Would you recommend me a guitar amp/cabinet/brand to record my guitar (Specs above)

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TheComposer

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Hello, i think my old good Crate amp can't do the recording tasks i want to :D, so i'll have to move on and pic another amp or cabinet or whatever to get a perfect recording on my album, so these are my whole specs:

Genre: Prog Metal (John Petrucci uses Mesa Boogie, but i'm listening to more options)

Guitar: Custom Jem with D sonic and Air Norton

Effects: Boss GT 10

Suggestions?
 
For studio recording, the tone, rather than the volume is king. Low watt allows you to drive amps and get a nice tone without peeling the inside of your ears out when working in the studio. I built Doug Hammond's Firefly amp for the studio, because I am a bit of a geek that way. It produces a very nice tone, and can even feedback nicely, without blowing my ears out in my small home studio. Many manufacturers do low watt amps these days...
 
Find something that you like the sound of at comfortable volumes. Don't be so concerned about brands/models, excpet where you like the sound of a brand.
 
Woot! i think i'll have to ask again:

Which amp would you use to play prog metal/hard rock/lead guitars??

The cheaper the better!!
 
I just played a real nice Fender Super Champ XD that would probably fit the bill for you: $299
 
TheComposer said:
Woot! i think i'll have to ask again:

Which amp would you use to play prog metal/hard rock/lead guitars??

The cheaper the better!!
Click to expand...

It's not about what any one of us would use for any genre.Use what you think sounds great to YOU.
Don't know what you like? Go shopping and try some amps out.
Signature tones like Petrucci's is all about HIS tone.Guitars,string gauge,pickups,amps.Everything in his signal chain and how he applies them.There's a gazillion differing opinions on what great tone is.Lot's of good suggestions so far.

A higher watt tube amp can be tamed down with an attentuator for recording and can also be used live.A small 1 or 1/2 watt tube amp can be cranked to get that dimed out tube saturation at a low volume but won't help you out when it comes time for playing out live.

Personally i go the low watt tube amp route for recording.I use the Hughes and Kettner Cream and Crunch machines.They are preamp/1 watt power amps into a 4 x 12 cab.For live use i have to resort to a Crate myself but use my Digitech pedal with it.
 
arcadeko said:
I just played a real nice Fender Super Champ XD that would probably fit the bill for you: $299
Click to expand...

I did the same, checked out the SCXD... it was a gorgeous tone for a tube amp and small enough for HR.....remembering the little Fender Champ was used on Layla, i think. $299....a small amp can do some great riffs.

I prefer the SCXD over the Blues Junior because it has a few extras that are nice reverbs etc if a person wants that, and amp sims offer some versatility.

Truth is even 15watts is really loud, and to play it at 8 or more..to get tube breakup, is not likely around here, so the amp overdirve tones get that at lower recording levels.

12x7 pre and two 6's for power...and some dsp amp cabs and reverbs/delay can be added. but just clean it was especially impressive.

although I've picked up a couple ss amps recently that were $1000 amps and now found used for $150 like the Johnson Marquis and Line 6 AX2 which have abundance of tones and line out for recording with amp sim's too. The Johnson brand especially built well with hard Canadian wood front and special tolex-stuff thats so durable. The effects are Digitech 24bit and amazing amp for cheap.
I have a 5watt tube that was cheap but its best at clean tube tones, the volume to get Heavy Metal isnt there really.....

maybe a really good multi-pedal would work for you ? thats another option..
 
TheComposer said:
Hello, i think my old good Crate amp can't do the recording tasks i want to :D, so i'll have to move on and pic another amp or cabinet or whatever to get a perfect recording on my album, so these are my whole specs:

Genre: Prog Metal (John Petrucci uses Mesa Boogie, but i'm listening to more options)

Guitar: Custom Jem with D sonic and Air Norton

Effects: Boss GT 10

Suggestions?
Click to expand...

the Mesa Lonestar has that cool 5 watt toggle switch too, thats a beautiful amp but not what I would call cheap....I guess thats relevant to your wallet.
 
I think that the SCXD is one of the best deals in its price range. But I'm not sure that it's well-suited to prog-metal like you play. Same with the Mesa Lonestar Classic/Special. They're a bit more rock/blues/country than metal. But, depending on your tastes and preferences these types of amps might work well for you.

A super-cheap amp geared more towards metal is the Line6 Spider 15 watt. It's more of a beginner's amp and I'm not sure that it would be much of an improvement over your current Crate, but it is voiced for higher gain sounds.

Honestly, those Blackstar amps might be your best bet. They're carried by a lot of the big chain guitar stores like Guitar Center, so if there's one in your area it'll be worth spending an afternoon at the store playing through them. Plus they're pretty budget friendly.

I'm curious about the Jet City Amplification amps. I haven't played through one, so I'm wondering how they're voiced. They're another budget-friendly amp that's making waves lately.
 
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