what amp do you use with your 7 string?

[-RonalD-]

hi everyone

what amp do you use with your 7 string. wich amps are capable of producing those low b string sounds.

im going to buy a new amp in a couple of months. i think i am going to use the line 6 spider II head. but i dont know wich cab i should use. i dont think i should use a marshall cab because they are to "crunchy" (listen to the first korn album, that is not the sound im trying to get) im rather have the kind of sound like on their third album.

i was thinking about the line 6 212s closed back cab

http://www.line6.com/productDetail.html?model=45

the right cab here

would that be a good idea?

together it would cost about 850 euro's ( thats almost he same in dollars i guess ) and thats a very nice price voor a simple college student

[sam669]

I got my Laney head for 750€ (with eight replacement tubes) and it does the job very well, even with my mahogany 2027x which is hard to keep clear, tight and low! My 0.58 low B string sounds damn thick and... I havent replaced the bridge pickup yet!
Thinking about a mesa 2x12 closed back cab or a legacy 2x12 to go with that killer head!
Price would be a problem for you though... unless you find good deals on evil bay or in shops.

[-RonalD-]

yeah money is indeed a problem for me. to be honest i dont want to spend more than 1000 euros on my new amp ( head + cab) , 1000- is my absolute maximum. so that is a bit of a problem. i know mesa boogie cabs are good for 7 strings but i cant afford those.

but that line 6 cab is also closed back. so would that do the job well enough ?

it will go well with the head because it are both line 6.

i'd rather have a good 4x12 cab. maybe i can get one for the same money if it is second hand, but i dont know wich one


( btw excuse my poor english, i'm from the netherlands you see )

[darren wilson]

If you want a good 4x12 cab, a few people here seem to really like the Behringer UltraStack cabs.

[-RonalD-]

how much would that cost?

[Drew]

First off, I'be got some great news for you; the exchange rate between the euro and the dollar has never been better. Currently, one dollar is worth about .8 Euros. This time last year, the reverse was true. Your Euro's buying power has increased approximately 40% in the last year agaisnt the dollar.

the Behringer is an absolute steal for the price- you'd be looking about $250 USD new, or approximately 200EUR, before shipping. And a couple guys around here, revsharp notably, insist these things sound better than any other cab they've tried. If you need a good, cheap 4x12, this is it.

As far as amps go... Take this with a grain of salt, as I'm an admitted tube snob, but you might want to pass on the Spyder. First, they're VERY gain-y on their high-gain models, and second, they've got a lot of on-board effects processing power. Normally, this could be taken as a selling point, but when you're dealing with that extra low end coming from your low B string, what you want in an amp isn't gain or processing power, but clarity and definition. All that distortion, and the temptation to add on tons of chorus, reverb, and delay, will give you an indistinct live sound. You may sound awesome jamming out alone in your bedroom, but you'll get lost with a band.

If you want a head/cab setup, my advice would be seeing if you can snag a Marshall DSL-50 or Mesa Nomad-45 head for your pricerange. Neither are super-high wattage, and the one place a 100 or 150-watt head will really be useful over something smaller is in increased low end clarity (due to the increased headroom), but they shoudl both be more than adequate for the majority of your practice and gigging needs. Additionally, both heads are very versitile, and just generally great sounding.

Oh, my 7-string "poison of choice" is a TSL-100 head running through a Mesa 2x12 cab. Nothing else. Simple, yet suprisingly effective.

-D

[-RonalD-]

and what about the marshall jsm 900 ? because i saw an advertisement for a jcm 900 head + a Behringer ULTRASTACK BG412H cab for 650 euro's

[sam669]

do you mean JCM900? yeah? well thats a good deal actually, I like that head for seven string riffing. Played a 7620 with a jcm900 once, loved it! Think Caught in a Web or Lie by dream theater. Articulate, heavy, but not much gain. You might need a pedal for your leads though.
I'd say, go for that deal and add a TS9 pedal to it!

[trajectory fish]

I use an Acoustic Image Clarus 1 amp head with an Ampeg PB112H speaker cab. The speaker was designed for bass but sounds great for clean guitar. My rig is 200 watts at 4 ohm and weighs less than 30 lbs! I might try a switch to a gallien krueger microbass 112 extension cabinet to replace the Ampeg, and shed 10 more lbs.

[Gresh]

Be careful about your needs vs. your wants. The marshalls need some cranking before they really open up, especially for low end, as will any tube amp...some sound better than others at lower volumes so be prudent in your choice depending upon your need. If you play at high volumes, then a marshall with a decent 4x12 is a great way to go. If you're playing in your mother-in-law's basement next to a sleeping baby...you're gonna have big problem on your hands.

My opinions in what to use don't really matter, but in general I prefer lower wattage tube amps that you can push harder and use really great speaker cabinets, cabinets have a huge influence on your sound. I haven't had that many amps in my lifetime, but the ones I have currently do a great job with the seven string thing, Mesa Nomad 45 and Rivera TBR1-SL (run on half power and in triode mode, close to just 12-15 watts output). It'll still shake the foundation of my house. Just can't beat a tube amp that's being pushed really hard.

Drew's recommedation for a DSL-50 is a great one, those are great amps and I think they are more versatile than the JCM-900s, but I've never had one. The TSL is a great amp but it is bone crushingly loud, I did have one of those. They sound just "ok" to me at lower volume, but they really sound great pegged.

[-RonalD-]

Originally Posted by sam669

do you mean JCM900? yeah? well thats a good deal actually, I like that head for seven string riffing. Played a 7620 with a jcm900 once, loved it! Think Caught in a Web or Lie by dream theater. Articulate, heavy, but not much gain. You might need a pedal for your leads though.
I'd say, go for that deal and add a TS9 pedal to it!

well i dont play leads. my playing style is like that of korn not dream theatre ( dream theatre is also pretty cool btw ) but i like heaving riffing, solo's are not in my playing style.


ow and yeah i do mean jcm900 insted of jsm


and gresh these are my wants: i want a head with cab with a maximum of 1000 euro's ( thats the absolute maximum ) it needs to be bright on te low A string ( my tuning is drop A ) but also heavy distortion. i play stuff like korn, so i dont play solo's. but i also dont want the korn sound like on their old albums, you know that "crunchy" sound with hardly any bass. and i do play at bedroom volume

my amp at the moment is a peavy bandit 112 , wich is really not good for a seven string

[Gresh]

Based on the bedroom volume statement, I think you're going to be unhappy with anything tube driven, the volume is just going to be at a level that will negate all the good things about tube amps.

The only thing that I've been happy with for low volume rehearsing and playing while the kids are sleeping is my POD Pro. I can use headphones and be as loud as I want, or I can run through my studio monitors. Not sure if you can dial in a "korn" sound with it, I've never tried, but I haven't found a tone I couldn't get somewhat close to if I really put some effort into it.

That is why I was pushing on the wants vs. what you really need. What you are needing is something that sounds decent at lower volumes for detuned playing...at least that is what I'm understanding. Based on my experience, a 50 or 100 watt tube amp just doesn't fit the bill for low volume playing with a sound quality that I can tolerate for any length of time. Playing live is a different story, but for the low volume thing nothing fits the bill better, in my opinion than the modeling technologies, that are out now.

[Jem7RB MK]

I have to agree with Gresh on that, Tube amps always sound better/best being pushed. That said my little ENGL 50 sounds great at low volumes, but when turned up you'll need earplugs (not family or neighbour freindly) unlike a POD,VAMP etc ...

Rob

[-RonalD-]

you know what the problem is? ive posted the same thing on another forum too, and everybody is giving me completely different awnsers

someone here says that that behringer cab is good, but ond the other forum evryone says that its not good. and on harmony central.com someone says that it is absolutely not fit for metal

and i get different reactions on the jcm900 too you say that the jcm is terrible at low volumes, but someone else says that the spider II is terrible at HIGH volumes

who the hell should i believe


maybe i can better ask it this way, what can i buy that fits a 7 string the best for less than 1000 euro's?

[sam669]

man, if you can, just go to the shops with your 7 and try out any amp you read about here and on other forums. Thats the best thing to do!
Sounds obvious but really, none of our or their comments should be a deciding factor, making you buy or not.