Completely and utterly inundated by choice

[meowfaceman]

Man, where to begin? I've basically been using Amplitube/Guitar Rig for amplification for quite a while now, and now I figure I'm really in the market for an amp.

I play angry metally stuff (death metal, prog metal, etc.), and I like REALLY high gain. I played a Diezel Herbert at a nearby store (Chuck Levin's in Bethesda, MD) and it was amazing. I'm trying to avoid dropping $3k-$4k on the head though, so I've been trying to see what other amps were out there, so I figure I'll list the amps I've actually been able to try in person:

Peavy 6505+ (liked)
Diezel Herbert (REALLY liked)
ENGL Powerball (not too impressed)
Mesa Rockerverb (didn't really seem my style, but the place I tried it out sucked, so it might have been no fault of the amp)
Laney G50L (liked this more than I thought I would, I've been pretty curious about Laneys ever since)
Bogner Uberschall (nice, but I played this after the Herbert so my objectivity was tainted)

I've heard some sound clips of of the Hughes and Kettner Triamp Mk2 that I thought sounded pretty good for my purposes. I've been REALLY interested in the VHT Sig X -- it's got beautiful cleans -- but I'll be damned if I can find some clips of it being "brutal." I was pleasantly surprised with clips I've heard of the Ampeg VH140C as well, but those aren't so simple to find. I'm interested in the Laney VH100R as well, but I haven't really been able to find any clips of them being brutal, either.

I haven't really been able to find any real Mesas to play, but I'm not sure they're quite what I'm looking for.

At the end of the day, though, I'm looking for a high gain amp with kind of a smooth distortion and a bit of versatility. The Laneys/6505+ seem to be more in my price range, but I'm not sure they can quite do what the Herbert can do. The VHT Sig X would probably be in the mail on the way to my house if I could actually get a few decent sound clips of it playing some crazy metal. Any recommendations based on what I've said here? Anyone feel like recording themselves going apeshit on a Sig X?

Thanks guys.

 

[Hard&Heavy]

The herby is brutal no doubt... But there is a new uber comming out and it is a real monster from what I have been told it's loaded with kt-88's, I can hardly wait till mine comes in. I don't know what your price range is but at the $2000 mark there are a lot of good heads out there. Diamond nitrox.splawn nitro.mesa mark v,vht cl used & sig x,the new engl fireball 100 watter,etc... But if you can be patient you will find a used herby and or a vht clx or a vht ultra lead both of which will rock your world sometimes between $2500 & $3000. Just watch the classifieds there are a lot of good deals that happen here and a lot of good guys....

 

[meowfaceman]

The herby is brutal no doubt... But there is a new uber comming out and it is a real monster from what I have been told it's loaded with kt-88's, I can hardly wait till mine comes in. I don't know what your price range is but at the $2000 mark there are a lot of good heads out there. Diamond nitrox.splawn nitro.mesa mark v,vht cl used & sig x,the new engl fireball 100 watter,etc... But if you can be patient you will find a used herby and or a vht clx or a vht ultra lead both of which will rock your world sometimes between $2500 & $3000. Just watch the cllasifieds there are a lot of good deals that happen here and a lot of good guys....

I'm trying to keep it around $2k max. Thanks for the info, though! I still need to look up Splawn clips.

 

[Hard&Heavy]

Give Josh a call from rebelamps. He is also a member here as well.....josh@rebelamps.com...... He handles splawn amps he is a really good guy to deal with.....H&H

 

[headlessdeadguy]

I see VH140c's all the time for 350-500 bucks. They really do the brootz perfectly IMO of course.

 

[realityescapes]

I see VH140c's all the time for 350-500 bucks. They really do the brootz perfectly IMO of course.

My friend has a VH140c and i do actually like the sound and ive never heard it through an actual guitar cab. He actually runs it through two stereo speakers . And not little ones. With that being said i may not be able to really give it an honest review. But it certainly gets heavy and i really like the cleans on it. Pretty nice chorus on it.

 

[putnut77]

try and save up extra cash. I play Death Metal and I use a Diezel Herbert...it is no doubt the best amp IMO for the sound.

 

[ke2]

I see VH140c's all the time for 350-500 bucks. They really do the brootz perfectly IMO of course.

My friend has a VH140c and i do actually like the sound and ive never heard it through an actual guitar cab. He actually runs it through two stereo speakers . And not little ones. With that being said i may not be able to really give it an honest review. But it certainly gets heavy and i really like the cleans on it. Pretty nice chorus on it.

Running a guitar amp through full range speakers seldom yields a perfect sound, unless it`s a modeller with full range output. Lots of metal guys like it, maybe you can borrow his and try it out through a good cabinet?

 

[nbarts]

Buy the Diezel if you can afford it. You will end up saving money in a long run. I know I did. The Herbert has quality written all over it & is very versatile & unreachable for metal IMO.

 

[headlessdeadguy]

A good friend of mine got rid of his dual rec to buy a VH140C. He was in a death metal band in Pittsburgh and recieved tons of compliments on his tone from other band members, some of which were playing high dollar rigs.
I have his rig at my house as well as my Ampeg and must say his has something mine doesn't. Look for the later ones with the detatchable power cord and new logo, I was told the older ones were more sought after but his slays mine.