Head that takes distortion pedals well in the clean channel.

[BatmansRigTalk]

So I want an amp that has a clean channel that takes distortion pedals well. I believe that means a lot of headroom. I don't want a quiet amp with everything dimed to hear it. I also don't want a channel that goes to saturation quickly. I have a high gain amp already. I want the clean channel to have the headroom to work with. I want it to take various distortion pedals. I am not interested in playing clean with it though. I will be sticking with E Standard mostly to get a Marshall type 80s metal tone, a Sunn tone, Rat type distortion and Hendrix-ish fuzz. What I don't want is a head that is 'bright' either. Something that can handle mids well because I will be aiming to not dial back my mids to get these tones but instead use the pedals to drive the amp and keep the mids up. Also I don't want to spend on an amp that does the distortion already. I just need a head that takes pedals like these savagely well.

Friedman BE-OD pedal (amp of the same name distortion).
Earthquaker Acapulco Gold (Sunn distortion).
Catelinbread Katzenkonig (Rat/Fuzz).
Big Muff Pi with Tone Wicker (Fuzz).

 

[Econ]

Suhr Bella.

 

[romanianreaper]

I've heard the Friedman Dirty Shirley is a good amp for that but never played one

 

[fusedbrain]

I've heard the Friedman Dirty Shirley is a good amp for that but never played one

Could work, but headroom might be an issue even on lowest structure setting. Depends on volume required. Great sounding amp though.
What about a Marshall 1987x? Headroom and volume won't be an issue with that

 

[Racerxrated]

Mesa Mark. Any of them. Mark IIIs can be had for 1K or less.

 

[SpiderWars]

Mesa Mark. Any of them. Mark IIIs can be had for 1K or less.

This, just don't pull bright. I loved my BE-OD thru my MkIV.

 

[BatmansRigTalk]

Thanks for the suggestions so far. I should add maybe something more in the mid-range price.

I have been looking at Synergy a bit. The high end stuff being talked about here can come as modules for that unit. I only need a pre-amp because my Two Notes Torpedo Live can emulate Power amps and I will be emulating the cab sometimes.

Still I would like something for my pedals as even those modules are mostly high gain.

 

[Sierra Voodoo]

I've heard the Friedman Dirty Shirley is a good amp for that but never played one

Could work, but headroom might be an issue even on lowest structure setting. Depends on volume required. Great sounding amp though.
What about a Marshall 1987x? Headroom and volume won't be an issue with that

I ran my BE-OD into the fron of my '76 JMP which was set fairly clean and it sounded great....with my EP booster on it was huge! Tons of headroom! The difference maker in my opinion is the ability to use the "tight" control on the BE-OD to find a great balance.

 

[thenine]

Uber Rev 2