Goog small amp for recording metal

[ericlingus]

Good small amp for recording metal

Hi I am new to recording and would like to try an amp out for it instead of using my vamp2. I already have a behringer v tone 210 amp which I use sometimes. And recently i've been using it with the vamp2 and miking it. But I would like to try something else. Maybe a tube amp? I don't know. But i'd like to try out a new amp. I don't have too much money to spend and i'm just looking for a real small one. Just for recording. What would you suggest? Also what would you recommend I do to get a better sound out of my vamp2? Do you guys find that hooking it up to an amp and then miking the amp works better than just recording direct with it? Also, would a maximizer help? Anything information you could provide would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[gvarko]

Metal

I think the smaller Marshall and Randall amps have a good metal tone. None of the smaller models have tubes though.

 

[metalhead28]

This is a simple matter.

There are two types of guitarists. Ones who understand how important a great amp is, and ones who have never played through a great amp.

Getting a really nice tube amplifier can be life changing to say the least!

Save your pennies and get one of the nice tube amps that you hear everybody talking about all the time (which ever brand that may be at the time) and you won't ever again waste your time with V-amps, modelers, processors, whirley gigs, or whatever the hell else people are using to get guitar sounds these days!

 

[Rickson Gracie]

try a mesa f30 for a really nice tube amp. if u cant afford it then try a vox valvetronix.

 

[gbdweller]

This is a simple matter.

There are two types of guitarists. Ones who understand how important a great amp is, and ones who have never played through a great amp.

Getting a really nice tube amplifier can be life changing to say the least!

Save your pennies and get one of the nice tube amps that you hear everybody talking about all the time (which ever brand that may be at the time) and you won't ever again waste your time with V-amps, modelers, processors, whirley gigs, or whatever the hell else people are using to get guitar sounds these days!

Right on. Buying a bed is the same way. Until you've spent the beans for a real one and slept in it...I should probably finish this one in the cave...

Back to the amp...Go to the store and play through what you think you can afford and than save some more money to upgrade. You'll be glad you did.

 

[Scottgman]

This is a simple matter.

There are two types of guitarists. Ones who understand how important a great amp is, and ones who have never played through a great amp.

Getting a really nice tube amplifier can be life changing to say the least!

LOL!!

I totally agree!!

You can always tell which BBS members have never owned a nice tube amp-- they are ones who post on the message boards about the great tones they get out of their POD or Vamp. I realize amp modellers and cheap practice amps have their place and are neccessary at times for various reasons. But, they just don't compare to a really nice tube amp.

You will get better tones if you mic up a nice amp. Unfortunately, even the "small" tube amps aren't exactly cheap. But follow metalhead's advice and save your pennies. If you buy another cheap amp, you will be back here within 6 months posting about how you want your guitar to sound better. You already have a rig that you can use to record guitar. I would try to get the most out of that rig by working on your recording/mixing techniques, writing and arranging songs, and practicing guitar, etc. while you are saving your money for a *good* amp.

BTW, I've got a VAMP 2 and a Budda Superdrive 30-watt 2x12 combo amp. I use the VAMP as a practice rig at home.

 

[ericlingus]

yes but not all of us have a thousand dollars to spend on an amp. It'll take a long time to save up for that. I kinda like my tone now so anything just a little better would be fine with me. But maybe down the road i'll get a great tube amp. Not any time soon unfortunately though.

 

[metalhead28]

yes but not all of us have a thousand dollars to spend on an amp. It'll take a long time to save up for that. I kinda like my tone now so anything just a little better would be fine with me. But maybe down the road i'll get a great tube amp. Not any time soon unfortunately though.

You say you rather like your tone...so keep it for now. I'm guessing that you've never played through a really nice amp. Once you do you'll be mad that you kept wasting money on those incremental upgrades. I still say save your money and step up to the plate when ever it finally does become an option. I realize that a tube amp is expensive, but when somebody is after good tone I couldn't possibly recommend anything else. It took me years and years before I could ever afford a proper amp. And like I said, it changed my life! I don't even want to talk about how long it took me to afford the guitar that I wanted........

 

[gvarko]

Fender Blues Jr.

yes but not all of us have a thousand dollars to spend on an amp. It'll take a long time to save up for that. I kinda like my tone now so anything just a little better would be fine with me. But maybe down the road i'll get a great tube amp. Not any time soon unfortunately though.

For less than $400 you can get the Fender Blues Jr. That has tubes, is small and has some great tone. Just not sure about "Metal" tones:

http://www.musiciansbuy.com/FENDER_BLUES_JUNIOR__FREE_ITEMS_0213205-000KIT.html

I fully understand the $$ situation and won't be like other's who suggest a Mesa $2,000 rig as a step up from a Behringer.

 

[Scottgman]

yes but not all of us have a thousand dollars to spend on an amp. It'll take a long time to save up for that. I kinda like my tone now so anything just a little better would be fine with me. But maybe down the road i'll get a great tube amp. Not any time soon unfortunately though.

Well then why are you asking people if they suggest that you buy a new tube amp?

You could've saved us all some time (and bandwidth) by starting a thread titled: "I think I want a new tube amp but can't afford it."

BTW, you don't have to spend a thousand dollars to get a good tube amp.

 

[cellardweller]

Hi I am new to recording and would like to try an amp out for it instead of using my vamp2. I already have a behringer v tone 210 amp which I use sometimes. And recently i've been using it with the vamp2 and miking it. But I would like to try something else. Maybe a tube amp? I don't know. But i'd like to try out a new amp. I don't have too much money to spend and i'm just looking for a real small one. Just for recording. What would you suggest? Also what would you recommend I do to get a better sound out of my vamp2? Do you guys find that hooking it up to an amp and then miking the amp works better than just recording direct with it? Also, would a maximizer help? Anything information you could provide would be appreciated. Thanks.

I feel your pain.

 

[Outlaws]

Tube amps are the most overrated fucking bullshit to get pimp'd on this damn BBS.

Metal doesn't need (key word, so calm down) a tube amp IMO. I have a VERY nice tube amp and have owned a bunch of different ones over the last few years, and when ever I want screaming lead metal tones, I always end up either using a modeler or my little MS-2. What is a MS-2 you ask? Its that one watt Marshall practice amp. Ya. And I don't even mic it. I just send it from the headphones to the recorder....add reverb and sometimes delay too, and BAM!.....awsome metal tone. If I had a Marshall stack, I would use it. No doubt. But I don't, and its not 100% required.

Now if you want nu-metal, aka the Mesa Triple Rec sound, then ya, a Mesa triple rec will do it.

I have gotten some dark Sabbath like tones from a Blues Jr (which I used to own), and I would consider a lot of the tones I milked out of it to be 'metal', but that is that last amp I would recommend for a general 'metal' amp.

Randall makes some metal amps. Infact they made a lot of metal amps over the years. Once you mike even a solid state metal amp, the tubes are less important. Tubes shine at clean sounds, to lower gain stages, and upto about GNR hard rock. After that the 'smooth clipping' that tubes do so well is so harsh that they cease to matter as much as the smooth 'air-ness' of micing the speaker as opposed to DIing or using a amp sim.


Thats just all my opinion, but if you disagree, then just don't recommend a tube amp because its a tube amp. There are only a few tube amps I am aware of for serious 'metal'. Bogner, VHT, Egnator, Diezel, and Mesa. (maybe ENGL, but I forget) -None of which are cheap, or small.

(and I am personally thinking about a Randall or a Mashall ATV for myself)

 

[DeadUnion]

Okay I know a lot of people will think fuck peavey or whatever, but a peavey valveking is nice and cheap tube amp. It has lots of gain and can give you that "metal" tone or whatever the fuck that is. I play in a punk/metal band and really don't need that much distortion to get the heavey sound I want. Especially for recording, mildly overdriven and just doubled, tripled, quadrupled tracked and played tight with a little effect sounds heavy as fuck. Just my opinion anyway, live I just use a Kustom 200 watt half stack and It's not tube and it's cheap and it gives me killer tone and killer heavy distortion, so tubes aren't always everything but I do admit, the Genz Benz el diablo I have on order blows the kustom out of the water,even though I love the Kustom and it has done me well, having the valveking and playing the el diablo did make me not only see, but feel the difference between solid state and tube amps. But I still don't think you need a tube amp to have killer tone, it does help though. All just preference i guess. I will never ever use a modeler for live playing again though, fuckin splooge, I don't mind for recording, but for live......not for me.

 

[legionserial]

I've been using the same Marshall Valvestate 8080 to play metal for years and I really can't fault it.

I don't know why they screwed up the newer valvestates

 

[mixmkr]

LOL!!

I totally agree!!

You can always tell which BBS members have never owned a nice tube amp-- they are ones who post on the message boards about the great tones they get out of their POD or Vamp. I realize amp modellers and cheap practice amps have their place and are neccessary at times for various reasons. But, they just don't compare to a really nice tube amp.

Funny thing is I have probably owned more tube amps than you have bought sets of strings, from Ampegs, to Voxes (and played thru them for 40 years) and I find that my Boss GT-8 floor processors puts them all to shame, both in sound and variety....not to mention I don't need a two-wheeler any more (or roadie) to lug the stuff around. The "tube" craze is such a hype(and for those that can't let go of the past) and I might suggest you don't fall for marketing stratagies like so many others. I love that little preamp that has a little orange LED simulating a glowing tube in it. pure hype.

I won't argue the fact of eight 12" speakers pushing some air around 110dB to help with the sound a tad, but it's the player first. To rely on something like a "tube" amp is pure crazyness.

 

[battleminnow]

For small and inexpensive and metal, I would suggest the Vox Valvetronix line of amps.

Also, as tubes go, for inexpensive, the Crate (I know, I know... just try it if you don't believe me) Palomino series are outstanding for the money. They are being made by Ampeg, and they sound phenomenal.

Pete

 

[jonnyc]

Funny thing is I have probably owned more tube amps than you have bought sets of strings, from Ampegs, to Voxes (and played thru them for 40 years) and I find that my Boss GT-8 floor processors puts them all to shame, both in sound and variety....not to mention I don't need a two-wheeler any more (or roadie) to lug the stuff around. The "tube" craze is such a hype(and for those that can't let go of the past) and I might suggest you don't fall for marketing stratagies like so many others. I love that little preamp that has a little orange LED simulating a glowing tube in it. pure hype.

I won't argue the fact of eight 12" speakers pushing some air around 110dB to help with the sound a tad, but it's the player first. To rely on something like a "tube" amp is pure crazyness.

Wow, I can say I disagree 100%. I think its more that you've lost a little in the hearing department over those 40 years. That or you get less picky with age, kind of like if you're 65 and a 20 year old hits on you it doesn't matter that she's ugly as sin, just that she's 20. You aren't really serious right?

 

[mixmkr]

Wow, I can say I disagree 100%. I think its more that you've lost a little in the hearing department over those 40 years. That or you get less picky with age, kind of like if you're 65 and a 20 year old hits on you it doesn't matter that she's ugly as sin, just that she's 20. You aren't really serious right?

yeah...I'm serious. Post your mic'd up valve amp and lets hear how it puts 90% of the recorded guitars on these forums to shame. I'd like to believe that I have actually gotten more picky as the years roll on, as I know my techique, style AND sound has gotten much better, not to say I have heard a wide variety of amps at this point. I know it's a cliche, but maybe after a couple more years of playing under your belt, you'll realize that given a least a suitable standard of equipment, the equipment means less and the fingers and ears mean more.

btw, I'm happily married and the thought of some 20 year old newbie doesn't interest me in the least.

so...let's hear a clip...and not some minor 3rd, dropped tuned guitar chuggin' away.

 

[amra]

That's not necessarily true man, I have two tube amps and have played through others and I still play through a solid state randall and a V-AMP sometimes. Why wear the tubes out on my tube amp by moving carrying them to every rehearsal? I can get a pretty good high gain tone out of my solid state - more than good enough for rehearsal. Why take hours of life off my tubes by practicing and 'brainstorming' on my tube amp, when I can have a V-AMP plugged in ready to record ideas at a moments notice? Sometimes whirlygigs come in handy....

Anyways eric, you are not going to get an appreciably better recording than you can get with what you have, unless you are going to spend $600-$800 on a nice sounding tube amp, and then buy the mics and pres and interface to do it justice.

This is a simple matter.

There are two types of guitarists. Ones who understand how important a great amp is, and ones who have never played through a great amp.

Getting a really nice tube amplifier can be life changing to say the least!

Save your pennies and get one of the nice tube amps that you hear everybody talking about all the time (which ever brand that may be at the time) and you won't ever again waste your time with V-amps, modelers, processors, whirley gigs, or whatever the hell else people are using to get guitar sounds these days!

 

[jonnyc]

yeah...I'm serious. Post your mic'd up valve amp and lets hear how it puts 90% of the recorded guitars on these forums to shame. I'd like to believe that I have actually gotten more picky as the years roll on, as I know my techique, style AND sound has gotten much better, not to say I have heard a wide variety of amps at this point. I know it's a cliche, but maybe after a couple more years of playing under your belt, you'll realize that given a least a suitable standard of equipment, the equipment means less and the fingers and ears mean more.

btw, I'm happily married and the thought of some 20 year old newbie doesn't interest me in the least.

so...let's hear a clip...and not some minor 3rd, dropped tuned guitar chuggin' away.

Settle down buddy. Where did I post that I'd put 90% of the guitars on here to shame? Stop putting words in my mouth. And are you saying that 90% of the people on here that record guitars don't use a tube amp? I'd give you 70% at the most. And just to clear something up, we're talking about tube amps vs. a boss gt8, not how well you can play guitar vs. how well I can play guitar.