New amp advice

[Dmoney]

Dunno much about the internals and what constitutes a gain stage, but the SLO def has 5 preamp valves. Whether one of those does something other than being a gain stage, I have no idea

Fx loop.

V1 = 2 gain stages
V2 = 1 GS / 1 CF
V3 = 1GS / 1 CF
V4 = FX Loop
V5 = Phase Inverter

close... but actually
V1 = Shared input for clean and overdrive / Second clean gain stage
V2 = Overdrive second stage / Overdrive third stage
V3 = Shared gain stage / Shared Cathode follower to lower signal level & drive FX send
V4 = Shared gain stage to boost signal level at FX return / Shared Cathode follower to drive tone stack
V5 = Phase Inverter

[ericsabbath]

having lots of gain stages and preamp tubes is way overrated
one could mod a 3 x 12ax7 marshall to a bogner or diezel sound without adding any tube or any sort of diode trick or rewiring the cathode follower
the classic SLO lead channel tone requires the extra triode, though (the crunch channel sounds pretty good without it anyway)

my bandmate built an mxr sized pedal that sounds just like a  diezel VH4 with 2 preamp tubes laid inside it
best preamp I ever heard in person

[Laars]

I've been playing Voodoo amps, by Trace Davis... The V-Rock would be right up your alley..... I get that Alice in Chains sound (one of my favorite bands) with the V-rock, and if you back off the gain, it is basically a modded 68 Plexi so it can do blues as well. This is a clip of my Voodoo V-Plex which is like a stock 68 Marshall....

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

This was recorded directly off the speaker to give you an idea of how it records.........