What amp do I buy?

AdamBrad

AdamBrad

New member
Hopefully the title got your attention.

Now, to business: I have a Roland Cube which is a great practice amp and combined with a valve-driven multi-fx I can compete easily with my bandmates 100w Laney 4x12 at practices, despite using more than a 1/3rd of the theoretical volume available to me.

However, I'm still owed an 18th birthday present by my parents so was looking into buying a good amp of a decent size for gigging. My price range is £500-£700 (approx. $750-$1000, but remember things tend to be infuriatingly cheaper in the states than in the UK, so factor that into your suggestions please).

Since I'm still young I don't know whether I'll be playing Blues or Grindcore in 10 years time and given the circumstances I want this amp to last. As such I was considering getting a rack mounted pre-amp, power-amp and a 2x12 cab second-hand for the improved value.

I tend to write and play metal by myself but my band is more classic rock and as I mentioned before, I have no idea what I'll be playing in the future. The teenager in me wants awesome distortion but I realise I need/really want versatility so was thinking of a modelling pre-amp like a Marshall JMP-1, ADA MP-1, Roland GP100 (?) etc. through a valve-driven power amp and a 2x12 as they're easier to cart around than a 4x12.

So, this is where you come in: What amp do I buy?

I've mentioned the kind of thing I'm after above but I'm open to all sensible suggestions (eg. I don't need 350 watts and can't afford a Mesa-Boogie) and really want the expertise of the board to help me decide.



P.S. Posting complete rigs (ie. Pre-amp, Power-amp & Cab or Head & Cab) would be much more useful than individual items
 
Re: What amp do I buy?

Get a Vox and use pedals for overdrive, etc. If you can still find the AD100VT-XL it was built for metal. But any vox takes pedals well and sounds like you've got what you need. You have enough for an AC30. Played through straight it's perfect for classic rock, but add the right pedal and it is snarly enough.
 
Re: What amp do I buy?

Just take your guitar into some shops & plug in! Asking others can steer you towards your ultimate purchase, but everyone's feel is different. More importantly is if you think your needs may change due to the type of music you are playing now verses what you may be playing in the future... well that's even harder. What I will say is buy a valve amp an something with a Master volume as well as channel switching. Usually that will give you a lot of versatility. Another option is to go with a killer sounding clean amp and go with a couple of pedals. Most pedals today can take you into a lot of territory the amp can't. Look for something between 30 to 50W, anymore will be hard to use in a small venue. I use either a Deluxe Reverb(for blues & small clubs) or a Marshall 900 which was my main gigging amp for quite a while. A Peavy classic would be a decent amp to start with. Reasonable(even in the UK) and they have better then average tone.

http://www.google.com/products?clie...esult_group&ct=title&resnum=3&ved=0CDwQrQQwAg

Just a quick look at some.

The Traynors.... for the money are also an excellent choice
http://www.google.com/products?q=Tr...esult_group&ct=title&resnum=3&ved=0CFUQrQQwAg

Of course you also have to consider Marshalls & maybe some Fnders.
 
Re: What amp do I buy?

The reason I can't plug in at guitar shops is the local ones don't stock what I'm after :(

And I'm only after suggestions, If I see something I like that you guys suggested I'll look in to it...

Regarding Blackstars, I have heard they're awesome, but is 20 or 40 watts through 1 or 2 12" speakers enough for a metal band? (we're not talking arenas here, but not garden sheds either)

Peaveys and Traynors: can they do Da Metulz?
 
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Re: What amp do I buy?

The Traynor amps that I've played are pretty versatile (funk/jazz/blues/rock/classic metal), but I wouldn't say that they're made for modern super high gain stuff.
 
Re: What amp do I buy?

AdamBrad said:
The reason I can't plug in at guitar shops is the local ones don't stock what I'm after :(

And I'm only after suggestions, If I see something I like that you guys suggested I'll look in to it...

Regarding Blackstars, I have heard they're awesome, but is 20 or 40 watts through 1 or 2 12" speakers enough for a metal band? (we're not talking arenas here, but not garden either)

Peaveys and Traynors: can they do Da Metulz?
Click to expand...


From what I understand, wattage is more about headroom than it is volume. How loud do you want to turn the amp up before you get power tube saturation? Or I should say, how loud do you want your clean tones to be?

If you are playing anything larger than a small club, you will probably be micing the amp anyway?


I dont know about traynors, but a Peavey 6505 will do metal and then some.
 
Re: What amp do I buy?

I was hoping cakire82 would join as he's founder of the pointy headstock group.

$1000 is for the whole rig, yes.

and that Engl looks pretty cool, but is it only 5 watt? I'm pretty confused by the description.




Keep your suggestions coming, they're all interesting
 
Re: What amp do I buy?

There are so many amps available with that price.
I thought the 100W Laney, should sound great.
Is it the GH100L single channel?
Just get a preamp add-on and its good to go,
Save the rest of the money for another guitar.
 
Re: What amp do I buy?

And regarding what a few people have said, the modulation on my multi fx is good but the amp models aren't. As a result I'm looking for an amp with good distortion or a good amp and a good seperate distortion pedal (but I'm afraid that only drives the price up).
 
Re: What amp do I buy?

DesertRose: The Laney belongs to the other guitarist in my band, I've got to compete with him (i don't think it's a GH100L as it definitely has atleast two channels). Problem is with that much power is he never needs to turn it above 1.5 or 2/10 which seems stupid to me...
 
Re: What amp do I buy?

Sorry to spam but I'm selling a few items you may be interested in:

Marshall JMP1 pre-amp
Marshall EL84 20/20 Stereo power amp
Marshall 1x12 cab
Rocktron Chameleon pre-amp with FX

Let me know if you're interested in anything!

Thanks :)
 
Re: What amp do I buy?

Brow: don't worry, the spamming is appreciated, I'll PM you

cronnin: I am quite a dist fan, but I think I need to take versatility over dist and buy a pedal if necessary.
And also I thought Bugeras were out of my price range. I thought a handmade amp with nine valves for £260 was too good to be true, and I think it kind of is. I'd like to hear anyone else's opinion on this amp but I was underwhelmed by the guitar world review and the Bugera demo vids.



Also, anyone with experience of the stuff Brow is selling for some impartial advice?
 
Re: What amp do I buy?

Well, if you can get one of those cheap amps with a 3 year warranty (like from Thomann), be sure to try them out :)
http://www.thomann.de/gb/bugera_333.htm

As for amps like Engl Thunder some of them can have very nice clan channel. Don't ignore that.

Also check out Laney, it shoud be a nice buy in UK. I've heard they are pricier in USA.

http://www.thomann.de/gb/laney_lh50.htm
http://www.thomann.de/gb/laney_vc30112_new.htm


I would like to know what people think of new Marshalls?
http://www.thomann.de/gb/marshall_ma50c.htm
Where do they make 'em, and how would you compare it quality/sound wise to other models - DSL, JCM900...
 
Re: What amp do I buy?

AdamBrad said:
I was hoping cakire82 would join as he's founder of the pointy headstock group.
Click to expand...

He he, I am no authority when it comes to amps dude. I just love pointy guitars :D There are a lot of experienced and seasoned player who can help you better than I can. I can simply suggest...

AdamBrad said:
$1000 is for the whole rig, yes.

and that Engl looks pretty cool, but is it only 5 watt? I'm pretty confused by the description.
Click to expand...

$1000 makes things a little difficult. Definitely for for a used cab. You can use the E530 with the power amp section of your current amp if you have FX loop. Or you can plug right into the front of the amp I believe.

It might be a little over your budget but you can go for a used Marshall 50/50 power amp also. Or even a 20/20
http://www.dv247.com/guitars/marshall-el34-50-50-guitar-power-amp--61268

Description on the website was not every clear. Actually it has a 2x1.5w stereo solid state built in power amp. So you can plug it directly into a cab or headphones. But they really shine through a good tube power amp. There are a lot of great reviews on youtube.

and more details are here
http://www.engl-amps.com/index2.html
 
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