will do anything you could ask. very versatile. Wes Montgomery to Chicken'Pickin to SRV to Hendrix, to Ac/DC like crunch to MOP/AJA Metallica and up to the aforementioned newer "metal". I've been able to get any type of sound (and good ones to boot) out of the amp with some patience and the right pickups/guitar.

EDIT: BTW, I'm not picking on anyone in particular for stating an opinion, just saying as an owner of one, I haven't found that to be the case.

 

[lex666]

Re: help picking a new amp

My TSL with 3 channels is very versatile. I'm pretty sure it could cover those styles you listed. As someone else said before, you'll need to take the time to dial in the right sound, but it can be done...

 

[man-in-moon]

Re: help picking a new amp

thanks for all the input. My budget depends on what i sell my amp for. its a marshall jcm 800 2204 its great for what it does. I'm just not having much luck getting all the sounds I like. I owned a 5150 combo but didnt like it too much. I havent tried the mesa f series i owned a triple rec for awhile saved up for a year to get that and was disappointed. the heaviest music i play is along the lines of pantera. I mostly play black label society type stuff and more bluesy stuff. I'll have to go to some of the music stores around here and try some of the others out sucks have to drive about an hour to get to any good ones.

 

[Twitch]

Re: help picking a new amp

With 2 speakers (AND A TREMOLO) my favorite combo (of the ones I have played) is the Peavey Delta Blues. Awesome clean tone, great blues OD (can cover metal with a pedal), and it even has a tremolo! Definetly check one of these amps out.