Good amp for $500.00?

[Rotti]

Are there any good amps out there for $500.00? I am looking for something that is versitile enough to play blues and metal, with enough power to jam with a set of drums without having to mike it.

[bammbamm]

Are you looking for a head only or a combo or a half stack?
The Mesa .50 Cal head is a FAT sounding bad-assed mofo that will do the job and you can get 'em right around 3-500 bux.

There are Marshall Amps out there that you can find for that kinda cash as well. Laney, Randall, line 6, you name it, its a matter of accessibility and finding what you like.
Check Ebay, Digibid, and or Harmony Central.com for gear you might be interested in. See what your local stores have in stock, try it out, see what you prefer.

If you want to play with a band I would say 25-50 watts of tube power will suffice in the situations you described.

I would go tube BTW, its a better sounding option.

Good luck.

Bammbamm

[microdmitry]

I don't know if there is anything in this price range that's good for both blues and metal. You can get yourself soemething that will nicely cover either of the bases, but not both.

[Two hands31]

*cough* Line6 *cough*



Seriously though, if you can afford one, even a POD or a Spider, you'll be happy with it until you can upgrade, and by then, you may be so satisfied you'll go for a Vetta HD or something.

Oh man I want a Vetta HD...

[bammbamm]

Yeah, except he needs a WHOLE amp...

Bamm

[rilla]

No offence, but for a guy that wants to play in a band situation, and get decent tones "for blues and metal" (not "blues, metal, rock, country, funk, and pheraps some jazz comping every so often, with a few digital effects thrown in"), I dont think line6 is a good choice.

Sounds like a small Mesa (DC, Rocket, maybe Nomad) or Rivera (Chubster, R or M series) combo would be great for what you need, you should be able to pick one up second hand in your budget ... But like bamm said, the trick is trying before you buy!

[microdmitry]

Originally Posted by rilla

No offence, but for a guy that wants to play in a band situation, and get decent tones "for blues and metal" (not "blues, metal, rock, country, funk, and pheraps some jazz comping every so often, with a few digital effects thrown in"), I dont think line6 is a good choice.

Sounds like a small Mesa (DC, Rocket, maybe Nomad) or Rivera (Chubster, R or M series) combo would be great for what you need, you should be able to pick one up second hand in your budget ... But like bamm said, the trick is trying before you buy!

Except for Rocket (which doesn't have a good clean tone) he will have a hard time staying within $500 with those amps.

[ScottB]

Check out Carvin's MTS3212 combo.

100 watts - 2 versatile channels in an all tube 2x12 combo. To my ears, the distortion is equal to Mesa or Marshall and the clean channel is the best I've ever heard in a tube amp. This beast is LOUD!

New - $700

Used or Evilbay - $400 - $550

[Guitarlos2]

I paid $500 for my Boogie DC-5 head, but thats a killer deal and might be hard to find. If you see a DC-5 goin for $600 or less though jump on it!! Its really a great amp all the way around. Im very pleased with mine. Its the loudest 50 watts youll hear in a while and it can nail many great sounds.

[microdmitry]

Originally Posted by ScreamJem7

Check out Carvin's MTS3212 combo.

100 watts - 2 versatile channels in an all tube 2x12 combo. To my ears, the distortion is equal to Mesa or Marshall and the clean channel is the best I've ever heard in a tube amp. This beast is LOUD!

New - $700

Used or Evilbay - $400 - $550

You've got to be kidding. For this kind of money (or maybe for a bit more) you can buy an Egnater TOL100 which quite possibly will be your best amp ever. You can see those TOL100 combos approximately once a month on ebay. They sell for $700-$750. Heads usually go for a bit more. They have four GOOD channels, 100W of all tube power, there's simply nothing better in $700-800 price range.

And it DOES have good tones for everything. Four channels, clean channels have three levels of brightness, dirty channels have 3 distinctive voicings. All voicings are usable for different kinds of stuff (which is a very rare thing). Both clean and dirty channels are very inspiring to play.

Man, I just don't have the right words to tell you how good this amp is. Bearing in mind that the combo uses the same circuitry (even the same chassis) it ought to be just as good.

This kind of tonal spectrum is well worth an extra $200 if you ask me.

[Bogus]

Roland Jazz Chorus 2X12. It has one of the best clean tones that you will find, and it gets plenty loud enough. It doesn't have very good distortion, but you could easily boost it with your fav pedal and get a real nice tone. Thats what I do, and it sounds great. It also has really nice reverb and pretty good chorus. You can pick on up for about 400 bucks.
My main amp is a 1970 100 watt fender bassman tube head going through a 2X15 cab. The clean tone is as good as it gets. It has a seperate channel for guitar, and bass guitar. I have all of my effects going into the guitar channel, and my super overdrive going through the bass channel. If any of you get a chance to try one of these amps out do it. The clean tone is comparable to a fender twin if not slighty better. I got my Head and cab for 350 bucks, which is a super sweet deal. Expect to pay about 500-600 bucks on one in good condition. I might swap the 2X15s for 4X12s but I want to see how it sounds when I replace my 15s with some new ones.

[Two hands31]

Originally Posted by bammbamm

Yeah, except he needs a WHOLE amp...

Bamm

Yeah, so? Maybe the Pod's not the best idea (unless he can plug into a PA system), but the other Line6 amps are great.

[Rotti]

Lots of good info here, Thanks. Right now I am using a Fender Super Reverb. It's a tube amp from the seventies, 4 10" speakers, 45 watts. I like the amp for home use but I recently started jamming with a band again (YES!) and it doesn't have enough headroom for that. The sounds gets very mushy when cranked up past 7. I want something with more bite and more power. I was thinking of selling the super and using the money to buy something new. Now I'm thinking that if I sell the Super I will regret it so I am going to keep it and save up for an amp that will be better for heavy stuff.
Has anyone here tried Laney amps? they seem like a good deal if they are any good.

[bammbamm]

Originally Posted by Two hands31

Yeah, so? Maybe the Pod's not the best idea (unless he can plug into a PA system), but the other Line6 amps are great.

Yeah, So try reading 1st... * some people's children *

[RobV]

I have a late '80's Laney AOR 50 Pro tube head. It's a real good amp. It's noisy when you have the gain dimed, but gets a nice tone otherwise. Very loud, and built great. Still have the original tubes in it.

Rob