help me find an amp

[Welladjusted]

i need a 2 or 3 channel tube amp that is footswitcable, is under $700, between 30 and 80 watts, and will cover a wide range of sounds (EVH/Metallica crunch tones to R.E.M. clean tones). so far, i've heard that the traynor YCV40 is a good bet, but i'd like some more options. thanks a lot

[Zangief]

Check out the Peavye 5150 combo
it's 60 watts and sounds perfect for what you're looking for...just my opinion though...

[Welladjusted]

i've heard very bad things about the 5150 combo's clean channel

[Greyskull]

First, I have to mention that I have always found the most bang for the buck by buying used gear.

$700 duckets should score you a killer tube amp head or 2x12 combo by Marshall or Fender (like a twin)

New...I'd have to say the Fender Hot Rod Deville 2x12 or 4x10. Both of theses are priced at just about $700 new (though used you can scoop them up at $350-$400.

Post what you end up getting....

[Welladjusted]

so far, i've narrowed it down to 2. either a line 6 flextone (probably a halfstack rather than a combo) or a marshall AVT 50 or 100

[Greyskull]

Cool. Either of those amps will get you rockin' with DOKKEN (just a saying, not a dig)

The AVT is nice and besides just saying "MARSHALL" it actually packs some killer tones (it has a 12ax7 pre amp tube). Does a killer job of getting that EL34 tube crunch for having a solid state (transistor) power amp. I read a review in Guitar player where the reviewer said that he felt the AVT 50 was better than most tube amps in its price range...

Line 6 Flextone will definatley give you the flexibility you need, with some effects built right in. You'll have plenty of reading material, so your trips to "the throne room" will be very informative - the tone knobs vary depending upon which MODEL your are using. Good DIRECT sound. Please be careful with the Line 6 if you choose it though... The guitar player in my old band has one of those, with the footpedal controller. It is NOT sturdy, and it WILL break if you stomp on it too hard or some clown runs up on stage and runs over your rig - that happened to him at a show. Thats $200 dollars he was out.

[State]

If you buy the AVT50 your not getting a worthwile substitute for a tube amp. Although it has one 12AX7 in the preamp, the amount the tube does is so insignificant its not even worth considering. On the other hand it is a fairly loud amp with decent distortion. I actually owned one up until one week ago so I know first hand what it's like. If you play metal, the AVT50 is a good amp but it's lack of tone and poor performance at low gain settings make it tough to play anything else. Also, the clean channel is not very loud at all, you have to crank the gain to get any volume out of it which makes it a "less than" clean channel.

Basically what I'm saying is go with the line6, it's an amazing amplifier. The amount of sounds it produces is mind boggling and the fact that it does it really well is even more impressive. This seems to be my thread since before I bought my Marshall I owned a Line6 Spyder 1x12 which was amazing, the only reason i let it go was because i needed a Head/Cab setup for volume.

Whatever you decide though, dont buy anything without trying it A LOT first.

[Greyskull]

And don't buy CRATE !

[Welladjusted]

Originally posted by Greyskull
And don't buy CRATE !

i never even considered it as an option

[Welladjusted]

i'm not looking for a tube amp or even a spolid state amp. i'm looking for an amp. i have tried out the AVT 50 and must say i'm quite impressed. it has pretty much everything i'd even need. the headphone jack is a very cool option to have, especially when recording. looks like this is the one i'm getting

[Greyskull]

Good choice...Marshalls are nice !!!

Go ANGEL's !!!

[marshall-artist]

Try to find a Marshall JCM600. I have the 1X12 combo (JCM601) and I love it. It has two channels, each with it's own three band EQ and reverb. The Clean channel isn't Fender quality, but it is better than you'd expect from a Marshall. The lead channel has the crunch you would expect from a more classic style Marshall (i.e. The Who, Hendrix, Cream, AC/DC). It doesn't have the gain of the JCM2000 TSL series, but in conjunction with a good OD or preamp it can pull off early Metallica, Judas Priest, and Black Sabbath.

If you're an effects junkie these amps have two effects loops; series and parallel. It works well with stompboxes and I have yet to be disappointed. I haven't tried it with rack effects.

They don't make these anymore so you'll have to find one used. They can be a little difficult to find since they aren't as plentiful as other models, but when you do find them they're usually reasonably priced.

[Wir-Click-Wir]

I recommend a Fender Hot Rod DeVille (they come in 2x12 and 4x10 combos, both at 60-watts). Three footswitchable channels, effects loop, superb clean tone and reverb, and great overdrive sounds.

[Mobisimo]

i gotta back up wir-click-wir on the deville. that thing has indescribable clean tones. not kidding. very nice. also, ive heard very good things about the flextone, but ive also heard very bad things about the flextone. and if you get severely mixed reviews, i say dont go for it. also, i would never touch an atv. i have heard that they got real messy tones (especially cleans). grayskull already mentioned that you get the most bang for your buck with used stuff, and i gotta agree. maybe check ebay or the want ads. but dont go for a one-tube ripoff. not worth it.

also, try it out first, and good luck

peace

[thefreeze]

If you wanna spent some 700 bucks, i suggest try to find a Mark IIC by mesa; They're in my opinion the only and best Mesa's worth of the name "amp"... REM's guitarist used it , if i'm correct and Metallica recorded their master of puppets with it... Only you will need something different for an EVH sound..

[iodine74]

Go used... more bang for the buck.

Definately look into a used Boogie. Pete Buck (REM) uses them in the studio sometimes, both for clean ("texarkana") and distortion ("drive").

When I saw Thursday a year ago the one guitar player was using a Nomad and both his clean and distorted sounds were very very good. The only problem is that those are probably abit above your price range (used on ebay the combos are just slightly above your range..but still below a grand). But the distortion sound was as heavy as you'd need for Metallica.

You might be able to find a used DC-10 or DC-5 (there's a DC-5 head on Ebay for $400 reserve right now). Those are also excellent choices. Not as much gain as a Dual Recto, but to me it has more character.

Look into an older Mark II like mentioned above. Metallica has also used Mark IIIs. Boogies are kinda odd beasts to work with at first, but the payoff is well worth it.

For those not so driven sounds.. either use lower volume on your guitar through the dirty channel, or get a tube-screamer or some other type of overdrive for the clean (which could double as an over-the-top pedal for solos on the dirty channel if you need it).

Just make sure you do a good analysis of what sounds you want. The EVH sound is not the same as the Metallica sound. It's a marshall vs boogie thing. They are different animals. Know what you want and what you like. None of the substitutes are quite as good as the real thing.

-Todd

[311kid]

get the marshall avt 100...nice amp, bottom line

[jason2]

Buy the Marshall AVT50. It is 50 watts, has 2 channels and it comes with a footswitch for both, has built-in reverb, comes with a little booklet that tells you how to get exactly the right tone you want, has raw, mean distortion and the clean channel has a gain knob so you can get bluesy light distortion or turn the gain knob down and crank up the volume and you can get good clean tones. It is in the $500 range when you buy it here: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/sid=021231073544068055016114820606/search/g=home/detail/base_id/49392

I own one and it is a great amp. You might need a noise gate though if you're cranking up the gain. And yea, don't get Crate. I mean, why would you buy an amp that you want to last for years and years with a name like Crate?