Recommend a solid state amp?

[Danza]

I haven't played a solid state amp in years. I just remember them being really bad. Surely they must be better nowadays?

I'm just getting a little tired of replacing tubes and lugging around a 50lb combo, etc... I'm thinking about trading in one of my amps for something solid state.

I don't know what's out there, though. Anybody recommend something with good tone? What sounds good?

 

[baritone]

Re: Recommend a solid state amp?

To me, the ultimate solid state amp is the Roland Jazz Chorus. If you look around for high-end solid state amps, they will sound a lot different from the tiny 15 watt 1x8 combos we all started on. The Marshall MG series gets a lot of complaints from tube amp snobs for not sounding like a "real Marshall", but in the category of solid state amps, they are not bad. Some other brands worth considering are Randall and Crate.

 

[Dr.Mavashi]

Re: Recommend a solid state amp?

Any of the Kustoms, a solid state creature with a hint of a soul.

 

[danglybanger]

Re: Recommend a solid state amp?

Fender Libra

 

[Fender_Punk]

Re: Recommend a solid state amp?

The Marshall MGs have a FDD switch which when pressed give you tube emulation. My friend casey has a MGD30DFX and it's sweet sounding, he always has the tube emulation on and thugh it doesn't sound quite like the real thing, it does the trick. I say go for the 50 watt version. Other solid-state amps I'd reccomens would be a FM series Fender (the reverb is pretty sweet for the price of the amp, and the clean is true to Fender) and G-Dec looks pretty sweet. Roland cubes seem alright to me, although the effects aren't the best. Crate's might also have something nice to offer.

Personally I'd stay away from a Line 6. Although they have amazing effects, I've found you only get presets on their Spiders, and it's hard to go outside them, but that's just my experience.

Good luck.

 

[tubeman87]

Re: Recommend a solid state amp?

I have to say the I really enjoy playing the Marshall MG series, when ever I'm in a music shop if theres not thing in tube amps I always plug into the MG series amps. They're cheap (inexpensive), well made they have built in effects (not up to par with "great" effects pedals or racks) but for the beginner is great. The FDD Switch does a great job with the tube emulation. Overall its a solid amp. If you want a great SS amp i'd go with the Roland Jazz Chorus, great clean sounds that will lay the foundation to build some great tones with.

I also was impressed with the Peavey XXL amp, it has a lot of options that you can chose from in the crunch settings and the clean settings... not bad for the dollar.

Anyway that just my $.02

 

[StratTom]

Re: Recommend a solid state amp?

I played through Hughes & Kettner Blue edition combo once and I thought it was a decent solid state amp. I've been thinking about grabbing one.

I'm surprised noone has mention Tech 21 yet. I hear those are great solid state amps. I really want to check one out.

 

[bryvincent]

Re: Recommend a solid state amp?

I really like the VS Series(Series 2) Valvestate Marshalls from couple years back(i have a VS15R).
the MG series also sound decent specially when you put a better speaker(like Celestion or Eminence) on them.

 

[D-EJ915]

Re: Recommend a solid state amp?

I'm surprised noone has mention Tech 21 yet. I hear those are great solid state amps. I really want to check one out.

lol I was gonna mention them They are pretty cool, a guy posted a clips of one he got while his Nomad is being fixed and it sounded pretty killer...lemme find the link... here ya go

Randalls are great too but I wouldn't recommend those unless you're playing metal.

 

[Binnerscot]

Re: Recommend a solid state amp?

Peavey, I really like their Transtube SS circuit. It sounds very tube, especially in higher gain settings.

 

[Gamera]

Re: Recommend a solid state amp?

As with anything it depends on what kind of sound you're looking for but I've had great results with Fender's SS products, specifically a Stage 160. That model has since been updated to include all kinds of effects which I understand are frowned upon by the tone freaks. But I've used mine for about 10 years with great success. The clean channel is pristine, chimey, warm, and very responsive. The gain channel is useless. So I always just used stompboxes on the clean channel. Sounded great.

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Recommend a solid state amp?

+1 for the Jazz Chorus . . . I think it's one of the all time great solid-state amps. It's heavy as hell though . . . if you're into jazz you might want to check out a polytone brute

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Recommend a solid state amp?

Polytones have always sounded boxy to me. if you want a killer jazz tone, look up Acoustic Image amps & cabs.

 

[tone4days]

Re: Recommend a solid state amp?

look into the tech21s ... th 1x12" 60w combo is pretty happenin' ... lotsa great tone there .. same for the roland cube 60

i have an older fender 90w with a celestion 1x12" combo (before they put in the digital effects) that i like very much for grab n go ... gigged with it for years before i got my roadster

just gotta go play a bunch and see what you like

t4d

 

[Kac]

Re: Recommend a solid state amp?

Fender Jazzmaster head

LINK






but you want some power....

haha...

 

[Kane17]

Re: Recommend a solid state amp?

Well I'd recommend many here but since many solid state amps seem so temperamental I'd really play any of them before you buy


But I've had good experience with the following

Fender Princeton series
Peavey Studio Pro or Bandit
Marshall MG (I'd also recommend the 50 or higher, probably the 50 if weight is a concern)
Marshall AVT Sounded ok too, although I slightly preffered MG, plus I heard the reverbs on AVT's usually stop working, maybe thats just a fluke though.


I've had mixed experience with crate. I played one...GLX I think it was called and it seemed great but then there was another one which was ok but only got modern rhythm sounds out of it.

 

[StrangeSound]

Re: Recommend a solid state amp?

I play through n old Peavey Bandit 112 in band rehearsal...it's one fine sounding amp!

As Binnerscot pointed out they sound great even at higher gain stage.

I had a concert in a pub with the band some weeks ago and I used this amp only..it sounded great, everybody could hear me and I had turn it only 1/2 up. Great clean and the overdrive/distortion is top notch...makes me want to switch from tube to this SS amp sometimes

I don't know how the new version is like, though.

 

[baritone]

Re: Recommend a solid state amp?

Some of the things I don't like about solid state amps are built-in effects and "tube emulation". I think solid state amps should be appreciated just for being what they are. If you are open to hybrids, check eBay for a Vox VR30R. It's not very loud, but it is a funky little amp. It uses the same technology as their modeling processors and amps, but it is stripped of all the bells and whistles.

 

[LukeGilmour]

Re: Recommend a solid state amp?

dont you guys prefer the valvestate line of marshalls? like 8040 or 8080

IMHO they sound a lot better than MG's.

 

[Guitar Guy]

Re: Recommend a solid state amp?

Although i haven't actually played one, Prichard amps are supposed to come the closest to tube tone as far as solid states go. I have watched a demo from guitar one and it was very impressive for a solid state. the downside is that the cost as much as a real nice tube amp.