Worthwhile amps?

Lkoz91

Lkoz91

New member
So I finally got my act together and started up my band with all the music I've been writing over the years. I figure this is the best place to ask cuz I know how knowledgeable the members are here from past experience.

So my question to the board is, what are some inexpensive guitar amps that can fill a big venue with sound? I really have no experience here as drums are my main instrument and have been playing shows with an acoustic guitar. I'd like a combo solid state because further down the road when I have more money to spend I'd like to buy a half cab with a nice head. But shows are coming around the corner and I don't want to be the guy asking other acts to borrow their equipment. Any input is appreciated! Thanks guys.

Luke
 
If you want an intelligent response you will need to provide more information such as budget, type of music, size of gigs.
 
Well its indie pop, influenced by bands like manchester orchestra and such so it has both crunchy distortion and acoustic parts in the songs. I'd like to keep my price ranger under 300 but if you think I should save up and buy a half cab used let me know. My goal is to get something cheap that sounds good and can fill large venue. I really don't know how else to elaborate. Possibly throw amp models you've used out there for me, as well as reviews of it, to check out at a guitar center and see the prices. Thanks!
 
Lkoz91 said:
Well its indie pop, influenced by bands like manchester orchestra and such so it has both crunchy distortion and acoustic parts in the songs. I'd like to keep my price ranger under 300 but if you think I should save up and buy a half cab used let me know. My goal is to get something cheap that sounds good and can fill large venue. I really don't know how else to elaborate. Possibly throw amp models you've used out there for me, as well as reviews of it, to check out at a guitar center and see the prices. Thanks!
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Why not just go to Guitar Center yourself and play through some amps.No one can tell you what you'll like.
 
mcmetal said:
Why not just go to Guitar Center yourself and play through some amps.No one can tell you what you'll like.
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Well I just wanna know people's preferences because I really don't know where to start. Also, it's difficult to get out to guitar center because I don't have a car here at school and there are no music stores anywhere near us in Philly (believe it or not). So I'd like to know a bit about what I wanna get/looking at before spending the time to go to guitar center.
 
Well. for 300 bucks you're not gonna find something new that'll fill a large venue.
Also, I'm not sure what you mean by large venue.
For a really large venue it won't matter since you'll be mic'd.
But if what you mean is a large club ...... then as lotta amps would do it.
My personal fav is my Mark V but it's 2000 dollars so that's not in your budget.

Ummmm ...... I have a Fender Hot Rod deVille 4x10 and that thing rocks. Some serious volume and a not bad distortion channel for crunch. You'll need a pedal in front of it for refined distortion tones but it;'s a nice all around amp that'll fill a large venue.
After that ........ well, I don't have any amps that are that cheap other than old Ampegs that I bought for aroun 3-4 hundred. They'll fill a venue but they have no modern extras on them so you have to have a pedal board in front of them.
But you can maybe get a V-2 for 300 bucks (a head) and that'll make the soundman ask you to quit filling the veue quite so much!
:D

But there's SO many amps now. Go to a GC and check out about 50 of them and let us know what floats your boat.
 
thanks bob, that helps a lot. I've heard a lot of good things about the fender hot rod. How do you think that would sound with an SG? I completely forgot about large venues miking amps. Very good point. I might have to take your work on the hot rod because I have tried it out before and really liked the sound, plus it's pretty small so it wouldn't be hard to transport and I already have a metal zone distortion pedal (even though I cant stand it). Thanks again! I'll look into this more.
 
Lkoz91 said:
thanks bob, that helps a lot. I've heard a lot of good things about the fender hot rod. How do you think that would sound with an SG? I completely forgot about large venues miking amps. Very good point. I might have to take your work on the hot rod because I have tried it out before and really liked the sound, plus it's pretty small so it wouldn't be hard to transport and I already have a metal zone distortion pedal (even though I cant stand it). Thanks again! I'll look into this more.
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if you live near Fl. you can buy mine. (I have WAY too many amps)
 
Lkoz91 said:
Well I just wanna know people's preferences because I really don't know where to start. Also, it's difficult to get out to guitar center because I don't have a car here at school and there are no music stores anywhere near us in Philly (believe it or not). So I'd like to know a bit about what I wanna get/looking at before spending the time to go to guitar center.
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My preference shouldn't matter to you, however, because I prefer a certain type of tone and response from an amp, and unless you're after the exact same tone and response, you might not like the amps I prefer. My preference is also a bit over your $300 budget (I'm another Mesa user), but that's neither here nor there.

So, what sort of a sound are YOU after?
 
all of those in that picture are the same basic amp with different speakers.
I have the 4-10 version which I like as I'm a fan of 10" speakers.
The 2-12 models will probably give more low-end and I have a friend who's mostly into SRV that prefers 12's.
Any of those will kick ass ....... they're a pretty damned loud 60 watts.

If that's too big then the Hot Rod Deluxe with 1-12 and 40 watts is a nice compact potent amp.
Doesn't scream quite like the bigger ones but it's also more crankable if the venue really wants it turned down.
 
DrewPeterson7 said:
My preference shouldn't matter to you, however, because I prefer a certain type of tone and response from an amp, and unless you're after the exact same tone and response, you might not like the amps I prefer. My preference is also a bit over your $300 budget (I'm another Mesa user), but that's neither here nor there.

So, what sort of a sound are YOU after?
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Well I definitely wanna have a good clean channel. I use a gibson SG and want a good crunch channel as well with solid distortion. I really don't know anything about amps and wouldn't know what else to tell you. I'm gonna take a trip to guitar center soon so any suggestions would be helpful. I'm definitely gonna be checking out the deville. Any suggestions for half stacks? If I were to save up for one which cab would you suggest? For the time being I suppose I could borrow my room mates heads and just buy a cab.
 
Lkoz91 said:
Well I definitely wanna have a good clean channel. I use a gibson SG and want a good crunch channel as well with solid distortion. I really don't know anything about amps and wouldn't know what else to tell you. I'm gonna take a trip to guitar center soon so any suggestions would be helpful. I'm definitely gonna be checking out the deville. Any suggestions for half stacks? If I were to save up for one which cab would you suggest? For the time being I suppose I could borrow my room mates heads and just buy a cab.
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That's probably a better idea. You can always use a cab when you buy a head later, but if you buy a crappy amp now, there's really no reason to keep it around once you get a new one.

If you want flexibility for cheap, try Line6. They're not the best choice for anything, really, but they aren't terrible these days and you can get a lot of different tones out of them. I like Orange's tube amps, but they are way out of your price range. You can probably get a used Fender or Vox amp for $300-400, though, and you might even want to hang onto it later, so I'd check craigslist or eBay for one of those.

Tube wattage tends to be louder than solid state wattage. 30-60 watts of tube is generally enough to fill a venue, whereas you'll probably need around 100 watts of solid state to do the same.
 
A Fender 4x10? I'd pass, in favor of a 4x12. Marshall is pretty classic and not too expensive, especially second hand. Mesa 4x12s are about as good as you can find widely available, and are pretty easy to score in the $500-ish range on Craigslist.

When you say "Solid distortion" and "a good clean channel," what do you mean? You're describing quality, not tone. What's your idea of "solid distortion?" Godsmack or Alice in Chains? AC/DC? Pantera? Everclear? Lamb of God? Santana? And a "good" clean tone - SRV? Kenny Burrell? The Cure? Bruce Springsteen? Nirvana? The Black Crowes?

A little bit of guidance would go a long way here.
 
Lkoz91 said:
Well I definitely wanna have a good clean channel. I use a gibson SG and want a good crunch channel as well with solid distortion. I really don't know anything about amps and wouldn't know what else to tell you.
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You are just starting out on electric guitar and you are already worried about how you are going to fill large venues? Well, you are certainly optimistic, I'll give you that. :D
 
At $300 about all I can think of would be a Crate stack. They can be found all over the place. Obnoxiously loud. If you get the right pedals, you might be able to get some decent sounds out of it.
 
My advice would be to concentrate on the tone you want first. You can get that through small and large amps. ALOT of todays touring pro's I've noticed on stage have a variety of small combos on stage to get different sounds, so dont think you have to have a large 1/2 stack or full stack to get the sound you want.

Small combos will go along ways even on big stages and with a mic on it will fill any size venue. I played a real gig (once :( ) in front of an outdoor crowd of 13,000 with a 20 watt tube combo and it sounded HUGE ! and i could hear myself just fine on stage. I did pump a little through the monitor mix, but I really didnt need to, I did it just in case I ran to the other side of the stage, but quickly found out my nerves were not gonna allow that at that time :)

Any how, there are some great tones coming out of alot of amp companies. They are marketing those mini micro stacks like Blackheart, Epiphone, Mesa 2/50, Ibanez tube screamer amp, Orange, vox nighttrain, Jet City, Randall, Egnater, Marshall class 5. add a pedal/s and you will fill a stadium with any of these for under $500.

In the used market some good sounding amps close to that price would be Carvin Legacy, Peavey 5150. ive seen Legacy heads going for $350. The 5150's around $500 both great deals.

Youtube is a great source to hear some intial sounds from many amps that are in the catalogs.

Good luck.
 
For around $300 you can try a ZT Lunchbox that has cleans, and some break.
I have heard they sound better out of a 2x12.

The least expensive 15-20 watt tube heads that still sound nice are the Jet City, and the Blackheart. I use an Egnater Tweaker which is a little more expensive with more switches.

I have used a Crate Flexwave with a RP255 for practice, but they are not as well recommended for live performing.
 
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