Cheap amps that are better or equal to expensive ones.

[Heritage Softail]

I hear ya just get a recto and send it to Jerry at FJA for the mod treatment.

Done

 

[Mailman1971]

I hear ya just get a recto and send it to Jerry at FJA for the mod treatment.

Done

Really was my gas killa......

Had a used Dual Recto.....shipped for the Mod to FJA....
less then $1500 and it kills damn near anything I have played! (cept the VH4)
But you wanna talk 'bang for buck'?
the FJA recto is the Slayer.

 

[mjtripper]

Jet City anything

 

[sytharnia1560]

Jet City anything

My stock JCA22h is just awesome .... I have run it next to mojave's, elmwoods, cali modded marshalls, roccaforte hbe and it has more than held its own

 

[drewiv]

DSL100

Yes. Don't have one anymore, but yes.

 

[bwgintegra]

Randall Diavlo

 

[tubortski]

Peavey Classic 100 Head. At the time, I thought it was awesome. Then I needed more gain. Traded towards a 2 channel Recto.

 

[Jeff Hilligan]

Randall Diavlo

all day long!

 

[steve_k]

Vintage Moron 100

 

[soc_monki]

I snagged a used Peavey Ultra+ for 3 bills and it slays regardless of price

same here. around 3 bills, and while the clean is classic peavey high gainer (nothing special, but usable), the gain channels are awesome. i think i need to put a different volume pot in the crunch channel of mine and make it and the Ultra channel twins...either that, or use the Crunch channel as the lead channel (since it seems to have a bit more midrange and slightly less low end), and use Ultra as the rhythm.

also, Rectos. my Single is a badass amp, and paid 800 for it. lots of fun, usable tones in it, add a boost and you can get meltdown saturation as well.

 

[shgshg]

I haven't heard a boutique JTM45 clone that sounds as good as the bone stock Marshall JTM45 RI I played.

 

[skoora]

The chinese Badcat Cougar 50 head I got new from MF for 600, hangs with any I've played for rock and metal. Can't attest to band volume but kills at home.

 

[H Golf Sport]

You talking new or used.
New: Mini Rec, 50 w 5150 III
Used: What ever you can find a deal on. Boogie's 5150's, marshalls, vht's ,etc...

 

[C1-ocaster]

"My teacher tells me beauty is on the inside"....Max Reede

"That's just something that ugly people say".....Fletcher Reede

Nothing less expensive can be better than or equal to something more expensive.

It's just impossible.

You get the point.

Not true.

I once bought generic crackers that were MUCH better, tastier, and crisper than the higher cost bigger name brand crackers.
And the generic ones were like almost half the price.

So, at least in the world of flat, crispy, and salty bread, yes you can find better than equal to the more expensive version for a good bit less money.
And that tells me that this does exist in other products.

 

[C1-ocaster]

Just imo but if you add in the "combined with pedals" variable, you can get into that high end zone even more easily from my experience with commonly available gear.

Many will pay a premium to have that sound in the chassis because they view pedals as a flawed approach.

Of course there are some great cheaper high gain amps on the market that don't need pedals but adding them into the mix exponentially increases your options imo.

But if I had to pick one amp without pedals...Peavey 5150/6505 series all models.

High gain isn't the measure of a great amp.
The much praised 6505 has high gain, but it's clean channel sucks, and can barely produce anything near "clean", and what clean tone it does have doesn't sound go good.
The Marshall DSL40 is nearly the same deal, except it can't get the 6505 gain, and it's clean is barely any better.

If one is going with pedal, the best bet is to go for a lower wattage and lower priced Fender to get a good base tone, then juice it with pedals.

 

[mmolteratx]

Scored this one for $500 earlier today. Modded it a bit and it's on par with anything as far as the lead channel goes.

 

[JimmyBlind]

Yep. Peavey 5150/6505

 

[Shiny_Surface]

High gain isn't the measure of a great amp.

I believe for some it is, subjective I agree. The measure of my Fender Twin was the clean tone, depends on the amp of course.

The much praised 6505 has high gain, but it's clean channel sucks, and can barely produce anything near "clean", and what clean tone it does have doesn't sound go good.

The 6505 doesn't have a clean channel, but I was able to dial in a pretty good passable clean tone on my 6505's rhythm channel. I'm sure some would have thought it sounded bad it was perfectly serviceable for a basic rock clean.

On the 6505+ I was able to dial in an even better clean due to the independent EQ and extra preamp tube dedicated to the rhythm channel.

If one is going with pedal, the best bet is to go for a lower wattage and lower priced Fender to get a good base tone, then juice it with pedals.

Definitely don't agree with that, but to each their own.

As far as Fender's go I prefer the high wattage models...

 

[thiswaythatway]

It's all about the player.

Great player + average amp >>>>Shitty player + expensive amp.

 

[Jofipe]

If you are craving a SLO100 OD tone. An old Avenger 100 without the loop sounds absolutely incredible. I scored one for 800Usd (in Denmark). I sold it later on... dumbest thing i ever did.