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5K views 33 replies 19 participants last post by  albee1952 
#1 ·
Hi guys,

I have been playing guitar for a while, and I am looking for a new amp (preferably tube amp) that sounds good.

For my current setup, I use the Ibanez RG 2550 Prestige guitar with stock pups, Digitech RP200 and BOSS MT-2 pedals. I sometimes use my Mexican-made Fender Stratocaster.

So far, I have a 30 watt Roland Cube-30. It was good at the beginning, but it can only take me so far.

So I'm wondering if you guys can recommend me a good tube amp for a reasonable price (I'm looking around $500 to $2000).

My goal is to get the Joe Satriani, Malmsteen and metal sound (like Pantera). I want an amp that is good for both clean sound and heavy distortion. The more well-rounded the better.

Thanks
 
#5 ·
I recently bought a DSL100 mainly for the lead 1 channel. In Lead 2 you can get as metal as you like without getting muddy. What really surprised me was the superb clean.

The DSL is a great, I say great amp with a typical marshall tone to it. I will however replace the pre tubes for JJ's the round off the treble and get an overall more sophisticated ring to it.
 
#6 ·
I picked up a NOS Mesa F-50 1x12 combo last week. Sick amp. Great cleans and nice gain tones.

First off I would ditch the MT-2. The new Boss Metal Core destroys it IMHO.

What is your budget?
 
#7 ·
don't forget the 5150/6505. killer amp. i use line6, but used to own a ton of those amps back in the day. massive gain and low end. great tone, too. only bad thing about a good tube amp is having to retube it. i remember having to retube one of the heads and one of the combos. each one cost me around $100 a piece. OUCH, considering i had 4 of them...and the fact that they are WAY TOO LOUD for clubs, i went with line6(been a line6 user for 5 years strong) and haven't looked back.

rich
 
#8 ·
That is a good option Rich ;)

I had a 5150 head for awhile and while the clean needed TLC to actually clean up, the gain was MONSTEROUS and I usually had the gain runed up to 6 or 7 at the max and got bone crunching gain.

You can find used combos or heads for a fair price nowadays. I might end up with my orignal 5150 head back in my possesion for $450 from the guy I sold it to. Most go for $500-$650 used for the head and average $100 more for the combos.

I never had to retube mine and infact I've been using a Fender tube amp with 9 tubes in it for the last 5-6 years and have never retubed (yet at least). I guess I've been lucky :mrgreen:
 
#14 ·
The Mesa is really really nice. I had one and loved it. But I sold it and got the (cheaper) JSX, as I fell in love with that amazing amp from the time I tested it. I still use the Mesa 4x12 as it is one of the best cabs around, aswell as the 2x12. Both are excellent cabs, but also with a hefty pricetag.
 
#27 ·
I'd go the other way. Having to haul around a head and cab sucks. Especially a 4X12. The combo should be plenty loud even if you need to get an amp stand and you wont kill yourself moving it. If you need it to be louder you can add a cab later and only bring the cab when you need the extra. Most of the reason for a 1/2 stack is that it looks cool.
 
#19 ·
I use the head+cab. Simply because I rather use a rack reverb/delay unit anyways and like the sound of my mesa cabs.
The combo does sound very nice though and you should checkout what you rather like.

I kinda dislike the Engl sound. It is very good for high gain, but the singing harmonics in the crunch channel of my JSX are hands down unbeatable.

Mesa, like I said, are extremely nice amps, but to say they are good bang for the buck is a bit wild since a dual rec will burn a hole in your wallet and the Roadking (while it is the best thing I ever played) costs an ungodly amount of money.
 
#20 ·
Mesa, like I said, are extremely nice amps, but to say they are good bang for the buck is a bit wild since a dual rec will burn a hole in your wallet and the Roadking (while it is the best thing I ever played) costs an ungodly amount of money.
Not really wild when you state yourself that a Mesa is the "BEST THING YOU EVER PLAYED" ;)

How can you NOT justify the price if it is your "grail amp":?:

I REALLY want the Roadster 2x12 which is a little less features than the Roadking but still has all the tone and glory. US price out the door with stock covering and tax is $2230.18 8O Pricey but "worth it to me" being my "grail amp". :mrgreen:
 
#22 ·
If you buy a Mesa used, you can generally save about 1000 bucks. A used Dual Rectifier head will go for about $1000 and then a good cabinet will cost you $500 from Avatar (they are just as good as Mesa, I can assure you). There are other Mesa's besides the Rectifier's like the Mark series, but I wouldn't suggest them as they are too complicated for a first tube amp.
 
#26 ·
I was looking into Amps a little while ago. at the end i was looking at Mesas, Engl, H&K and Marshall JVM.

What i personally was looking for was something which could go from clean over blues > rock > Metal and the only logical and also not the most expensive choice was the Marshall JVM410. Since i have it i have not found ONE bad tone on it. Found many great tones. It sounds awesome all around even at bedroom levels. I think is one of the BEST amps ever made and i am as happy as can be with it. I just run a Delay in the effects loop and thats all needed.

I had a genz benz before which was nice but 2 channels had not been enough for me. I also have a VOX AC15HVTL one channel amp, and i don't know what to do with it really :)

Also the footswich on the JVM is nice and programmable
 
#32 ·
I recently got a Peavey classic 30... great little amp plenty loud enough for ~200 people gigs and plenty quite enough for use as a bedroom amp. Lots of gain and a stunning clean channel for you pedals... and all for very little money second hand on the bay. Hands down my best gear purchase of 2007.

Steve
 
#34 ·
Vox Valvetronix VTX amps (discontinued) can be killer for rock. When they stopped production I went on a rampage and have 4 of them now(just in case...). The recto patch is a smoker, but turn the noise gate off and always let the amp warm up for 30 minutes so the converters are stable. They cause jitter when cold.
 
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