Budget recording amps for metal

[ericlingus]

Hello. I was wondering if their were any amps out there that sound good for recording death/black metal that's not very expensive. I'm talking about 400 and under. It's just for recording so it can be real small. I was just thinking. Why buy a huge half stack when i'm just going to be micing one speaker in it? What is the reason for it? I'm new to this so I don't know. Am I just going to have to eventually buy a mesa boogie or a 5150 if I want a good distorted tone? Well anyways if anyone has any recomendations, i'd be grateful. And like I said. It can be real small and I don't care if it has a good clean channel or not. I'm just looking for distortion. Thanks.

 

[Crash ©]

How about under $15...??? It makes sound (I suppose) and if nothing else it'll be different than anyone else out there...

http://www.hsn.com/cnt/prod/default.aspx?webp_id=2155807&sz=0&cat=&dept=cl0785&sf=cl&gs=&subcat=&attr=&o=-RI&prev=hp!sf!dept

Go on and sit that by your Marshall stack and smoke it....

--
Rob

 

[jonnyc]

Again dude, how many reincarnations of this question are you going to ask? Get it through your head, if you want a really good guitar tone then get a good amp. Stop trying to find a budget solution, or just be satisfied with a less than stellar sound. I hate to sound like a dick but good lord kid you're beating this metal tone thing to death.

 

[GONZO-X]

IN THAT PRICE RANGE...

you'd get the most bang for the buck, out of a used POD XT with the newer amp model packs in it

bogner
soldano
line 6 insane...

all that.

the short answer to your question is, NO, there are no cheap amps for metal, that sound good (IMHO)

that's not to say that if you're a genius, you couldn't take some POS amp and run it through some select processing and get a killer sound.

but i figure, if you were, you wouldn't be askin'.

good luck in the hunt tho.....

 

[ericlingus]

my question wasn't exactly about tone. It was more about the point in buying huge amps if you are just going to mic one speaker on it. Could someone explain to me how huge amps with a 4X12' speaker are needed for recording. How come smaller amps dont have as good distortion. Know what i'm talking about it? I'm jsut curious. And I think my 200 dollar behringer 210 v tone amp sounds pretty damn good. I can get a better recording tone out of it than with my vamp2. I've tried hooking my vamp up to my amp and micing it. But still the amp sounds better on its own. Anyone else own one of these amps or heard them before?


and look johnny. The reason why I have been posting a lot about this is because differnt questions pop up in my head after I made a thread about a similar subject. Before I just wanted to know about any cheaper amps out there for metal. Now I wanna know why huge amps are needed for recording when just one speaker is going to be miked. Why should I not make another post on the same topic if I have another question regarding it?

 

[alambler]

The only point (for me) of recording a 4x12 cabinet is to have 2 different sets of speakers in the cabinet. If you mic one of each type, it will give you a different sound than just micing two of the same type. For example: my 4x12 is set up with (2) Celestion Vintage 30's and (2) vintage alnicos and it provides a very diversified and balanced sound. I can get great rock, funk, punk, and other sounds out of this cab depending on what I use to push it. If you plan on just recording (1) 12" speaker, than you can use a 1x12" cab that is rated to handle the output of your amplifier. If you love a certain amplifier, maybe get a different speaker to change things up.

They do make amps that are designed to be used as recording amps. These are low wattage amps that can be quickly and easily altered (such as tube changes) to change the sound. THD makes an amp called the Univalve that is perfect for this sort of thing. However, it is slightly above your price range as it costs around $500-650 used. There are also several other low wattage amps that might be able to satisfy what you are looking for. Research.

I would suggest to search the net for a group of metal guitarists discussing this topic for some other ideas. You don't seem to be having much luck here.

 

[ericlingus]

yeah. I just hear the same thing. Only 1000 dollar tube amps work. Maybe they are right. But I should try elsewhere too. I would just imagine that an amp with low wattage and just one or two speakers but the same quaility as a bigger amp would still souind great but cost a lot less. That's really what i'm after.

 

[DeadUnion]

man try a peavey valveking 1x12 they are pretty cheap, sound good too,

 

[6gun]

Try looking for a roadworn 5150 on eBay < $400.

 

[metalhead28]

Think about what your'e really asking.....
There are several well known and established amps for metal. How many of those amps come in a little compact version, hmm?

I mean, really good amps don't usually come in cheaper forms. You can pick up a combo version of many good amps but the price difference is not that great usually. None of the really good "metal" flavored combo amps would be in your sub 400 dollar price range either.

For me there is a big advantage to having a separate cabinet, because I can put it wherever I want for recording and I can keep the head right beside me.
Also, a big cab has much different sonic characteristics than a small combo amp. A smaller cab is fine for recording, but there is a difference.

There are lower wattage heads out there that are suitable for recording, but they're not budget minded....that's not why they make them.

At this point I don't know what you're asking for, becasue you seem to think your Behringer amp sounds great. Do you just want to get 5% better than that or are you actually looking to sound like the pros? I don't want to get in a discussion of how to incrementally step up in sound quality 5 or 10% at a time. All you can do there is try all the cheap amps you can find and see if one sounds better than yours.

 

[MaximumMetal288]

Mesa/Boogie makes small 1x12 combo amps... but they cost way more then $400

 

[jonnyc]

I started out recording a 12" combo. I switched to a 4x12 cab and there is a significant difference in sound, just sounds bigger. Maybe you should just try buying different distortion pedals, I hate recommending distortion pedals but for you they may give you what you want. And also remember that you can piggyback on your old threads. You don't have to create a new one everytime you have a new question pop in your head. BTW I tried for two years to get a good distortion. I tried SS marshall stuff, hybrid stuff, ss amps that claimed were great for metal, you name it. I finally gave up and scored a mesa boogie(200 bucks what a f'n steal) and haven't had a desire to touch the other amps since. Do yourself a favor, get a job and buy a killer amp, you'll never regret it and if you had to you could get a good chunk of change back. Sorry I was harsh earlier.

 

[GONZO-X]

"my question wasn't exactly about tone."

well, when you say " i was wondering if their were any amps out there that sound good for recording death/black metal"-- that implies that you're looking for something that has good tone.

there are killer small amps for metal..
but none of them, are cheap.

$400 bucks is about a third of what you will pay for a GOOD sounding, Small amp.

best to do some searches of your favorite recording artists, and see what they use in the studio.
go from there.

i agree with jonnyc- there's only so many times that you can revisit the same question, before you figure out that good tone, and 'cheap', are mutually exclusive.


alambler has some good points..
but the univalve is definitely not voiced for metal.

bottom line is, what you're hearing about the high dollar amps, is basically the truth.

sometimes, the truth hurts.

if you can find some pro players recording awesome metal tones with a $400 amp, then, i'd buy it if i were you.

good luck on the hunt....

 

[GONZO-X]

i think 6gun, is the closest....

look for good used tube amps....
VHT, boogie, low watt marshalls, etc......

 

[ericlingus]

dude don't assume just because I can't afford a lot of money on a guitar amp, I don't have a job. I do. A shitty one at that but still. Yeah I guess I could just resurrect an old thread of mine with the new question but why? Well anyways looks like I won't really get a better sounding amp for pretty cheap. I forget how expensive this hobby is lol. I mean 400 bucks to spend on say magic the fucking gathering(yes I used to play ) was a lot of money to spend. I forget 400 is pretty much nothing to get a good amp. I'll just keep trying to get a good sound out of what I have for now. Then I can take out another loan to buy some expensive equipment.

 

[themaddog]

I mean 400 bucks to spend on say magic the fucking gathering(yes I used to play ) was a lot of money to spend. I forget 400 is pretty much nothing to get a good amp.

Do you play heavy metal, like Euro metal, a la wizards, warriors, dwarfs, and dorks... errr, orcs?

If so, try finding a used Mesa Boogie Nomad, combo or head. If you try hard enough, you might find one for about $400 used.

-MD

 

[Amegrim]

I play with a black metal band...
we have recorded a track...
for the guitar (played by me) we used a Marshall jcm900 with a Boss Metal Zone 2...
the sound is good but if u want it more "dirty" u can use some distortion software...
I'll suggest u Izotope Trash... It's very good...

 

[ericlingus]

do you have a clip of it? I hear the metal zone is actually pretty decent for black metal. Whats izotope trash? It is free? I have some freeware/shareware plug in distortions. I have guitar suite, x amp or something like that,da tube. Thanks for the advice everyone. And no I don't play power metal. I play black/death metal. No fairies and wizards in my music lol. Not that there's anything wrong with that..... Anything you would suggest I try with the set up I have to get a black metal tone? I have those distortion plug ins I just mentioned, a vamp2, a 210 v tone combo amp,dualfex pro,firebox, sm57, some cheap dynamic I got with a mic stand,cable,clip,mic pouch(at musicians friend for 20 bucks. Great deal. The stand alone is worth it). I use cubase LE for my recording software? I'd appreciate any comments on mic placement,eq,etc. Thanks.

 

[recon6]

Depending on how much you know about electronics or how much you are willing to learn, you could always build your own tube amp. http://www.ax84.com has quite a few options for different sounds. I think I have spent about $250 so far and all I need to get is the wood for the cabinet, grill cloth and tolex (or wood stain haven't decided yet). I am building a 1x12 combo and it should put out around 14-16 watts (perfect for practice or recording). If you do go that route just make sure you don't electrocute yourself, as most of the capacitors are 450 volts of higher .

 

[amra]

Yea man, keep plugging away with what you have. There is nothing under $400 (unless you get really lucky) that is going to sound much better. Keep experimenting with different recording techniques, you should be able to get something at least workable that you can live with. Save your money until you can buy a JCM900 or JCM2000 combo or something comparable, a mesa combo or whatever.

Check pawnshops. I bought a laney 100 watt all tube 2x12 combo for $350. It still sounded heavy, but you could tell by looking and listening that the tubes were really old and on the ragged edge. Replaced the power tubes and it was ready to go. Total price, somwhere around $400. Doing it that way IS a gamble, but it can be done. I came accross JCM200 DSL head for $475 a while back, that was in great shape. Not abused at all. You would still need a cab of course, but there are deals out there.