Solid state vs. Tube amps for metal.

[KCRevel]

Re: Solid state vs. Tube amps for metal.

I prefer tube amps because it feels like they seem to get fatter as they get louder where lower wattage solid state amps get thinner. Someone once told me the secret to a really heavy sound was get an amp with a really good clean channel and drive it with a pedal. Hetfield used to use a Roland Jazz Chorus, not a very metal amp on its own but the whole is the sum of the parts and a good dirt pedal on top of a nice clean channel goes a long way

 

[El Dunco]

Re: Solid state vs. Tube amps for metal.

I prefer tube amps because it feels like they seem to get fatter as they get louder where lower wattage solid state amps get thinner. Someone once told me the secret to a really heavy sound was get an amp with a really good clean channel and drive it with a pedal. Hetfield used to use a Roland Jazz Chorus, not a very metal amp on its own but the whole is the sum of the parts and a good dirt pedal on top of a nice clean channel goes a long way

Hetfield used the Roland for his cleans. He always used Mesa gear for his distortion excluding their first two albums. He has the opposite philosophy.

"Distortion always starts with the amp. Pedals just site on top of the sound. They don't feel like a full part of it, just some fuzz on top. You can fiddle with parametric EQs and all that **** for days, but it still won't have the smooth distortion of an amp. The last time I used a distortion [overdrive] pedal was on Ride the Lightning, and it was hell. It was an Ibanez Tube Screamer like Kirk uses. It really helps his solos cut through, but it puts a ****ty coating on smooth rhythm tones, and it was hard to make it not sound like a pedal. You can recognize Marshall distortion in an instant; that's why I shied away from that and went with MESA/Boogies. I basically use the Boogie's distortion with a non-programmable studio-quality Aphex parametric EQ to fine-tune certain frequencies, dipping out some of the midrange. All my speakers are Celestion Vintage 30s."

 

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Re: Solid state vs. Tube amps for metal.

I prefer tube amps because it feels like they seem to get fatter as they get louder where lower wattage solid state amps get thinner.
Someone once told me the secret to a really heavy sound was get an amp with a really good clean channel and drive it with a pedal.
Hetfield used to use a Roland Jazz Chorus, not a very metal amp on its own but the whole is the sum of the parts and a good dirt pedal on top of a nice clean channel goes a long way

Hell, Parkway Drive is now using those Kemper Profilers thingys !

http://www.kemper-amps.com/_media/News/Screen05_Namm2013.jpg

http://www.kemper-amps.com/page/ren...Kemper_Profiling_Amplifier___Latest_News.html

 

[Owwwccchhh]

Re: Solid state vs. Tube amps for metal.

Sorry dude. I'm not a fan of that amt. It just didn't sound right to me. Thanks for the suggestion though!

 

[Progbusters]

Re: Solid state vs. Tube amps for metal.

get the mini 6505 or the Randall but more than thte 5watt cuz the 5 watt sounds weak. then get a nice cab. you have to.

 

[Owwwccchhh]

Re: Solid state vs. Tube amps for metal.

I think I'm going to get the mini 6505 then just save up for a nice cab.

 

[johnthomas]

Re: Solid state vs. Tube amps for metal.

Hi Owwwccchhh!
You could probably do worse than finding a used Gallien-Kreuger 250ml solid state. The thing has a pair of tiny speakers built in but is capable of driving 2 4x12s. It has an fx loop, 4 way eq, an overdive channel and a clean channel. They run around $250 on Reverb.com
The gain on these amps is legendary. Ask Alex Lifeson from Rush or Billy Gibbons who used it to record Afterburner. IMHO it is the eq stage that makes this amp shine for any style player.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Re: Solid state vs. Tube amps for metal.

Hi Owwwccchhh!
You could probably do worse than finding a used Gallien-Kreuger 250ml solid state. The thing has a pair of tiny speakers built in but is capable of driving 2 4x12s. It has an fx loop, 4 way eq, an overdive channel and a clean channel. They run around $250 on Reverb.com
The gain on these amps is legendary. Ask Alex Lifeson from Rush or Billy Gibbons who used it to record Afterburner. IMHO it is the eq stage that makes this amp shine for any style player.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

. . . + yup, just add a few 4X12's

 

[Owwwccchhh]

Re: Solid state vs. Tube amps for metal.

Honestly, unless I could get a Mesa dual recto type amp for about $500 I think I'll just stick with the 6505 mini.

 

[dominus]

Re: Solid state vs. Tube amps for metal.

Honestly, unless I could get a Mesa dual recto type amp for about $500 I think I'll just stick with the 6505 mini.

Are you looking for huge gain or tightness? If you're playing thrash you'll really need to tweak a recto.

Try to find a Peavey XXL combo. It'll have more than enough gain for thrash (I use it for death metal) and you should be able to find one in the $250 range. Don't worry about going 100W on a solid state amp. The volume knob on a solid state amp is strictly for volume, and solid state amps will sound pretty much the same from the lowest to the highest range of volume.

 

[Owwwccchhh]

Re: Solid state vs. Tube amps for metal.

What about a Peavy bandit? I've heard a little good and a little bad about them.

 

[Demanic]

Re: Solid state vs. Tube amps for metal.

I would feel perfectly comfortable playing metal through a ss Roland or even Behringer.

 

[EDX]

Re: Solid state vs. Tube amps for metal.

the bandits are really cool, the most venerated are the silver stripe and red stripe as a lot of incredible guitar tones were recorded with them, but the new ones are just as good, the only "bad" thing on them is the digital reverb but other than they're solid, also they emulate tube amp dynamics, so like a tube amp the higher the volume the more the gain, warmth and chunk you get, the modern channel is the best as it's basically emulating a 6505, the high gain is a pasable recto trial and the vintage it's a low gain marshall-y tone, the clean channel is very pristine, on the vintage voice of the clean channel i have been able to fake fender tones so well that other guitarists cannot tell the difference, and the best thing of a bandit it's the thing is 80 watt (100 with external cab) so you can run the speaker outs on a 4x12 and the external cab into a second 4x12 in case you need a ton of volume

 

[Owwwccchhh]

Re: Solid state vs. Tube amps for metal.

Thank you for that! I might save some money and get a little bandit.

 

[dominus]

Re: Solid state vs. Tube amps for metal.

What about a Peavy bandit? I've heard a little good and a little bad about them.

The XXL is just the next step up from a Bandit. Basically has another gain stage/channel. The Bandit will typically have Clean / Lead channels, and the XXL has Clean / Lead / Ultra channels.

 

[Owwwccchhh]

Re: Solid state vs. Tube amps for metal.

Anywhere too look for a xxl combo for $500?

 

[Owwwccchhh]

Re: Solid state vs. Tube amps for metal.

Sorry I didn't reply to this. I can't find one of those anywhere. All I can find from them is bass amps.

 

[TRex]

Re: Solid state vs. Tube amps for metal.

Peavey bandit combo:

http://www.google.com/shopping/prod...-m4nABg&lsft=gclid:CIuslpjjtsoCFYIlgQodI6MIWg

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[frostopsy]

Solid state vs. Tube amps for metal.

Scooped mids thrashy metal. Metallica, slayer, pantera, megadeth. The usual ones.

Marshall 800 or 900 is probably what you are looking at. Another viable Marshall is the Marshall Valvestate head, which has a tube pre-amp and a solid state power section. I know some of the guys in Death used that.

I have a few friends that run Engl heads, and man, those are some killer metal amps. If you got the cash, I would check those out.

I have a Peavey Bandit 80w combo from the 80s I got at a pawn shop for $100. I didn't expect it to, but I have as much gain as i could possibly want, and you can scoop the mids to infinity. So don't go out thinking you need a million bucks to sound good. This is a similar amp Entombed and all their countryman bands used in the 90's for that Swedish death metal sound.

I'm a big Trace Elliot fan. If you wanted to try something used and almost new vintage, check out a Trace Elliot Booneville or Speed Twin. I can't tell you how many compliments I've gotten on my Booneville run through a Mesa cab after playing shows.

Or, I would take the advice of some of he other guys and just go to a music store and play the hell out of everything until you find what you want.




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[Owwwccchhh]

Re: Solid state vs. Tube amps for metal.

I will as soon as I can! Thank you for the response!