Would love some opinions...

S

smalltownguitarist

New member
Back in high school I picked up a used B52 AT100 head, because it was cheap and I really wanted a tube amp. Now that I'm older(and hopefully smarter), it's just not doing it for me anymore. It's not a bad amp, I'd just like to get something better. Any opinions on good tube heads that aren't thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars? I play mostly metal/hard rock/high gain stuff.
 
Re: Would love some opinions...

I'll probably get banned from the internet for this, but the Bugera Infinium line is great on a budget. Lot's to choose from too.
 
Re: Would love some opinions...

Has your B-52 been serviced? If it needed new tubes, etc., the tone might improve a lot.

Peavey builds some good stuff, and offer a lot of band-for-the-buck, especially when bought used.

And if you need the heavy tones of a Mesa Rectifier, I've seen Single and Dual Rectos go from $650 to $1000 around here.

Good luck.

Bill
 
Re: Would love some opinions...

Funny you should post this, back in high school i also bought a at-100 half stack new. i beat the living **** out of it in my metal days spent more $ re-tubeing it than i wanna think about (4 6l6+1 rec+7 12ax7. times that by three). i still have it at a friends studio and run fuzz through the clean channel when i don't want to lug another rig around. these days i use a bogner alchemist for one band and a 66 band master for the other and could not be happier(well i could but i haven't found it yet) . if your into getting your tone from pedals look for anything with a good clean i.e.: fender twin or similar or something in the ac-30 camp etc. if you want to get most dirt from the amp look for any any good two ch. amp. after playing the alchemist for a few years i find the gain on the b-52 to be almost unusable. go and try EVERYTHING in your local shops, you would be surprised what you find yourself liking.
 
Re: Would love some opinions...

Boogie Bill said:
Has your B-52 been serviced? If it needed new tubes, etc., the tone might improve a lot.

Peavey builds some good stuff, and offer a lot of band-for-the-buck, especially when bought used.

And if you need the heavy tones of a Mesa Rectifier, I've seen Single and Dual Rectos go from $650 to $1000 around here.

Good luck.

Bill
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I did have it checked out at my local guitar store, and I not too long ago put all new tubes in it. That made a great improvement, and it's working like a champ, just can't get exactly what I'm looking for out of it.
 
Re: Would love some opinions...

knob? said:
Funny you should post this, back in high school i also bought a at-100 half stack new. i beat the living **** out of it in my metal days spent more $ re-tubeing it than i wanna think about (4 6l6+1 rec+7 12ax7. times that by three). i still have it at a friends studio and run fuzz through the clean channel when i don't want to lug another rig around. these days i use a bogner alchemist for one band and a 66 band master for the other and could not be happier(well i could but i haven't found it yet) . if your into getting your tone from pedals look for anything with a good clean i.e.: fender twin or similar or something in the ac-30 camp etc. if you want to get most dirt from the amp look for any any good two ch. amp. after playing the alchemist for a few years i find the gain on the b-52 to be almost unusable. go and try EVERYTHING in your local shops, you would be surprised what you find yourself liking.
Click to expand...

I hear ya on the tubes, was not expecting it to have 12. (I also didn't research anything back then) :banghead: I like getting my tone from the amp itself, then fine tuning it with an eq, and boosting the gain with a tubescreamer(if needed). I played an Orange a couple weeks ago and absolutly loved the tone, but my wife would of killed me if i bought it. lol


Also, thanks to everyone on their suggestions. much appreciated :)
 
Re: Would love some opinions...

What cabinet are you using? The AT100 is a lot of amp for the money. Retubing that amp is expensive, so at least with the preamp tubes, you can gradually mix and match different tube brands over a period of time. That'll change the sound the most tube-wise. The cabinet with that amp could be the reason you're not liking it so much anymore. I have the AT412 cabinet, and it is a well built Baltic Birch plywood cabinet, but the speakers could use a change. I personally like V30 style speakers, but don't like scooped speakers like the G12H-75 at all, which the stock speakers try to emulate. You can also mix and match speakers, and if you do a search on Eminence speakers, you'll find a lot of people raving about mixing two Swamp Thangs or Cannabis Rexes with two Governers. The Swamp Things are supposed to hit really hard in the lows/low mids with enough high mids/soft treble, while the Governer is like a V30, so you'll be mixing a tight/sharp/cutting upper mid sound with a powerful low-mids/bass sound. Don't underestimate the importance of the speakers! ;)
 
Re: Would love some opinions...

if you were looking for new try out a carvin v3, or legacy 3. itook the leap of faith with a carvin x100b and so far its one of the best amps i have. i wouldnt recommend the x100b for modern metal though, great for classic rock and hair metal. there are alot of modern metal bands using the v3's though.
 
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