2204 or Budda SD45?

[milkchickenbomb]

If you had a choice between these two heads for about the same money, what would you get and why?

 

[8len8]

2204 (although I'd have to play it since they vary a lot). When I last tried a SD45 it had too much midrange for me and didn't sound good at low volumes. There's also the debate about SD's that are made after Peavey bought them.

 

[Racerxrated]

2204. If you like a Marshall tone, get a Marshall. Yes, some are good and some are great, but I've never played a bad one. Dime the presence for that bite and throw an SD1 or other boost in front for HR, through 65s/GBs/old school 75s and you're there. 2204s all remained the same as far as filtering, so the vertical/horizontal input debate is moot. Other than board mounted pots with horizontal.

 

[milkchickenbomb]

Thank you for the replies.

I do have a weakness for the Marshall sound; many of my favorite tones have been JCM 800 tones. But the gain on tap is a bit less than what I'd like to have available. And I'm not thrilled at the prospect of a single channel amp with no effects loop. I may pony up for a Power station in the future, so the effects loop may be a non-issue.

The SD45 in question is pre-Peavey with a tube rectifier. Any love for this amp?

 

[messenger]

LOTS of love for Budda on thegearpage.com

 

[milkchickenbomb]

LOTS of love for Budda on thegearpage.com

To me, that's almost another endorsement for the Marshall

 

[messenger]

LOTS of love for Budda on thegearpage.com

To me, that's almost another endorsement for the Marshall

 

[skoora]

I've never played a Budda that didn't have a softness to the overdrive, even the 45. Marshall all the way. I wouldn't mind having a 45 for a different tone but not as my one and only.

 

[Racerxrated]

Thank you for the replies.

I do have a weakness for the Marshall sound; many of my favorite tones have been JCM 800 tones. But the gain on tap is a bit less than what I'd like to have available. And I'm not thrilled at the prospect of a single channel amp with no effects loop. I may pony up for a Power station in the future, so the effects loop may be a non-issue.

The SD45 in question is pre-Peavey with a tube rectifier. Any love for this amp?

Yeah, a boost is needed for higher gain tones but not many amps out there that sound better than an 800 with a boost IMO.
Again, IF you dig cutting midrange.

 

[LP Freak]

I'm a big Marshall fan and owned/gigged a SD45 for a while. The SD is a great amp and more versatile than the 2204 and even though it has a Marshall flavor it's not a Marshall. If you're thinking about the PS with the Marshall, you're better off installing a Metro loop and skip the PS.

 

[Racerxrated]

I'm a big Marshall fan and owned/gigged a SD45 for a while. The SD is a great amp and more versatile than the 2204 and even though it has a Marshall flavor it's not a Marshall. If you're thinking about the PS with the Marshall, you're better off installing a Metro loop and skip the PS.

+1...Metro loops are very good, not that expensive and any decent tech can install.

 

[boost]

I owned an SD80 and have an 2204. The SD80 was a good amp, but wasn't the sound you've heard on all the old records. The 2204 is.

The loop on the SD80 was very good and the clean channel sounded nice. The gain channel just sounded more Bogner than Marshall to me. Not that there's anything wrong with that, just not what I was looking for.

 

[Riggins1966]

totally different animals. Have an SD30 series I (non peavey) and a DSL. Apples to Oranges. Budda is way darker than your typical marshall tone IMO.

I bop back and forth between them when gigging, depending on my tonal mood.

 

[cardinal]

If you haven't played them and the choice is between a world-renouned classic and something else, I'd go with the classic. Budda makes nice amps and it may turn out that you'd actually prefer it, but the Marshall is a much safer bet and will be much easier to sell if you want to move on. It's a classic for a reason.

 

[mchn13]

Depends if you do more solo or rhythm work Imo. The studio we recorded in last year we used our marshAlls for rhythm, but used his budda for solos. I love the huge darker midrange they have. I could see using the budda loop with an eq for rhythm and turning it off for leads.
Dammit now I have budda gas. Wtf.

 

[LPMojoGL]

2204 all the way for me. All those classic tones, the voice of hundreds of your favorite songs. It sounds right. It feels right.

 

[milkchickenbomb]

Thanks for all of your opinions. I checked out the 2204 and wasn't impressed. Still looking....

 

[mudf00t]

I may be getting a Splawn modded 2204 today... we will see. Straight trade for an EVH 5150 III 100 Watt. He emailed me the offer today. It's a 1979.

 

[LP Freak]

Thanks for all of your opinions. I checked out the 2204 and wasn't impressed. Still looking....

They're not all created equal

 

[messenger]

What didn't you like about it?