Amp opinions

[Slartibartfarst42]

I'm selling my H&K Switchblade and taking a slightly different route. I've loved the versatility the Switchblade provides but I've also discovered that I don't miss the expensive pedals I used to have. The Hardwire Delay I had was fantastic but the Delay on the Switchblade is perfectly good enough. As a result of this experience I've bought a Digitech RP1000 that I intend to use for almost all of my effects and I will also use some amp models if it's a better solution than whatever amp I have. However, I still want my core tone to be from a guitar amp but with the RP1000, I don't need it to do the range of tones I have in the Switchblade. It needs to have a series effects loop and it needs to have a good distortion channel that can do a Zakk Wylde type of saturated gain. So far I've come up with these possibilities and I'd appreciate your views on what they're like and how well they may work with the RP1000:

Laney LC50
Seems like a really good amp with a decent British distortion.

Peavey Valve King
Not too fussed on this amp when I tried it when it first came out but I hear it takes upgrades well and it may have improved since those early models. It's cheap too  :)

Peavey 6505+
Looks fantastic value and a good spec but as I'm very much a child of British 80's Metal, I fear it may be a bit too modern and aggressive for me. Difficult to tell from You Tube clips.

Blackstar HT-40/60
The 40w may not have the headroom I want and the 60w may be too big as I only really need a 1X12 but both seem like good amps

Thanks

[TheyCallMeVolume]

Well, out of that list I think that I like the 6505 the best. Just remember, in demo's people will never have it EQ'ed the way you would, or play what you would play through it, or play like you do. As well, it's always better IMO to buy an amp you know can get hellish gain and just dial it back, than to get an amp that you know CAN'T handle it and absolutely have to rely on pedals.

[Toe-Knee]

I would say a modded JCM800 with an effects loop

[Slartibartfarst42]

I hadn't considered a JCM800 as I'd assumed they only came as a head and I want a combo but I have since seen a combo for sale, though I'm a little confused as it says it has a serial effects loop. I'm going to try a 6505+ and Valve King on Thursday hopefully and I really want to like the 6505+ but the clips sound nothing like a heavy Marshall sound as it seems far from smooth. I know the amp models on the RP will give me options but as the 6505+ isn't exactly versatile, I'll obviously have to like the one thing it supposedly does well. The Laney still sounds promising.

[Toe-Knee]

I hadn't considered a JCM800 as I'd assumed they only came as a head and I want a combo but I have since seen a combo for sale, though I'm a little confused as it says it has a serial effects loop. I'm going to try a 6505+ and Valve King on Thursday hopefully and I really want to like the 6505+ but the clips sound nothing like a heavy Marshall sound as it seems far from smooth. I know the amp models on the RP will give me options but as the 6505+ isn't exactly versatile, I'll obviously have to like the one thing it supposedly does well. The Laney still sounds promising.

yeah they do combos. The marshall will get you the closest to the ZW tones.

The 6505+ is good at what it does but one think to keep in mind is that its a noisy bugger and adding anything to it such as pedals, modellers, processers can add to that.

[JacksonRR]

I vote for the/a Laney. They're pumping out some real quality these days and very fairly priced. Here's a vid I did for a potential buyer for my now-sold Laney GH50L. Dunno what the LC50 has under it's hood, but this is completely dimed on the gain and a mid-scooped tone as that's what was asked for by the guy I was trying to sell it to at the time. EMG 81/85 set too.... Shouldn't have sold it... nope.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjhKXZrLtfQ

[Slartibartfarst42]

So far the two front runners are a Laney LC50 that I can get for £350 and a Blackstar HT60 Soloist that I've been offered for £450. I like the price of the Laney and it sounds good but the Blackstar also sounds good and has the advantage of a boost function for solos. I've also found a JCM800 combo but I'm wary of buying something that old. All this is, of course, dependent on me selling my Switchblade. The guy with the Blackstar wants to do a straight swap but I can't help thinking my existing amp should be worth a bit more.

[dave_mc]

the blackstar's not all-tube, if it matters (far as i'm aware, anyway).

i wasn't too fussed on the laney lc series, though i like most of the other laneys i've tried. maybe consider a gh50l instead? if you can find one cheap enough (prices have shot way up recently, but if you keep an eye out sometimes you'll see one on offer at a price approaching the old price).

i'm guessing the peavey 6505+ would be too modern, too. and the valveking, while alright for the money, is not amazing. i think you can do better for your money.

another option might be a traynor yc50b on thomann. i've only tried the 40 watter (which is similar, just 6L6es and a worse speaker) and i liked it a lot. it's a pretty good price on thomann, too (£480, i think... at one point it was £400 though :( ).

[itamar101]

the blackstar's not all-tube, if it matters (far as i'm aware, anyway).

i wasn't too fussed on the laney lc series, though i like most of the other laneys i've tried. maybe consider a gh50l instead? if you can find one cheap enough (prices have shot way up recently, but if you keep an eye out sometimes you'll see one on offer at a price approaching the old price).

i'm guessing the peavey 6505+ would be too modern, too. and the valveking, while alright for the money, is not amazing. i think you can do better for your money.

another option might be a traynor yc50b on thomann. i've only tried the 40 watter (which is similar, just 6L6es and a worse speaker) and i liked it a lot. it's a pretty good price on thomann, too (£480, i think... at one point it was £400 though :( ).

You sure like recommending Traynor's, don't you? Lol.

TS, I saw your thread about this on ultimate guitar. I would've responded if I wasn't harshly banned for trolling in only one thread outside of the pit Lol. DaveMC, I see you there quite a lot too, still recommending Traynor's!

I'd get the Laney LC50. It's an amazing sounding amp and although it doesn't have as much gain as the Blackstar or the peaveys it does have more gain the the Traynor YCV50B and sounds better too (IMO).

[dave_mc]

^ yeah i just think they're hard to beat for the price on thomann

didn't really like the lc50 i tried. i thought the higher gain od channel was very fuzzy and fizzy.

[Slartibartfarst42]

I guess the beauty of my position at the moment is that it doesn't matter if the amp can't do everything because I can always use the RP1000 if I have to for a different sound. AS it stands at the moment I am very unsure what to do but I need to make a decision quite soon and I seem to have two distinct routes. I have to say that the Laney has a lot going for it. The tone is certainly British but it seems to be a bit tighter in the bass than a Marshall and that's not a bad thing at all. The one I've seen is only £350 so even if I only got £500 for mine, I'd still get a cracking amp and £150 in my back pocket. The only negative is that I have to sell my own amp first before I can move on it. I have the amp on Ebay and there are 3 people watching it but so far I have no bids, though there are 8 days to go. I fear that by the time mine is sold, the Laney will have gone and I've got nothing. The guy who has the Blackstar HT60 Soloist is prepared to take my amp and give me £50 so if I want to get things moving and get another amp, that seems to be my only choice. It's a tough one  :?

[herbychimp]

Hi - I thought that I might be able to help (or not!) Here. I have a Blackstar soloist and pretty much chose it over the Peavey, a smaller Laney, Marshall DSL and a few others. In the end it was the added versatility and headroom that did it for me. The amp has some nice cleans and there is plenty of modern sounding filth in the drive channel. Overall the dimensions make it a bit awkward for humping around but the boost function is useful. To my ears it takes pedals pretty well and I find that I often stick to the clean channel with various OD pedals rather than the drive channel which is too contemporary for a lot of the tunes we are playing at the moment. I always think that my strat with the Holydiver sounds a lot better than my Loverock with SDs. Of course this could be just a question of guitar / pickup quality but the Blackstar seems to compliment and fatten  the strat in a good, warm way. If I had the choice again I might look for a good 2nd hand series 1 or maybe even one of the Egnater Tweaker range?

[Slartibartfarst42]

It does sound more modern in the clips and I agree it seems quite versatile. As it happens I've done the deal and I should pick up the Blackstar Soloist tomorrow. It should give me my core tones itself so I'll just need the RP1000 to provide effects and the odd amp model. If the effects from the RP1000 work well with it I should be good to go.

[itamar101]

Seems like a good choice to me. All the amps that listed are very good. Have fun.

BTW, if you're interested, I got the Holy Diver/Emerald set that you messaged me about a short while ago along with an Orange TH30. My tone is huge and amazing and awesome etc.

Review and pics coming up shortly!!

[Slartibartfarst42]

Looking forward to a good read  :D