Small Metal Tube Amp?

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chamelious

www.thesunexplodes.com
Hi, Anyone got any recomendations?

Bands like KsE, general metal etc seem to use stuff like Engl, framus, etc, and they look awesome but they're always massive heads and 412's.

I need a smaller combo (1 12 or 2 12 or something) so i can actually use it my my bedroom as well as live.

Obviously part of the massive metal sound will be the 412 itself so this is somewhat of a compromise, but should be a step up from the behringer V-Amp i use at the moment.

Not looking for the scooped mids sound. Plenty of gain, plenty of harmonics, tight. Thinking KsE, as i lay dying, first it dies today album, all that remains, etc.

Guitars played will be superstrats (Ibanez exclusivly i would have thought). Pickups are stock atm but im looking to change them. Maybe to Evo's.

Thanks!
 
What's your budget? Engl are becoming quite popular. They do alot of combos, the Screamer 50 is supposed to be very good.
 
A 6505 combo maybe? I only say that because I like my 6505 head though. Which I bought because I liked the sound of it with me playing my guitar through it rather than what it sounds like with someone else playing their guitar through it. You should probably just go into a guitar shop and try a bunch of stuff out.

Seriously, don't pay any attention to what other bands play. Their signal's probably been massively messed with on the way to the amp anyway. I do like Engls however. Fairly pricey though last time I looked. Still, they are a better deal than Messy Booger's stuff.

A 4x12 cabinet has nothing to do with a massive metal sound.

And yes, those amps look cool, but don't under any circumstances let that factor into it when you shop for amps. That would be like listening to a painting to see if it's any good. :p

You mentioned the guitars in the future tense. Kinda sounded like you didn't have them yet. What are you plans re:guitar, just out of interest? Why Ibanez exclusively?
 
I do have an ibanez, and i've never played another make of guitar i've liked. Future tense as i do tend to upgrade, i've got a middle of the line RG at the moment.

I will certainly look at those Engl and 6505 combo's, and obviously i'll be trying stuff before i buy just getting a rough idea of what to try. Already fairly sure it'll be nothing marshall or fender.

Not sure what my budget is yet, certainly under £1000, probably closer to 500.
 
I'd definitely check out the Engl Screamer combo and the 6505 then. They both come between £700 and £800 (assuming you are buying in the UK and didn't just convert your budget from dollars). I will say though that if you find somewhere where you can buy Engl amps closer to my neck of the woods (south of England) than Edinburgh, please let me know. I've had a nightmare finding places that sell them.

I wouldn't totally rule out Marshall, but they definitely wouldn't be my first choice. Although they are a little cheaper in UK than some other stuff and might suit your budget a little better. Fender I'm not really interested in for metal either, never could find one I really like for that kind of music for what they cost. Great for other stuff, just personally can't get on with them for metal.
 
Yeah, i've never managed to get a decent metal tone out of a marshall.

But i am thinking of trying out a mode 4.
 
chamelious said:
Yeah, i've never managed to get a decent metal tone out of a marshall.
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It is possible. I was playing metal with a Marshall Valvestate for years and I still really like the sound of it, hybrid or not. It was an old valvestate though. Not one of those new pieces of shit. I think Marshall tube amps are great for lead, but I don't like them so much for rhythm personally. That's just my personal opinion though, and many will disagree.
 
Isn't the 6505 a 100w combo?
That's hardly bedroom material. Especially if you want to use the amp as it was meant to be used... pushed into power amp clipping.

~Shawn
 
eyema_believer said:
Isn't the 6505 a 100w combo?
That's hardly bedroom material. Especially if you want to use the amp as it was meant to be used... pushed into power amp clipping.

~Shawn
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It's feasable enough as bedroom material. Certainly more feasable than a stack. Depends on your limitations. And if we're talking about just screwing around in your room as opposed to recording (I'm not sure what the OP's intentions are here), power amp clipping isn't so important. I don't really get to push my 6505 head in to PA clipping at home, but it still sounds good. Then there's the option of a head, a cab and an attenuator. It's all money though. At least you'd have a combo you could gig with aswell.
 
Yeah, i dont really see the point in 100w tube amps etc. Dont see when you'd ever need stacks and stuff. Smaller amps are large enough for smaller venues and any decent sized venue will be micing the amp at the backline anyway. Hell even the small ass venue in my local town mic's at the backline and its only big enough for 1-200 people.
 
I've been playing a Mesa Rectoverb combo for about 6 months now (a Mesa Nomad before that), and while it's a 50-watt 1x12, it's also definitely not bedroom material. I've got a THD Hot Plate hooked up which certainly takes the edge off, but even then the best tones are found when the poweramp is running pretty hard, which definitely doesn't happen at "bedroom" volumes.

How about a Mesa F-30? It's not as flexible as either the Rectoverb or the Nomad, but it's got a phenominal clean and an awesome gain sound, and is at least a LITTLE lower wattage...
 
The Peavey JSX Mini-Colossal looks like its geared towards hi-gain sounds at lower volumes. See if you can find one of those to toy with while you're trying out amps.
 
DrewPeterson7 said:
the best tones are found when the poweramp is running pretty hard, which definitely doesn't happen at "bedroom" volumes.
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THIS IS THE KEY. *real* metal amp overdrive comes from the power tubes overdriving and the speaker overdriving--it's not just the preamp tubes. and like the good man said, that does NOT happen at bedroom volumes. even 5W with the power tubes crunching is REALLY LOUD.

of course, that said, maybe look into something like the Orange Tiny Terror. but i'd advise taking the money you were going to spend on the amp and investing it in a couple boutique OD/Distortion pedals.


cheers,
wade
 
Line 6 has teamed up with Bogner and created the Spider Valve. Very inexpensive amps as far as tube amps go. And as you all know Bogner is pretty much the elite in high gain amp design...Uberschall ring a bell. I owned a spider valve 1x12 and for a small combo metal amp i haven't found a thing that could touch it. It has Killswitch Engage programmed sounds in it already which i am sure you would dig. Check one out. Cheap, sounds good, tubes, and has a broad range of sounds.
 
Tadpui said:
The Peavey JSX Mini-Colossal looks like its geared towards hi-gain sounds at lower volumes. See if you can find one of those to toy with while you're trying out amps.
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+1 for trying this little beast out... it evens comes with a power-soak built in!
Has anyone tried it??
I personally have some pretty bad GAS for a Mesa Lonestar... The sound that thing has is about the only sound my rig doesn't do well :(
 
for something with some good stage volume I would recomend the Peavey Valve King.
 
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Thanks for all the suggestions im going to look into it. Anyone got an answer as to why people use massive amps when they're mic'd up anyway?
 
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