why does it feel like effect loops...

[andydeedpoll]

...are only something for the rich and powerful?

am i asking too much, to find an amp under £200 with an effects loop and decent onboard distortion? i was playing with my friends Vox VR30 ("hybrid amp" - one tube in the power section, i think) and really liked the distorted sound (taking into account its cost) and would genuinely consider buying one, but it doesn't have an effects loop!

i started looking round for alternatives in the same price range, and i can't find Anything that isn't ridiculously too powerful for what i need - i've never played a gig where my amp isn't miced, and Love being able to ask for a really specific monitor mix because i can't actually hear the amp), and makes me wonder if they're going for "power over performance", or b) solid state, with the slight dullness in tone that i'm beginning to associate with it...

the problem is really, that i use quite a lot of effects in the fairly ambient/experimental band i play in, and they really are a necessity - i suppose you could describe it as "playing the effects", sometimes lots of phasers and delays, reverb and chorus. but if i start using the onboard distortion of an amp, as well as distortion pedals, i'll need to be able to put those effects After the distortion stage, yeah? especially if i'm running at fairly high gain?

my current amp is some old knackered "Bullet VM30", i love it because it cost me £40 five years ago, and has never looked even remotely like it's going to pack in . but it's a heavy monster and it doesn't sound all that great...

any thoughts/ideas on what might be out there?

Andy.

 

[TelePaul]

Have you tried the marshall AVT series? Same idea, tube poweramp w/solid state. They might have an FX loop, itd be worth checking. I know my 50 watt one does.

 

[famous beagle]

You're just looking at the wrong time. You couldn't find a new amp in the 80s through early 90s without an effects loop. But when rack units went out of vogue and stomp boxes came back in with the grunge era, the effects loops started disappearing from the amps. Modeling has to do with it as well, since now so many amps have built-in effects.

If buying used is an option, I would definitely go that route. I'm sure there are tons of amps on ebay that will fit what you're looking for.

 

[andydeedpoll]

If buying used is an option, I would definitely go that route. I'm sure there are tons of amps on ebay that will fit what you're looking for.

i can't believe i didn't have a good look there!

*smacks head*

*runs to ebay*



Andy.

 

[Kasey]

i got a fender princeton chorus (early 80's) with an effects loop for $200. it also happens to be a fantastic sounding amp.

 

[TelePaul]

i always wanted to try a princeton.

 

[Anfontan]

Have you tried the marshall AVT series? Same idea, tube poweramp w/solid state. They might have an FX loop, itd be worth checking. I know my 50 watt one does.

Yes-the Marshall AVT50 has an effect loop on the front panel-also a direct out on the back of the amp, I have used the same Marshall amp for several years and it has a very nice clean tone as well as the Marshall crunch.
I wouldn't recommend the MG series though-the sound is nowhere as good as the AVT has.

 

[TelePaul]

Yes-the Marshall AVT50 has an effect loop on the front panel-also a direct out on the back of the amp, I have used the same Marshall amp for several years and it has a very nice clean tone as well as the Marshall crunch.
I wouldn't recommend the MG series though-the sound is nowhere as good as the AVT has.

I think the 50 AVT is a little over his budget, but I have to agree, I love the sound I get from it. Its quite versatile.

 

[ggunn]

...are only something for the rich and powerful?

Dude, if you think FX loops are only for the rich, try setting your sights on a vintage Strat or something. Something that we all have to come to grips with is that you gotta pay if you wanna play. It takes some digging to find the best you can get for the money you have to spend. Some luck helps, too. You may not be able to afford the gear you want right now; until you can buy what you want, you'll have to find a compromise solution. We have all of us been there many times.

 

[TelePaul]

you gotta pay if you wanna play. QUOTE]

He is paying. Its just unfortunate, given the Nirvana syndrome, that people looking to utilise rack fx are stuck with stomps. I dont think what hes after should be a struggle....i mean theres a huge gap between getting an fx loop amp for under $200 and a vintage strat for under $200.

 

[ggunn]

Nah what hes asking for isnt unreasonable, Famous Beagle nailed it.

I never said it was an unreasonable quest, only that it takes some effort to find "your sound" with equipment you can afford. There's no end to wanting gear that you can't afford unless you are unusually successful; GAS strikes us all. I've accumulated some pretty good gear over the years, but at the moment I am drooling over a $17,000 Alembic bass which I almost certainly will never be able to afford.

 

[TelePaul]

I never said it was an unreasonable quest, only that it takes some effort to find "your sound" with equipment you can afford. There's no end to wanting gear that you can't afford unless you are unusually successful; GAS strikes us all. I've accumulated some pretty good gear over the years, but at the moment I am drooling over a $17,000 Alembic bass which I almost certainly will never be able to afford.

its entirely relative. Obviously a 1959 Les Paul is gonna cost more than an effects loop equipped amp. So I dont think he should have to drool over the latter.

 

[ggunn]

its entirely relative. /QUOTE]

Well, of course it is, and that was exactly my point. I apologize if I wasn't clear about it.

The OP was, in my opinion, whining a little bit about FX loop amps being too expensive for him. Whether they actually are or not isn't really relevant to my point, which is that we all lust for gear we can't afford, and unless you are 'way more successful than most of us will ever be, that feeling never goes away, no matter what level you get to. It is, as you say, entirely relative.

 

[TelePaul]

I wouldn't call it whining....if he wants a hand wired Marshall Mode-Four, an original '52 Tele in Butterscotch Blonde and an original Boss CE 1 in between for under 200, then maybe it'd be whining. But he's not. I don't think its GAS either, looking for an FX loop in a cheap amp. I agree that you really do get what you pay for when it comes to instruments, but the way technology has moved, you are getting more and more for your buck these days.

 

[Rokket]

i got a fender princeton chorus (early 80's) with an effects loop for $200. it also happens to be a fantastic sounding amp.

I've got that amp!

125-watt screamer and worth every penny I paid for it new (around $800 US 10 years ago). Great for the stage too as it has a really solid pre amp out.

 

[ggunn]

I wouldn't call it whining....if he wants a hand wired Marshall Mode-Four, an original '52 Tele in Butterscotch Blonde and an original Boss CE 1 in between for under 200, then maybe it'd be whining. But he's not. I don't think its GAS either, looking for an FX loop in a cheap amp. I agree that you really do get what you pay for when it comes to instruments, but the way technology has moved, you are getting more and more for your buck these days.

Whatever. I was addressing his "why does it feel like effects loops are only for the rich and powerful?" question, which seemed a little like whining to me. He's only 18, so he has decades of GAS to look forward to, and any musician worth his salt will experience GAS from time to time. ;^)

But please don't take my comments more seriously than I meant them, OK? I'm not bashing anyone.

 

[TelePaul]

Whatever....

 

[andydeedpoll]

Whatever. I was addressing his "why does it feel like effects loops are only for the rich and powerful?" question, which seemed a little like whining to me. He's only 18, so he has decades of GAS to look forward to, and any musician worth his salt will experience GAS from time to time. ;^)

i was very much taking the piss in my original comment i was just a-wondering in as creative a way as possible whether there was an amp out there that i could afford with an effects loop - i was very aware that my shit amp had an effects loop, and just couldn't work out why some (read, "all") of the newer amps in my budget didn't have one, while loaded with DSP effects and other things i really wouldn't use. sorry for the confusion.

and yes. i have GAS.

unfortunately, guitar isn't my first instrument. my main instrument is trombone, which is why i go on stage sporting a Rath R3 (in my opinion, the best trombone money can buy) in Silver-nickel... it's a sexy looking beast and sounds like it too honestly, i'm not convinced the guitar equivelant has been built yet, it's that good!

how are the fender Frontman amps? like 212? or 210? they look like the kinda thing that might work for me

Andy

 

[jfrog]

i got a fender princeton chorus (early 80's) with an effects loop for $200. it also happens to be a fantastic sounding amp.

2 fx loops - mono and stereo! I second that it's a great sounding amp.