Looking for an amp advice

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LucifersGhost

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Hello all,

Been lurking here for a few weeks but a first time poster. Tons of useful information here :)

So, as the title suggests, I am looking to buy an amp. The budget is around $800 - $850 or so.

A little background: 33 years old. Been playing since I was about 14 or so. I got an Ibanez RG-760 Lefty. I have always wanted a Marshall, ever since I was a wee lad. But, I have been looking at the Line 6 amps recently. They seem to offer some pretty amazing features. I havent really decided whether or not I want a combo amp or a small head/cab. I would generally prefer to get a tube amp over solid state but ya cant always get what you want.

So, a few little questions:

1) Are the Line 6 amps worth the money? The Spider III HD 75W head seems like a great buy. Is that head a tube or solid?

2) If I go with the Spider III head, the local music places to not sell Line 6 cabinets (for some odd reason). Would it sound ok to go with a Marshall MG-412A and that head? Or will they be mismatched?

3) If mismatched, would getting a Marshall MG-100HDFX go better with that cabinet? Is that head worth the money?

4) Or should I be better off going with a combo amp (say the Line 6 Spider Jam or Marshall MG-250DFX?


My apologies for all the questions. I have been reading up a lot but since I have been out of the loop for several years (kids and such), I feel like I should ask as many questions as possible.

Thank you so very much in advance for any and all advice that you all provide. I really appreciate it.

LG
 
Try the orange Tiny Terror, it now comes in combo form too! (tube)
try out some of the traynor tube amps aswell. They range from 600 to 1200 for the pricy heads that i've seen you may be able to get a deal.
A friend of mine has a hdfx marshall, i play it when we jam cause its conviently at his house, but i hate it, sounds cheap and tinny.
 
These heads are $800 or less on eBay:

Peavey: 5150, 5150 II, 6505, 6505+, XXX, JSX
Peavey: Windsor
Ampeg: VL-1002, VL-502
Laney: Pro-Tube 50, Pro-Tube 100 AOR, GH50L, GH100L, GH100TI, VH100R (maybe)
Mesa/Boogie: Mark III, Nomad
Marshall: JCM2000, JCM900, JCM800 (maybe)



You just have to figure out which amp suits the sound(s) your looking for.
Personally, I don't like most Line 6 stuff and Marshall's MG series isn't worth messing with.
 
Welcome to the forum!

Okay, from what I can gather, you've been playing for a long time...bottom line, you OWE it to yourself to buy a tube amp, or at least try one. Second, I personally would dispell with the DFX and Line 6 amps. In my experience - which is limited - they're perfect for beginners as they spoil you with dozens of FX presets and patches. The fundamental tone is, however, pretty weak IMO...behind all those reverbs, delays, flangers etc is a pretty cheap solid state or 'hybrid' circuit (some people will probably take issue with this, but anyway)

While I'd advocate individual stomp boxes in lieu of a slew of on-board effects, I'd be less hasty to advocate an amp I hadn't played through. That said, I see you're in the U.S and there are definetely some deals to be had. If you're going for a tube amp, remember, these things can get loud...and without sounding juvenile, they tend to sound better when you really push the tubes to saturation. Certain styles may require more headroom - the extent to which you can push the volume without the amp breaking up - but generally speaking, tube overdrive is considered a good thing, and delivers a sound that is totally unique from solid states.

The cabinet/combo decision is something you'll have to decide for yourself...volume delivery should probably be towards the bottom of your list when it comes to choosing an amp, as you can always use a P.A for gigs and tell the drummer to STFU during rehearsals - also, a tube amp will usually sound much louder than an equivalently rated solid state. Combos you can usually afford to crank up while keeping the noise to a reasonable level, and the amps I've listed below are all combos.

I'm only going to suggest some amps that I've played through. Certain amps are generally better suited to specific genres, and I wouldn't want to assume anything from the fact that you play an Ibanez - although I know they're quite common amongst shredders. Anyway, here's a few I'd check out if I were you.


Fender Hot Rod Deluxe - 40 Watt, bout $700 from GC

Vox AC 15 - 15 Watts, $600

Marshall DSL 401 - don't seem to be in stock in most places anymore, but definetely worth a look on the second-hand market, great amp! 40 watts.

Fender SCXD - Fender super-champ, getting alot of positive reviews round here. It's a tube amp with on-board effects and one worth looking at if you insist on on-board effects. $299 too, so a great value amp, 15 watts.

That's just my .02 cents, wait for others to chime in, make a list, and go to your store to try em all out.
 
Spider III HD 75W is a ss head. The other guitarist in my band uses one, I dont really care for the sound. The 'Insane' channel sounds over-overdriven square wave clipped-to-all-hell imo.

The Marshall MG cab's are smaller than a standard 4x12, like the AVT's. Any head that's the width of a standard 4x12 will hang over the left and right sides of an MG cab.
 
Wecome to the Board! Great stuff here not too much BS mostly well meaning folks who love music and gear. Here is my .02 on amps and the horrific amount of very strong opinions as to what is better or worse. Now on to my opinion. Definitely look into tube amps. There are some great buys out there and from my experience tube stuff gives the electric guitar its "vibe" and is very durable. I saw mention of the Tiny Terror, I want one! The current path is towards lower wattage tube gear that you can push into saturation (power section distorion), which to most is the holy grail of tube tone. With lower wattage stuf you can do that without (maybe) hearing damage or having the local law enforcement officers appear every time you play. Second, the style of music you are playing has a lot to do with the type of amp. I would not reccomend a small (low wattage) amp to a pedal steel player or for that matter a DSL/TSL/JCM 800 to a strict jazzer. So with all that having been said go out and try out a few amps (tube). I saw the traynor, Vox, Peavey Windsor mentioned pretty good stuff and well in your price range. A used Mesa Mark III is a nice amp and pretty versatile ( bias as I own one) the Peavey classic series are pretty good too. I personally prefer the seperate head vs a combo as they are easier to move and you can mix and match speaker cabs easily. As I write I have a Marshall Dsl powering a 2x12 Alnico Blue dog cab. Yummy. To my right, a Fender Deluxe reissue etc.. On that note a 30 watt tube amp will keep up well in a band situation particularly if you use PA and mic the amp. All the sugesstions previous are good starting points but they all havve one thing in common: Tube!. Go forth and let your ears guide you. BTW, you can always stick some cool pedals in front of the amp (or in the effects loop) but the heart of the tone iis the amplifier itself, the player, and the genre being played. No, No Im not gonna start another "i hate line 6 thread" but my experience 2x has been while their stuff is pretty cool both my experiences ended with dead equipment, pain in ass service and a happy return to my tube gear. Be well.
 
MatchBookNotes said:
Try the orange Tiny Terror, it now comes in combo form too! (tube)
try out some of the traynor tube amps aswell. They range from 600 to 1200 for the pricy heads that i've seen you may be able to get a deal.
A friend of mine has a hdfx marshall, i play it when we jam cause its conviently at his house, but i hate it, sounds cheap and tinny.
Click to expand...

Damn! Combo form? I want one.
That's my next amp.
 
If you like Fender tone, go for a Jazzmaster Ultralight. I've got one and it sings, both clean and distorted. It's the only solid state guitar amp I've owned (and I got my first one in '74) and it's really done right.

Also it's very lightweight: 25.6 lb (11.6 Kg) for 250 watts RMS, with a 12-inch speaker.

Pricey but worth it. Luckily I was able to trade gear (including a tube amp) so I wasn't out much cash.

If you GOTTA have tubes, try the Fender Blues Jr NOS. I have one, and it has the other great Fender tone.
 
Oh my god, $850 to spend and you want to buy a Line6??? :eek::eek::eek:

Depending on what kind of tones you are going for. You probably pick up a sweet Fender Twin for about that price (a re-issue) and get some of the cleanest cleans possible. Or maybe for that fat rock sound you hear on oh-so-many records these days, you could grab a used Mesa of some model. You might even be able to find a JCM800 combo for that much, but that'd be quite a find :)
 
TelePaul said:
Fender SCXD - Fender super-champ, getting alot of positive reviews round here. It's a tube amp with on-board effects and one worth looking at if you insist on on-board effects. $299 too, so a great value amp, 15 watts.
Click to expand...

I have a SCXD. AMAZING amp. And since you have plenty of money to afford it, you could afford the speaker upgrade. Even though the upgrade isn't that necessary seeing as the amp sound fantastic stock. But that speaker upgrade just makes it all the more perfect. Better than could be thought.

So there you have my ridiculous support of the SCXD.
 
Hello again everyone,

Sorry for the delay in responding. Real life took over. Shame it does that sometimes :P

Anywho, I would like to thank you all very much for your comments and opinions. They are greatly appreciated.

So, as it would seem, Line 6 is pretty out. I gathered at least that much :P

I have come across (well not came across .. I mean I have found) a Crate amp (the BV-62612 Blue Voodoo) that I can get for a really good price of $175 CAD. Its in pretty good shape for an amp thats like 7 or 8 years old. I have read a bunch of reviews from different sites and they seem mostly positive.

What are your thoughts?

EDIT: Oops. I should add that I am an "old school" metal head, in terms of style. Can play a bit of most genres but will generally default to the heavier stuff.
 
So I picked up the amp. Bargained a little and got it for $150CAD. Pretty sweet for a 60watt tube amp, Id say.

My initial impressions after playing for about 2 hours:

1) The clean channel is very bright and sounds really good.

and

2) The OD channel is loud but the amp distortion is poo poo. Definitely going to get a pedal or something cause bleh. It just has no guts whatsoever. Very flimsy sounding.

Any suggestions on a pedal(s)? When I was a younger lad, I owned an RP-1 and it was great. To have that many customizable effects at my feet was quite a gift. I know the RP series has continued up to and including the 150-350, & 500. Are these still viable options? The reviews I have read seem generally favourable (especially for the rp500).

As well, I figure the amp is around 7 or 8 years old, give or take. When *should* tubes generally be changed? Or is there no hard set rule on that?

Thanks a bunch all :)
 
Since you bought the amp used and you have no idea how old the tubes are, it is probably in your best interest to change them or you could risk failure if they are really old. An output tube failure can and will take other components of the amp out with it. Since it seems you have some extra cash left over, I'd take it to a good tube amp technician to have it done. If you are going to do it yourself, make sure you read a lot about what has to be done in order to ensure that the amp continues to function normally. As a GENERAL RULE, tubes aren't just plug and play. Things may need testing and adjusting, such as the bias etc. Make sure you buy matched tubes for both the preamp and output sections.

In regards to your blue voodoo, congrats on getting your first tube amp. I've only played one once and I thought it was a good effort by crate. There are a lot of mods available for that amp. Crate makes some really really good stuff (such as the vintage club and newer v series amps) but a lot of their stuff is crap too. Good luck with your amp. Maybe a tube change will improve the distortion sound. Are you sure you pushed it hard enough on the od channel? I believe that amp runs on 6l6s which are pretty hard to push into overdrive. And 60 watts tube is hella loud....
 
I had the Blue Voodoo head and found the best sounds were pushing the power tubes with the master up and the gain quite low.

Here's some Blue Voodoo stuff:
 
owwmyfoot said:
Since you bought the amp used and you have no idea how old the tubes are, it is probably in your best interest to change them or you could risk failure if they are really old. An output tube failure can and will take other components of the amp out with it. Since it seems you have some extra cash left over, I'd take it to a good tube amp technician to have it done. If you are going to do it yourself, make sure you read a lot about what has to be done in order to ensure that the amp continues to function normally. As a GENERAL RULE, tubes aren't just plug and play. Things may need testing and adjusting, such as the bias etc. Make sure you buy matched tubes for both the preamp and output sections.
Click to expand...

Sooo I just called a local music shop. The person I spoke to mentioned that the tubes themselves would be "several hundred dollars" .. which I sort of expected; then a further "several hundred dollars" for installation and biasing.

From your experience, does it generally cost $500 + to change the tubes in an amp?
 
LucifersGhost said:
From your experience, does it generally cost $500 + to change the tubes in an amp?
Click to expand...
Yikes! No way! (but let me re-read the thread to see whether your amp requires tubes made out of diamonds or something....)

edit: -- I googled that model number:

http://www.google.com/search?q=BV-62612

and it pretty much just came back with this thread :D -- what tubes does the amp use?

And... I'll say this and duck and run... I pretty much don't re-bias my amps when I replace the power tubes with the same model of tubes that were in them. I have a Marshall JCM-800 2204 50 watt head that I bought new in 1986, and I've replaced the power tubes I think three times, and have never re-biased, and have never seemed to have an issue.
 
LucifersGhost said:
Sooo I just called a local music shop. The person I spoke to mentioned that the tubes themselves would be "several hundred dollars" .. which I sort of expected; then a further "several hundred dollars" for installation and biasing.

From your experience, does it generally cost $500 + to change the tubes in an amp?
Click to expand...

The tubes themselves shouldn't cost "several hundred dollars" unless you're buying NOS tubes (new old stock). It depends on your tube needs and what type you go for, but if you're not going NOS, I suspect you could probably score the tubes you need from JJ or something for aroun $100. Again though, I don't know exactly what tubes your amp uses.

"Installation" is absolutely a joke. Are you sure they said that? The installation involves pushing one into the socket. Biasing shouldn't cost "several hundred dollars" either. I would think it would be more like $70 or $80. It's really not very difficult to learn how to bias your own. And if you're going to be using tube amps from now on, it'll save you a bunch of money in the long run.

Tube amps aren't to be toyed with; they can be dangerous (even deadly) if you don't know what you're doing. But, then again, cars are like that too. You just need to educate yourself a little bit.
 
antichef said:
Yikes! No way! (but let me re-read the thread to see whether your amp requires tubes made out of diamonds or something....)

edit: -- I googled that model number:

http://www.google.com/search?q=BV-62612

and it pretty much just came back with this thread :D -- what tubes does the amp use?
Click to expand...

I didnt think it should have been that expensive. I expected to pay a few hundred for the tubes.

(2) 6L6 GT's (5881's if I remember correctly)
(5) 12AX7 (dont remember which model). I'll check the manual when I get home.
 
famous beagle said:
"Installation" is absolutely a joke. Are you sure they said that? The installation involves pushing one into the socket. Biasing shouldn't cost "several hundred dollars" either. I would think it would be more like $70 or $80. It's really not very difficult to learn how to bias your own. And if you're going to be using tube amps from now on, it'll save you a bunch of money in the long run.
Click to expand...

Yeah, thats exactly what he said.

I started off by saying that I didnt know exactly how old the tubes were and that I was considering having them changed.

He said: "Well if the amp works and sounds good, they dont need to be changed."

I said: "I bought the amp used so I really have no basis for comparison. The clean channel sounds really good but I find the distortion rather lame."

He said: "Alright then. The new tubes, depending on how many there are, will be several hundred dollars. But its not as simple as just changing them. They will more than likely need to be biased. So there is an extra electrician charge of another several hundred bucks."

To which I said: "Uhhhhhh, ok. Thanks."

I figured it wasnt right because at $500+ thats insane.
 
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