Any Laney owners out there?

[jippy]

I've been considering a new amp since I sold my Bogner (sniff) and I've never paid much attention to Laney. I've been reading up on the VH100 and VC50 and they both seem to pack a ton of features into them, all very usable. Anybody out there own one or played through one? I'd move some honest opinions. (How heavy can the lead channel get, how much headroom on clean channel, etc.). Thanks!

[Shane Regal]

I have a vh100r. I'm pretty happy with it. It has a tight bottom and a very modern sustainy crunch. The harmonics are effortless. The clean is pretty flexible as well. If you're doing rock to metal it's a pretty killer amp. Check out Mattias IA Ecklund for some sound samples. He swears it's all he uses...... no pedals except for an occasional wah. I find it pretty easy to nail his tone with this amp. Oh, and I use either a carvin legacy, or H&K 4x12 cab loaded with 25wt celestions. I find the laney cabs to be a little bright for my taste.

[tech_dude]

I own a Laney AOR 50 combo with the active eq system. I would recomend staying away from the active eq's. In the store, it was great at low volumes. The eq helps get a good sound at low volumes but as soon as you turn it up you have turn off all the boosts on the eq. It was very muddy sounding. I could get a good sound after a lot of fooling around. Clarity is key.........listen for a good clean signal.....at all volumes. It's easy to add dirt but it is very difficult to clean up a messy amp. Don't get me wrong.......i like this amp......sometimes.........it is built like a brick @#$# house. Very reliable amp. I also have a Marshall JCM 800 that rocks the free world. If you can afford one of these......wow.......definitely some serious tone......hey ......it's good enough for Zack Wylde!

[Tezifon]

i love my laney lc15r, its a little classy but sounds great

[sam669]

I've got a vh100r too.
The clean channel is pretty amazing. Crystal clear and/or warm on demand. Some say its one of the nicest clean channels ever. Not being a clean sound dude myself, I cant tell much about that, but I sure love it!

It has a tight bottom and a very modern sustainy crunch. The harmonics are effortless. The clean is pretty flexible as well. If you're doing rock to metal it's a pretty killer amp.

I'm a bit lazy to type all the things I like about this amp, and what Shane Regal said sums it up quite well!

btw, I replaced the sovtek stock tubes with JJ 6l6s a couple days ago. The difference in sound was blatent!

[Artist]

I got the VC50, Nice amp. Slightly too loud for bedroom use, but fine with an attenuator.

[jippy]

Artist, do you have the stock speakers in the VC50? I've also heard the treble needs to be set quite low on Laneys. What is your experience? Do you find it a versatile amp, or do you only use it to acheive specific tones? Thanks for all the feedback, everyone.

[Artist]

Yep the stock speakers, although it is quite old (got it second hand) and I know Laney changed the speakers on VC50s not too long ago (but I imagine they sound quite similar).
I actually find myself pushing the treble and presence very high on the distorted channel, with the cleans it's usually at around 3 o clock
Yes it is versatile, the main tones I get from it are :

Completely clean (I actually find that I get the best clean sound by using the low gain input with the driven A channel (clean channel) but with minimal drive on it, this breaks up at a much higher volume than just the clean channel).
Light gain, e.g. Clapton Blues
Scooped metal sound
Medium->big gain thick sound (like a traditional Marshall sound).

I've also found the clean channel to sound nice with a touch of Al DiMeola = Bass 10 Middle 10 Treble 0

Yes it's odd but it's quite nice.

[Benson]

I used to have a Laney TT50 combo but couldn't get on with it .. not enough gain. I still use my LC15R occasionally which is a great little amp.

[srg]

I have an Laney LC50 which I hate. too bright and no good dist.
the clean channel is _CLEAN_ though.