Looking for amp upgrade opinion, hard rock band

Silas2342

New member
Ill try to make this short and to the point. I play in a 4 piece hard rock / metal band. Standard tuning and drop D. Its just me on guitar, which I like for many reasons. Im currently using and switching between a Randall Rh300 G3 and an Ibanez TBX 150h. Its just solid state head ibanez made for awhile. A toneblaster with extra gain pretty much. I run them through Marshall 4x12 1960a cab, and a GK 2x12 cab for my drummer. Kind of as a guitar monitor for him, and a little fuller sound. I know it may sound lame, but the cheap Ibanez SS head sounds really awesome in the bands mix. I found the sweet spot. The Randall sounds really good and heavy, but note clarity for my lead parts really lacks. I have a BBE sonic maximizer on all the time, I use a BBE boost, and Boss chorus for lead parts when I need it to fill. I use through effect loop as well.
I want to get a tube amp for shows and keep the SS for backup and use for band practices. Ive been listening to tube amp demos for the past 4 days. Being a single guitar player, I need a nice full sound. Nice crunchy mids and highs, and a low that can chug. Some of our songs have chugging parts. I often let chords ring out and play little lead riffs. Especially in the drop D. I can strum open and rip in D minor and harmonic minor which I love . I listened, and played some really great sounding tube amps when playing chords, and leads, but then go to chug and you get fuzz. Or, like my Randall, its a chugging monster, but leads and chords sound kind of weak. I even put the bass on 2 and the chug still overtakes everything. Im also looking for simple for stage setup, so running multiple heads is a pain. Ive done it. And do not anymore. Playing shows has to be quick setup and take down. At my level of shows.
My pick so fas has been Peavey 5150, or EVH 5150 50 watt. Im not rich and those are in around 700 dollar range. Some of the EVH models are a lot more, and 100 watt is real expensive, but 50 watt tube amp is pretty good for my show sizes. Just wondering if anyone had any opinions. The band is newley re formed and I want to start off sounding sweet.. if you made it this far and still reading.
 
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Re: Looking for amp upgrade opinion, hard rock band

There was just a Kasha Rockmod head on ebay for $1000/$1500 BIN, it was Sweet's (well, a version of Sweet) guitar player's - https://www.ebay.com/itm/Historic-K...=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

"If" I still used amps I would have been all over this one, the new Kasha heads are $3500. I used to use a Rockmod preamp in my rack days and it was by far the best sounding setup I have ever had, and I'm comparing that to lots of Marshalls, Mesa Mark IV and Recto, Soldano HR, and more that I can't remember. Might be worth checking out the youtube link to see if that is a sound you are interested in and then keep an eye on it to see if it gets relisted. IME, Kashas are in the "Marshall" camp but smoother and tighter.

For more mainstream amps maybe the 5153 would cover the ground you want.
 
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Re: Looking for amp upgrade opinion, hard rock band

So many options out there...

The EVH 5150 III in 50W is a killer amp, very versatile and plenty of mods are available for fine-tuning it to your liking.

You could also pickup up a used Peavey 6505+ (several improvements over the original 5150), a JSX or an XXX for $700 or less...all proven amps for the type of playing you mentioned

Here's a Peavey XXX for $400: LINK
 
Re: Looking for amp upgrade opinion, hard rock band

Ive never heard a subsequent EVH 5150 that sounded better than the Peavey ones.

Also -Ive never had a 100w that I preferred to my 50W
 
Re: Looking for amp upgrade opinion, hard rock band

Look on the secondary market for a Peavey Windsor. Great tube head for gigging and they can be found dirt cheap.
 
Re: Looking for amp upgrade opinion, hard rock band

How many channels do you want/need?
Will you use an overdrive pedal in front or you expect to get all your gain only from the amp?
Do you need a pristine Fendery clean sound or you can get through with a dirtier, grittier cleanish sound?
Do you need an FX loop?
Does it have to have tubes?
 
Re: Looking for amp upgrade opinion, hard rock band

Cool man... thank you. I will definitely check that out for sure.
 
Re: Looking for amp upgrade opinion, hard rock band

I do use a clean channel for parts, yes. I would prefer an effect loop, I always find it takes pedals better. In the loop, I use a Sonic Maximizer (always on) , a Boss Chorus ensamble, Boss Reverb, and I do use a boost for my lead parts. Clean is not the most important for me, because with those pedals I can get a nice sound. Its more the distortion Im OCD about. The Boosta Grande by BBE I use it more of a volume boost though. Just to get the lead part a little loud to get over the mix. Thanks for your reply.
 
Re: Looking for amp upgrade opinion, hard rock band

Look on the secondary market for a Peavey Windsor. Great tube head for gigging and they can be found dirt cheap.

I picked one up locally for $225 recently. It does a great JCM 800.
 
Re: Looking for amp upgrade opinion, hard rock band

Ok sweet... Yea I remember the XXX... Ive heard some good demos of those.
 
Re: Looking for amp upgrade opinion, hard rock band

Oh wow... no kiddin... That would be sweet to find something in that price range. Im ready to go into tube world. I know theyre easier to fix if theres a problem, and they can always be freshened up with new tubes.
 
Re: Looking for amp upgrade opinion, hard rock band

Ive never heard a subsequent EVH 5150 that sounded better than the Peavey ones.

Also -Ive never had a 100w that I preferred to my 50W

..
Ive been in SS world so anything under 100Watts for hard rock gigs didnt cut it. For our style anyway. Our drummer hits hard and is a maniac., in a very good way. But for tubes... 50 Watts is loud as hell, and you can crank em too. I cant imagine needing 100 watts unless Im playing arenas, which I cant see happening. Even in that scenereo... mics are in play.
 
Re: Looking for amp upgrade opinion, hard rock band

Also - this may sound crazy; Have you tried turning the gain down?
 
Re: Looking for amp upgrade opinion, hard rock band

The BBE Sonic Maxiimizer is the culprit. It takes away all the mids and note clarity. I have a 482i which I haven't used since I bought my EQ 4 years ago.

It's essentially a 2-band EQ that boosts the bass and removes all the mids. It's total junk really.
 
Re: Looking for amp upgrade opinion, hard rock band

As was stated above, ditch the sonic maximizer, reduce your gain, and crank the mids. Maybe check out some good distortion pedals, balance the gain from that with your amp, and I bet you can get a kickass tone.
 
Re: Looking for amp upgrade opinion, hard rock band

I don't even know why the Sonic Maximizer still exists to thsi day. It's only good until you have an EQ. Then you'll realize how much a sonic garbage you've been creating with that thing.

What I do is I keep the EQ on my amp at zero (12 o clock), and tweak my sound with the EQ and the distortion pedal.
 
Re: Looking for amp upgrade opinion, hard rock band

I don't even know why the Sonic Maximizer still exists to thsi day. It's only good until you have an EQ. Then you'll realize how much a sonic garbage you've been creating with that thing.

What I do is I keep the EQ on my amp at zero (12 o clock), and tweak my sound with the EQ and the distortion pedal.

I tried two different Sonic Maximizers about 15 years ago, first a 482 and then a 362. I found myself turning them farther and farther down until I realized that they sounded best in bypass. Sold both and never looked back.
 
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