Amp for 80s heavy and hair metal...

[juansolo]

Having heard one in the flesh, a Splawn Quick Rod.

Damn straight! Most impressive that thing.

[MDV]

Yeah, great 80s rock/metal amp.

[Dmoney]

JCM 800 2203/2204 (100watt and 50watt) is a single channel 'high gain' amp. High gain in the early sense of high gain.

the 5150, DSL, SLO, Dual Rec, Splawn Quick Rod, Bogner breed's of High Gain amp all have more gain available and often an added 12AX7. Although not in the splawn case, but it does have an extra gain stage and the expense of another kind of stage. Sovtek Migs have some similarities between Krank amps and Splawns.

Those circuits are born from the trend of modding JCM 800's and such in the 80's. By adding diode clipping or extra gain stages one way or another.

the 800 / SLP is the base point for the amp you want. Not exactly what you're after I think. thats my opinion.

[Brow]

If you want more info on Splawn then http://www.splawnguitars.com/amps08.htm is a good starting point.

It has info about the amp, the company, and also alot of clips of the various amps so you can get an idea if it's what you're looking for in an amp.

Going by the bands you listed in your 1st post, I'd have no qualms at all in recommending a Quick Rod if your budget can stretch to it.

I was looking for an amp for the same purpose until a few months ago and I found mine in the Quick Rod :D

[tekbow]

if 2000 euros is your budget, then you've no need to borrow money, the quick rod is the amp for you

[Panos_Stargazer]

Whoaaaaaaa!!!!! Guys you're the best!!!!!! All those boutique amps lie in front of my eyes...

Wizard, Friedman, Voodoo Mods, Naked, Browneye...never heard of them...IF anyone knows a bit more about these brands I'd be very grateful if he sent me a personal message...

Now on the subject...

I've made a list in my mind consisting of:
Soldano SLO100 head
Marshall JCM2000 Dual Super Lead 100
Marshall JCM800 2203
Peavey 5150 (a second hand one)
Splawn Quick Rod

Which one of these 5 would you recommend

I want a very good lead channel (or two  :D), an FX loop for a wah-wah, a delay and a chorus and I don't really care about the clean one (if I did I would have bought a Fender hahaha) because I usually make my sound cleaner by using the volume knob and the coil split option (my pickups are soon gonna be a VHII on the neck and a Holy Diver or a Cold Sweat on the bridge)...I intend to buy one of these cabins: Blackstar Series One 412 Angled, ENGL412 XXL-BK, Diezel 412FC Vintage 30, and Randall RA-412XLT

Once again I thank you very very very very very much with AAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLL my heart

[Dmoney]

The JCM800 has no loop.

Wizard - Vintage and modern sounding amps based on Marshall's made by the AC/DC guitar tech,
Friedman - Makes the 'Naked' and 'Browneye' (formerly Marsha) Amps. He makes all kind of high spec gear
Voodoo Mods - a company specialising in mods. you cannot 'try before you buy' so its a risk sending an amp to these guys, and shipping to a from Greece to the US to get an amp modded will be expensive.

Naked amp looks like a 2 channel Marshall style thing. Nice though. follow Tekbow's link.
The 'Browneye' in a single channel amp with various switching to increase gain and change voicing. I THINK it includes switchable diode clipping, which is similar to the 'jose' or 'cameron' mod. (if im wrong I hope someone will correct me)


The Splawn fits in here. The quick rod is 2 channel but the gain channel has the 'gears' feature. which is switchable boosts at different points in the preamp. It will probably do everything your after + give you a clean channel.

SLO100 - way too expensive. But if you don't need a clean channel but you want an FX loop, the Hot Rod Avenger might be the right way to go?! basically an Avenger with an FX loop. That would be right up your street. also

Peavey 5150 - Loads of gain, has a loop. Probably going a hiss a lot compared to the Splawn or Soldano. But (and i liked this) if you use the 'Low' input and run the preamp gain kind of high, I think it sounds better and you'll be able to use the volume knob to roll off distortion better. The clean channel in the 5150 isn't that good. and its not that good in a 5150 MKII either. Never played a MKIII

DSL - Probably OK. I've used one once but I think other amps in this list are perhaps better. I don'y have much experience with this amp but it's a popular one.


If you don't care about cleans and you want a really good stripped down, simple amp with plenty of gain on tap and an FX loop. I think forget the SLO and go with an Avenger with FX Loop (hot rod avenger).
If you think you might want flexibility in future, go for the Splawn.
If you want to save some cash i'd go for the 5150 before the DSL.
Forget the JCM 800 2203. No Loop.


EDIT:
The marshall site says the current 'vintage series' JCM 800 2203 DOES have an series fx loop. If thats the case I'd say it would be better than the DSL, but it has less perceived gain. I don't think original JCM800 2203's have FX loops though. so if you get one second hand, best to check it out.

[Telerocker]

I would try to pick up a good used DSL 100. Won't break the bank and it has a lovely crunch.

[tekbow]

Whoaaaaaaa!!!!! Guys you're the best!!!!!! All those boutique amps lie in front of my eyes...

Wizard, Friedman, Voodoo Mods, Naked, Browneye...never heard of them...IF anyone knows a bit more about these brands I'd be very grateful if he sent me a personal message...

Now on the subject...

I've made a list in my mind consisting of:
Soldano SLO100 head
Marshall JCM2000 Dual Super Lead 100
Marshall JCM800 2203
Peavey 5150 (a second hand one)
Splawn Quick Rod

Which one of these 5 would you recommend

I want a very good lead channel (or two  :D), an FX loop for a wah-wah, a delay and a chorus and I don't really care about the clean one (if I did I would have bought a Fender hahaha) because I usually make my sound cleaner by using the volume knob and the coil split option (my pickups are soon gonna be a VHII on the neck and a Holy Diver or a Cold Sweat on the bridge)...I intend to buy one of these cabins: Blackstar Series One 412 Angled, ENGL412 XXL-BK, Diezel 412FC Vintage 30, and Randall RA-412XLT

Once again I thank you very very very very very much with AAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLL my heart

Dmoney did a great job giving all the info on all these, would like to add a few points.

The SLO100 is an incredible amp, but pricey, don't go borrowing money in the current climate, you really don't need to

The 5150 also great, but can be mushy and suffers from unpleasant sounding crossover distortion

the marshalls are marshalls, easy to get etc, but you can get better marshall tone from something that isn't a marshall which leads me onto...

the splawn. this is the amp for you. it's within the budget you've set yourself, is better made than the marshalls or the 5150 and sounds better too (had the chance to try a few out in the states a while back), plus they have disrtibuters in europe which means no import tax given Greece is in the EU. having bought expensive gear (1600 pounds) from the states, VAT and import can quickly push the price of a good deal into a bad deal. and trust me, you won't be "settling" for this amp. i wouldn't even say necessarily the SLO is better than it. and i love soldano. the SLO is voiced differently and i think the splawn fits you're criteria tonewise better.

[hunter]

If money is no issue you should get in touch with Tonemerchants or Dave Friedman (through Rig-Talk) and get a Marsha.

I suggest the 100W version with the simple clean, the loop and the extra gain/master. Fat, Saturation and 45 switches are cheap options, so I'd get those, too.

However that sums up to 3,500US$

Add shipping and VAT will get you to around 3,250€ at the current $

Wait right now is I think 3 months.

It's a lot of money but still less than a new SLO100 in Europe, and it would give you a killer amp that holds its value, probably will be collectable in the future.

[Dmoney]

The 5150 also great, but can be mushy and suffers from unpleasant sounding crossover distortion

I think the issue is the super cold bias you can get in these. I believe that is what leads to the cross-over distortion.

Peavey probably bias so cold so they can just sell replacement valves to fit in easily. Or make user maintenance a bit easier in an attempt to eliminate bias checks.

An adjustable bias mod is VERY easy, and the parts cost would be under 2euro easily (1 resistor and 1 trim pot needed).
once you have it fitted, you can get the valves biased to where you like and take it out of that cross over distortion zone which is supposed to be part of the EVH tone... so they say. but they say a lot.

[tekbow]

agreed, soldano's are also known for being slightly cold biased.

depends on whether the OP is happy to do the mod himself or has someone local that can do it professionally

sending it off to the states and uk etc is going to start costing money.

[Dmoney]

the mod is really easy. if he can build attenuators then he might have the skills.
my Avenger was running at 26mA idle with EL34's. 70% mark would be about 35mA in my amp i think.
Soldano's are cool which is ok. 5150's are freezing depending on the 6L6's you have in.

[FELINEGUITARS]

Are you going to be using it live or just at home/studio?
A 100w head is impractical for home and difficult to get the best out of .

Also what about the Randall MTS modular amps/ preamps
Modules like the George Lynch Mr Scary are superb and there is a guy in Czech republic doing awesome mods to the modules.(http://www.salvationmods.com/)

I also find using the rack mounted preamp that I can use different sizes of power amps - a small 10w one for playing at home and a big 50 or 100w one for playing out (if that were to ever happen)

Here is a link to the Randall MTS forum  http://mtsforum.grailtone.com/index.php

There are a few converts on here already for the modular system and I an certainly convinced

[Panos_Stargazer]

If money is no issue you should get in touch with Tonemerchants or Dave Friedman (through Rig-Talk) and get a Marsha.

I suggest the 100W version with the simple clean, the loop and the extra gain/master. Fat, Saturation and 45 switches are cheap options, so I'd get those, too.

However that sums up to 3,500US$

Add shipping and VAT will get you to around 3,250€ at the current $

Wait right now is I think 3 months.

It's a lot of money but still less than a new SLO100 in Europe, and it would give you a killer amp that holds its value, probably will be collectable in the future.

Well as I told you on my personal message I will contact with Dave tomorrow...only one more question...the Marsha is now called "Browneye"?

depends on whether the OP is happy to do the mod himself or has someone local that can do it professionally

the mod is really easy. if he can build attenuators then he might have the skills.

Well guys yes I have the skill to build an attenuator myself with a little help from a friend of mine who is an electrician...so I won't have problems with volume and angry neighbours  :lol:

Are you going to be using it live or just at home/studio?
A 100w head is impractical for home and difficult to get the best out of .

Also what about the Randall MTS modular amps/ preamps
Modules like the George Lynch Mr Scary are superb and there is a guy in Czech republic doing awesome mods to the modules.(http://www.salvationmods.com/)

I also find using the rack mounted preamp that I can use different sizes of power amps - a small 10w one for playing at home and a big 50 or 100w one for playing out (if that were to ever happen)

Here is a link to the Randall MTS forum  http://mtsforum.grailtone.com/index.php

There are a few converts on here already for the modular system and I an certainly convinced

Well first about the Czech guy...it's gonna cost way more than what I'm going to spend isn't it...and about the rack system...I have never used pre- and power-amps before...I'm a bit old school  :D but I will definitely contact with this guy and listen to some samples!!!

ONCE AGAIN I THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR VALUABLE INFORMATION