Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: Scotty477 on January 15, 2008, 08:09:03 PM
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I'm on the hunt for a new amp.
I'll be using a 2000 Gibson LP Classic (Emerald pups) and a 1983 MIJ Fender Stratocaster through it.
I play primarily blues and Classic Rock.
Basically I'm looking to know if this amp will suitable for both pub size live work and also for low volume recording purposes.
I've tried a few tube amps but the low level recording aspect seems to be a stumbling block. The ones I tried seem to need to be given some volume to get the best results, as I expected to be honest.
So, I looked at a few valved preamp amps and this one seems to look as if it fits the bill
Marshall AVT150X
http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/marshall-avt150x/268?s=5734x$1$LMPGkfjb$mj5QwNH2tWBsA1q3rUeGX/x0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o2681154
Any opinions?
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Please don't. Even the MG's are better.
Maybe the Fender Princeton (I think) recording amp - the one with an attenuator. Or just get a sweet tube amp and an attenuator of course 8)
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Get a decent amp for live work. If you need to buy a new one, try a DSL50 or a JCM800. They're both fairly flexible for classic rock.
Get a POD for recording ;)
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Don't go near a Marshall AVT!!!!!
Get a JCM 800/900/2000 if you want to get a marshall
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Ok ... I'm getting a faint impression that the AVT isn't that well regarded so far :D
I had a look at Harmony Central and the users seem to quite like it.
What are the problems that it has, apart from not being a tube amp?
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On a different track, the other amp that caught my eye was the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe 112.
http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/fender-hot-rod-deluxe/9794?s=2434x$1$1L/EXgrk$pmhLumQnHLFng0KNYDlpY1x0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o2682589
It's a small all tube amp but I think It'll still need cranked up to get it's best tone and that is going to be a problem for house recording.
I forgot about that POD. I'll have a look at that now.
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The Harmony Central reviews will probably be from in experienced kids. If it make a noise they'll be happy!
The AVT, and most solid state amps, have no depth of tone. They're flat and one dimensional. In a band, you'll have no "punch" either.
Try one out, then play a DSL or similar. The you'll hear the difference ;)
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Points taken.
Ok ... It's back to the drawing board, for a small - all tube - amp.
I'm just trying to find one that will allow me to use it in the house, without getting arrested/divorced/beaten up by irate neighbours, or all of that list :D
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they're not too bad, the built in effects are good and they're pretty diverse, never going to sound like a valve amp but they're good as a louder practice amp. i have one and ive done some pretty good recordings in the past with it, i prefer my dsl but i can never use that at home
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Thanks for that.
I think that's my problem. I want a valve sound for both recording and live but a tube amp just won't be cutting it when it's at a low volume.
I'm going to a store tommorow that has both the AVT150 and a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe 112. I'll be taking my LP along and I'll see what kind of noises I can get with both amps.
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I'm going to a store tommorow that has both the AVT150 and a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe 112. I'll be taking my LP along and I'll see what kind of noises I can get with both amps.
The HRD is a pretty decent amp (and a huge step up from the AVT), but only as a clean base, for getting your distortion with pedals. The "drive" channel on the HRD is just horrible. However, a HRD with a couple of well chosen pedals would seem to be a very good choice, IMO.
It would sound at it's best at volume, but still OK at home volumes for recording. Sounds like it might suit your needs well.
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If you're after a Marshall sound I don't think you'll ever be happy with the HRD. I've gone down that route before, using various distortion pedals with HRD but I never got the tone I wanted. The closest was with an old Shredmaster but the dynamics just didn't cut it. With valve distortion pedals like Blackstar HT Dual it might be a lot better but then you would have had to spend so much oney by then why not get the real deal?
I suggest you look at Marshall valve amps or other British voiced amps like Laney or Orange. It's the ONLY way to play a Les Paul!! :twisted: Anything from 18 to 50W should suit your needs.
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What about the Koch amps..like http://www.adirondackguitar.com/amps/koch/studiotone.htm
does everything from vintage to modern even has di out with cab sim..and is 20w valve
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Black Heart amps look real cool. and they are absolute bargains.
http://www.blackhearteng.com/
they should be quite good for rock/blues
+youll have money left over for some pedals to put through it.
what you think to that?
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what about a laney vc30 or peavey classic 30?
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what about a laney vc30 or peavey classic 30?
Yup, the Peavey is a pretty reasonable amp. With a new speaker it becomes a GOOD amp. For me, the Classic 30 would have the adge, due to slightly better reliability.
Machinehead, what we really need to know here is your BUDGET !!
How much are we playing with ??
Do you have a cab already ? Do you have an attenuator ? I'm guessing probably not, but we need to know !!
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Thanks for all the replies and advice. It's very much appreciated.
At the moment I dont have a gigging amp. My current band setup has us all going straight into a mixer, via Boss GT 6's.
It's not as bad as it sounds. The amp is a 3.4 gig Peavey rig.
My budget is up to around £500-600.
I use a Roland Cube 30 for practice in the house.
I went into my local store today and tried out aan AVT150X and a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe 112.
The HRDX totally blew away the AVT, as expected and had a really sweet tone, using my LP ... but it didn't sound so great at low (house) volume.
I'll take a look at smaller tube amps shortly but I think I'm not going to get the mix of giggable tube amp that can be used for mIked up recording in the house.
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Double post.
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If you are looking at a budget of £600, then I would seriously look at getting a secondhand Hotplate (about £175), leaving you £425 for an amp. The Hotplate would really open up the possibilities of good lower volume tone from a tube amp of around 30W. 30W is definately plenty to gig with (if you're being miked through a PA), but also tameable with a Hotplate for lower volume at home.
Something like a Hotplate with a Classic 30, VC30, or even a Spider Valve 1x12 (which I have heard plenty of good things about if you are able to push the power amp at all - whci you would using the Hotplate).
One thing I'm not sure of is whether any or all of these have easy access to the signal path between the power amp and speakers, for inserting a Hotplate.
Alan
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Again I'll say the Koch stidiotone...can do fender to really driven tones sounds great low vol and when driven..is 20w has D.I. etc out..if I had 600 would prob get one...2 channel and gain boost I think
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I have a Studiotone head and I can confirm it's exactly what you need. It sounds great at low volume, does Marshall AND Mesa style sound (thx to the voicing switch), clean is very Fendery, it got a DI out with speaker sim and a speaker load so you can play totaly silent.
It's the best option IMO, I ordered blind based on specs for the money and I don't regret any.
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Ok.. Studiotone has my attention.
I'll see if anyone has one in Glasgow so I can try one out.
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I have a Tiny Terror, and with a MI Audio Crunch Box it nails a good loud Marshall. Oh and it looks pretty in my living room, and sounds awesome at low volumes. AND! It coped at a rehearsal being heard over a metal guitarist and a heavy drummer.
Merchant City have one in stock, and I imagine Sound Control also have some. As for the Crunchbox, only GuitarGuitar stock them and they are out of stock, new ones will be more expensive apparently...
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http://www.theguitarstoreonline.com/
in southampton stock them. I ordered one in Dec but stupid royal mail lost it. After chatting with the shop and reading the reviews in this forum and in several mags i changed my mind and went for the Blackstar dual pedal. The crunch box is a great pedal but if your budget stretches then the blackstar offers the whole range of soundsand will cover all distortion/crunch marshall sounds. Its won all the awards and sounds really good.
If you still fancy a Crunch box they got an order in yesterday they are £69.99 new. I should get my blackstar tomorrow and then pickup my guitar with BKP's on Sat to try it out :-D cant wait
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DO. NOT. BUY. AN. AVT.
The following words sum it up:
cr@p.
Awful.
cr@p.
One-dimensional.
cr@p.
Flat.
cr@p.
Lifeless.
cr@p.
Boring.
cr@p.
Utterly without tone.
cr@p.
... did I mention cr@p?
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So ... I'm getting the slight impression here that you're not that keen on the AVT?
:D
Seriously though, I agree. I played one right after a 40w Fender Hot Rod Deluxe and there simply was no comparison.
I won't be getting an AVT.
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Haha yeah, I'm amazed you picked it up through my immense subtlety. I was forced to use one during my amp-downtime and the only thing I liked was the acoustic modelling, purely because I like acoustic modelling sometimes but the more i used the amp the more apparent it became that its just plain cheap.
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you forgot muddy, mr ed. :lol:
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you forgot muddy, mr ed. :lol:
Damn. :(
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Ok, ok you two ... We all make mistakes :D
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Don't know what all the fuss is about. Been using an AVT275 for a couple of years now and it sounds excellent.
As with any amp it only sounds as good as what you feed into it and how you set it up.
Class A all valve amp snobs won't like it but for pub gigs and home recording AVTs are fine...especially if you have a set of BKP pups driving them. :P
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you forgot muddy, mr ed. :lol:
Damn. :(
:lol:
Ok, ok you two ... We all make mistakes :D
yeah, i know. i have an avt too. :oops: :lol: