So I'm looking for a new amp.

[Transcend]

also try a 5150/5150II the 5150II would probably be better for your needs as it has less gain and a better eq range

my only problem with them is the cleans arent too great on them but its nothing a litle chorus cant fix

[LazyNinja]

Absolutely NO for the Ashdown FA60 if youre talking about the new ones made in china.
I had one but it was really bassy and no gain which meant it couldnt do classic rock OR nu metal. and that was when it was turned up to >6/7 on the volume. With an OD pedal it sounds better but it's like a Marshall with a cold...

No idea about the older ones, but I heard good things (hence me buying the head in the first place). I think the way to tell is whether the head is upside down or not. If the tube is pointing up then its MIE if pointing downwards its MIC. Not 100% sure about that can someone rectify this?

[Mr Ed]

I'd say the 5150.

[Vindication]

I'd say the 5150.

I've also been finding it a bit hard to find clips of the 5150 that aren't "gain on 10, bass at 10, treble at 0" drop-C chugfests.  I've found a couple that got an old Metallica Kill 'Em All-type tone, except less buzzy and more "solid", as shown here.  I figure with a bit of tweaking (and maybe something like JJ tubes), I can definitely get the tone I want if the general tonality of the amp is like that.

The same guy also did a medley of Metallica songs with a more ...And Justice For All type tone, which isn't exactly my cuppa (I really don't like that whole scooped-mids-with-EMG-is-so-metal thing), but it manages to sound good to me nevertheless.

I've also heard some clips of people playing Van Halen on the 5150, and it sounded very good - I know that the rhythm channel would have what I'm looking for now, but I'm still not too sure about the lead.

Do you know of anyone here that has one and has clips of some really precise, tight lead stuff?

Shame the Metallica man didn't play any leads...

[Mr Ed]

I don't, sorry.

I base my opinion of the 5150 on band practise... there's a band that practises in the room opposite us and I've been in and sat with them a few times and their lead guitarist is running an Ibanez through a 5150 head and the sound is VERY tight.

He compresses it a bit, which I'm not overly keen on, but out of those amps listed I'd say it's the best for metal... but I don't think they're very versatile amps at all.

If I wanted to throw a complete spanner into the works I might suggest looking at Marshall (I'm a Marshall fiend, you see) and an external, top pedal like a Krank Distortus Maximus through a JCM800 or 900.

[_tom_]

Have you heard any songs by Pagan's Mind? Apparently their guitarist uses a 5150 and has the perfect metal tone, its not overly high gain and I dont think he downtunes.

This guy uses a 5150 and also doesnt have a bad tone, although he uses way too much reverb -

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=Guitarwannabee

[Sifu Ben]

I've got one of the original FA60s and it's a truly great amp. While it does do the new metal thing and the thrash chug thing very well, it also does a good sort of Marshall-with-a-modern-edge thing. The cleans are fantastic as well.

[Mr Ed]

Yeah, the original Fallen Angel's were really good, the new ones are horrendously cr@p now though with the DFX.

[Mavet]

I voted "other",
I think that if you want an ENGL sound, you should get en ENGL.
I oun a savage 60 head, which I don't think exists in the us, and is out of production, but has the sound you describe.
for your budget I'd say go for a second hand thunder combo,
or check this out:
 http://cgi.ebay.com/ENGL-Type-850-2x35-Tube-Amplifier-Rack-Head_W0QQitemZ120082295888QQihZ002QQcategoryZ10171QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Its the smaller version of Muhammed's amp (rackhead 860).  :twisted:  :twisted:  :twisted:

[Vindication]

If I wanted to throw a complete spanner into the works I might suggest looking at Marshall (I'm a Marshall fiend, you see) and an external, top pedal like a Krank Distortus Maximus through a JCM800 or 900.

I've been meaning to try a JCM800.  I remember trying a 900 and I didn't like it at all.  However, I'm really not looking for pedal distortion - I'd like the amp to be able to do metal by itself.

I voted "other",
I think that if you want an ENGL sound, you should get en ENGL.
I oun a savage 60 head, which I don't think exists in the us, and is out of production, but has the sound you describe.
for your budget I'd say go for a second hand thunder combo,
or check this out:
 http://cgi.ebay.com/ENGL-Type-850-2x35-Tube-Amplifier-Rack-Head_W0QQitemZ120082295888QQihZ002QQcategoryZ10171QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Its the smaller version of Muhammed's amp (rackhead 860).  :twisted:  :twisted:  :twisted:

Wouldn't I need some sort of power amp and speakers to go with that?  That's probably going over my budget - I don't have a job and can't get one; I really can't spend much more than 600 USD.  However, if I don't really need anything else besides a cabinet or something of the like, I'll definitely look into that.

[Mavet]

The ENGL 860 & 850 are "rackheads", which means they are coplete amp heads built into a rack  :lol:   both of them have preamp & poweramp and run in stereo (860 - 2x50w, 850 - 2x35w), so all you will need is a speaker cabinet.

[dave_mc]

thanks for mentioning me!

I'm not sure I can help any more... though I'm not sure how "clear" sounding the fallen angel is... it was a bit bassy and nu-metal-ish when I tried it.

:drink:

that will have been one of the newer ones the older ones have a really sensitive eq you can go from really nice classic rock sounds to balls to the wall metal

cool, I didn't know that. I think I tried one sound control had about a year ago.

:drink:

[dave_mc]

yeah the newer ones all have the DSP i think they still make them without


i dont get why it affects the tone but it has been same on all the ones with dsp that ive tried

also try the peacemaker 60 but youll need a tubescreamer or something to go with it as the dist channel is somewhat lacking without

I don't think they make the non-dsp one any more... so (without having tried the non-dsp one), my guess is that if you can find one of those, it's an older one.

[Vindication]

The ENGL 860 & 850 are "rackheads", which means they are coplete amp heads built into a rack  :lol:   both of them have preamp & poweramp and run in stereo (860 - 2x50w, 850 - 2x35w), so all you will need is a speaker cabinet.

Ah, my bad...I read that as a preamp rack unit at first :P

This isn't relevant to amp tones, but why exactly make a head in rack form?  Easy/convenient switching?

[noodleplugerine]

The ENGL 860 & 850 are "rackheads", which means they are coplete amp heads built into a rack  :lol:   both of them have preamp & poweramp and run in stereo (860 - 2x50w, 850 - 2x35w), so all you will need is a speaker cabinet.

Ah, my bad...I read that as a preamp rack unit at first :P

This isn't relevant to amp tones, but why exactly make a head in rack form?  Easy/convenient switching?

Means you can have it... in a rack....