Should I...?

[dd12939]

I'm looking at amps. I've played several tube amps (Mesa Nomad, F-series; Marshall DSL, TSL; Fender Devilles, Deluxe, Twin, DRRI, SF Bassman; Peavey XXX, Classic 30) But more than any of those (though some were nice) I've really liked the Line 6 Vetta. Not only does it cover more ground than the other amps, but, in many cases, I think it sounds better. (note: I've yet to hear a clean I liked better than the DRRI) The 'band' (if it can be called that) I'm in right now does a lot of vintage covers... everything from Chuck Berry to Rush to The Cars, and when I'm playing on my own I like to do stuff more like Metallica, Tool, A Perfect Circle, etc. So I need a pretty high degree of versitility. In looking at reviews, I've seen the head/cab setup getting more consistant marks than the combo. If I could score a used head (new is too pricy) for a decent price, do you think there's any real reason not to go for it? If so, I'm open to alternatives too.

 

[jpage]

Re: Should I...?

I just want to warn you to make sure and try out any modeling amp in a band setting. All of these things seem to sound great in the store but when you try it with a drummer you end up turning the damn thing up, and up, and up...until it is too loud for the rest of the band. They just don't seem to cut through the mix at all.

Never tried the Vetta but you might want to check out that Duotone which they just discontinued. I think they dropped the price down considerably to get rid of them. I tried one "in a store" and it sounded good...

 

[jeremy]

Re: Should I...?

ive told this story a few times on here. a buddy of mine has a vetta and we were playing a gig in a small club. i was using my blues jr which puts out about 12w or so and it cut thru soooo much better. everyone kept coming up to me and asking me what i had done to up the power since it was beating the crap outta the $1600 line 6. nothing i actually lowered the power by putting a 12at7 in the pi slot and lowering the juice to the tubes

 

[nuntius]

Re: Should I...?

yeah i admit - my flex doesnt cut through well at all. i have to have it about 4 or 5 before im level with the drummer and its the 100 watt 2x12. for versitality it rocks, but i might go the tube rout one day to get a better overall sound

 

[castiron]

Re: Should I...?

check out some randalls. the vmax sounds good. the XXX ios a cool amp too.
but for tool and a aperfect circle... i think a dual rectifier would do it. mesa's can give u that post MOP sound since Mesa's are what metallica uses.
a dsl is pretty versitile for a marshall.

what kinda guitar do u have?

 

[flank]

Re: Should I...?

id stay away from modeling unless its for bedroom or home recording purposes, in those situations, they are great. In a band, well, they arent good at all.......i remember i was talkin to a guy, he had a Line 6 Variax into a Vetta stack......before the show he was showing me all his settings and versatility of his rig, which was pretty impressive by itself (he was being arrogant)......but once the band kicked in, his guitar was nowhere to be found! completely sucked in the mix

 

[Norman_T]

Re: Should I...?

I am going to be positive here because I know that a lot of guys have criticised modelling amps and probably rightly, personally I prefer tube amps. Can I suggest that you try out the Vox Valvetronix series and in particular the AD120VT as they have been getting some very good reviews recently. I played around with one some while ago and it was not that bad. The following is from their site:



The AD120VT 120watt stereo combo brings together classic VOX tone with the versatility of a preamp section utilizing Korg's REMS (Resonant structure and Electronic circuit Modeling System). It offers all of the amazing sounds and features for which Valvetronix has been critically acclaimed, and includes the Valve Reactor power amp section that recreates classic tube power amp response. Valve Reactor does this by changing parameters, including class of operation (class A or A/B) and negative feedback settings, for each modeled amp. This patented design utilizes 2 tube power amps with output transformers electronically coupled to solid-state power circuits in such a way that the relationship between the output tubes, output transformer, and speakers is unaltered.

AMP MODELS: 16 types
EFFECTS: 21 types (Drive: 10 types, Modulation: 5 types, Delay: 3 types, Reverb: 3 types)
PROGRAMS: 32 (8 Bank x 4 Channel)
IN/OUTPUTS: 2 x Guitar Input (High, Low), Stereo Loop Return, 1 x Headphone, Stereo Left & Right Line Out, Stereo Left & Rigt External Speaker Out, 1 x Foot Controller
SPEAKER: 2 x 12" Custom-voiced Celestion
POWER: 2 x 60W RMS@8ohm
TUNER: Auto Chromatic Tuner [Measurement range: 27.5 Hz-2,093 Hz (A0-C7), Calib. A=438-445 Hz]
DIMENSIONS: 699(W) x 267(D) x 559(H) mm / 27.52" (W) x 10.51" (D) x22" (H)
WEIGHT: 26.2kg / 57.76 lbs (AD120VT)
OPTIONS: VC-4 & VC-12 VOX FOOT CONTROLLER

 

[dd12939]

Re: Should I...?

So, to go a tube route... Would maybe a Single Rec work? I've been wanting to try one, but haven't gotten a chance to yet - no one around here has them. Could I still get my Zep/Rush/Blues tones out of that? for other effects (Chorus, Delay, Reverb are the most important) What would you suggest? The other route I'd given some (but not much) thought to was maybe trying to find a 2204 and throw some pedals in front of it.

 

[dd12939]

Re: Should I...?

(bump)

 

[Zeppelinfan8790]

Re: Should I...?

If I were you, I would get a Marshall. Either a JCM800 or the 1987x and then get an OD pedal to put in front of it. Or possibly a DSL 50.

Since you like the cleans on the DRRI so muc, you could just get that and a really versatile OD/Dist pedal to put in front of it. Good cleans are always a good thing to start from.

I cant help with the pedals. I use the reverb on my amp. I bought a cheap DOD chorus. Its descent, but I'm sure you will want something better. And I dont use delay.

HTH,
Chris

 

[some_dude]

Re: Should I...?

So, to go a tube route... Would maybe a Single Rec work? I've been wanting to try one, but haven't gotten a chance to yet - no one around here has them. Could I still get my Zep/Rush/Blues tones out of that? for other effects (Chorus, Delay, Reverb are the most important) What would you suggest? The other route I'd given some (but not much) thought to was maybe trying to find a 2204 and throw some pedals in front of it.

A Single Rectifier would give you a nice clean and great distortion. You can get some good 70's sounds out of it with the output cranked and the gain turned down on the clean channel.

If you want a more Marshall-ish sound out of one, you'll need to swap the stock 6L6 tubes with EL34 tubes.

Also, while most people rag on the Line 6 stuff at gig levels (and rightly so :wink: ), a POD Pro into a Mesa power amp sounds quite good. You still get the versitility of the POD preamp, but the fullness of a real tube power amp. Marshall power amps colour the sound a little too much to work well with a modeling preamp. Using a tube power amp helps to fill in the gaps left by the sampling rate used by digital devices.

I've also heard good things about the Vox Valvetronix stuff. Same idea as above, they use a 12ax7 tube as a mini power amp tube to fill in the sampling gaps before outputing your sound to a solid state power amp.

 

[Tom M]

Re: Should I...?

What about getting the DRRI for your cleans and a Mesa V-twin pedal for distortions?