Recommend me an amp

[Alex]

Hi all,

I'm in the process of looking for a new amp, preferrably to buy before or after Christmas. If I see a good offer though I might get it way before then.

What I really would like is some personal opinions of people who have owned one of these amps and who could tell me some pros and minuses.

Tonally I like fat yet aggressive sounds. I'd rather have a raw than a smooth sound. As you can imagine, I really like the sound of bands such as Arch Enemy, Megadeth, Zakk Wylde, Sentenced, Lordi.
From rockbands I like G'n'R obviously, Def Leppard, Van Halen. W.A.S.P.

Most of those bands I guess got famous with Marshalls.
Because I'm not playing in a band and I already have a 5150 (with which I am getting more and more bored), I would like an amp which sounds good at home as well. I would want an amp head so I can use it with whatever cab and speaker setup I want.

I would like an amp with a foot-switchable clean channel and I would like to have some nice clean sounds. Despite me listening to so many metal bands, I like "nice" sounds as well, which is what I miss with the 5150 a bit. I definitely like an old-school vibe. I also want the amp to be dynamic, responsive and preferrably show playing mistakes, not to mask them (which is what I totally hate about the JCM900 I still have, it's going on the bay though soon).

On my list to check out are:
Krank Revolution JR (pro) - never saw one in the UK or Germany, only www.thomann.de can order them. Haven't played one.

Marshall VM 50 Watt - unfortunately most places have the combo version with the Greenbacks. Has anyone played the amp over a different cab??? I played this one, and the Greenbacks seem to be sucker for metal sounds though. Clean sounds were aweseom though, loved that baout this one.

Marshall JVM 50 Watt??? Never even seen this one. Is there only a 100Watt head? I haven't played one yet.

Peavey Windsor - I loved the overdrive but there seem to be no cleans on this amp.

Laney - heard they make great amps with a British sound to it, but no idead which one is good. Haven't played a single Laney ever so far.


As a sidenote, I do not like VOX  or Orange amps and the only ENGL I am remotely interested is way over my budget (aprox. 700 pounds for the head at max). However I am open for any other suggestions you might have for me.

 

[Fikealox]

I have a Laney Lionheart, but it doesn't fit your bill at all. It's way too smooth, VOXy, and probably doesn't have enough gain. Wish I could be more help!

[dave_mc]

i'm not sure you want engl... they get very aggressive, but still are very refined-sounding, for want of a better word. I'm not quite sure what I would recommend, unfortunately... :( EDIT: what's the budget?

[Spitfire]

if a £700 engl is out of your budget.. you arnt gonna beable to buy a perfect amp for that price... you would be best off getting something to complement the 5150 or.. get a preamp and play it into the 5150 power section

[mikey5]

Dude I would have said orange or ENGL right off the bat. I guess everyone has to find there thing The only other thing I can think of is Marshall, or a soldano which is a great sounding amplifier. I have played through a Super Lead Overdrive head and it was so nice. Gary Moore has played those.

Marshall Vintage Modern 2466 Tube Amp Head is good
Engl has the 60 watt fireball for 1300 usd but it might be too high gain

If I ever upgrade my rig its going to probably be a Engl or another Orange they are really good amplifiers, and the tonal quality is nice

Dont pay unless you play it for at least an hour or two

[hunter]

Dude I would have said orange or ENGL right off the bat. I guess everyone has to find there thing The only other thing I can think of is Marshall, or a soldano which is a great sounding amplifier. I have played through a Super Lead Overdrive head and it was so nice. Gary Moore has played those.

Marshall Vintage Modern 2466 Tube Amp Head is good
Engl has the 60 watt fireball for 1300 usd but it might be too high gain

If I ever upgrade my rig its going to probably be a Engl or another Orange they are really good amplifiers, and the tonal quality is nice

Dont pay unless you play it for at least an hour or two

I would say Engls are agressive but in a different way than the players you mentioned. Indeed a Soldano would be great if it can be afforded. I agree also with Orange, a Rockerverb 50 has great overdrive sounds and still cool cleans.

I owned the Marshall VM 50W head and used it mainly with a 2x12 of Vintage30 and G12H30, and it sounded damn fine. Only reason to sell was versatility in terms of switching. You can get great cleans as well as great crunch or all out distortion (à la Whitesnake, G'n R or Zakk for example), but you cannot switch from a hyper clean to an all out tone. So for home only it will be great but not if you need to switch Clean/Metal without tweaking.

I would look at a Marshall JVM, they are very versatile and still give you that Marshall dirt in all colors and facets, 4 switchable channels, what else could you want?

[varkunus]

um since most of your bands used marshall maybe get a jcm800 and swap the tubes out for the ones that zakk wylde uses 6505 something or the other, would give you more low end etc and still have that vintage vibe. Im in a pretty similar boat to you except i play a wider range of stuff an i think im going down the modelling route

[Woogie]

Shame you're not after a JCM800 combo with goldbacks :(

[hideous]

As the sound you are looking for ranges from Guns n roses to Megadeth, might be a good idea to look into EGNATOR Modular series. Maybe out of budget, however.
Engls are great too, but might not have the versatility you are looking for. I find my Powerball to be a one or two trick pony - good clean sound, and brutal distortion. Not something many blues players would choose.

[dave_mc]

i missed that you already had a 5150- the problem is, if you aren't careful and your budget isn't too big, you could end up getting something which isn't even as good as the 5150...

assuming a budget around £500-£600, guitar guitar have ex-demo laney tt50 (the head and combo) for £429/£479 which is pretty good value, if you're willing to chance an ex-demo amp (i was very interested until i heard they were ex-demo, as being in northern ireland i can't check them out first). they have a pretty good hot-rod marshall type tone, from what i can remember. the jvm which hunter mentioned would be worth a try too, if they're under budget. koch do some nice amps too, but might be over budget... soldano would be awesome, but to be honest, if you can find an SLO for £500 (heck, even an avenger), could you let me know please?

 :? 8) :lol: :P

[mikey5]

if you can find an SLO for £500 (heck, even an avenger), could you let me know please?

Uhh you can find good deals close to that or maybe a little higher, but thats what an UPGRADE is all about you get something better which usually costs a Tad more. I saw one on Ebay that went for a low price. You know there are several different models all availiable on Musicians Friend. If you get it shipped from the USA you will get a better bang for your buck. I guess it depends actually. You might just pay the difference. I noticed on European sites that the rigs are really over priced. A distprtion Pedal that went for 200 usd wend for 200GBP over there. I guess look around

[Edward]

Why are you bored of the 5150?

You're unlikely to better that amp for £700, although some 70's Marshalls are worth a look - The 50W superbass particularly, if you can find one in decent nick.

That said, it won't sound any good at low volumes.

The best thing you could do to solve the 'at home' issue is buy an attenuator, but make it a decent one - The THD hotplate is the way to go.

[dave_mc]

if you can find an SLO for £500 (heck, even an avenger), could you let me know please?

Uhh you can find good deals close to that or maybe a little higher, but thats what an UPGRADE is all about you get something better which usually costs a Tad more. I saw one on Ebay that went for a low price. You know there are several different models all availiable on Musicians Friend. If you get it shipped from the USA you will get a better bang for your buck. I guess it depends actually. You might just pay the difference. I noticed on European sites that the rigs are really over priced. A distprtion Pedal that went for 200 usd wend for 200GBP over there. I guess look around

yeah, that's what i mean, prices here on US-made stuff are ridiculous... i mean, an slo goes for £2500 new here (close to $5k), while an avenger goes for around £1500 (close to $3k)... from what i've seen on musicians friend etc., they go for the same amount in dollars over there (i.e. around half price). :(

[Alex]

Well for one thing I've always liked a British sound. The 5150 sounds too American. Also I would like a usable clean sound.

I think the VM and JVM both from Marshall seem good. But nobody here has much experience with Laneys or the little Krank it seems. Apparently that Krank, as I read in reviews, sounds quite British.

I agree that ENGL make good amps but the Fireball is not my cup and the SE EL34 is out my budget. Same the SLO.

[northlane.josh]

i have a JVM410H,
it fkn rips,
would suit you perfectly my friend, has those really growly mids but can get really smoothed tones too, the cleans are the best on any marshall and with 12 different channels to choose from you'll never run out of sounds.