Recommend me an amp damnit!

[BloodMountain]

ok, hi everyone.

looking for a new amp is very tedious and i often run into problems.

i have narrowed my search down to a few:
- Orange Tiny Terror - this is pretty damn perfect, but it probably doesn't have enough gain for my style of metal and would sound too vintage.

- Randall MTS 20 watt combo - hmmmm pretty good, but lacking clips of it using high gain modules and generally lacking info on the net.

erm.... thats it so far lol

i play metal.... i love the tones of Opeth, Mastodon, Killswitch Engage, Amon Amarth and heavy lord (http://www.myspace.com/heavylord)

i am looking for a relatively quiet amp,
BUT IT MUST BE VALVE.
fairly cheap too, i can stretch to just over £350..... there has to be something else out there.

thanks for any opinions given, BM

[TwilightOdyssey]

Epiphone Valve Junior?

[_tom_]

The Tiny Terror does seem like it would have enough gain, from the clips I've heard. I guess it does sound a bit 'vintage' though.. How about the Epi So-Cal?

[BloodMountain]

it's an idea, it appeared when i was browsing the pics on the Orange amp forum (do they actually tell you about the gain levels on their amps there?)

BUT does it have enough gain for the bands i mentioned?

EDIT: this was to TO

EDIT NUMBER 2: rofl of course it doesn't, it has 1 knob!

[Pieter-Jan]

I have never seen a small valve amp that has enough gain to do metal. My vote goes to the Zvex nano head as it's the only one wich I have experience with and it rocks! With a good Overdrive pedal it goes quite metal.

[Lord Blakers]

How about a Peavey ValveKing?
Not tried one, but they look pretty cool and I've heard good things about them.

Check ths out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGLBm2kevQ0

They're available in 1*12 combo, 2*12 combo or head and they're pretty good value.

[BloodMountain]

How about a Peavey ValveKing?
Not tried one, but they look pretty cool and I've heard good things about them.

Check ths out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGLBm2kevQ0

They're available in 1*12 combo, 2*12 combo or head and they're pretty good value.

that video kicks ass! nice, meaty, solid tone. much better than Lamb of God's IMO. (their's is thin on the original recording, even thinner on Hourglass!)

that does sound like a good option.

about the Zvex Nano: that looks great, and i've heard loads of clips of it doing GREAT hard rock sounds. if i wanted to get a pedal to do my work for me, i would be asking for one. i'm mainly trying to get an amp for it's distortion really, not an amp for its warmth it adds to a pedal.

thanks anyway, i might just buy one for the hell of it  :D

[the_bleeding]

ampeg vh140-c        
this will blow your head off... theyre out of production though, so you'll have to get it used... but honestly, it is a sex machine of metal amps.  Probably one of the best sounding SS amps i know of.  Bands who use it: Suffocation, Dying Fetus...

peavey 5150/combo      
damn high gain, fairly quiet... if its not quiet enough, throw a noise gate in the loop.  pretty much all the bands you mentioned use this puppy.

Tiny terror... maybe.... if you want more gain, throw a maxon OD808 in front of it.

laney pro tube 50 watt.  
slight marshall voicing with less fizz.  Heavy as hell.  Theyre out of production so you'll have to grab one used, but they will melt your organs.
If you want to hear it in action, listen to bands like Sleep, The Sword and Electric wizard.

[indysmith]

as a rule high gain amps don't come in small packages. If i were you i'd be looking for ENGL screamers, and maybe Mesa Recto combos going cheap.
These amps rely mainly on pre-amp distortion so will sound good at any volume.

[BloodMountain]

ampeg vh140-c        
this will blow your head off... theyre out of production though, so you'll have to get it used... but honestly, it is a sex machine of metal amps.  Probably one of the best sounding SS amps i know of.  Bands who use it: Suffocation, Dying Fetus...

peavey 5150/combo      
damn high gain, fairly quiet... if its not quiet enough, throw a noise gate in the loop.  pretty much all the bands you mentioned use this puppy.

Tiny terror... maybe.... if you want more gain, throw a maxon OD808 in front of it.

laney pro tube 50 watt.  
slight marshall voicing with less fizz.  Heavy as hell.  Theyre out of production so you'll have to grab one used, but they will melt your organs.
If you want to hear it in action, listen to bands like Sleep, The Sword and Electric wizard.

thanks for the info dude!!! i've looked into the laney pro tube and it sounds good, but a little too loud for me, and a lot of people say it doesn't have enough gain.

the 5150 looks good, but they tend to go for over 400 quid (am i right?)

to indysmith, it is sort of true, but i am mainly interested in fairly cheap valve amps..... like the Valveking etc. and most have enough gain. the low wattage is an added bonus, because you get to crank it
imo there are plenty that fit the bill, just finding the right one..... :twisted:

how do you guys feel about buying a valve amp as a base for a tube distortion preamp (such as the Demonizer)? it was just a thought of mine. i hate distortion pedals by the way, i hate them all except the proper preamps.

[the_bleeding]

pro tube without enough gain? are you kidding me? Some people are just krizazy!  they sound like hot rodded marshalls with WAY more balls and more bass.  My rule is if the tone is good, and the gain needs some kickin, put an OD808 infront of it and kick its ass into overdrive.  

I wouldnt reccommend any Damage Control pedals... if you want a preamp, go for sometihng like an engl 530...

[chrisola]

check the official Randall site, they have a clip for every MTS module, with a choice of valves and guitars \ pickups.

just a couple of licks, but you can get a feel for the sound...


by the way, where have you seen the 20w MTS for £350????  :?:

Tell me, i want one!

[dave_mc]

I don't think the VJ has enough gain. It's a nice little amp, I was playing it today, great fun and all that, but it's most at home if you play nothing heavier than classic rock... at least, if you don't mod it or try to persuade it with pedals...

I didn't know randall had a 20 watt mts combo out, that's interesting. Other than that, maybe a randall rg50 tc?

[BloodMountain]

check the official Randall site, they have a clip for every MTS module, with a choice of valves and guitars \ pickups.

just a couple of licks, but you can get a feel for the sound...


by the way, where have you seen the 20w MTS for £350????  :?:

Tell me, i want one!

here's one in america
http://www.music123.com/Randall-RM20HB-i307434.music

the pic is of the 50 watt one, but the price and description is of the 20 watt one.

ok, it's not exactly 350, but just over.

apparently, if you order direct from Randall, you can choose one out of 13 modules to go with it (only with the combo version though)

i'm liking the idea of this Valve King and was thinking about it all through my side work job tonight...... anyone want to tell me more??

[BloodMountain]

I don't think the VJ has enough gain. It's a nice little amp, I was playing it today, great fun and all that, but it's most at home if you play nothing heavier than classic rock... at least, if you don't mod it or try to persuade it with pedals...

I didn't know randall had a 20 watt mts combo out, that's interesting. Other than that, maybe a randall rg50 tc?

now that's a thought...... well spotted, my good man  :)