Topic: I need a new amp, AND HELP BUYING IT (CAPS MEAN EMPHASIS) (Read 7201 times)

Johnny C · « **on:** 23 Aug 2007, 19:55 »

I understand there are already amp threads, blah blah blah. I just got outbid on a nice fucking Sunn amp and I'm in no mood to kerble myself so instead I'm just starting a new topic.

I'm in a band, we're playing gigs, our music sounds like this. We're doing clubs right now and I need something to fill out the sound of a room decently and something that I can tweak into a decent guitar sound. I could give a shit about effects and everything; if it has a second channel, great, if it doesn't I'll bite the bullet and buy a distortion pedal finally. Maybe I'll invest in a tuner at the same time.

My price range is between $300-$500 CAD.

BE MY GOOGLE

Chad K. · « **Reply #1 on:** 24 Aug 2007, 05:16 »

My suggestion- an old Music Man combo.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Music-Man-112-RP-65-Combo-New-Tubes-and-Reverb-Unit-Exc_W0QQitemZ280145553249QQihZ018QQcategoryZ10171QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

They're reliable, loud, and cheap because they never really caught on. Plus they're made by Leo Fender, so you get all that great fender classic tube amp sound for about a fifth of the price. Here's a harmony-central review link-

http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar+Amp/product/Music+Man/112+SixtyFive/10/1

thenosebleedkid · « **Reply #2 on:** 24 Aug 2007, 06:23 »

More info, what guitar you playing, what sounds are you after - would you buy used, how heavy are you going, what is more important clean or dirty, how large are your clubs, PA or no PA and finally do you mod them yourself or are you ruling this out?

I suggest joining rig talk posting all this information and asking them, much better opinions and more experience than everyone here, combined.

onewheelwizzard · « **Reply #3 on:** 24 Aug 2007, 07:28 »

Pawn shops. You can sometimes demo the amp before buying, and it's always cheap.

Johnny C · « **Reply #4 on:** 24 Aug 2007, 08:41 »

Quote from: thenosebleedkid on 24 Aug 2007, 06:23

More info, what guitar you playing, what sounds are you after - would you buy used, how heavy are you going, what is more important clean or dirty, how large are your clubs, PA or no PA and finally do you mod them yourself or are you ruling this out?

I'm pretty sure I posted a link to my band's music in the first post which would answer your second, fourth and fifth question. I would buy used. I don't care about matching guitars with amp as I've been able to wreak a decent sound for the guitar out of every amp I've played it on except for a Vox Valvetronix. PA, mostly. The clubs are clubs, I don't understand this question - they're larger rooms with a bar and a PA and a sound guy. By "mod yourself" I assume you mean either fuck with the insides or use pedals, and at the moment I do neither because I play, for the most part, pop music.

rhinohelicopter · « **Reply #5 on:** 24 Aug 2007, 09:51 »

I'm looking at buying a (now just hear me out!) Peavey Classic 50 2x12 combo. It's an all tube amp for no more than 1,000 and you can surely find one used. They also made a 1x12 version and a 30 watt version. You can also find half cabs in the Classic series. Great all tube sound and way less than a Mesa Boogie.

Lummer · « **Reply #6 on:** 24 Aug 2007, 10:37 »

As much as it pains me to say this, I'll have to say that a Fender will do fine, even though those amps are useless in my world.

So yeah, Peavey Classic. The fender may do fine, but the Peavey has more balls when needed.

rhinohelicopter · « **Reply #7 on:** 24 Aug 2007, 11:56 »

Way more balls! Fenders aren't worth a shit unless you're looking for vibrato or reverb. They're just so god damned twangy. But if you really want good vibrato or reverb you can always just go the distance and get a Vox AC30 or somthing.

thenosebleedkid · « **Reply #8 on:** 24 Aug 2007, 16:04 »

Quote from: Johnny C on 24 Aug 2007, 08:41

Quote from: thenosebleedkid on 24 Aug 2007, 06:23
More info, what guitar you playing, what sounds are you after - would you buy used, how heavy are you going, what is more important clean or dirty, how large are your clubs, PA or no PA and finally do you mod them yourself or are you ruling this out?

I'm pretty sure I posted a link to my band's music in the first post which would answer your second, fourth and fifth question. I would buy used. I don't care about matching guitars with amp as I've been able to wreak a decent sound for the guitar out of every amp I've played it on except for a Vox Valvetronix. PA, mostly. The clubs are clubs, I don't understand this question - they're larger rooms with a bar and a PA and a sound guy. By "mod yourself" I assume you mean either fuck with the insides or use pedals, and at the moment I do neither because I play, for the most part, pop music.

Well one could always want to go heavier, or softer, it's hardly an absolute.

Anyway - I second the suggestion of a peavey classic 30 - very sturdy, very decent sounding, and importantly cheap.

Start surfing craigslist, the number of killer deals I hear about from that source is ridiculous!

thenosebleedkid · « **Reply #9 on:** 25 Aug 2007, 04:52 »

Yup, yup JC 120 might be a little too loud and heavy (weight wise) but the 60 watt version is also good. Well renowned for their clean tones.

Johnny C · « **Reply #10 on:** 25 Aug 2007, 07:59 »

Physical weight isn't much of an object to me as my bassist currently uses as his bass amp an old Peavey PA and monitor, plus that amp I was bidding on was 70-75 lbs. packed. It'd just be one more thing to lug.

Anyways, I'll take a look around locally and on Internet to find some of these things. I really appreciate it, guys!

EDIT: The price is a factor. Let's consider that cheaper amps are lighter to be a "bonus" of sorts!

KharBevNor · « **Reply #11 on:** 25 Aug 2007, 18:39 »

Bolyuy an aorange amp yopu fucking PUISSY

Johnny C · « **Reply #12 on:** 25 Aug 2007, 19:14 »

You're drunk!

KharBevNor · « **Reply #13 on:** 25 Aug 2007, 19:30 »

Shush i was hidiong it well

Spinless · « **Reply #14 on:** 25 Aug 2007, 20:00 »

JC, you want this. The guitarist from Jimmy Eat World uses one live and he is TOTALLY awesome.

jeph · « **Reply #15 on:** 25 Aug 2007, 21:07 »

Whoever suggested the old Music Man combo- YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT. Those are great little amps.

Guitar Player has a great roundup of tube combos around $500 this month. The big winners seem to be the B-52 and the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, although the Peavey Classic 50 got good marks as well.

RefD · « **Reply #16 on:** 26 Aug 2007, 01:38 »

Quote from: jeph on 25 Aug 2007, 21:07

Whoever suggested the old Music Man combo- YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT. Those are great little amps.

Guitar Player has a great roundup of tube combos around $500 this month. The big winners seem to be the B-52 and the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, although the Peavey Classic 50 got good marks as well.

i know several ppl who use the old Music Man amps and they sound great and are nearly bullet-proof!

a number of different models, including 50, 60 and 100 watters, some are 2x10, some 2x12 and some 1x12.

hard to go wrong.

and the price is usually right, to boot.

even at Banjo Mart.

Lummer · « **Reply #17 on:** 26 Aug 2007, 02:18 »

I guess I'm just too much of a rocker to vouch for anything but the JCM800.

On a side note; I want me one of those..

RadioElectric · « **Reply #18 on:** 26 Aug 2007, 16:39 »

I'd recommend a Roland Jazz Chorus. The distortion channel on the amp is notoriously weak, so you'd need to buy a pedal, but there's a lot of clean headroom there and it's a true stereo chorus (rare) as well as having a stereo effects loop. The chorus would be great for the pop stuff you play.

Johnny C · « **Reply #19 on:** 26 Aug 2007, 23:48 »

I found a... is it a Peavey 410? It's an old solid state from like the 70's. Distortion is kinda weak on it but I need to get a pedal for that anyways I think. I'll probably be looking at pedals tomorrow and then buying the amp itself Tuesday.

rhinohelicopter · « **Reply #20 on:** 28 Aug 2007, 19:27 »

The one I was talking about was a newer model all tube combo. I know they make it in 50 watt 2x12, 30 watt 1x12 and maybe a head and 4x10 stack. I'm not sure about the last one.

RadioElectric · « **Reply #21 on:** 29 Aug 2007, 04:05 »

If you're going to buy an amp that you'll only use one channel on then you'll probably be better off with a tube amp for a lot of volume. They tend to interact better with distortion pedals too.

Lummer · « **Reply #22 on:** 29 Aug 2007, 04:52 »

Quote from: RadioElectric on 29 Aug 2007, 04:05

If you're going to buy an amp that you'll only use one channel on then you'll probably be better off with a tube amp for a lot of volume. They tend to interact better with distortion pedals too.

Quoted for truth.

Solid state amps are to me, for all intents and purposes, completely useless and without any kind of justification to their existence, due to their complete inferiority.

Modelling amps can be surprisingly decent though.

Chad K. · « **Reply #23 on:** 29 Aug 2007, 09:21 »

Fende actually does solid state shockingly well. Some of the best clean tones I've ever heard were on my Studio 160 (pre-dsp unit) and on my current guitar player's jazzmaster head. Amazing. Most other solid state, however, not so much.

RadioElectric · « **Reply #24 on:** 29 Aug 2007, 14:17 »

Quote from: Lummer on 29 Aug 2007, 04:52

Quote from: RadioElectric on 29 Aug 2007, 04:05
If you're going to buy an amp that you'll only use one channel on then you'll probably be better off with a tube amp for a lot of volume. They tend to interact better with distortion pedals too.

Quoted for truth.

Solid state amps are to me, for all intents and purposes, completely useless and without any kind of justification to their existence, due to their complete inferiority.

Modelling amps can be surprisingly decent though.

Solid state amps are good for certain things. I, personally, have recently downsized so I have one 5 watt tube amp (an Epiphone Valve Junior) and a 30 watt solid state amp (a 70s Marshall Lead 2x12 made back when they were signed by Jim himself). I have a valve overdrive pedal that I use with the Marshall amp to give me overdrive sounds.

On a related note, did you guys hear that Line 6 are bringing out a modelling amp, similar to the Spider III, but it has a valve preamp and poweramp?

RefD · « **Reply #25 on:** 30 Aug 2007, 00:32 »

Quote from: rhinohelicopter on 28 Aug 2007, 19:27

The one I was talking about was a newer model all tube combo. I know they make it in 50 watt 2x12, 30 watt 1x12 and maybe a head and 4x10 stack. I'm not sure about the last one.

sounds like you're thinking of the Peavey Classic 50.

it's supposed to be good.

Lummer · « **Reply #26 on:** 30 Aug 2007, 13:01 »

Quote from: RefD on 30 Aug 2007, 00:32

Quote from: rhinohelicopter on 28 Aug 2007, 19:27
The one I was talking about was a newer model all tube combo. I know they make it in 50 watt 2x12, 30 watt 1x12 and maybe a head and 4x10 stack. I'm not sure about the last one.

sounds like you're thinking of the Peavey Classic 50.

it's supposed to be good.

It is.
I tried it with it a sweet-ass Gibson at the local store, and it sounded rockin'.

Benemon · « **Reply #27 on:** 30 Aug 2007, 17:04 »

Carvin Nomad. I play one for this kind of thing and it does a blinding job. 2 channels of tubey goodness, coming in at 50w, although to be fair, if you're in clubs, then any sound guy worth their salt is gonna mic it up. So that's not a problem. Reasonably cheap, I don't know what the CAD equivelant is, but they're about £300 to £400 over here.

Good luck finding something to suit your sound!

Ben

rhinohelicopter · « **Reply #28 on:** 01 Sep 2007, 21:06 »

Yes, I am talking about the Classic 50. It is a great amp for the price. I just remembered that Randall makes an all tube modular tube amp with all sorts of pre-amps you can buy to match the sound of certain "classic" amps. It's pretty cool. Another really good buy for around 1000. It comes with three modules of your choosing then you can buy other pre-amps for 200 each. The cool thing is that you can just switch the amp to standby mode and switch them while the amp is hot. They actually match the tones pretty well. They have things like a Vox AC30 and some fender sounds along with Messa Boogie stuff. Here's a link to the page. You can hear what certain guitars are supposed to sound like through each module.

http://www.randallamplifiers.com/products/amplifiers/mts/index.asp

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Author Topic: I need a new amp, AND HELP BUYING IT (CAPS MEAN EMPHASIS) (Read 7201 times)

thenosebleedkid

rhinohelicopter

rhinohelicopter

thenosebleedkid

thenosebleedkid

Spinless

RadioElectric

rhinohelicopter

RadioElectric

RadioElectric

Benemon

rhinohelicopter