Musicians only!

[Cross127]

Doubt a line 6 could hold a candle versus a crate Clue Voodoo. And honestly, W-T-F are you doing recommending a Marshall MG for ANYTHING. Crappy sounding amp that Marshall should be ashamed for selling. For the price you can get much much better SS amps (cube for example) or slightly more for a real tube combo. All kinds of things out there that will give real tone... blues junior, peavey windsor (or valve king), etc.


Cross, please tell me that you don't use that effects processor with your valve amps...tone suckage!

neonmadness, unless you're planning on playing large gigs, even a 30-40w tube combo will be WAY more power than you'll ever need. Half stacks and full stacks are just image...not a huge difference in volume. I'd take a high quality tube combo over a marshall MG stack every single day of the week.

You just need to figure out what type of tone you're looking for. 80's metal & thrash? Boosted jcm800 would fit that quite well. You want a more modern metal & darker tone? Then check out Peavey 5150/6505, Marshall JCM900/DSL or a Mesa rectifier. The 5150/6505 is a great bang for the buck. And will be loud enough for just about anything you'll ever need it for. And anything that's too large for 60w tube will be MIC'd anyways

Oh hell no I never use the processors on the Marshall ever. Sounds like SHEiT! Peavey 5150's are great amps. The MG's are pretty damn bad but they are the best in the price class right next to the solid state Randalls. I mean I have used them but would never own one personally. I love the JCM 800 heads. They have to be the greatest. The JCM 2000 dsl's are like a cheap 800 IMO. Hughes&Kettner have some great solid state amps out there as well and the Valve states are just incredible. My sound is more like a Zakk Wylde sound so that's why I use the 800's with TX cabs. I will from time to time use some of my crate's for a Nu metal sound but not often.

 

[DarthV]

Like I said, half/full stacks are more for image than anything. Unless you like to get better sound dispersion or load different speakers into the same cab. If you're that advanced, your ear would never settle for a modeling amp (unless it was one of the very high end line-6 like the vetta).

Go for good tone over image. Do you want to look cooler or sound better? The cheap line6 or marshall MG line will not sound good. Even worse when you crank 'em.

It really depends on what your goals are. If you're only going to play at bedroom volumes and NEVER gig, something like a roland cube might fit the bill.

What's your budget like? To get very good bone crunching tones with good cleans for jazz, you'd need to spend some serious coin to get both in a single amp. My 6505 combo doesn't have great cleans, but I bought it for its nasty attitude. My other options were to go with a Peavey JSX or a Mesa Mark IV. Both were more than I was willing to shell out.

 

[neonmadness]

my price range is 500$-650$, ill be playing small gigs and recording. Im really going for tone, but this will be my amp for a while so i want something that will be able to play mid sized gigs if i need it to. the clean channel doesnt hav to be great but shouldn be horrible.

 

[DarthV]

Cross, I'd end up having to clean boost a JCM800 to get the tone I want. I'm sure it would be nice to have less gain on my 6505 for things that are more subtle (Satch), but that's why I've gone with medium output pickups on my 540s hehe. Eventually I'll probably upgrade to a JSX, but I'll have to rent one and see if it has the balls to compared to 6505.

I'm actually impressed with the range of tones I can dial with the 6505. As much as I love the 80s metal/thrash tone, I like a slightly darker sound. I might not play Maiden with the classic Brit sound, but it still sounds good Still sucks to have to fiddle with the EQ when i want something different. Guess I could go with a Mesa Triaxis, now that would be sweet for tone changes on the fly!

I've tried some nice Gibson Les Pauls, but I still prefer the Strat body shape for comfort. My 540s is just an amazing guitar. Wish Ibanez still made the Saber series like they did back in the 90s. Sleek & slim... and build for speeeeed.

 

[DarthV]

my price range is 500$-650$, ill be playing small gigs and recording. Im really going for tone, but this will be my amp for a while so i want something that will be able to play mid sized gigs if i need it to. the clean channel doesnt hav to be great but shouldn be horrible.

I paid about $650us for my 6505 combo. And any tube amp is much louder than an equivalent SS amp. Not to mention they will be more dynamic the harder they are pushed!

You could probably find a used Marshall DSL combo for close to the same price as well. Or look into a Peavey XXX combo. With EL34 tubes, the XXX can get a very good 80s thrash/metal tone. Traynor and Vox both make good stuff as well.

There are tons and tons of options. Go out and try everything you can find.

 

[beachman22]

I like vox amps the best out of any i have played. But it seems like all you guys are in to metal so I guess marshalls are a better choice for you.

 

[jason longboard]

hey my crate half stack keeps fading out on me,its solid state,when i start playin the volume just goes down down down gone,whats up,loose solder joint or what?

 

[Cross127]

For those who say Yngwie lacks feeling. IN YOUR FACE lol. http://youtube.com/watch?v=eK0rvReE-4c This is IMO the greatest song he has composed yet and I learned it right down to the very last note. Me and my uncle play this song ALL THE TIME! When he is over we just tear loose with it. One of the best experiences is to play this song with another person it is just so great. DarthV LEARN THIS SONG!! Then you will get my picture. You people may say he is all tech but I think not.

 

[neonmadness]

great song, mustve took u forever to learn. i think malmsteem plays with feeling but tho i love shred and neoclassical, imo, after a certain point it all starts to sound the same. and id still rather listen to a 3 chord acdc song then 5 minutes of malmsteem(love both tho)

 

[Cross127]

great song, mustve took u forever to learn. i think malmsteem plays with feeling but tho i love shred and neoclassical, imo, after a certain point it all starts to sound the same. and id still rather listen to a 3 chord acdc song then 5 minutes of malmsteem(love both tho)

EWWW! AC/DC over malmsteen! I have to disagree with you completely!!