Best amp for heavy distortion

Hey S8-N, u know, just cause u tune down to some insane tuning, doesnt mean that its heavy... ive seen bands pull off the heaviest stuff ive EVER heard tuned to the regular EADGBE... its just the guitar tone and how powerful the song is. i could grab one of those ibanez 7 stringers, and play raffy and it wouldent sound heavy at all... just depends on the dynamics of the song and the energy man...
 
I was about to answer your "beefy guitar" question but I guess my sound isn't heavy enough for ya.
 
Ive heard some of your stuff you post, and its not as heavy as i had thought it to be. I thought an antichrist could rock the heaviest thing since hitler, but i guess i have been misled somewhere.
 
Thats Raffi, not Raffy. he's my hero, and he's definately heavier then all of you combined!!!!!

On a side note, micing up a Flextone works real well, I did a stereo micing of my Duo (Same as the XL, but 2 10"s, discontinued) and then doubled it so I had 2 stereo tracks. I panned accordingly, and it sounded great. I tried it once direct out the headphone jack, and out the effect send, both sounded like shit compared to the micing. You can hear one of the songs with the dual stereo type thing here:

Jake

http://www.worthlessmusic.com
http://www.creation16.com
 
Hey Drop D,
I question the clerks at the store where you tried the Marshall. I find most Marshalls sound like a glorified kazoo with the gain cranked at low volumes. The real power of a Marshall is the natural overdrive at high volumes. Go back and see if they'll let you trim the gain and really open up the master. Also if your main problem is with a loose bottom, see if you can find a 4x10. I've always preferred 10's to 12's. I run a Princeton Chorus 2x10 with a Marshall Lead 100 head with 4x10 and love it.
Jeff
 
Well.... like what mostly everybody here is saying... both Marshall and Mesa have their good qualities. I'm not knocking the hybrid amps off but there is just something missing with the sound. Almost there but not quiet. I found out (having the pleasure to own) that the two most outrageous amps I played were Mesa MK-III and Marshall 30th Aniverssary model. MK-III was more of a fatter sound (definitely beefy). The problem is that since it doesn't have an independent channel... I had to crank the clean channel volume (just enough so it won't break-up) for me to get that massive, beefy lead and muted-note sound and it's not even muddy. Down fall was that not enough versatility with channel swithching (utilizing the EQ section can give you a third channel with totally different tone and level). Marshall 30th Aniversary is really flexible with it's three channel and for effects it's midi hookup was very useful. Very gainy but not as beefy as MK-III (hence the different characteristics of the two). I never used any OD or Distortion pedals to get my sound and I played very heavy metal music. Just straight out the amp. Check these two babies out. I think these amps are now discontineud but you can still find them used somewhere and probably cheap too. Good luck.
 
I'm a drummer and not an electric guitar player but after many years of playing and recording with top notch guitarists I have payed attention to the "what amp will give me the best tone/distortion" dilema. From my observation, I'd have to say the Mesa Boogie amps would be hard to beat in both tone and quality. They are the only amps I've seen really hold up during the rigors of touring and the tone available from these amps speak for themselves. Also, I noticed once players get a Boogie they stop searching for another amp (and I've seen many go through 3 or 4 amps in a year searching for that "sound" they've heard or want).

However, a lot of new/young players don't spend the time to really learn how to get the most from these or other guitar amps. They sometimes become frustrated because they don't immediately get the sound they want. Small changes to settings on Boogie amps can make significant differences in tonal characteristics and the complexity of these amps require some time and study to allow you to get what you're looking for. In my humble opinion, too many players look to outboard gear too soon to get the sound they want. Learn your amp inside and out first, then add what you feel you need to embelish. I've watched the pros in the studio make these amps produce incredible sounds of every kind with very little outboard gear by turning a few knobs on the amp. I've also seen the results when players really spend the time with their Boogie and learn how to make it produce. Some of the most toneful and varied live sounds I've ever heard have come from nothing more that a Boogie and a pedal (admittedly I had to ask to find out the truth). The tone is there but it takes time to learn how to master it and when you do you'll be a better player and separate yourself from the crowd.

One of my sons spent some years on the road as a sound engineer and he claims the Boogie equipment to be far more reliable than anything he had to deal with. But what about tone? Well, he had an interesting story about a very recognizeable band he mixed. They removed the name plates and camoflouged the amps and speakers so you couldn't tell they were Boogies. They were upset at Mesa because they wouldn't give them the amps for free (they give NO ONE free or discounted gear, even this big name group). They were also sponsored by another well known amp manufacture who supplied at least some of them with free gear. The guitar players weren't about to sacrifice the tone they prefered from the Boogie amps so they forked out the cash anyway (and of course complained about having to do so). I think that pretty much speaks for itself.

In our studio we keep Mesa Boogie Mark IV and the Bass 400 amps on hand. One tehnique that can be helful for guitar is to have a variety of single speaker Boogie (or other) cabs with different speakers. This will allow you to experiment and shape the sound depending on the need. You can mike multiple cabs and A/B or mix them together, just keep them isolated from each other to avoid bleed. This can really make a difference in your pre-EQ recorded material so you might want to audition some different cab/speaker combinations to see if it gives you what you're looking for. Same technique can be used for live gigs.

Ultimately though, your ears should make the final choice and there ARE other great amps available so spend the time to audition everything you find interesting. I realize Boogie amps are expensive and that can be a factor for many players but that's a decision you'll have to make. Hope this is helpful, good luck.

Dennis
 
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