Solid state amp advice needed….

  • Thread starter Thread starter JackBootedThug
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Ampeg ss-140c…is this a legit alternative to all stupidly priced vh-140c’s?
Randall rg100 classic…. Will this give me my dime fix? Not familiar with this one honestly. Is it a reissue of the rg100’s and when did they release them? Thanks folks!
I gigged with an SS-140C for years, also tried a few VH-140Cs at the time. It’s voiced a little differently, has less gain but there’s still enough to do death metal straight in. I actually preferred it to the VH-140C, thought it seemed clearer and tighter.
 
I had a Randall RG1503-212, damaged by UPS in shipping, and they lost the footswitch; but still worked. Really needs a noise gate for high gain.
 
I posted this in another thread a bit back about the relation of the Ampeg VH140c to Crate SS amps, but it's relevant here too.

I know when SLM owned both Ampeg & Crate there was some crossover. I know the BV300 lifted the SVT power section.

The lineage of everything has gotten convoluted over all these years but I pretty sure it goes something like this...
  • GX130c was developed separately from the VH140c but pulled inspiration from it. Amount of "inspiration" is debated; ie a full clone or cloned certain parts.
  • GT3500 (Shockwave) was an "evolution" of the GX130c and lifted it's rhythm channel directly from the VH140c. The clean channel was different and likely used a different power section. The GT3500's Solo added the shape and more gain to the rhythm channel's EQ, so it was different but still tied to the VH140c.
  • GTX3500 (Tidalwave) get's a little sketchy. It was either derived from the GT3500, but incorporated more from the VH140c or pulled directly from the VH140c with minor changes. Either way it should be closer to the VH140c than the previous 2. The GTX3500 is also the prototype for the VTX350
  • VTX350 was developed directly from the GTX3500. Though I'm not sure if there were any changes or just a rebranding of the amp.
  • One thing to note is this only applies to the "flagships" of the respective lines. For instance the GT120 and VTX212 were different amps from the GT3500 and VTX350 respectively. Similar to how the BV300 & BV150 don't share much in common with the BV120 other than the name.
Regardless of the lineage, the GX130c, GT3500, GTX3500, VTX350, and Vh140c are good sounding SS amps that fit perfect for 90's death metal riffs.
 
So which is THE crate to get? In your opinion.. you have done the research so I will listen to what you have to say about it….
 
I would love to try a supreme. Is that the one with the xl or xxl badging on it?
There are a couple of Peavey amps that had the sub-moniker of Supreme. There was the older Supreme 160 with the blue stripe faceplate, the Supreme-100, Supreme XL and Supreme XXL. They were all part of the Trans-Tube line. I really couldn't tell you the differences between any of them. My friend has a Supreme-100 and to my ears it sounds like muffled ass. I had it for a couple weeks to give it a tune up; cleaning pots, jacks & whatnot. My friend loves it, but I couldn't get a sound I liked to save my life no matter what I did.

For reference this is what the amps look like...

Supreme 160:
1754926039409.png


Supreme 100:
1754926099181.png



Supreme XL:
1754926071133.png


Supreme XXL:
1754926194246.png
 
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So which is THE crate to get? In your opinion.. you have done the research so I will listen to what you have to say about it….
I personally have the GT3500 Shockwave.

For recommending, they'd all be in the same tonal ballpark. So it's going to be more a matter of availability and price.

The GX130c may be the easiest and cheapest to find.
The GT3500 comes up every now and again, but the last few I saw wanted a stupid high price.
The GTX3500 rarely comes up since it was a prototype and limited release.
The VTX350 come up often enough and aren't too expensive. The downside is they were released when Crate was going downhill on reliability. Though I'd assume if you found a working one it should be fine.

Keep in mind the GX130c is a stereo (65 watts per side at 8 ohms, 130 watts total) like the Ampeg VH140c. The GT, GTX & VTX are all mono 350 watts at 2 ohms, 220 watts at 4 ohms, and around 160 watts 8 ohms.

I see guitar center has a VTX350 for $425.
https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/C...uFjQmG0ChOwfkh9kZeBDLPzeugJhHwMUaAoynEALw_wcB
 
I personally have the GT3500 Shockwave.

For recommending, they'd all be in the same tonal ballpark. So it's going to be more a matter of availability and price.

The GX130c may be the easiest and cheapest to find.
The GT3500 comes up every now and again, but the last few I saw wanted a stupid high price.
The GTX3500 rarely comes up since it was a prototype and limited release.
The VTX350 come up often enough and aren't too expensive. The downside is they were released when Crate was going downhill on reliability. Though I'd assume if you found a working one it should be fine.

Keep in mind the GX130c is a stereo (65 watts per side at 8 ohms, 130 watts total) like the Ampeg VH140c. The GT, GTX & VTX are all mono 350 watts at 2 ohms, 220 watts at 4 ohms, and around 160 watts 8 ohms.

I see guitar center has a VTX350 for $425.
https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/C...uFjQmG0ChOwfkh9kZeBDLPzeugJhHwMUaAoynEALw_wcB
I have seen those vtx’s before….
 
That Randall rg100 classic is not the same
as a rg100es, not that it's a bad amp. It's decent. The rg100es with a boost or a century head with a boost will only get you that sound. Personally, I'd wait to find a rg100es.

Oh, I had a ss-150 and a vh140c long ago. The ss150 was a lot more mid heavy. Seemed more suited to doom sludge than death metal.
 
Just get the the RG copy the DIME amp . And a 10 band and and a 6 band and gate and you can do dime live tone easy
 
If you are looking specifically for Dime tones then I'd say for the price get one of those min Dime Warhead amps, they have the tone boosting with a tubescreamer or 6 band EQ you almost don't need the parametric.
 
Ampeg ss-140c…is this a legit alternative to all stupidly priced vh-140c’s?
Randall rg100 classic…. Will this give me my dime fix? Not familiar with this one honestly. Is it a reissue of the rg100’s and when did they release them? Thanks folks!
My Solid State Amp advice is: Don't use them :D
 
If you are looking specifically for Dime tones then I'd say for the price get one of those min Dime Warhead amps, they have the tone boosting with a tubescreamer or 6 band EQ you almost don't need the parametric.


Hell yeah, break out the can 'o whoopass. That sounds killer. Thanks for posting that video, bro.
 
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