New amp time... help me pick!

[cantthinkofname]

Also, I think I'm pretty set on the difference between solid state and tube. I want tube. There is no comparison in my book. I've also looked into the gear most of the bands I've listed use. It's generally either Mesa or Marshall, though there's a couple Vox AC30s in there and I think I saw some Bogner and one other brand.

alot of my favorites use mesa & marshall too but i've also read alot of places that they aren't all their cracked up to be and it is mostly hype? i don't know i guess i will have to go try them all out too.

one of my problems is that i get embarrassed to play in the guitar stores in front of everyone. sounds dumb i know, but its been one of my biggest problems trying out guitars and amps. i really feel awkward just walking in and playing for hours in front of everyone.

i guess i'll really have to get over it somehow

and good advice about different amps for different things. i like alot of different kind of music so i'm sure i'll need many different amps

 

[squibble94]

Hughes and Ketner Switchblade amps are AWESOME

 

[cantthinkofname]

Overall, I've noticed that I really like the sparkly clean tones and crunchy (but still smooth), heavy distortion. I don't mind if the cleans are a little "dry"--I actually kind of like that.

i was going to recommend a fender amp also, my dad & uncles tone when they play together is extraordinary when it comes to clean and sparkly, but its also rings and is full and warm. depending on the song. (and when they want to distort i think it sounds pretty good)

i think you could change the settings on a fender easily to make it more dry. they play alot of stuff from the 60's like pipeline, wipeout, ghostriders in the sky, johnnycash etc. and i sware they usually use fender.

 

[thebigcheese]

My current amp is a Fender (as stated above). I could mod it for 6V6s, which would probably bring the clean tone to just about what I want, and on top of that I would still have good rock distortion, but at the end of the day I still wouldn't have the metal tone and I still wouldn't have an FX loop, so I'm not sure it's worth the extra $145.

H&K was that other brand, but I don't remember who used those. I haven't seen any at GC, but I'm going to keep trying things out.

My budget isn't totally set, but if I could spend under $1000, that would be ideal. It's a congratulatory present for myself for when I finally get a job

 

[cantthinkofname]

My current amp is a Fender (as stated above). I could mod it for 6V6s, which would probably bring the clean tone to just about what I want, and on top of that I would still have good rock distortion, but at the end of the day I still wouldn't have the metal tone and I still wouldn't have an FX loop, so I'm not sure it's worth the extra $145.

H&K was that other brand, but I don't remember who used those. I haven't seen any at GC, but I'm going to keep trying things out.

My budget isn't totally set, but if I could spend under $1000, that would be ideal. It's a congratulatory present for myself for when I finally get a job

i apologize i forgot you mentioned that earlier, got lost in the thrad so maybe fix your fender and then buy a separate amp for metal & fx? although that can be inconvenient and maybe you don't want the inconvenience.

and i sware fender has to have some upgraded models now i haven't checked but maybe there are newer ones now that might have what you want.

other than that i'd really recommend the EVH5150III but that's way over your budget i want that one, but so far am trying to find something similar for a lesser price. or buy one used and find a wizard to fix it.

good luck

 

[Lt. Bob]

Those amps are very versatile. They can recreate the tone of pretty much any flying insect that you can think of. The mosquito and bumble bee amp models are especially realistic. They even have parameters to adjust the size and shape of the glass jars as well as how many holes are punched in the lid.

"you must spread some rep around"

HAHAHAHA!

That's funny as shit!

 

[Lt. Bob]

i didn't read your whole post... (sorry!)... but i just want the opportunity to pipe up and say the mesa boogie lonestar is the best sounding new amp.

nope ..... Mark V has that distinction.

IMO

 

[Lt. Bob]

@Milnoque: Actually, I recently put some JJ tubes in the amp, swapped the speaker for a Cannabis Rex, AND did the basic Billm mods, so at this point, I think I've gotten just about everything out of the amp that it'll give me. It's not a bad amp, and I think it would be just fine for a Fender guitar in search of rock tones, but I think it's just not quite what my guitar wants.

Nah, it's a bad amp ..... well, ok ... not BAD, but blah.

And I have one and gig with it btw so I'm not ragging on other people's amps.
Well, actually I sold it last week but I bought it in the first place it and used it a lot for over a year.
It doesn't suck but it doesn't make you get excited either.
The 'verb does suck and the amp just has no character to it's sound. If you MOD the hell out of it until it's basically a different amp it'd probably be ok but it's really just a good starter tube amp ....

And I think that LoneStar is a kinda country flavored amp.
But try a Dual Rec Mesa or the new Mark V.
Ain't nothing very country about those bad boys.

 

[thebigcheese]

The Mark V is nice, it's just so expensive! I'm going to try out that H&K amp. I couldn't find anything on modding the Bogner, so if anyone knows about that, let me know.

 

[mcmetal]

H&K makes great sounding amps.Their metal tones don't disapoint either.Just stay away from their warp 7 though,those sound terrible.I havn't heard the switchblade amps yet but seen a ton of them on ebay when i was bidding on my H&K cream and crunch machine.

I had owned a h&k attax 200 that sounded great.I've heard the attax 100(same as the 200 only without chorus built in),the Triamp,Tube 100,and the warp 7.They all sounded great but the warp 7 which is a solid state.The attax models are a hybrid with a tube 12ax7 preamp but solid state power amp.

A friend of mine had owned the Triamp.He now has a mesa dual rectifier but still thinks his triamp sounded better and retained it's tone better at higher volumes than the mesa.

 

[mcmetal]

Here's the first amps I ever owned. I remember being so psyched when I got it.

Other than my small crate and peavey practice amps,that was my first real amp too.The 250 ml sounded great and i miss it til this day.They still go for $300 on ebay.It was a shame the chorus and echo wasn't adjustable but it still sounded good.

 

[Sirnothingness]

Other than my small crate and peavey practice amps,that was my first real amp too.The 250 ml sounded great and i miss it til this day.They still go for $300 on ebay.It was a shame the chorus and echo wasn't adjustable but it still sounded good.

Remember the optional stand that plugged into it? I think I had that too. It was a killer sound as I recall. Yeah, I think I still used stomp boxes instead of the on-line chorus.

 

[Sirnothingness]

When i was playing live back in 95, I used a GK backline 100. It was real cool too. Now I use a Pod.

 

[thebigcheese]

Well, I'm going to try to meet up with a guy today about his H&K 25th anniversary amp, nice little 20 watter with two channels and an fx loop. Features are right, so we'll just have to see about the sound. If not, I could try to hold off until spring and spend more money to get one of those new Orange amps coming out. I've always wanted one of their amps, if only because they are my favorite color...

 

[Lt. Bob]

Well, I'm going to try to meet up with a guy today about his H&K 25th anniversary amp, nice little 20 watter with two channels and an fx loop. Features are right, so we'll just have to see about the sound. If not, I could try to hold off until spring and spend more money to get one of those new Orange amps coming out. I've always wanted one of their amps, if only because they are my favorite color...

I have a Tiny Terror and it's bad-ass.
Not the most versatile thing around but great at what it does.

 

[thebigcheese]

So... no go on the H&K. Clean channel was decent enough, but the overdrive was very scratchy/gritty, not nice and smooth. I like some crunch, but that's not what I would consider that amp to have. The Blues Jr. has some nice crunch, but it's more of rock overdrive... I'm going to try out some more of the current model Orange amps and see what I might expect from the new ones. They're on the more expensive side, though, so we'll see. Once I get the new bridge for my guitar and put on new strings, I suppose pretty much any amp will sound a little brighter than now with my ooooold strings

 

[Lt. Bob]

So... no go on the H&K. Clean channel was decent enough, but the overdrive was very scratchy/gritty, not nice and smooth. I like some crunch, but that's not what I would consider that amp to have. The Blues Jr. has some nice crunch, but it's more of rock overdrive... I'm going to try out some more of the current model Orange amps and see what I might expect from the new ones. They're on the more expensive side, though, so we'll see. Once I get the new bridge for my guitar and put on new strings, I suppose pretty much any amp will sound a little brighter than now with my ooooold strings

ya' know ..... another possibility might be Rivera.
They make some wonderful small amps.

Also Mesa has a new small head out called the Transatlantic I think.
It's a little 25 watter that can run also run at 5 and 10 watts and has some of the features of the Mark V in that it has different modes for the two channels.
It's less than a grand and if I'd seen it before I got my Mark V I might have gotten one of those instead.

 

[thebigcheese]

ya' know ..... another possibility might be Rivera.
They make some wonderful small amps.

Also Mesa has a new small head out called the Transatlantic I think.
It's a little 25 watter that can run also run at 5 and 10 watts and has some of the features of the Mark V in that it has different modes for the two channels.
It's less than a grand and if I'd seen it before I got my Mark V I might have gotten one of those instead.

Doesn't seem to have an FX loop, though... the store with the Orange stuff is closed tomorrow and GC doesn't seem to have Rivera, but I might swing by to give some more stuff a chance again. I'll try to find somewhere with Rivera.

 

[thebigcheese]

Boy, when did guitar stores get so lame? All the "dealers" of a particular brand of amp seem to only ever carry about one or two models from that brand, and it's never the ones I actually want to try. Instead, they carry the crappy, cheap ones that no one should ever want to buy.

 

[miroslav]

ya' know ..... another possibility might be Rivera.
They make some wonderful small amps.

Funny you should say that...
I just scored an almost-new Rivera Chubster 40 on eBay for $875 - shipped. It has the footswitch and a padded cover.
I should have it in about a week (UPS Ground).

Having sold my Dr. Z Prescription ES a week ago (just didn't care for its tone), I was going to go for another single-channel, P-to-P "specialized" studio amp, then I saw the Chubster 40, and figured it would be a perfect gig amp, with its dual channels, on-board boost options and built-in reverb (since I really didn't have a dedicated grab-n-go, do-it-all gig/jam amp).
I couldn't resist the great price, as they go for double when new, though I didn't buy it just 'cuz of the price.
I've looked at Rivera amps many times in the past, but always ended up buying something else when I had the $$$.
I'll post back after I get it......