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[The extra letter]

So, today I bought myself a Roland Microcube (10W) to replace the amp that came with my Ibanez Jumpstart pack thing (lowest quality Ibanez gitaroo (GRX 40 I believe) with the lowest quality amp, basically). The Microcube though is able to make even my gitaroo sound like pure sexy through it. It's smaller than the 10W amp that came with the jumpstart pack, but is easily 3x louder with none of the unwanted fuzzy at high volumes. Since I'm half-assedly teaching myself to play gitaroo, I've got no idea what most of the knobs and settings do, but I do know it's the best A$170 I've spent in a while. I was really amazed at the difference a better quality amp made.

[Johnny C]

My current amp is a piece of absolute shit. It's discontinued as it's five years old - the closest I could find is this (similar specs, same manufacturer). I could buy a better amp for the same price, but instead I'm gunning for some actual improvements. I have my eye on this amp over at the shop, which would run me $400, but I'm wondering if I should just bite the bullet and go with a Marshall or a Fender.

[Ballard]

I've found that the only people who truly need expensive Marshalls and Fenders are professional musicians who play large venues.

For anyone else, a 30 Watt amp is more than enough to rock out at a medium-sized club and definitely more than enough to jam at home.

I've had my eye on the VOX Valvetronix AD50VT. It's a sexy tube amp with a ton of built-in amp models and effects, and it's loud enough to bring a small building down.

Also, if you're going to go all out, go for an Orange amp over a Fender or Marshall.

[lunatichigh]

I've had my eye on the VOX Valvetronix AD50VT. It's a sexy tube amp with a ton of built-in amp models and effects, and it's loud enough to bring a small building down.

I have that Vox and it's great, I'd definitely recommend it.  I just bought a Crate Blue Voodoo 150w stack though, and it's pretty amazing.

[a pack of wolves]

a 30 Watt amp is more than enough to rock out at a medium-sized club and definitely more than enough to jam at home.

That only works if you can always put it through the PA, which is frequently not possible (unless you always play fairly big gigs). I've only ever played one gig where I did that, all the other times I've needed something powerful enough to compete with the vocals and other instruments. Admittedly I'm a bassist, but it's always been the same for guitarists I've played with.

[Patrick]

If you want a decent Marshall for around $400, go for this guy:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Marshall-MG100DFX-Combo-?sku=483190

It's a 100 watt combo with a 12" speaker, sounds just as good as my friend's dad's original 1970-something Fender Twin Reverb, perfect for single-coils and humbuckers alike (the typical single-coil buzz that you always get is almost eliminated). Plenty of power to overwhelm small venues, but it doesn't have to ALWAYS be that loud.

There's also a button switch that you press and it makes it sound like a tube amp even though it's a solid state. I swear by this amp.

[OtterErotic]

I tour with this guy: http://tech21nyc.com/tm60.html and love it.  Great-sounding amp, no tubes to break.  For recording, we've been using this old Moviola squawkbox, which is amazing.

[Patrick]

Whoa shit how much is that 4x10 deal?

[OtterErotic]

Whoa shit how much is that 4x10 deal?

It's about 800 bucks.  Not cheap, esp. for solid state!

[Misereatur]

I use a Fender Rumble 60W amp. Its pretty much perfect for practicing at home and small concerts, mostly because I don't tour or preform live much. Sounds great with both my Fender Jazz and Music Man and  is pretty light.

[valley_parade]

Seconding Pat on the Marshall. I play one of the three 15 watt combos in that series (MG15CDR with spring reverb), and you can get some great sounds out of it. They also have a 2x12 50 watt combo if you want to check that out.

Of course, I'm still drooling over the Fender Deluxe Reverb reissues.

[Johnny C]

Well, the other thing is that I have an old Sears-Roebuck tube head from the late 60's sitting in my basement. It needs repairs but my ultimate amp-based goal is to fix it, get a speaker for it and a couple of pedals and then I'll have a decently powerful rig.

[ImRonBurgundy?]

My current amp (as in the one sitting in my room right now) is a 15W Reverend Goblin all-tube amplifier.  They stopped making them a couple years ago.  Snarls like a wildcat, though.

[imapiratearg]

I blew a fuse in my Fender Frontman 15G that i got with one of those Squire starter packages.  And it's a solid state amp, so i have no idea how to fix it.  I think i'm going to get a professional to do it.  If it can be fixed.

What i really want though, is this: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Line-6-Spider-III-75-Modeling-Combo-Amplifier?sku=482272

75 watts is a bit much for just goofing around in my room, but i've been thinking about joining/starting a band thing, and i could play around with the different sounds.

[Ballard]

I blew a fuse in my Fender Frontman 15G that i got with one of those Squire starter packages.  And it's a solid state amp, so i have no idea how to fix it.  I think i'm going to get a professional to do it.  If it can be fixed.

Don't. That money would be a lot more wisely spent buying/saving up for a new amp.

75 watts is a bit much for just goofing around in my room, but i've been thinking about joining/starting a band thing, and i could play around with the different sounds.

As I mentioned earlier, 30 watts is more than enough to rock out in a medium-sized venue. If you want to play a 75 watt amp in your room, you'll have to turn the volume down to 2 or 3 at most.

Amp wattage is a bit like penis size. It's not about how big it is, but how you use it.

[imapiratearg]

Yeah i was aware.  But having those sounds right there, kind of defeats the purpose of having effects pedals.  And i already have one.  So i don't know wheter i just want a normal amp and get a different pedal more for the sound i want.  Since the pedal i have now isn't quite what i'm aiming for.

[Ballard]

Well, there's been much debate over modelling amps replacing pedals. You see, most musicians aim to create their own personal tone by combining their own choices of equipment. If you use an amp with built in effects, chances are that your tone will be the same as a lot of other people's. For the amateur musician, however, getting all these things built in rather than having to spend a shitload of money on effects pedals is a priority over having a signature tone.

What I meant was, whichever path you take, don't bomb more money than you need to on a high-wattage amp. Get a good quality 30-50 watt amp and put the extra money towards a new guitar or pedals or somethin' else.

[a pack of wolves]

Depends what you play and want to do though. 30-50 watts is great for playing on your own or practice in a band that isn't too loud but if the guitarists in a couple of the bands I play in tried using that kind of wattage they'd have problems being heard at practice and they'd be completely drowned out at a gig. And although borrowing a cab is normally easy people are always far less willing to lend out their heads. It's probably not the best idea to get an expensive, powerful amp set up early on but don't assume 30-50 watts will always do the job for you no matter what you're doing.

[MadassAlex]

I have a 15 watt Marshall somethin' or other. It's decent, but I'm looking to upgrade to something with higher wattage and more sound quality. I'm slowly upgrading my Ibanez RG with USA-built DiMarzio pickups, so guitar quality isn't a huge issue.

Now I'm wondering what I want to get. I have a fair amount of money to spend, around $1000 AUD. Not a whole lot of experience with a lot of amps, although Marshall seem pretty good for that classic kind of buzz, I think I want something a little different.

[Luke C]

My amp is a 30 watt piece o' junk. But it was real cheap and I am only just learning bass so it will do for now.

[onewheelwizzard]

My head is


Earth Sound Research 400W Bass/Guitar Original 2000 whateverthefuck (picked it up at a pawn shop for 275$)

And I've got a 4X10 Hartke cab that I got at the same time for 175$.  I got a fucking hell of a deal ... 450 for a rig that will provide 4-5 times as much power as I could ever need, easily.

[Patrick]

Jesus, I should hang around pawn shops more often...

[casull]

I'm playing right now on a borrowed ibanez gto (shit), but I scrounged a friend's Valvetronix AD15vt, which makes it so much fun to play. I've been able to satisfactorily dial in a tone from any song I want in 30 seconds or less. Once I pick up my schecter I'm going to buy an AD30vt and footswitch... that should do for now.

[Der Golem]

I have a Fender Rumble 100W, which I both my guitar and bass through. It lacks when it comes to clean guitars and the highest notes on the guitar don't sound so hot. But there is really no problem, as I'm using it to play in a drone band. Downtuned, distorted guitars through bass amps are sex.

Also, on a gear related note, I just bought a reverb pedal (Ibanez Digiverb), and it really has added another dimension to my droning. Until now I have only been using a distortion pedal, but now I really want a decent effect rack. I will probably get a delay pedal and a looper next.

[Misereatur]

Earth Sound Research 400W Bass/Guitar Original 2000

That sounds nice. Have you got any sound samples?

Der Golem, those Rumble 100W are sweet. I played on one a few times and I was really impressed.
You can also sit on it and have room to spare. Allways a plus.

[Ballard]

I repent.

I played a Fender Cyber Twin SE at Guitar Center yesterday.

Holy shit.

Although I stand by my opinion that creating your own tone using pedals will always beat pre-installed amp models and effects, this thing is absolutely sick. It better be for $1300.

It comes with 130 (2x65) watts, 200 effects and 50 amp models, a digital screen, and self-rotating knobs (the coolest totally useless feature ever!)

I may just get the 65 watt version ($650)

[onewheelwizzard]

KJS, pawn shops will almost invariably give you a winner every time.  But I've only been in one so don't take my word for it.

I don't have sound samples but I'll post them if/when I do.

[Patrick]

I stand by my opinion that creating your own tone using pedals will always beat pre-installed amp models and effects

I have a tendency to agree with you on this for the most part, but not all the way. The reverb built into my Marshall sounds just like sticking it in a 50 foot concrete corridor. The built-in delay leaves a bit to be desired, as does the chorus, and the flange is bloody miserable. The chorus/delay combo effect is pretty lame.

(onewheel, I will most certainly check out a bunch of pawn shops, they usually have other awesome stuff for sale there and it wouldn't surprise me to find some awesome musical equipment there)

I've got to say though, one of the most amazing amps I ever played was a 15w Johnson solid-state amplifier that I got as part of a package deal with my first-ever guitar. That thing could put out some sexy blues distortion and had some pretty righteous clean sounds too. It had a footswitch input, but there was never a footswitch that came with it when I bought mine. Sadly mine no longer exists. The only problem I would have with it today would be the fact that it only has one set of EQ knobs that works for both the clean and the overdrive channel.

[jeph]

You basically do not need a tube guitar amp that is bigger than 50 watts. They're more than loud enough for small to medium stages, and if you ever play anything bigger than that the sound guy is gonna mic your amp anyway. Plus, 50W amps tend to sound a lot better than bigger amps because you get the sweet, sweet power amp distortion at lower volumes. One possible exception is something solid state or a Fender Twin, where you're going for as much clean headroom as possible. Also I've found that amps that use digital modeling technology are really power-hungry. When in doubt, go for higher wattage on those guys.

Right now I play a MESA/Boogie Nomad 55 4x10 combo, and it is literally too loud for my metal band if I turn it up more than halfway.

As for bass amps, more watts is always better. If I still played bass much my dream setup would probably be a 1000W power amp and a nice tube preamp, either an Ampeg or an Eden.

[Thrillho]

http://www.crateamps.com/html/product.cfm?pid=116

That's what I have. I love it. So versatile. I barely use the effects except for making weirdass feedback though, I must say. It's just loud, sounds great, and works with all of my guitars.

[NiMRoD420]

I think I'm gonna be spending a lot soon.

I need new pickups:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Seymour-Duncan-Distortion-Mayhem-SH6-Humbucker-Pair-?sku=300039

I need a new head:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Line-6-Spider-III-HD-150-Modeling-Amp-Head?sku=482273

I need a new cab:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Marshall-MF280-Mode-Four-280W-4X12-Cab?sku=482742

*sigh*

[negative creep]

my current amp:


BUT!

last weekend i bought this baby on ebay:

70s orange overdrive or-120m. i can't stop drooling.

the only thing i need now is a cabinet. and a cheap one, i'm all out of money now. suggestions?
i'm thinking of getting a cheap VOX 4x12. any good?

[OtterErotic]

I think I'm gonna be spending a lot soon.

I need new pickups:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Seymour-Duncan-Distortion-Mayhem-SH6-Humbucker-Pair-?sku=300039

Psssst -- these GFS pickups will destroy those Duncans, and are cheaper, too:
http://store.guitarfetish.com/lopiexpowivi.html

[NiMRoD420]

And that's exactly why I posted. So I should buy those then? Looks promising enough.

[Lummer]

I need a new head:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Line-6-Spider-III-HD-150-Modeling-Amp-Head?sku=482273

Yes, but if you buy that, I will see myself forced to smack you. Save up and buy something else, seriously. Even if it's just a Flextone or a POD with a cheap Poweramp. Avoid the Spider series like the plague!

Anyway, I gots me a Laney GH50L head. A simple, no-nonsense one-channel tube amp, which sounds fucking awesome.
You can get one of those for cheap here and there, and if it's good enough for Paul Gilbert and Opeth, It's good enough for you!
Be aware though, that it's about as versatile as a... Uhm... As a hammer. If you want different sounds out of it, you'll need shitloads of pedals.
But for what it is, it works really well, and is really affordable.

I run that lil' sucker through an ENGL 4x12 cab.

Having the volume anywhere over 3 out of 10 will cause small mammals within 300 feet radius to drop dead. It's so loud it's just ridiculous.

[imapiratearg]

Why avoid the Spiders?   

[jeph]

Laneys seem to be the go-to amp for European metal dudes. The good ones can be tough to find in the US though. I don't think I've ever seen one in a music shop that wasn't one of their crappy budget models.

Re: bass cabinet setups: you probably don't want just a 2x15 cabinet. You lose a lot of articulation if you don't have at least a couple 10 inch speakers in your setup. A 2x10 and a 1x15 is a good balance/compromise. Alternately you could get a well-designed, ported 4x10. Eden and SWR 4x10s put out PLENTY of low end because of the way they're built.

[jeph]

Yeah, if you wanna piss off your guitarist.

[Patrick]

That's a yes if I ever heard (read) one.

The wattage of your speakers can have a lot to do with your sound too. Say you've got a 4x12 that's got four 50w speakers in it. Suddenly you decide you want four 25w speakers instead of fifties. Suddenly, wild distortion appears! Fight Item PkMn Run, etc.

[OtterErotic]

I think so.... these'll be loud and crunchy, but still sound like, y'know, a guitar.  Personally, I would avoid any pickups that threaten to produce that nu-metal CRUNCHUG sound, but if you're looking for something really loud and powerful, these are the most likely to still retain some tone and articulation.  I have a guitar loaded with their "Mean 90s" that sounds incredible, and I just ordered a pair of "Dream 180s.".
 

And that's exactly why I posted. So I should buy those then? Looks promising enough.

[Lummer]

Why avoid the Spiders?   

They are pretty cool practice amps for home use, but in a band situation, they become useless.
The sound is too muddy to be audible over the other intstruments, which means you have to turn it up insanely loud, which does not make it sound any better at all.
I used a Spider II a few times at practice, before I got my Laney, and boy did that thing suck. I could not hear a note I was playing, no matter how loud I turned it up.

Line 6 do redeem themselves though, with the absolutely awesome lil' gizmo that is the POD Xt.

[Lummer]

Laneys seem to be the go-to amp for European metal dudes. The good ones can be tough to find in the US though. I don't think I've ever seen one in a music shop that wasn't one of their crappy budget models.

I beg to differ, actually. ENGL's are the go-to amps 'round these parts. Everybody and their dog has one over here. Srsly.

[imapiratearg]

Oh.  Well i wouldn't be using for much but practicing at home anyways.  I might just get a regular amp because i already have a pedal.  I just need something that will give me more distortion than my Digitech Screaming Blues Overdrive/Distortion pedal.  Either i haven't figured out how yet, or there is no feature to switch between distortion or drive like on the Boss Overdrive/Distortion pedal.    Distortion and drive are all i really need right now.  Eventually i'll get a bunch of cool pedals and stuff.

[negative creep]

quick question: could i use a bass cabinet for my guitar amp, or would that sound like shit?

[jeph]

Laneys seem to be the go-to amp for European metal dudes. The good ones can be tough to find in the US though. I don't think I've ever seen one in a music shop that wasn't one of their crappy budget models.

I beg to differ, actually. ENGL's are the go-to amps 'round these parts. Everybody and their dog has one over here. Srsly.

Really! I'll have to check one out one of these days.

[jeph]

It really depends on the amp, the cabinet, and your settings. In a band situation it might not be ideal because you'd be fighting for the same frequencies as your bassist, since that's what bass cabs are tuned to reproduce best. But you never know until you try.

[negative creep]

my amp is the sexy orange i posted earlier in this thread. with the band i'm playing guitar in, we're mostly playing really heavy and down-tuned stoner/doom/drone stuff. the idea of getting a bass cabinet in the first place comes from me playing also bass. apart from that,.. do you have any suggestions for a relatively cheap cabinet to use with that amp for a rather bass-heavy (and distorted) sound that would cost less than, say, 400 us-dollars?

[Ballard]

Rar NC, I would kill for an Orange. I can't currently afford one, however, as I'm saving up for a '62 Jazzmaster reissue ($1400).

[Patrick]

What I've discovered is that bass amp heads can be AWESOME for guitar, as long as you're not trying to do metal with the built-in distortion. You have to dick around with the EQ a bit differently, but the best sound I ever got out of my Squier Bullet (not counting through my Marshall) was through my bassist friend's half-blown Epiphone bass amp that was turned up all the way.

[negative creep]

i paid 1400 euros for that thing! i hope it's worth it. i also bought a heavily modded fender jaguar last week for 500 euros. it has also not arrived yet.