What Amps

[Mark7]

Do Metalheads favour?

 

[ibanezrocks]

Mesa Boogies

 

[Mark7]

Straight from the horse's mouth or just accumulated wisdom?

 

[Farview]

It depends on what sub-genre you are talking about. A lot of guys use mesa. A lot of people use engle, marshall, randall, etc. They all sound different and are used for different reasons. Some people just use whatever amp they are getting paid to play.

 

[oh_the_blood]

most metal/hxc kids here hit up the 5150.

 

[ibanezrocks]

Straight from the horse's mouth or just accumulated wisdom?

did you just call me a horse?

 

[EleKtriKaz]

Mesa Triple Rec, '80s Marshall JCM 800, or Peavy 5150...can't go wrong with any of those.

 

[SteveK]

Some people just use whatever amp they are getting paid to play.

Totally agree....+1

 

[donkeystyle]

the bogner ubershall and the rivera knucklehead reverb are pretty popular in metal. the ubershall is super expensive though.

i think mesa is probably the most common though.

 

[Nate74]

I like the Mesa Triple Rec, but it seems like it does just one thing, although it does it really well.

The 5150 on the other hand seems to be the most popular and seems to do several things well.

I just did a session with a guy who had a 2x12 5150 that sounded great... for that kind of music I should add...

 

[metalhead28]

First of all these are just my opinions...very generalized from my experiences. I prefer marshall, as do alot of metal heads..particularly old schoolers. More modern flavored bands typically favor Mesas - they have that gravelly low end that alot of people really like (and I hate ). 5150's have a shitload of gain, a real good attack and sound great for technical and sharper edged riffing, they just have great cut and a very articulate sound. Marshalls to me seem to have a more powerful midrange growl, and that is just what I think a metal amp is supposed to sound like. Randalls to me sound like either total shit, medium shit or like Dimebag Darrell...which is awesome. I have heard some people get decent sound out of randalls...but not usually. It is usually just all they can afford and there's nothing wrong with that at all! Don't hate me for saying that - I played solid state for a long time! Older Marshall Valvestates actually kick ass for metal! I think the newer ones are dreadful! Bogners are generally out of the price range of your typical metalhead but do sound great! I've never heard anybody play through a rivera in person...except Eric Sardinas and he was playing a freakin' dobro through it so I will discount that experience!

 

[mishagolin]

i actually like the mesa dual rec. over the triple rec.

the other amps i've heard that i like.

peavy 5150
marshall jcm800
bogner ubershall

for the most part i think these amps all do the high gain stuff in their own way. as for which amp is better that all depends. if its someone who's doing a lot of tapping then i would recommend something with a transistor rectifier. they react quicker and don't have the attack sag that tube rectifiers are known for. the mesas will actually switch between the two.

i like the gain on the 5150 but don't like it for much else. i've never played (but have heard) a bogner but a friend is getting the ecstasy soon so i'll have an opinion soon. i love the jcm800. its far better than any of the new jcm900 crap their putting out right now.

 

[ibanezrocks]

as for which amp is better that all depends. if its someone who's doing a lot of tapping then i would recommend something with a transistor rectifier. they react quicker and don't have the attack sag that tube rectifiers are known for. the mesas will actually switch between the two.

You don't know what a rectifier is do you?
rectification is the process of changing ac to dc, which can use a tube or diodes. the transistor part of a ss amp is not related to the rectifier, and a tube amp with a ss rectifier shouldnt have any transistors in it.

 

[donkeystyle]

First of all these are just my opinions...very generalized from my experiences. I prefer marshall, as do alot of metal heads..particularly old schoolers. More modern flavored bands typically favor Mesas - they have that gravelly low end that alot of people really like (and I hate ). 5150's have a shitload of gain, a real good attack and sound great for technical and sharper edged riffing, they just have great cut and a very articulate sound. Marshalls to me seem to have a more powerful midrange growl, and that is just what I think a metal amp is supposed to sound like. Randalls to me sound like either total shit, medium shit or like Dimebag Darrell...which is awesome. I have heard some people get decent sound out of randalls...but not usually. It is usually just all they can afford and there's nothing wrong with that at all! Don't hate me for saying that - I played solid state for a long time! Older Marshall Valvestates actually kick ass for metal! I think the newer ones are dreadful! Bogners are generally out of the price range of your typical metalhead but do sound great! I've never heard anybody play through a rivera in person...except Eric Sardinas and he was playing a freakin' dobro through it so I will discount that experience!

rivera has a pretty wide range of amps/sounds. the bonehead and knucklehead amps are geared more towards hardrock/metal. the knucklehead reverb is very different from the knucklehead and the knuckleheadII, the knucklehead reverb is a super high gain amp.

 

[Adam P]

The 5150/5150 II, Mesa Rectifiers, and JCM 800s seem to be the big three players. I've seen big name metal bands with a wide variety of amps though. Jack Owen from Cannibal Corpse played through a Crate stack and (I think) a bunch of rack processing. Josh Elmore from Cattle Decapitation uses a setup with his signal split into a Bogner (I forget the model, but I think its the one thats supposed to be like a modded 800...the Shiva maybe?) and an Engl Fireball, into a pair of Bogner 4x12s. Both of those guys I just mentioned also play Brian Moore guitars. A semi-local (Cleveland area) Black Metal band who's singer I know also uses an Engl Fireball and it sounded great both times I saw them. GWAR use Krank amps. Six Feet Under's guitarist used a rack setup that sounded totally processed and digital, which I wasn't too big a fan of. A band who I can't think of (might be Dying Fetus) used something pretty unorthodox, like a newer Ampeg or something.

Basically from what I observed, they primarily use the "big three" that people have listed, with a smattering of either boutique or lower-end stuff. They're generally high-gain tube amps though, with a couple of 4x12 cabs. More or less whatever they can get that high-gain, crunchy yet clear metal tone from.

 

[capnkid]

most metal/hxc kids here hit up the 5150.

you mean the 6505.

 

[oh_the_blood]

yes yes yes...

a sad day in amp history.

how retarded.

oh well, the value of the 5150 just went up.