Ibanez JEM Forum banner
18K views 61 replies 27 participants last post by  Darin 
#1 ·
Hey folks,

I have a rig that I currently use and LOVE (pod xt + atomic reactor amp), and I was thinking of getting another setup (perhaps going all-tube), since I split my time between college (in a diff state) and my home. My max cost for this is about 1300-1400. I play primarily instrumental rock ala Timmons/Vai/Satriani, and progressive metal (Dream Theater, Symphony X, etc). An important consideration is great tone at low volume levels, because I wanna be able to play it at bedroom volume and still get great tone. I'd love some suggestions! Thanks!
 
#3 ·
A fender for progressive metal ala Dream Theater? I've never actually tried the Supersonic so take this with a grain of salt, but I've heard that people were very dissatisfied with the distortion. From youtube clips I've looked up (not the best demo of an amp, of course), I'm not a fan of the distortions.
 
#5 ·
they can def do dream theater, vai, johnson, etc.. there is plenty of gain if u have humbuckers and a nice middy dirty channel.. if one amp is going to be home, your going to have to make sure it sounds good at a low volume.. might as well say goodbye to most marshalls or mesa's (imo)
 
#8 ·
The thing ive heard about most of the nice mesas is that they only really sound good cranked, which wont work for me cuz I live in an apartment...

Shogun, I have indeed tried it. I remember being blown away by it but that was when i was first starting to play and obviously my tone pickiness has progressed significantly since then. I'd love to try one again but theyre not really findable in stores (due to Carvin being mail-order).
 
#41 ·
The thing ive heard about most of the nice mesas is that they only really sound good cranked, which wont work for me cuz I live in an apartment...
Sort of. There's two types of Mesas, to my ears - the ones that sound thin and crunchy at low volumes and thicken up/smooth out as you open them up (Rectifiers, Stilettos), and the ones that start all smooth and sing-y, and get crunchier as they turn up (basically, everything else).

My Nomad has one of the best "bedroom" lead tones I've ever heard, whereas my Rectifier doesn't sound that great (without my Hot Plate, anyhow) until it gets pretty loud, at which point it sounds awesome.

Well, the nomads sound very similar to the mark series. Some believe they are a bit more versatile as a 'live' amp having 3 channels each with independent eq,reverb as well as different modes. The two 'dirty' channels have a vintage or modern mode. The clean channel I believe has a clean/pushed mode. I really like the nomad series (and think they're underrated), and from the tone you're after I think the nomad would work well.
It's (IMO) easily the most underrated Mesa in existance, although to be fair I'm thinking of selling mine.

I'd argue it's more versatile than the Mark-IV simply due to the third channel - 3 Vintage has a very Mark-like singing sustain to it, but if you flip it over to 3 Modern it actually gets pretty crunchy, with a clearer low end than the Mark-IV. It never gets quite into Rectifier territory, but it gets way closer than you'd expect it to.
 
#13 ·
Hm, mark IV sounds very good from what I can see. The lead channel is incredible! Talk about warmth...I wonder if i can find one to try out in person. Also, this may be a stupid question but I've never played anything but combo amps, what kinda tone difference (if any) is there between a head and a combo of the same thing?
 
#18 ·
Mike's tone is something you really don't want to strive for because it varies so much from album to album and he mixes in a lot of different amps for different things. He even admits that his Line 6 patches change almost daily. At least with JP's tone you can get very close with just about any Mesa, I would aim for a old Mark series combo with a black shadow.
 
#22 ·
If its Petrucci's tone you're looking for, then I agree with the guys that said to try a Mark IV, because John is currently using two of them, plus a Lonestar in his rig:



I've tried the combo version recently, and it was just excellent. It has to be the most versatile Mesa amp I've ever played. You get great cleans as well as a crushing lead channel, plus the Rythm 2 channel which is sort of in between the two. I hope to get the amp head version eventually.
 
#23 ·
this is a 1300-1400 budget? if so the legacy by carvin is a good choice. the other ideas are nice but may not be in the budget. speaker type should be factored in the mix. vintage 30s are nice. lots of ways to get petrucci sound. not many with the budget though. with that in mind carvin,crate cheap tube amp and good speakers in the budget.
 
#30 ·
You misread, I like the tone from my pod a lot and i use it with the atomic reactor amp which is by FAR the best thing to use with modelers like the pod. This is for a SECOND rig, which I'd like to be an all-tube combo amp.

I should be more specific...I dont want Petrucci's tone , or Vai's tone, or Romeo's tone. Those are just examples of tones I like to help people out with guiding me to an amp. Mesa from what i understand and from my experience with several of em is not the amp to get if youre playing in your bedroom, whereas the Legacy if i remember correctly sounded excellent even at bedroom levels. The only thing people have said negative about it is that it cant really do "HEAVY" metal too well in terms of extreme distortion, but if i want that I suppose I can just supplement the amp with a distortion pedal of some sort.
 
#28 ·
Well, the nomads sound very similar to the mark series. Some believe they are a bit more versatile as a 'live' amp having 3 channels each with independent eq,reverb as well as different modes. The two 'dirty' channels have a vintage or modern mode. The clean channel I believe has a clean/pushed mode. I really like the nomad series (and think they're underrated), and from the tone you're after I think the nomad would work well.
 
#33 ·
no no, im not talking about a sweet spot. im talking about how the majority of high gain amps sounds insanely buzzy and terrible at a bedroom volume. and i wouldnt say EVERY tube amp because like i said before, the supersonic sounds like utter dog-poop at mid-upper volumes
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top