Thrash Metal Amp

Re: Thrash Metal Amp

I have to wonder how the amp that was designed for EVH is really the benchmark thrash amp for me. I like VH tones all right but I don't really look out for them at all in my own playing.
 
Re: Thrash Metal Amp

The funny thing for me is :

. . . this High Gain amp was designed for Eddy, with a lot of his own input, but i have never heard him use half of that gain. EVER !!!

I always saw him as a medium-gain (think stock JCM800 amount) kinda guy.
This amp was made for the same guy who gave us pop tunes like "Jump" & "Panama".
It boggles the mind that the creator of those songs, his amp is now the poverbial go-to amp, for sooo many metal bands. Metal bands that to my ears, use so much more gain than Eddy himself.
 
Re: Thrash Metal Amp

SirJackdeFuzz said:
I also heard many times that the older 8080 models had a mojo that the newer models just do not have !
Click to expand...

That's true. I still have this one. The second edition amps are not nearly as good. I think, they enjoy the jibber-jabber status because of the later releases / editions.

For modern thrash:

6505
5150
DSL50/100

for old-school thrash:

JCM800 + boost pedal

for solid-state slaughter:

Marshall VS100 (beware of the aging components, I always had some minor issues with my 8080 and now it isn't working)
Randall RG100 + EQ
Randall Century200 + EQ
Korg G1 into a smooth clean channel


Personally, I'd go with a 6505+ 112 combo. Small, very-very reliable and comes with a friendly price.
 
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Re: Thrash Metal Amp

NecroPolo said:
That's true. I still have this one. The second edition amps are not nearly as good. I think, they enjoy the jibber-jabber status because of the later releases / editions.

For modern thrash:

6505
5150
DSL50/100

for old-school thrash:

JCM800 + boost pedal

for solid-state slaughter:

Marshall VS100 (beware of the aging components, I always had some minor issues with my 8080 and now it isn't working)
Randall RG100 + EQ
Randall Century200 + EQ
Korg G1 into a smooth clean channel


Personally, I'd go with a 6505+ 112 combo. Small, very-very reliable and comes with a friendly price.
Click to expand...
How about the Ampeg VH-140C? Thanks.
 
Re: Thrash Metal Amp

metalhead613 said:
How about the Ampeg VH-140C? Thanks.
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Theres a couple youtube clips floating around with the VH140c on them i cant access youtube from here otherwise i would link them.

For quite awhile the vh140c was the go to amp for a lot of deathmetal bands.

I have a Marshall 8100 and a VH140C between the 2 the VH140 will get a little nastier but is a bit less organic sounding. Not necessarily a bad thing. One huge thing though also is a decent sounding cab. The normal cabs that came with the valvestates sounded like hammered dog poo at best. But any decent 2x12 or 4x12 will make them come alive.
 
Re: Thrash Metal Amp

Edgecrusher said:
Theres a couple youtube clips floating around with the VH140c on them i cant access youtube from here otherwise i would link them.

For quite awhile the vh140c was the go to amp for a lot of deathmetal bands.

I have a Marshall 8100 and a VH140C between the 2 the VH140 will get a little nastier but is a bit less organic sounding. Not necessarily a bad thing. One huge thing though also is a decent sounding cab. The normal cabs that came with the valvestates sounded like hammered dog poo at best. But any decent 2x12 or 4x12 will make them come alive.
Click to expand...

I've seen youtube clips of the VH140C. How would it sound as a 2x12 combo? That's much more readily available to me than a half stack.
EDIT: The combo is in mint condition. Here is the link on Craigslist. The alternative is a used, in unknown condition head, here. How would the speakers on the combo be?
EDIT: Here's a twist: I just found out that there's a used Crate GX-130C 2x12 combo going at my local GC for just $140. I've seen from multiple sources that the Crate GX-130C is the same thing as the Ampeg VH-140C. If it is, couldn't I just buy that instead?
 
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Re: Thrash Metal Amp

metalhead613 said:
I've seen youtube clips of the VH140C. How would it sound as a 2x12 combo? That's much more readily available to me than a half stack.
EDIT: The combo is in mint condition. Here is the link on Craigslist. The alternative is a used, in unknown condition head, here. How would the speakers on the combo be?
EDIT: Here's a twist: I just found out that there's a used Crate GX-130C 2x12 combo going at my local GC for just $140. I've seen from multiple sources that the Crate GX-130C is the same thing as the Ampeg VH-140C. If it is, couldn't I just buy that instead?
Click to expand...


Ive heard the same thing about the GX130C but ive never verified it myself. If its local to you i would definitely check it out for myself.

The combos sound pretty good. They are a little looser than a closed back cab but depending on where your playing that might actually be more manageable.

The combo looks like a good deal. I would check the GX130 out and put it through its paces if it passes muster i would jump all over it if not I would hit the guy up on the combo.
 
Re: Thrash Metal Amp

SrDeMaFp said:
Agreed. I love mine. This amp ain't that small, though! It's damn-near the same size as some 2x12's.
Click to expand...

Of course, I meant smaller than a half-stack :)

What do you think about the wheight? It is really heavy? I ask this because I'm really thinking about getting a 6505-112 some time but I have to keep an eye on wheight (spine problems).
 
Re: Thrash Metal Amp

Well -

Can't hate on the 6505/5150. I honestly think that amp may really be "my sound"

However - without reading the posts in detail you might think about some of the following also:

#1 An old Valvestate amp. When the OD 2 is on...gobs of gain and tight.

#2 Either a new DIME or an old Randall. Solid state bottom is not to be under-rated when it comes to thrash.
 
Re: Thrash Metal Amp

NecroPolo said:
Of course, I meant smaller than a half-stack :)

What do you think about the wheight? It is really heavy? I ask this because I'm really thinking about getting a 6505-112 some time but I have to keep an eye on wheight (spine problems).
Click to expand...

It's supposed to be about 60lb/28kg.
 
Re: Thrash Metal Amp

offtopic:

metalhead613 said:
It's supposed to be about 60lb/28kg.
Click to expand...

I mean, is it hard to lift/carry?

I'm interested in this amp but I did not make a full-scale research so I've seen only front and back photos so far. 30kg to lift with a single handle would be painful to me on the long run. What I can't see from the photos, perhaps there are some extra handles on the sides like the Laney GS212 cab has, for example. It is not lighter than other 2x12's I guess but the handles are very cleverly placed on the top, it is rather easy to carry, at least for me.

You get my point :)

Maybe an another option for me to get the combo and make some simple box for the amp only. The price of the 6505-112 combo is really friendly in my area, lower than most 50W-60W standalone heads. Or I can wait until Peavey makes a 60W 6505+ standalone head. I could have some use of that. I played a 'big' 6505+ head with EL34 mod and I really liked what I heard.

Now as I'm thinking about that, I can ask the same tech to re-tube / mod the 60W 6505+ to EL34 and still it would be much less than half of the price of a 6534 head - and 60W is more than enough for me.

Never mind, just thinking in public, I realised some working options just as I typed it in here...
 
Re: Thrash Metal Amp

NecroPolo said:
offtopic:



I mean, is it hard to lift/carry?

I'm interested in this amp but I did not make a full-scale research so I've seen only front and back photos so far. 30kg to lift with a single handle would be painful to me on the long run. What I can't see from the photos, perhaps there are some extra handles on the sides like the Laney GS212 cab has, for example. It is not lighter than other 2x12's I guess but the handles are very cleverly placed on the top, it is rather easy to carry, at least for me.

You get my point :)

Maybe an another option for me to get the combo and make some simple box for the amp only. The price of the 6505-112 combo is really friendly in my area, lower than most 50W-60W standalone heads. Or I can wait until Peavey makes a 60W 6505+ standalone head. I could have some use of that. I played a 'big' 6505+ head with EL34 mod and I really liked what I heard.

Now as I'm thinking about that, I can ask the same tech to re-tube / mod the 60W 6505+ to EL34 and still it would be much less than half of the price of a 6534 head - and 60W is more than enough for me.

Never mind, just thinking in public, I realised some working options just as I typed it in here...
Click to expand...

A few things. First: yes, the 6505+ 112 only has 1 handle. Second: I highly doubt that Peavey will put out a 60W 6505+ standalone head. Third: there isn't much of a difference in volume between a 120W and 60W head, the difference is only 3db. However, the head costs nearly twice as much as the 112 combo. Fourth: an amp's wattage doesn't mean sh*t. It's more about the efficiency of the speakers than anything else.
Here's how that works: most of a speaker's volume comes from the first watt, since doubling the wattage of a speaker only increases the volume by 3db. So, say you have a speaker rated at 86db at 1W and another rated at 95db at 1W. In order to get the 86db speaker to sound as loud as the 95db speaker at 1W, you need 8W. Similarly, 95db@2W = 86db@16W, 95db@4W = 86db@32W, etc. Therefore, there isn't much of a difference between the volume of a 60W amp and a 120W amp if they have the same speakers (which in this case, they would).
Hope that helped.
 
Re: Thrash Metal Amp

metalhead613 said:
A few things. First: yes, the 6505+ 112 only has 1 handle.
Click to expand...

Thanks, that's exactly what I wanted to know. This way, even if I get one, the chassis would not work for me. Spine would start some kind of strike and disable me for weeks again. So even if I get a 6505+112, I should also consider building some light rack-like amp box right then.


The rest... Well, you are so damn right that this huge chunk of fresh info is the reason why I've been using 50W (and lower-power) tube amps only for almost 20 years (and going) so you're trying to explain how to drink - to a dolphin ;)

Not to mention triode mode in some amps (nice early break-up around 20 watts) and smaller re-tubing costs :friday:


Anyway, I am seriously considering someting like this:

149043_548441157923_56201072_32048973_1420088_n.jpg


Ecxept for the tolex, I think I have everything around to build the amp box, without spending $1. Sure, it wouldn't be pretty. For me, it should not be so if it's functional.
 
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Re: Thrash Metal Amp

NecroPolo said:
The rest... Well, you are so damn right that this huge chunk of fresh info is the reason why I've been using 50W (and lower-power) tube amps only for almost 20 years (and going) so you're trying to explain how to drink - to a dolphin ;)
Click to expand...

lol, sorry
i didn't know how long you'd been playing for
 
Re: Thrash Metal Amp

metalhead613 said:
lol, sorry
i didn't know how long you'd been playing for
Click to expand...

Man, no probs whatsoever ;) You just know it was like a funny situation when someone in a store tries to sell you a similar guitar to your fav Strat/LP/etc that you've been playing for ages :)

Anyway, reading these posts above outlined me a somewhat long-term 6505+ plan. After an extenisve test of the 120Watter in the studio, soundwise the small 6505+ would replace / upgrade my present tube amps. Everything will depend on the spine and what the doc says abut it as time passes, I still should not lift heavy stuff at all. In this context, a 6505+112-in-a-box can't replace my feather-like present gig-rig (AMT M1 into EHX44M into a small cab) but maybe there is some simple solution.
 
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Re: Thrash Metal Amp

I'd definitely snag one then if you have the means to turn it into a smaller head.
 
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