Possibly looking for a new amp: opinions?

[Guitar Guy]

Hmm... Although i do like my fender hot rod, at times i wish it had a better sound. So i think i might start to look for a new amp, although it will be a while before i get it (if thats even what i decide to do).

I need something that has a good clean channel, an effects loop, and at least a second channel for crunch and/or leads as i can supplement it with pedals, and of course an amp that takes pedals well. It can't cost a fortune either and looking at an amp around $1k. I've narrowed it down to these 5 options:

1) Carvin Legacy
2) Peavey JSX
3) Mesa Express 5:50
4) Carvin V3
5) Fender Supersonic

or, a sixth option, should i just keep my hot rod and wait until i can afford a really nice amp?

Also if you know of any other amps that might work for what i'm looking for please let me know. Thanks.

 

[mediumpimpin]

Re: Possibly looking for a new amp: opinions?

I vote mesa 5:50. I came really close to buying one before I got my orange. The only reason I didn't buy it is because I fell in love with the orange and got a good deal on it. The mesa was pretty awesome imo and got lots of cool tones. It has 2 ch, but each one has two modes (not footswitchable) The reverb is so-so I thought and the amp is pretty **** loud, I demoed it on 5 watts and only got the master to 4. The mesa definitely has good cleans but better od imo, which is what I was looking for. If you like the idea of a nice simple amp with tone for days that's more of a british flavor, you might wanna try an orange out, I'm glad I did.

 

[Guitar Guy]

Re: Possibly looking for a new amp: opinions?

Aren't oranges pretty pricey though?

Anyways, i also played the express at GC the other day and i was impressed and the price is reasonable for a mesa, so i took it into consideration. At this point i think it is in first place out of my list followed closely by the legacy.

 

[rashayritto]

Re: Possibly looking for a new amp: opinions?

mesa. sounds great and you can take it down to 5 watts to have a kick ass practice amp

 

[Guitar Guy]

Re: Possibly looking for a new amp: opinions?

Yeah, i really like the wattage feature of the express and it has got a bunch of cool tones. All the amps i have mentioned have some thing neat about them and i really like the lead tones i heard on youtube coming out of the legacy.

 

[suislidE03]

Re: Possibly looking for a new amp: opinions?

If you want rythym and lead with cleans, get the legacy. All of the clips of the mesa are depressing so far. Sounds nothing like it should.

 

[metlking]

Re: Possibly looking for a new amp: opinions?

The only one I've heard in person was a guy in a local band who had a JSX and it sounded awesome..........

 

[pstarove]

Re: Possibly looking for a new amp: opinions?

I voted for Peavey JSX, but I also think that Ibanez Thermion is a great affordable alternative.

 

[Smilemon]

Re: Possibly looking for a new amp: opinions?

Sell the Hot Rod and buy a Pro Junior or Blues Junior. They are much better bang for the buck. 250 used, buy a dirtbox with the cash you get from the Hotrod.

 

[Virtual Kevorkian]

Re: Possibly looking for a new amp: opinions?

If you want rythym and lead with cleans, get the legacy. All of the clips of the mesa are depressing so far. Sounds nothing like it should.

Meh... I've got one in my garage and I've recorded another band that had one - no matter what I do with the thing, I can't get it to sound good. It's way loud, ruanchy, just sounds dirty to me.



I'd go for a used Mark IV, JSX in close second.

 

[bloodswords]

Re: Possibly looking for a new amp: opinions?

the JSX is an impressive all-rounder, thumbs up to the unbreakable cleans.

any considerations for Marshall's VM/ JVM?

 

[thespricket]

Re: Possibly looking for a new amp: opinions?

I like the look of that new Vox amp. It seems to have the same featues as the Marshall VM. Id check out those two amps.

 

[Metalman_666]

Re: Possibly looking for a new amp: opinions?

The only amp on that list I've been fortunate enough to play recently is the JSX. Great cleans that take pedals really well, a Crunch channel that gets some pretty nice mid-gain tones, and the Ultra channel which is based off the Triple XXX's Crunch channel. You have a whole range of nice tones at your fingertips, and it comes with a built in noise gate, global Presence and Resonance, and Fat switches too!

 

[mediumpimpin]

Re: Possibly looking for a new amp: opinions?

Aren't oranges pretty pricey though?

Anyways, i also played the express at GC the other day and i was impressed and the price is reasonable for a mesa, so i took it into consideration. At this point i think it is in first place out of my list followed closely by the legacy.

I got my orange for a grand, the mesa was 1350 at the store I went to and they said that was as good as they could do on it. I really like the orange, but it's not a real versatile amp. I get a lot of different tones out of it, but really they come from using different guitars and pups as well as different gain settings. I didn't play the jsx unfortunately, but mainly cuz it was more amp than I need and I know that if I did play it I might make the mistake of buying it (120w all tube is too much for my needs).

I say you try the JSX b/c it seems like a sweet amp, but so is the mesa. Just remember one important thing; it's your money buy whatever you like most.

 

[TimmyPage]

Re: Possibly looking for a new amp: opinions?

Purely from clips I have heard.. the JSX sounds amazing, but I will add that I have tried the Fender Supersonic and love it more and more every time I get in the store.

 

[Guitar Guy]

Re: Possibly looking for a new amp: opinions?

I got my orange for a grand, the mesa was 1350 at the store I went to and they said that was as good as they could do on it. I really like the orange, but it's not a real versatile amp. I get a lot of different tones out of it, but really they come from using different guitars and pups as well as different gain settings. I didn't play the jsx unfortunately, but mainly cuz it was more amp than I need and I know that if I did play it I might make the mistake of buying it (120w all tube is too much for my needs).

I say you try the JSX b/c it seems like a sweet amp, but so is the mesa. Just remember one important thing; it's your money buy whatever you like most.

which model orange did you get?

 

[drew_half_empty]

Re: Possibly looking for a new amp: opinions?

i voted supersonic

but i think you may be able to do some stuff to your hot rod to improve it

have you tried new tubes? different types of tubes in the preamp (12ax7, 12at7, etc), new speaker?

what exactly do you not like about it?



the reason i ask is because i used to have a hot rod deluxe, and i kind of wish i had held onto it. My main complaints were the speaker farting out at high volumes, being just a little shrill, mids that were a little... off, and the fact that the more gain channel is about useless.

in retrospect this was an easy fix, an eminence wizard for the speaker, and jj 12at7's in v1 and the PI would have done it.

the stock speaker is 50 watts, and as we all know a 40 watt tube amp isn't a 40 watt amp. The wizard is 75 watts & has much more complex mids than the stock speaker.

and the 12at7 in v1 would have backed off the gain i believe like 30%, which makes the drive channels much more useable

 

[mediumpimpin]

Re: Possibly looking for a new amp: opinions?

which model orange did you get?

The one in my sig

 

[drew_half_empty]

Re: Possibly looking for a new amp: opinions?

i love oranges distortion, but I'm not a huge fan of the cleans for some reason

 

[Guitar Guy]

Re: Possibly looking for a new amp: opinions?

i voted supersonic

but i think you may be able to do some stuff to your hot rod to improve it

have you tried new tubes? different types of tubes in the preamp (12ax7, 12at7, etc), new speaker?

what exactly do you not like about it?



the reason i ask is because i used to have a hot rod deluxe, and i kind of wish i had held onto it. My main complaints were the speaker farting out at high volumes, being just a little shrill, mids that were a little... off, and the fact that the more gain channel is about useless.

in retrospect this was an easy fix, an eminence wizard for the speaker, and jj 12at7's in v1 and the PI would have done it.

the stock speaker is 50 watts, and as we all know a 40 watt tube amp isn't a 40 watt amp. The wizard is 75 watts & has much more complex mids than the stock speaker.

and the 12at7 in v1 would have backed off the gain i believe like 30%, which makes the drive channels much more useable

Well, first off, i wish the gain channels were voiced differently. They work great for blues and mid-gain stuff but thats about all. I also wish that there were at least two fully independant channels so i could set the eqs different.

I have though about changing speakers and tubes but i never know iff it will make a huge difference and it might still be missing something. I figured it wouldn't be that much more expensive to just sell the hot rod and just get something else.