What amp?

[zippy]

Ok, I've asked this a couple of times before, but my situation has changed, so I'm gonna bug you guys for advice again.

Ok, what I'm lookin for is preferably a head.. but I'm open to combos. Crunchy metal (think ..And Justice for All) distortion, able to do medium gain stuff, and livable cleans. Two channels (or more) in other words. The metal distortion is the prioroty though.I don't know exactly how much I'll be able to spend, but probably somehwere in the neighborhood of $650. I realize I'll probably have to go used.

 

[jimmy]

Re: What amp?

You might want to check out a Marshall AVT50 Head.

I've played through it once and it didn't sound all that bad. Just be sure to connect it to a decent cab because the Marshall MG cabs don't sound too good.

 

[BigBazz]

Re: What amp?

Id go for the more versatile and more powerfull (for clean headroom) Avt150 head rather than the 50w, also the Avt range have thier own cabs that are better than Mg cabs but still not the quality of a proper(real) Marshall 1960A/B cabs. the avt amps are not Tube/Valve amps but Hybrid amps with an Ecc83/12ax tube/valve in the preamp

though second hand you could maybe pickup a Peavey 5150 head, which is one of the best metal amps ever made no matter what you put it against and will have much better headroom and to my tastes a nicer sound, its a valve/tube amp so expect it to be much much louder(louder than almost anything, nothing ive heard can beat it), as far as combos go then your probably best trying to get a head and 2x12 or 4x12 combo instead because it gives you more options, but does end up costing more money overall than a combo. the Marshall will do the job perfect (particularly the stack), being not a valve amp its cheaper so easier to attain, the marshall is also much much more versatile with lots of effects loop features, good built in effects and emulated recording out that sounds much more real than anything digital. i prefere a 5150 for metal for all out tone and power because it is one of the best in the business ( you can keep your mesa's ), the marshall will sound amazing though and is very versatile.

Hughs n kettnar warp 7 is worth a good look also, though a very simple amp it has a good clean and distortion channel and is extremely loud, it was made for metal.

 

[zippy]

Re: What amp?

Thanks for the input guys! I'd kinda like to stay away from the Marshall Valvestates though.. I've heard nothing but bad things. But the 5150 is what I've been considering from the beginning. What do you guys think of the Mesa Boogie .50 Caliber+ heads? I've seen a few go reasonably cheaply on Ebay..

 

[BigBazz]

Re: What amp?

Marshall Valvestate bad? i dont see how anyone can say that, ive play a lot of valve amps and own 2 and ive had an Avt150 for 3 years, theres certainly nothing wrong with it, i love it.

as for the boogie, i prefere the peavey 5150, around november last year i tried a whole load of amps including marshalls, hugh & Kettnars, mesa boogies, peavey, randall, crate, laney and some others and for metal i think the 5150 takes them all down, which is why i bought it, here in the uk the 5150 is a very expensive amp, a lot more than marshalls (about the same price as the really expensive marshall reissues) but in the Us i know that they go for quite cheap. but still if i was you id make sure you try a lot of amps first, remember to check the age on the valves/tubes in the amp you try, old valves make an amp sound crap

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: What amp?

Vox Valvetronix 120 VTH Head....Not a channel switching amp unless you buy the foot switch..Versatile,great price,intuitive,and has great tone...The 1w 15w 30w 60w switch on the back is too cool and you can go from loud to bedroom quiet...

Great Fender clean tones,excellent Vox tones and alot to offer...The head is $600 new..This thing gets great reviews!

Are you only set on an all tube head though?

John

 

[zippy]

Re: What amp?

Are you only set on an all tube head though?

John

I'm not "set" on one. I'm open to hybrids as well.

I tried out a valvetronix, it was alright. But the footswitch is killer expensive. And I can't help feeling like I can do better.

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: What amp?

I'm not "set" on one. I'm open to hybrids as well.

I tried out a valvetronix, it was alright. But the footswitch is killer expensive. And I can't help feeling like I can do better.

I agree,but your price range is a bit limiting,even for a very decent tube head?

John

 

[BigBazz]

Re: What amp?

i have never heard a hybrid as good as marshalls avt, its definutly the best low budget amp out of every brand in my oppinion, the only other amp that i like as much for metal is the Warp 7 from hughs & kettnar but its not very versatile, where as the marshall is very versatile and it isnt a modelling amp. for your money you wont find anything that can touch a 5150 for rock/metal, some of the best bands in the world use them, consider they also have the option to use Bogner, deizel, cornford, framus amps etc. Slipknots jim root has a used a 5150 at times, machinehead use them, arch enemy and so many more. i love mine, amazing amp.

just try one

 

[Nightburst]

Re: What amp?

I see Peavey 5150's go for very good prices lately. For 650 you'll be able to find a 2nd hand head somewhere.
A Marshall JCM 900 driven by a good pedal will get you some great crunch too! These Marshall heads are very inexpensive as well.

 

[zippy]

Re: What amp?

The only thing that bothers me about the 5150 is the lack of versatility... isn't it really just a super gain beast?

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: What amp?

I see Peavey 5150's go for very good prices lately. For 650 you'll be able to find a 2nd hand head somewhere.
A Marshall JCM 900 driven by a good pedal will get you some great crunch too! These Marshall heads are very inexpensive as well.

The JCM 900 series is just yucky,buzzy,bright....Ooooofffff One of Marshall's worst amps ever!

Save for something else.... :smack:

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: What amp?

The only thing that bothers me about the 5150 is the lack of versatility... isn't it really just a super gain beast?

Has the same preamp(I mean almost identically)to the Dual Rec Solo Head and the Soldano SLO100 amp...Both copies of the Soldano...I think the 5150 has an ok clean sound,but it's a noisy amp because of all the cascaded preamp tubes in the preamp...Great amp though if you score one cheap..

John

 

[BigBazz]

Re: What amp?

the 5150 can be a super high gain beast if you want it to, but thats what the gain knob is for, turn the gain down and it starts to articulate and crunch more, also the crunch switch really gives a nice warm low gain overdrive, the only not so great thing is the clean channel, it isnt very versatile and after 4/10 gain it can start to overdrive with humbuckers, though its still a good sounding clean when you turn it up a little and certainly cant be classed as bad as some people say.

 

[Leveller]

Re: What amp?

isnt the 5150 like 120 W? I'm in the same position as zippy really but 120W in a tube amp would be way to loud for me. The 900 is bad huh? Hmm good thing I didnt buy one then! =) What about the 800s? I guess they cant do really high gain stuff but you can always use a pedal for that? Didnt Iron Maiden use them in the 80s? their tone was cool.

 

[BigBazz]

Re: What amp?

well 120w is loud, but only 3db louder than a 60w amp, the wattage is more about headroom, its all about how easy/hard it is to push the poweramp, cleans wont be very clean when the poweramp is pushed, bear in mind

 

[zippy]

Re: What amp?

How much of a tonal improvement over the AVT's is the 5150? Is it enough to justify the lost versatility and price increase?

 

[BigBazz]

Re: What amp?

if you dont have much money, and you dont want to buy effects the marshall avt150, cranked through a good cab can stand up against any amp, no doubt. i have a 5150 and my other guitarist swears by his avt150 stack, and i must admit next to the 5150 it does a pretty good job and i actually prefere it for solo's, the delay thats built in is great, overall i like a 5150 because i just use delay in the loop and the 5150 does me fine, 1 clean, 1 overdrive perfect

the avt can do almost everything, and very good. if i didnt have my 5150 then an avt150 i would use.

play an avt150 stack (with a real cab, not mg or avt cabs) and be blown away, or get the slightly tighter sounding valve amp the 5150, the 5150 highlights your playing so messy playing isnt a good idea.

the 5150 is worth it for me, but its a lot of money for something most people cant notice lol.

if i havent heard the avt150 stack in action i would probably be telling you not to buy it, but i really love it, not so fussed on the combo though, the stock speakers cant handle the power that i like

 

[zippy]

Re: What amp?

What about Crate's tube stuff? I know Megadeth used the Blue Voodoo on Rust in Peace, and got a pretty nice tone.

I've heard some good things about the Laney AOR as well... but I'm not sure if these would have enough gain.

 

[BigBazz]

Re: What amp?

ive heard a crate tube amp live when i went to see Iron maiden Funeral for a friend used them supporting and they sounded bloody good, Laney amps are also really great, the GH50/100 is an amazing amp but it is only one channel but has switchable gain stages, paul gilbert uses it. the only amps i can really give good info on is the 5150 and a Marshall avt150 as ive had lots and lots of experience, where as other amps ive just tried at shops or friends houses.