The old "help me find a new amp" thread

ElUnoAstuto

ElUnoAstuto

New member
Ok, so I'm trying to stay in the $300 - $500 price range, and I guess I'll just lay out what I'm looking for. I'll be in the Air Force soon, so I'm needing something portable but powerful. It absolutely MUST be able to do metal well, as that's what I play most of the time. I'm really looking for a 1 x 12, something I can use in the bedroom(or soon to be barracks), but also play a small/medium gig, like a small bar. Oh, and preferably tube. One that I am going to try out tommorrow is the Peavey Valveking 112. Anybody have any experience with these? :smokin:
 
Re: The old "help me find a new amp" thread

Have no personal experience, but I've heard the Valvekings don't sound great.

Good luck in your search. If you were patient you could probably find a Mesa Mark series 1x12 combo on eBay for around that price.
 
Re: The old "help me find a new amp" thread

I'm a total Peavey loyalist and I have to admit, I test drove a VK combo (I think it was the 212) and it didn't really do it for me. Had a pretty dark character and was somewhat inorganic, almost like you could hear the tubes processing the signal. You might be able to swing a XXX 112 for under $500, in fact I think Musician's Friend was letting them go for about 6 or 7 not long ago.

I will say that the King could probably pull off metal no problem, and if you like it then my opinion doesn't count for much.
 
Re: The old "help me find a new amp" thread

I think the most reliable Peavey solid state amps are the studio Pro(s)
If you could pick up a 100 watter from ebay, it would be about 100 bucks or so and save the rest
 
Re: The old "help me find a new amp" thread

hmm, so no votes for the valveking huh? I've tried the classic 30, it just doesn't seem to have much "umph", ya' know? Ideally I'd like to get all my distortion from the amp. I think I'm gonna' go to the music store today and test drive some amps for a couple hours...
 
Re: The old "help me find a new amp" thread

I don't know how soon you're going in, but you won't be able to play at all while you are at Lackland. It may even be a problem during your training. You may want to wait until you get to your final duty assigment.

just a thought
 
Re: The old "help me find a new amp" thread

Ain't no tube amp in that price range that I know of that can really do metal without a pedal. :(

You'll get along with your dorm mates a lot better if you got a modeler. ;) Using a tube amp in such close quarters is liable to result in a butt whuppin'.
 
Re: The old "help me find a new amp" thread

Perluss Whun.

Besides, after your training, you should have a few more $$$ to spend.;)
 
Re: The old "help me find a new amp" thread

Once you get your assignment, email me and I'll get you my Active Duty Discount. ;)

Oops, went back and read the metal part. I really don't make metal amps. Sorry and oops!
 
Re: The old "help me find a new amp" thread

The laney VC110 is a fantastic tube amp. I adore mine. It's LOUD for a 15 watter and sounds beautiful, but it won't do metal without a pedal. It goes for about $650 australian, which probably translates to around your $500 (presumably) american mark. Good luck searching, though.
 
Re: The old "help me find a new amp" thread

Actually, Laney was a company I was considering. I did give the modeler a thought too, which is why I'm holding on to my GNX1. I hope I'll be able to play guitar in tech school, my tech school is over a year long!!!
 
Re: The old "help me find a new amp" thread

Thanks for volunteering for Active Duty Service!

As everyone else has said, a tube amp is most likely outta the pic... For one, in order to get a good metal tone outta the amp, you're gonna have to CRANK it!!! To get lower volumes in the B's, you;ll have to buy sink another $300-500 in an attenuator....

You might be better off with some of the SS amps, escpecially since you already own a GNX1.... I have had a few GNX series pedals, and the sound from the headphones is AWESOME... never could find a decent sound when running it into an amp.... Direct into a board also sounds decent, but it seems the forte is playing into the cans!

Good Luck on your search and your training...
Allen

P.S. I've never been in the Air Force, but I was in the Army for 8 years... it has been said (and I tend to agree) that quality of life in the USAF is higher than the USA..... That being said once I cleared OSUT, training was from 9-5.... you could do pretty much whatever you wanted after COB formation... I should think the same would go for you.
 
Re: The old "help me find a new amp" thread

One other thing, metal-geared amps generally don't come in 1x12 combos (I said GENERALLY, before everyone jumps on me with lists of metal 112s). Also , it's hard to find a bedroom amp that can do gigs. Like I said, the Triple XXX EFX 40 1x12 is probably your best bet. The bad news is MF isn't doing the sale on them anymore and now they're going for $850, but they're on ebay pretty regularly.
 
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Re: The old "help me find a new amp" thread

I still say you could find a Mesa combo for that price on eBay. I know I've seen them for under $500 US.
 
Re: The old "help me find a new amp" thread

I'm quite impressed with the Peavey Classic 30 but I've only had it a couple of days.
 
Re: The old "help me find a new amp" thread

For what its worth i loved the valveking, for the price its unbeatable.

i tried the head through a XXX cab.
 
Re: The old "help me find a new amp" thread

So the ValveKing is looking like a contender, I just listened to JumpMarine's clips over in the tips n clips forum, and I've gotta' say they sound pretty sweet. One amp I didn't realize came in a 1 x 12 was the Mesa Mark IV. Doesn't Lamb Of God use the Mesa Mark IV?

+1 on the GNX with some good cans, I LOVE the tones you can get, but when you run it through any speaker, there always seems to be some sort of "fizz", I can't describe it, just this digital high frequency something or other...
 
Re: The old "help me find a new amp" thread

I am a huge fan of tube amps, but like the above have mentioned, any tube amp equipped for metal and gigging, is going to get you pistol whipped in the barracks. However, peavey transtube, pignose/gorilla, and many other solid state amps can give you screaming metal with an "almost tube" sound. and they are almost indestructable.
 
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