dvanburen
New member
Ok. Its amp time. Im re-evaluating my position. When I had my studio, I had several stacks and could play as loud as I want. Since life has caught up with me, Im not doing much work in the studio so I am just going to focus on my playing. Sold off most of my gear. Ive got a couple of 5150 heads left and will sell those. The 5150s have been the standard for me with my style. Im looking for a rock/metal amp first. but cleans are important to me and so is versatility. Ive decided that I want more than 2 channels and I dont want a combo amp. I just bought a mesa 2x12 recto cab and need an amp to go on top. The old 5150s are great but, as everyone knows, they are one trick ponies. Cleans suffer and for me, thats a deal breaker right now. I want a good amp. No more cheap stuff but Im really not trying to fork over 4k for a head right now. Here's what Im looking at:
5150iii- the obvious choice since Im already familiar with this sound. this is also the top contender. 3 channels. fender cleans, plexi tone and all out lead tone. . And for 1500 bucks for a 100w head its definitely in the budget. If I went with this amp, I would probably have it modded for its full potential. Im looking at the Kruse Kontrol supersonic mod that decompresses this amp and hot rods all three channels. He can also mod it to scale down the power by a knob in the back. Will also look at FJA mods
Mesa mark V- This is just one I am looking at. Not sure if I'm going to go with mesa. Ive never played the head, but I did play the combo and did not like it at all. Dont like the gain at all, its too honky and weird. Not saying its not a good amp at all. The combo just left a bad taste in me. I want to try the full head through a cabinet to get the full experience. I do like that its three channels and the customization is appealing. I like that the power can be scaled down to class A or class A/B. Ive heard some good clips of it as well
Bogner Shiva- I actually liked this head better than any other bogner I played. (goldfinger, uberschall). I liked the anniversary Shiva better than the regular one cause its higher and more refined gain according to Bogner. I liked the KT88 sound out of that one. Great cleans and overall great sounding amp. But its only 2 channels and not quite as much gain as Id like. Its good sounding gain, but I'm afraid it wont go all out like some of the other options on this list. this is only an amp I am considering. Its toward the bottom of the list
Engl- The powerball and invader sound very appealing to me. Love the 4 seperate channels for clean, crunch, rhythm and lead. Cleans are supposed to be excellent and the distortion is voiced for modern rock/metal which does appeal to me. Problems are its almost impossible for me to find one to play and the price tag is at the top end of the spectrum. On paper, it sounds like it could be the perfect amp for me though
Badcat Lynx- havent played one but been doing research on it. The reason I chose this as a contender is that its a boutique handbuilt Class A amp. I absolutely love the guitar sound that Converge gets out of these amps which is why im curious. Its the hottest that badcat has to offer and looks to be one of the hottest Class A amps out there. But it's got the EL34 midrange thing going on which I have stayed away from in the past. Still a contender but toward the bottom of my list
Ive ruled out Marshalls. Ive had them and they're just not for me. Ive got an old valvestate amp that I like but dont want another one. Ive also ruled out SLO-100. Its only two channels and for the money, Id just assume go with the 5150iii. Ive also ruled out Deizel. Just too hard to find and expensive. Ive played dual and triple recs and not trying to go that route either. I think if I was going to go Mesa, I would go with the Mark V for versatility.
Any thoughts or suggestions from you guys? Id love to hear your opinions. Versatility is key for me with my next amp. I play aggressive styles so its got to have that going on but I do want good cleans and more than two channels for versatility of the gain structure. Thanks
5150iii- the obvious choice since Im already familiar with this sound. this is also the top contender. 3 channels. fender cleans, plexi tone and all out lead tone. . And for 1500 bucks for a 100w head its definitely in the budget. If I went with this amp, I would probably have it modded for its full potential. Im looking at the Kruse Kontrol supersonic mod that decompresses this amp and hot rods all three channels. He can also mod it to scale down the power by a knob in the back. Will also look at FJA mods
Mesa mark V- This is just one I am looking at. Not sure if I'm going to go with mesa. Ive never played the head, but I did play the combo and did not like it at all. Dont like the gain at all, its too honky and weird. Not saying its not a good amp at all. The combo just left a bad taste in me. I want to try the full head through a cabinet to get the full experience. I do like that its three channels and the customization is appealing. I like that the power can be scaled down to class A or class A/B. Ive heard some good clips of it as well
Bogner Shiva- I actually liked this head better than any other bogner I played. (goldfinger, uberschall). I liked the anniversary Shiva better than the regular one cause its higher and more refined gain according to Bogner. I liked the KT88 sound out of that one. Great cleans and overall great sounding amp. But its only 2 channels and not quite as much gain as Id like. Its good sounding gain, but I'm afraid it wont go all out like some of the other options on this list. this is only an amp I am considering. Its toward the bottom of the list
Engl- The powerball and invader sound very appealing to me. Love the 4 seperate channels for clean, crunch, rhythm and lead. Cleans are supposed to be excellent and the distortion is voiced for modern rock/metal which does appeal to me. Problems are its almost impossible for me to find one to play and the price tag is at the top end of the spectrum. On paper, it sounds like it could be the perfect amp for me though
Badcat Lynx- havent played one but been doing research on it. The reason I chose this as a contender is that its a boutique handbuilt Class A amp. I absolutely love the guitar sound that Converge gets out of these amps which is why im curious. Its the hottest that badcat has to offer and looks to be one of the hottest Class A amps out there. But it's got the EL34 midrange thing going on which I have stayed away from in the past. Still a contender but toward the bottom of my list
Ive ruled out Marshalls. Ive had them and they're just not for me. Ive got an old valvestate amp that I like but dont want another one. Ive also ruled out SLO-100. Its only two channels and for the money, Id just assume go with the 5150iii. Ive also ruled out Deizel. Just too hard to find and expensive. Ive played dual and triple recs and not trying to go that route either. I think if I was going to go Mesa, I would go with the Mark V for versatility.
Any thoughts or suggestions from you guys? Id love to hear your opinions. Versatility is key for me with my next amp. I play aggressive styles so its got to have that going on but I do want good cleans and more than two channels for versatility of the gain structure. Thanks
