need a new amp...HELP!!!

[cmd130]

I am in the market for a new amp. I am looking for a solid state amp that will give me a fair amount of versitility. I am a rhythm player so i am more concerned with having good rhythm tones as opposed to lead tones. I am kind of unsure about the modeling amps cuz I hear good and bad about all of them. I play many types of music but the distortion would need to cover basic rock, 80's metal, nu metal, you know... pretty much the whole gamut.

Here are a few more specs

1 or 2 12" speakers
good reverb
channel switching
50-75 watts or so
fx loop or high quality built in effects
closed back cabinet
ferquency compensated output for direct recording
extension speaker output


any ideas?

[kennydoe]

a price range/budget would be helpful...

[jb4674]

Is there a particular reason why a solid state amp as opposed to a tube amp?

Jimmy

[screamndemon69]

Originally Posted by cmd130

I am in the market for a new amp. I am looking for a solid state amp that will give me a fair amount of versitility. I am a rhythm player so i am more concerned with having good rhythm tones as opposed to lead tones. I am kind of unsure about the modeling amps cuz I hear good and bad about all of them. I play many types of music but the distortion would need to cover basic rock, 80's metal, nu metal, you know... pretty much the whole gamut.

Here are a few more specs

1 or 2 12" speakers
good reverb
channel switching
50-75 watts or so
fx loop or high quality built in effects
closed back cabinet
ferquency compensated output for direct recording
extension speaker output


any ideas?

is price the reason you want a solid state amp?
if you want solid state i would say try modeling amps. goto a store when you have time and sit with a few and play. the line 6 stuff seems to have what you are looking for. i know lots of guys using them with great results.

i personally i say get a nice used tube amp. you'll be glad you did. it might not have all those features but once you have true tone you can figure out the rest as you go.

[cmd130]

The reason I am looking for a solid state amp is due to price. I love the sound of tubes but Even used ones on the bay go for more than I want to spend. I have heard a few tube amps that are what I am looking for in all aspects except that they don't have enough gain. I don't really want to have to use a pedal with the amp to get the tones I need. I need to be able to go from sparkly clean to full on straight from the bowels of hell distortion with only having to switch channels and not having to use a pedal as well. All the ones that seem to have the right amount of gain for my tastes are very expensive and way too loud, like 100 watts. I figure with a solid state amp I can get a decent amount of gain on the distortion channel and the price would be reasonable. I suppose I could always get a used tube preamp and then patch it into the back of my old peavey. Any comments on the Peavey Rockmaster preamps?

[screamndemon69]

i don't know of an amp that can go from sparkly clean to screamn hell without changing the channels. the Boss Dyna Dist is the closest i've heard to doing that but it still isn't quite there yet.

look for a Peavey XXL used. three channels and pretty powerful for a solid state.

you can find Carvin Tube amps used in the $400 range if you are persistent.

good luck and let us know what you find.

[racerevlon]

Look at the VOX Valvetronix amps--I have the 30-watt model and it's PLENTY loud to play club gigs, but only has an 8" speaker. Look at the 50-watt AD50VT or the 100-watt AD100VT. You can get the 1x12 50-watt for 359.00 US, or the 50-watt 2x12 for 459.00 US. The 100-watt is 549.00 US. These things are mostly solid-state with a single ECC83 valve in the power stage to get good tube tone. Check them out--a great sound and value for the price!

[Dug]

Behringer or Line 6. Behringer if you are on a tight budget. Awesome amp.

[NEWYEARKID]

The 50 watt Vox amp sounds tremendous for the money-way better than Line 6.
Go to a Guitar Center and take something home -they have a 30 day no question asked policy if you want to return it. We've all had that experience where something sounds great in the store and later sounds like a broken radio when you turn it up or worse just does'nt fit your bands sound. Take your time and go to a store during the week when you can actually try gear-the weekends are always a three ring circus.
Good Luck,
Tony

[kennydoe]

My old (Berklee) college buddy Kevin Boyea works at Advance Music in Burlington.

He's a helluva good guy and he knows his stuff. I'm sure he'd be happy to help you in the right direction if you want to take the drive down there.

~Kenny

[cmd130]

Originally Posted by kennydoe

My old (Berklee) college buddy Kevin Boyea works at Advance Music in Burlington.

He's a helluva good guy and he knows his stuff. I'm sure he'd be happy to help you in the right direction if you want to take the drive down there.

~Kenny

OMG, someone who knows vermont!! I go to advance all the time. should i tell him u sent me to him?

[kennydoe]

Originally Posted by cmd130

OMG, someone who knows vermont!! I go to advance all the time. should i tell him u sent me to him?

Absolutely, and please send him my regards. I haven't spoken with him since i visited up there back in the summer of '04...i had a gig in Waitsfield, and stayed in Montpelier - we went and visited Burlington the day after (he came down to montpelier the day before)

Good times!
~Kenny