Help Me Pick a Heavy Sounding Amp

[Mixman]

Hi guys, This is my first post and I need a little help. I have a Mesa Mark V Head, which is great but I want an amp with a different, but heaver, little more modern metal sound. I have been looking into the following amps:

Bogner Twin Jet- Heavy sounding, but not very flexible?
Diezel Herbert - Not sure if I will like the Diezel sound all the time but it has a heavy tone
Diezel VH4 - Same as above
Friedman JJ - Kind of grungy sound, not sure if it is a " modern metal" type of sound, but it does sound good.
Axe FX II XL - Kind of like a jack of all trades type choice that can sound like many amps and have great effects

I have narrowed it down to these choices based on the many clips I have heard on the net. Unfortunately, there aren't many places to hear these amps in central NJ. So I need a little guidance on an amp for a heavier sound than my Mark V.

 

[webrthomson]

Hi guys, This is my first post and I need a little help. I have a Mesa Mark V Head, which is great but I want an amp with a different, but heaver, little more modern metal sound. I have been looking into the following amps:

Bogner Twin Jet- Heavy sounding, but not very flexible?
Diezel Herbert - Not sure if I will like the Diezel sound all the time but it has a heavy tone
Diezel VH4 - Same as above
Friedman JJ - Kind of grungy sound, not sure if it is a " modern metal" type of sound, but it does sound good.
Axe FX II XL - Kind of like a jack of all trades type choice that can sound like many amps and have great effects

I have narrowed it down to these choices based on the many clips I have heard on the net. Unfortunately, there aren't many places to hear these amps in central NJ. So I need a little guidance on an amp for a heavier sound than my Mark V.

I've got a Mark V and a Herbert - love them both as they both do slightly different things! While I've always loved mark series amps the Herbert is that metal tone that I hear in my head - if modern metal is what you are looking for the Herbert will deliver and then some!

Never played an Uber, but the reviews of the twin jet are all good and it's on the list too

 

[motomoto]

5150/6505

So many bands use it for modern metal its not even funny.

 

[1meanplexi]

Uberschall plug and play. VH4 or a Hagen. The Diezels have so many great options to use.

 

[Racerxrated]

I would choose between the Uber and Herbert from your list. They seem to be the heaviest...

 

[Racerxrated]

I would ask Reza as he has all your choices except maybe the JJ? He's not a fan though of the Axe except for recording, likes a real amp better....at least for live use.

 

[hatrick00]

Splawn nitro and JJ...I play both among others (archon,5150iii 50 watt, revision f dual rec), but between the nitro and JJ almost all modern heavy tones are covered, in my opinion..

 

[spguitar]

 

[Mixman]

Thanks for the clips guys. Reza it's your vids which help me narrow my list down. Between the Herbert and the VH4, would the difference be that the Herbert has a little more high end and more grit and the VH4 is a little more midrange and smoother?

Also am I right that the Friedman JJ is more a grungy and not a modern metal type of sound?

 

[hatrick00]

The JJ is very modern in my opinion, not grungy at all actually. More like a more refined tighter more awesome old 2 channel rec or something.

 

[anomaly]

I'd look for a Mesa Dual Rectifier.

 

[Mixman]

Never liked the Mesa Recs at all. To me it has too much sizzle on the top, loose bass and also not enough gain. I want an amp that has enough gain that I can use without a boost pedal.

 

[Mixman]

Oh.....I always thought it was the opposite that the VH4 was the smoother more laid back amp and the Herbert was the more raw, in your face, " modern metal" sounding of the two?

 

[ibenhad]

Uber or 5150. 5150 is more versatile IMHO.

 

[Badronald]

5150/6505

So many bands use it for modern metal its not even funny.

+1. It's a standard for a reason.
Absolutely killer.

If you're careful, you can find one on CL for $600-$700. Nothing sounds better. Price doesn't matter.

 

[longfxukxnhair]

Twin Jet is awesome but I would add the ENGL SE670. Amp covers a lot of ground

 

[FourT6and2]

I would take a look at the Peters FSM or Peters Chimera. Seriously. I've owned or played many of the amps listed. I had an Uber. I had a VH4. I had a recto. And so on. All great amps. All sound pretty similar in the end. Small nuances make or break 'em. Peters have been the best for me so far. The VH4's MIDI capabilities are pretty awesome though. Hard to beat it for that. And Channel 3's sound is definitely iconic.

 

[Badronald]

5150/6505

So many bands use it for modern metal its not even funny.

+1. It's a standard for a reason.
Absolutely killer.

If you're careful, you can find one on CL for $600-$700. Nothing sounds better. Price doesn't matter.

Nothing?! Sounds better? You guys are fucking on crack.

They all sound great. Different flavors.

Let's say you have a good player like yourself. You record a riff/clip with a VH4 then record the same riff with a 5153 then a Triple Rec then a JCM800 with a boost. What do you think the responses are going to be? Do you think everyone is going to automatically like the VH4 because you paid up to three times as much as the others? Or are people going to gravitate towards amps that have been used on thousands of records and used at hundreds of thousands of shows for the last 30 years.

Just because you prefer something doesn't mean everyone agrees with you nor does it mean you need to demean others opinions, because that's what they are.

 

[Racerxrated]

5150/6505

So many bands use it for modern metal its not even funny.

+1. It's a standard for a reason.
Absolutely killer.

If you're careful, you can find one on CL for $600-$700. Nothing sounds better. Price doesn't matter.

Nothing?! Sounds better? You guys are fucking on crack.

Omfg. Those amps are decent no doubt. But they don't compare to the big dogs. Yes you do get what you pay for sometimes. Sterile when you compare side by side to a nice vintage Marshall, stock or modded. Sterile city. Glad you like yours. Nothing sounds better?????

 

[spirit7]

For the money, nothing sounds better or more brutal than a 5150(II)/6505(+). Nothing. Very few amps of any price compete when it comes to cutting through the mix, either.

I say this as someone with a Herbert, XTC 20th, Ultra Lead, JCM 800 Killer Kali ++, etc. The 5150/6505 can hang with any of them, no problem. The snobbery on this forum is hilarious

-C