Metal Guitar Rig

S

skweeks

New member
Within a few months I'm basically set on getting a new head (or power amp/preamp rack dealy) for myself for my band that plays metal/hardcore. I have a Marshall JCM800 lead series 50w (1 channel) head right now, that I love, but 1 channel with no gain = no distortion without a pedal. Now I've found some pedals that can help me get a decent sound... but I'd really prefer a nice tube amp (and maybe an EQ). I'm really not very reliant on lots of effects, distortion, chorus, and a few bands of EQ is it, so I really don't necessarily have any reason to prefer a rack mounted setup over a normal head. The cabinet this would be playing through is a crate 4x10 cab, and down the line i'd probably add a 4x12 (or another 4x10.. but that's for decision later). Budget, of course, is a problem, but hopefully I'll have a decent chunk of change by the time I'm ready to buy. As far as wattage, i really have never needed anything louder than my 50 watt marshall head, but if it's possible moneywise, I'd like to get a 100 watt. So with all of that said (hopefully I've eliminated the need for 10 responses saying basically 'how much and what do you want, you weren't clear'), what should I get?

So far i'm going to be looking into:
Heads-
Marshall - definitely a tube model, they are really easy to find (everywhere from mars to sam ash has tons, so i can just go and try out a bunch of models)
Mesa Boogie - Dual/Triple Rectifiers
Crate - Blue Voodoo (but I heard some reliability problems, and since this WILL be gigged, that's a serious concern)
Randall - Warhead (it looks kind of corny, and I'm not even a real pantera fan or anything, AND it's solid state... but it also looks like it's targeted for the type of genre I play)
Peavey - 5150
Preamps -
Rocktron - Voodoo Valve (expensive as hell, might not be able to swing a 700 preamp like that and then have the money for a nice power amp)
ADA - MP-1 or something like that.. haven't heard much about it
Power Amps -
?

Other recommendations would be appreciated.
 
Here's the skinny on the heads.
Marshall: A little ovepriced because you do pay for the name, but still the standard.
Mesa/boogie: Fantastic amps and cabs. Very good distortion, very reliable amps
Crate: The blue vodoo sucks. I belive that the tubes in it are for the power amp, and the pre-amp is solid state. If you want a hybrid go for the tube pre amp(that's where all the tone is) and solid state power.
Warhead: Yea kinda cheesy but definatly cool idea.
Peavy 5150: Personaly not to fond of, I've had bad experinces with peavy IE catching on fire!
Other cool options:
Rivera Bonehead: 4x12 cab and 2x12 subs. Korn used them on follow the leader, it's on acouple of 311 tracks. Nice crunch nice and tight.
Trace elliot: Cool but pricey since gibson bought them.
Hughes and ketnor: The tri amp is very cool, basicaly 3 two channel amps in one head.

As for rack mount shite I have no idea!
 
ADA MP1

My stage rig (classic rock-dance music)consists of an ADA MP1 feeding a Quadraverb into a custom 50 watt head ala 69 plexi (same circuits and EL34s)so I think I know what you could expect.Its a midi switchable high gain preamp with both solid state and tube distortion.I go from clean chorus to chainsaw fuzz at the tap of a switch,while maintaining the basic amp tone.I bought mine used from Daddy's junky music a couple of years ago for less than two bills and it has never failed to function on a gig.It is rackmount,so you'd need a rack or case to protect it live.Sample the tone at

regards
Tom
 
Whats up skweeks.....I play hardcore/metal as well, and I just finished up my rig last night and it sounds sweet....
Ampeg VL-1002 - 100w tube head, I never thought I could get distortion like this right out of an amp. Kicks ass. And you save money from not needing a pedal....They don't make them anymore, but if you could find one, you'd love it...
The sound does need some fine tuning, and for that I use an Alesis rack mount EQ, and my favorite piece of equipment ever made.....a BBE Sonic Maximizer!!!!!!!! Every person should have a sonic maximizer, huge difference. What kind of guitar are you using? I have a PRS, but I'd rather have an SG.
Check out Icabod, we're from Austin.....
 
thanks everyone, definitely have a few new ideas of stuff to try out, and some ideas of what to avoid (blue voodoo)

Zinc - i can't say that i've ever heard of Icabod, but then again school is really messing with my ability to keep up on the scene... i'll keep an eye out for you guys. As far as guitar, I'm using either a Les Paul or a Jackson. PRS's are damn nice guitars though and SG's are definitely good for anything heavy.

Thanks again,
Steve
 
Basically the ultimate in metal rigs in my opinion would be a Mesa Boogie Tri-Axis pre amp run through power amp... typically Marshall or Mesa Boogie. This setup certainly isn't cheap though... if you can afford a Dual Rectifier then that would definately be my pick. You certainly wouldn't be able to do much better than a Boogie...
 
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