Laney - Overpriced or Really That Good?

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shogunlegend

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i've only played a used laney head at guitar center about a year ago. it sounded very good, not a whole lot of gain, but very nice. the cleans are very nice and it has a real kind of articulate tone i think. i did like it quite a bit, but can't say that i'd prefer it over marshall tone.

the thing is, just for a 50 watt amp, it's like $1,700. isn't it a better deal to buy a mesa or something at that price? are they really so good that they can command such high prices? not to mention those lionheart amps. OMG! a little 5 watt amp for over $1,000? what's up with these laneys?
 
Re: Laney - Overpriced or Really That Good?

I had a Laney AOR 50 1 x12 combo during the 80's and I didn't think it was anything special. I bought it because Toni Iommi used them. It was interesting since it had an active boost on bass/mid/treble but to me it was just dark mush. Maybe if I had money at the time I could have got it tweaked, but for me I always had a problem with overheating. It would sound good for a half an hour and would turn to mush after that. I always ended up turning down the bass to compensate.
 
Re: Laney - Overpriced or Really That Good?

idsnowdog said:
I had a Laney AOR 50 1 x12 combo during the 80's and I didn't think it was anything special. I bought it because Toni Iommi used them. It was interesting since it had an active boost on bass/mid/treble but to me it was just dark mush. Maybe if I had money at the time I could have got it tweaked, but for me I always had a problem with overheating. It would sound good for a half an hour and would turn to mush after that. I always ended up turning down the bass to compensate.
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You should have taken it to a tech.
shogunlegend, what model did you try, and how? What typa stuff do you play what are you looking for in an amp? As far as AORs go they are the best amps for the price, period, you just cannot find anything in that quality range for $500, impossible.
 
Re: Laney - Overpriced or Really That Good?

To expand on my previous comments, I wanted a tight, growly, modified Marshall sound with tons of knock and I didn't get it. The bass was huge and warm but a little to loose. Also the high end was more Messa Boogie than Marshall. I wanted the blaring, growly, tightly focused treble and bass response of a Marshall super lead.

Really the Laney I had sounded like a Messa Boogie with El34's. Except that a Messa Boogie was tight and its frequency response is wide and flat, where the Laney is fat and midrange heavy.
 
Re: Laney - Overpriced or Really That Good?

I have a Laney GH50L and it sounds really close to my JCM 800. On a recording, you can't tell the difference between the two. But I prefer the Laney because it has an extra gain stage and more balls.
 
Re: Laney - Overpriced or Really That Good?

idsnowdog said:
To expand on my previous comments, I wanted a tight, growly, modified Marshall sound with tons of knock and I didn't get it. The bass was huge and warm but a little to loose. Also the high end was more Messa Boogie than Marshall. I wanted the blaring, growly, tightly focused treble and bass response of a Marshall super lead.

Really the Laney I had sounded like a Messa Boogie with El34's. Except that a Messa Boogie was tight and its frequency response is wide and flat, where the Laney is fat and midrange heavy.
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All I can say is that you can litterally have as many different amps with AOR as you can have pre-amp tubes, it is increadibly sensitive to pre-amp tubes, great excuse to have an entire collection of different tubeys. You just didnt swap enough. Plust it really shines with 4X12, and there is ways to tighten that bass up, MassLite for example.
 
Re: Laney - Overpriced or Really That Good?

Dr.Mavashi said:
All I can say is that you can litterally have as many different amps with AOR as you can have pre-amp tubes, it is increadibly sensitive to pre-amp tubes, great excuse to have an entire collection of different tubeys. You just didnt swap enough. Plust it really shines with 4X12, and there is ways to tighten that bass up, MassLite for example.
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You're probably right! But I was a young man, with good looks and hair then. But at the time I also bought a pre-valvestate solid state Marshall 30 watt combo that when combined with a tube screamer had everything I wanted, so the Laney had to go!
 
Re: Laney - Overpriced or Really That Good?

Well, I am going back to Laney after having my 6505+ for half a year. Something about those amps.. anyhow, if you want to know how they sound, particularly the GH100L, check this out

www.myspace.com/dougstapp

I just met the guy tonight after he responded to a craigslist add for my Peavey. Really cool guy, can shred your face off. Just released a record, sounds great. Similar stuff to Vai/Satch/Gilbert. He wanted my amp for his GH50L. He just switched to a Peavey endorsement not long ago.
 
Re: Laney - Overpriced or Really That Good?

thanks for the links guys. the sword had some pretty good stuff and that doug stapp has and awesome tone. the laney does seem to sound something between a marshall and a mesa boogie.

one thing about my marshall that i really love is the midrange. it just cuts through so well, where as my mesa was more mid-scooped sounding. i don't really like hte mid-scoop sound because it has a thick bottom end and a kind of plinky top end. that's only useful to me for heavy rhythms. the problem with my mesa was that it didn't really record that well because the highs stood out too much and the lows kind of mushed together. i really missed my midrange. consequently, i traded it for a fender supersonic and am completely happy now.

i just don't get what laney offers that others don't to justify such prices. marshall has a particular flavor, and fender is quite affordable in comparison. even mesa has some affordable models now, so how does one settle on laney? even if i could afford one, the 30 watt model would be near my price range and i don't think that would be loud enough for medium size gigs.
 
Re: Laney - Overpriced or Really That Good?

huh, the heads are priced better than the combos
 
Re: Laney - Overpriced or Really That Good?

There's a local shop that teaches guitar lessons and sells Tokais and some student guitars as well as Laney Amps. The Lneys are all cheap. Played through a couple, didn't dig 'em.
 
Re: Laney - Overpriced or Really That Good?

Laneys arent that expensive for example the VC30 is about 1400 AUD here whereas a vox ac30cc is about 1800 and they are made in china. Oranges are about 3000 all mesa's are over 3000 etc. Only the fender hot rods are cheaper then laney's in australia at least. My thought is that they are probably more in america compared to american brands.
 
Re: Laney - Overpriced or Really That Good?

Laneys are cheaper than Marshalls on a whole around here in the UK. But our prices are usually twice what they'd be in dollars anyway.

So in the UK they're actually VERY cheap. We pay close to 4,000USD for a dual rectifier (decent price for one around) and a 100W Laney would cost us around 1,000. Do the maths.
 
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