Author Topic: Are there any Solid-State Amps.... (Read 10039 times)

indysmith · « **Reply #15 on:** June 01, 2006, 10:10:28 AM »

why do you want a solid state amp? lol - you knew this question was coming :P

Sifu Ben · « **Reply #16 on:** June 01, 2006, 10:36:51 AM »

I've got one of the old Fallen Angels (pre DSP) and it is a fantastic amp. You'll certainly never need your line 6 stompbox with it, but ironically you may find you need something like a tube screamer. The amp itself does a very good breaking up crunch if you drive the amp hard on clean, but it then requires skill with the volume pot to switch from clean to dirty sounds. The distortion channel is awesome, and versatile, with loads of headroom and tons of bass, and with a guitar tuned to C# it just sounds evil :D :twisted:

dave_mc · « **Reply #17 on:** June 01, 2006, 01:35:39 PM »

these may be a little out of your pricerange, but i'd look into, as already stated, the ashdown fallen angel, the peavey valveking, and the marshall dsl. If you can get to crank them at all, they should be better than solid state (the lower priced high gain valve amps can sound a little loose at lower volumes). And as stated, you may need an OD, maybe even an EQ to get the tone you want.

I'm not a major fan of the avt's. I've got one. I wouldn't recommend it, for the price. If they were the price of MG's, then maybe.

Of course, if you have your heart set on solid state...

:drink:

Crazy_Joe · « **Reply #18 on:** June 01, 2006, 02:10:20 PM »

I don't have my heart set on one, it's just i asked before and people said it was not good to buy bottom of the range valve amps just because people say they are better than solid-state.

Crazy_Joe · « **Reply #19 on:** June 01, 2006, 02:20:06 PM »

By the way those Ashdown fallen angels are a bit pricey for me, 449 quid for a 40 watt..

Sifu Ben · « **Reply #20 on:** June 01, 2006, 02:51:10 PM »

you're looking in the wrong place, my 60 cost less than that.
http://www.spectresound.co.uk/product.asp?ID=2103
Still a little more than what you said, but well worth it.

Crazy_Joe · « **Reply #21 on:** June 01, 2006, 03:23:37 PM »

But it's still only a 40 watter, i'd pay that much for a 60 watt or maybe a 50 but 40 watt might not be powerful enough.

Sifu Ben · « **Reply #22 on:** June 01, 2006, 04:08:03 PM »

It punches above it's weight, and once you've fed it through an extension cab and/or PA it should be fine. Anyway, your initial brief did say up to 50 watts.

Sifu Ben · « **Reply #23 on:** June 01, 2006, 04:12:01 PM »

Anyway, my advice would be to try and raise the extra cash (like I say, you won't need your uber-metal anymore, and you should get £60 for it on ebay) and get the Fallen Angel 60watt 2X12. It's a great amp, and at £445 it's great value for money (I mean it's an all tube 2X12 with DFX!!!).

Crazy_Joe · « **Reply #24 on:** June 01, 2006, 05:18:14 PM »

Yeah i might do that, i might sell my wah too, then get a better one later on. because this one isn't doing much for me, well it is the bog standard cry baby.

dave_mc · « **Reply #25 on:** June 01, 2006, 05:44:51 PM »

I'm not too fussed on the dfx in the ashdown, i'd have preferred spring reverb, but you can just not use the fx...

But yeah. The volume difference between 50 and 40 watt is negligible. And different speakers have different efficiencies as well, so you could more than likely make a 40 watt amp with an efficient speaker (say a vintage 30, it's 100 db efficiency, i think) louder than a 50.

and a 40 watt valve amp, assuming you like power tube distortion, will be louder than a 50 watt solid state amp, like a valvestate.

so yeah, I agree with sifu- it's worth it to save up another £50 or £100 to get an amp that'll last, rather than buy something at £300 that you might get sick of.

Bear in mind, those ashdowns are chinese-made, along with the valveking. I've heard a few dodgy things about the reliability...

It's up to you really. But I wouldn't put as much stock in what other people say, to be honest. You should go and try out everything you can get your hands on. Bear in mind what other people have said, but at the end of the day, it's up to you. Also, if you're trying out valve amps, remember to (a) crank them (b) play with lots of dynamics and (c) see how much difference the guitar's volume control makes. If you do, odds are you'll prefer the all-valve designs.

:drink:

_tom_ · « **Reply #26 on:** June 01, 2006, 05:47:16 PM »

40w valve is plenty, I've actually found its too much for me in my current band.

Crazy_Joe · « **Reply #27 on:** June 01, 2006, 07:13:09 PM »

Cool guys, cheers for the advice, i will check them out next time i go the the guitar store, since i know they have an Ashdown Fallen Angel 40 watter.

HTH AMPS · « **Reply #28 on:** June 01, 2006, 09:37:41 PM »

£259 gets you this beast... http://www.andertonsonline.co.uk/acatalog/info%5fRH100XG2%2ehtml

ok, so you're only left with £60 for a cab but save up for a month & snag a used 4x12 for £150

:twisted:

Crazy_Joe · « **Reply #29 on:** June 01, 2006, 09:47:00 PM »

There are loads of Heads i can get, just they don't leave me with hardly any money left over for a cab.