I am going to get a half stack, need expert opinions

  • Thread starter Thread starter gibson59neck
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pinhedgtr said:
Oh yeah, I should mention that I play this head through a Marshall 1960A 4x12 cab....sounds sweet!

B
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but does it tingle your dingle?
 
Outlaws said:
Your thing says you are 35 years old. I am sorry to be the one to tell you this, but you missed your train about 10 years ago.

Given the tone of your current two threads, I get the impression that you play one thing and make your basis on the whole lot of them. In this day of age, quality control isn't really there. You have to play more than one of something to find the good ones. Even if you buy a half stack, you might get a dud. You really have to look it over before you buy it.

Funny thing is, you didn't say you don't like the tone of your HR, so maybe you don't know what you want. I take it you can't take the time to go play a few on your own to make up your own mind other wise you wouldn't ask this kind of question.

My opinion on amps...
Every amp is the greatest amp in the world, and every amp is the worst amp in the world. It just depends if the person playing it likes it.
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I love how so many people on this freakin' site are looking for a fight.

I never said I didn't like the tone of my HRD. I said the input plug is loose, and that the amp rattles. It sounds great at lower volumes, but compared to the sound that I've heard from various half stacks, it has no ass (bottom). The rock god thing was a joke. Yeah, I'm 35, have three kids, a wife, and manage a company. I don't intend to try to make it big but I do want to start gigging soon with my band, on a more or less local basis, as regularly as I can find the time for.

Why the hell are you so damned condescending and full of yourself? I asked a question to get an idea from people that might have experience with half stacks, so you jump on me and talk to me like you think I'm stupid. Go f yerself dude.
 
And to those who say that it is impossible to lug around a half stack, I say - get a van! I wouldn't expect to put the thing in a Tercel. As far as how much fun it is to move, I've done it for several friends hundreds of times. No big deal. Ya sissies! :D

Seriously, to all of you so far that have given me your opinions on half stacks based on what you know, thank you.
 
dave..... said:
i have a half stack...... ampeg vh140c head crate 4x12 cab..... i have used it at 4 outside gigs....... i use 2 mashhall combos that i use for all the other gigs...and they have been used hundreds of times...... think about your amp choice carefully..... what are you going to do w/ it what sounds do you expect out of it..... how are you going to transport it ?? i am a big fan of bigger is better... but you should check out some of the combos out there... you might be suprised..... and you might not get that great tone out of a big amp w/ your volume set on 2 ....... w/ a smaller amp you can crank it up enough to let the speakers realy sing ??????? :D :D
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I used a Fender Twin for a while that a friend wasn't using, and it was better than my Hot Rod but still didn't have the bottom that a 4x12 kicks out. I might revisit some kind of 2x12 but I think my ear is really wanting the "bigger" sound of a half stack. I have a van and am a big guy - not worried about transport. Do you mike the Marshall combos live? My band is not out there (yet) so I'm ignorant of the whole stage thing. All I know is that most live heavy heavy rock bands I've seen utilize heads/cabs, not combos. Plus, in my band, the bassist and other guitarist both have em.
 
gibson59neck said:
I love how so many people on this freakin' site are looking for a fight.
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Glad you picked up on that and fired back. This site has more of this "beat up the guy we dont know yet" attitude than any other site except Harmony Central.....but if I'm gonna get raked, I'd rather get it at HC than here. This is the one thing that sux most of all about this forum. On the bright side, you will notice after a while that it's always the same 5 or 10 people who do that. There is a really cool new forum technology available.....it's called "Ignore List." Works great, less filling. :D

I've been thru 8 amps in the last 2 years, and I've played at least a dozen different brands of heads and combos and cabs in the stores. I admit I will never play metal, but for classic rock and blues I can say without any reservation that the best "training" amp I've ever had for introducing myself to tube amps and speakers is a Traynor. I loved it the moment I played it, and it took me a year of toying with Mesa and Fender and Vox and THD and Budda and Rivera etc.etc.etc. to realize that the Traynor was a great basic beginning tube amp. Built like a tank, with a basic raw punchy gritty tube sound that helped me figure out why tube amps are soooo cooooL! If I had not found great deals on a Mesa and a Twin, I would probably be buying that YCS100 right now. The Vox AC30 is also very tempting.

But if I had more money to burn, I'd definitely be shopping the Riveras, the THD's, the Badcats, the Frizell, the Budda, Bogner, Randall, etc.... I think so far my favorite is the THD Bivalve.

Have fun shopping and comparing before you commit your money. And you can always sell it on eBay if you find something you like better. Being the seller gives you an advantage. I got back 80% or more what I paid by selling on eBay a year later. But I bought my Mesa and my Twin locally from a soundman I've known for a long time. Include trips to see live local acts, and pay attention to what amps they use and ask them between sets if the amps and cabs are modified in any way. If you like what you hear, remember what it is and go test drive it later at a store. Research the web for a few days, find out what rig was used to make your favorite guitarist sounds, then go shop that gear.

And dont let the booger chippers scare you off...... :cool:
 
soundchaser59 said:
Glad you picked up on that and fired back.

Have fun shopping and comparing before you commit your money. And you can always sell it on eBay if you find something you like better. Being the seller gives you an advantage. I got back 80% or more what I paid by selling on eBay a year later. But I bought my Mesa and my Twin locally from a soundman I've known for a long time. Include trips to see live local acts, and pay attention to what amps they use and ask them between sets if the amps and cabs are modified in any way. If you like what you hear, remember what it is and go test drive it later at a store. Research the web for a few days, find out what rig was used to make your favorite guitarist sounds, then go shop that gear.

And dont let the booger chippers scare you off...... :cool:
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WORD UP SOUNDCHASER< BIGTIME REPS FOR YOU AND YOUR ADVICE.

If I may add one more bit to your already excellent advice, especially the having fun part. I would also say to keep in mind that musicians friend, guitar center and the like have like 30 or 45 day returns, so you really have alot of time now adays to get what you need.
 
You could always spend the money on a kick butt head and then make your own cab. I use those Jensen Mod 12 speakers and they kick ass. I like them even better than my marshall cab with celestion 75's. They are also less than 50 dollars a speaker. At least a year or two ago.
 
I have a Mesa Dual Rect and a 2x12 cab. It slams just as well as the other guitar players Peavey xxx with a 4x12. You would like the 5150.
 
Gibsonneck, I am sorry you feel that way; I guess my experience has been a little different. For the record I am craving a 4x12 but for me at this point it would be a waste. Small pad, not playing out much. Nonetheless, I love that wicked thump that a 4x12 can deliver. I may buy another 2x12 to run with my Marshall 100 watt. Yeah baby! I am looking at avatar cabs. Spoke with the owner the other day, cool guy. Check out his collection of gear he has collected. HE is first on my list for the new cab. Sorry to drift off topic. :) PS: Most folks around here are very cool, but you must be prepared to hear their opinions because, guess what , you asked. :D :D Peace. Go ahead and get that 1/2 stack, but keep the other amp for other situations. 4x12=very loud. One last thing, thank the man above this ain't HC.
 
It's not under a grand, but I think that Electric Amps' White Amp is pretty Godly.

http://www.whiteamp.com/

And why go for just a half stack? I say stack their 180 W Master head on top of their 8x10 cabinet on top of their 6X15. You could probably alter weather with that.
 
gcapel said:
You could always spend the money on a kick butt head and then make your own cab. I use those Jensen Mod 12 speakers and they kick ass. I like them even better than my marshall cab with celestion 75's. They are also less than 50 dollars a speaker. At least a year or two ago.
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Dude that's cool. I was thinking about that but wasn't sure what to model the cab after. I thought I might do a slant cab and use two 10's and two 12's. (???) It's such a foreign world to me tho cuz I've always had combos. I wondered what speakers were right for the job, too. I will be looking for a sound that can cover Pantera, Slipknot, you know, the heavy, hooky stuff. Our originals are in that vein. I guess I definitely have some shopping around to do before I make a commitment, but it's great to have this forum to get such good ideas...Thanks for the response!
 
gcapel said:
You could always spend the money on a kick butt head and then make your own cab. I use those Jensen Mod 12 speakers and they kick ass. I like them even better than my marshall cab with celestion 75's. They are also less than 50 dollars a speaker. At least a year or two ago.
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You can get unfinished cabs made of solid baltic birch plywood, beautiful work, from Griffiths Sound Works (google will give you the link and the pics). He makes a 2x12 ported closed back cab that really rocks, with metal jacks, metal handles, heavy duty (no plastic) hardware, precision construction. Only about $150 + shipping. Stain it cherry, put some oversized soft rubber casters on the bottom, and some huge rubber feet on one end so you can stand it up vertical if you want, you'll love it. I'd much rather have two of these than one 4x12.....especially after I pay the chirocracker bill from moving the 4x12.

The hi-power Eminence speakers (Tonker, Swamp Thang, all the ones with the 2 inch vc and the 59 oz magnets and the whopping 102 or 103 sensitivity rating!) will blow any Celestion in the same price range completely outa the water. Anybody using Celestions or Jensens will be huffing and puffing to keep up with your sound, both in terms of volume and quality! (But I have to repeat, my all time favorite Emi speakers are the Cannabis Rex!)

You can also get superbly built cabs from Geezer Sound (email Dave and ask around) but he wont sell them unfinished like Griffiths will. He can also get you the best price on the Eminence speakers, I think he's a dealer, and he's within walking distance to the Eminence factory.

You can also feel confident experimenting with the (Italian made) Jensen C12N and C12K speakers. The C12K is another one I like better than the Celestions I got rid of. I no longer own any Celestion speakers. Just too thin and edgy sounding for my taste!

I'm also realizing that if I am going to have more than 1 speaker, the 16 ohm speakers are much more useful in getting the total cab ohms to come out the way you want.
 
gibson59neck said:
Dude that's cool. I was thinking about that but wasn't sure what to model the cab after. I thought I might do a slant cab and use two 10's and two 12's. (???) I will be looking for a sound that can cover Pantera, Slipknot, you know, the heavy, hooky stuff. !
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I made a 2 x12 cab modeled after the marshall jcm 900 cab. You can't go wrong with too big, but you want to close it up.

The "mod" in the jensen mod 12 speaker is refering to modern. They would be exactly what you a looking for. If i were to do 4 or them I would get the 16 ohm versions @ around 50 watt's a speaker. Especially for heavy stuff.
 
You could get in in right around a grand if you can find a used marshall 50 watt head, maybe a JCM800 or 900. Then you could get an avatar cab from their online store, and you are in business....
 
Have you tried playing your present amp through one of your friends' half stacks? Maybe you don't need a head.
 
I'm surprised no one has said anything about Marshall JCM900's. I've got my stack, which with an Ampeg cab, cost me about $900, and I absolutely love it. Also, if you're still kind of looking for a fenderish tone, check out the Tubeworks heads, they're pretty damn cheap and sound extremely like a lot of Fenders I've played. The cab is least important, if you're handy you can always gut out the speakers and put in some new ones... Good luck!
 
I guess my question is what style of "rock god" are you trying to be? Heavy metal, classic rock, nu-metal?

If you are going for an all-around cover everything, then a Mesa-Boogie dual rec. would be your best bet(imho), its probably three times your $1000 budget but would be optimal.

Having said that, I would recommend a used jcm 800 with vintage 30's in the cab. It's alot closer to your price range(in fact I scored my '89 jcm 800 and 4 12 jcm 800 cab loaded with vintage 30's for about $1100, off of sleaze bay). I really love my setup, I cant find a tone I dont like....ones that I won't ever use, "but would be cool if....". I also think that you would have most genres covered with the exception of the heavy detuned nu-metal stuff, which you could by a pedal for, if you needed.

Also, I would suggest that stick with the 50 watt amps, less expensive and unless your band is planning on playing a stadium without any FOH, they are more than loud enough! 50 watts tube is alot louder than 100 watts solid state.

I think someone already mentioned Sovtek's, another great option, and alot of times a little less expensive than the Marshall's, but GREAT sounding amps.

Lastly, probably gonna get flamed for this but...maybe try a podxt live, I have never used one but see alot of the bigger regional band using them with very good results, there are mostly only cover bands that play here so the pod gives them the versatility to mimic every band.

I would go with the Marshall or the Sovtek...but a I am a "tube snob" when it comes to guitar.

Good luck!
 
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