tube/valve amps

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ollie99

ollie99

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Hi, I'm looking to buy a valve amp and at some point soon I am going to go into a guitar shop and try a few out to see which one I like. However I want to know some which fits my purposes so I don't go in there and ask "can I play every valve amp you have". My price is probably around £400, maybe a bit more. My guitar teacher has already suggested some to me and after some researching I wrote one off because it being too expensive. I will buy used and probably will end up buying used considering the price of these things.
I will be playing some clean and some rock but the main thing is probably metal. So I'm looking for an amp which will have a nice clean channel, nice crunch channel and a powerful overdrive metal channel.

The ones my guitar teacher suggested to me are the Engl screamer 50 and the marshall DSL401. at the moment I particularly like the sound of the marshall but please suggest more that are similar and within my specifications (hopefully I'm not being too fussy).

Thanks

forgot to say, I will be using it for gigs and recording, the venues are not that big
 
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I wonder if the Mesa Express 5:50 is in your budget? Great clean channel, great crunch mode, and the burn channel can get pretty heavy.
 
I am no player, just a tech' but I would say, from reading scores of similar posts that you need to look for a clean amp* primarily and get your metal "fix" from a good pedal. I do know of amps with that sort of versatility but..
1) I don't want to spam..And
2) You could not afford them even second hand!

* "Clean" is a loaded term. To have a really clean, loud tone takes a lot of power, 30W would be a minimum for even relatively small venues. If you mean clean but with a hint of crunch and balls 15watts into a GOOD 12 incher (V30) will do a small pub, better a 2by or 4x12.

Dave.
 
seems a bit epensive and I can't find any used on ebay, not that aren't up for a ridiculous price
 
A guy in our old band had a fender blues junior that had plenty of kick for a 15 watter with a nice bluesy clean tone and gave some cool metal tones too with a few stomp boxes infront of it.
Not that im a conesseur on tube just chiming in.
try plenty and save up in the mean time is my advice
take your guitars and stomps to the shop maybe.
 
ecc83 said:
I am no player, just a tech' but I would say, from reading scores of similar posts that you need to look for a clean amp* primarily and get your metal "fix" from a good pedal. I do know of amps with that sort of versatility but..
1) I don't want to spam..And
2) You could not afford them even second hand!

* "Clean" is a loaded term. To have a really clean, loud tone takes a lot of power, 30W would be a minimum for even relatively small venues. If you mean clean but with a hint of crunch and balls 15watts into a GOOD 12 incher (V30) will do a small pub, better a 2by or 4x12.

Dave.
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This ^^^^^^^^^

If you're gonna play metal with a live band, you're gonna need some power. At your price range, you're pretty limited. The DSL401's are cheap on the used market and they're plenty loud enough to gig with. Crank that thing and you will be damn close to classic Marshall goodness. Hook it into a real cab and it'll be even better. I keep mentioning the Egnater Tweaker to people cuz it's a cheap tube amp with lots of options and I think it sounds good. Through a 2x12 mic'd into a PA at a bar or club, it'll probably do the job. If you don't mic it for live use....well you better have it cranked. Needing power and options, at your price range, I think the DSL is a good choice, and it's a Marshall. :D
 
Greg_L said:
This ^^^^^^^^^

If you're gonna play metal with a live band, you're gonna need some power. At your price range, you're pretty limited. The DSL401's are cheap on the used market and they're plenty loud enough to gig with. Crank that thing and you will be damn close to classic Marshall goodness. Hook it into a real cab and it'll be even better. I keep mentioning the Egnater Tweaker to people cuz it's a cheap tube amp with lots of options and I think it sounds good. Through a 2x12 mic'd into a PA at a bar or club, it'll probably do the job. If you don't mic it for live use....well you better have it cranked. Needing power and options, at your price range, I think the DSL is a good choice, and it's a Marshall. :D
Click to expand...

Hi Greg. Might be treason but! I fixed a 130Wperch Peavey solid stater a few months ago (the Scorpion "200W!" driver was bllx'ed) and that was insanely loud! A good pedal in front and you could do a lot with one. I understand quite few of the HM boys use big transistor power amps?

Dave.
 
Greg_L said:
This ^^^^^^^^^

If you're gonna play metal with a live band, you're gonna need some power. At your price range, you're pretty limited. The DSL401's are cheap on the used market and they're plenty loud enough to gig with. Crank that thing and you will be damn close to classic Marshall goodness. Hook it into a real cab and it'll be even better. I keep mentioning the Egnater Tweaker to people cuz it's a cheap tube amp with lots of options and I think it sounds good. Through a 2x12 mic'd into a PA at a bar or club, it'll probably do the job. If you don't mic it for live use....well you better have it cranked. Needing power and options, at your price range, I think the DSL is a good choice, and it's a Marshall. :D
Click to expand...

yes marshall is the thing I've pretty much always played my guitar on, even at school.

Oh I forgot, I won't actually be playing metal live, they'll be a few occasions where I might use the metal sound but the metal sound would be mostly for playing on my own and recording. We play mostly rock, which is why I need the crunch, and we play some clean. We are increasingly playing less songs that are clean, but I do love a good clean sound.

In fact I tracked the guitars for a half n half clean song last night
 
I want to play one first though, to make sure I like it. The problem with the head and cab option is that is seems more expensive
 
ollie99 said:
I want to play one first though, to make sure I like it. The problem with the head and cab option is that is seems more expensive
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Yeah, of course. You gotta play anything before you buy it. Well, you don't have to, but it's smart to. A head and cab will definitely be more expensive and is probably not necessary for your needs. Just keep all options open. A combo will do you fine. A combo will do most people fine. Half stacks and full stacks just look cooler. :D

Here in the US, the Marshall DSL line is dirt cheap on the used market. I don't know why, it's a fantastic amp and very versatile. I can only assume that they're so cheap because there's simply so many of them. I'm seeing them go for 400 bucks used over here and I'm tempted to buy one myself. That a 50 or 100 watt all tube Marshall head for 400 bucks. Insane.
 
Greg_L said:
Yeah, of course. You gotta play anything before you buy it. Well, you don't have to, but it's smart to. A head and cab will definitely be more expensive and is probably not necessary for your needs. Just keep all options open. A combo will do you fine. A combo will do most people fine. Half stacks and full stacks just look cooler. :D

Here in the US, the Marshall DSL line is dirt cheap on the used market. I don't know why, it's a fantastic amp and very versatile. I can only assume that they're so cheap because there's simply so many of them. I'm seeing them go for 400 bucks used over here and I'm tempted to buy one myself. That a 50 or 100 watt all tube Marshall head for 400 bucks. Insane.
Click to expand...

wow nice, another reason why I should live in the USA
 
So, I'm gonna be ridiculed by this. However, for a pretty good price, I'd pick up a Peavey Valve King and a Wampler Plextortion. That Peavey has an incredibly solid clean and a pretty dang good heavy sound. The Wampler is very Marshall-y sounding, metallic and throaty. Very pleasing. This is my opinion. I just know it works well for me.
 
If you are looking to get clean tones and metal tones, I go with some of the chaps above - go with a solid amp and push a pedal through it, I have had great results with that
 
If you can find a good head you like check out Avatar cabs, they are super solid and I've gotten at 2x12 and 4x12 used for about half the price of the retail value. As for me, I used a Peavey VTM 60 and it has a pretty gritty clean channel but works really well and can handle a lot of distortion in head and with pedal. Only thing with those are its a one channel so no foot switch action.
 
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