Help picking Marshall-esque metal amp - Cameron alternative

[Strat+Marshall]

Well you haven't heard my JSX and how I have it dialed in. My amp has embarrased 100 watt Marshalls and 150 watt Rectifiers in the same room with it's high volume clarity and gut wrenching thump. "shrugs"

You must have a magic one, or else you are "eating" marshall MGs with yours.

 

[Gainfreak]

and Id be willing to bet if you put D-Rock and Strat+Marshall in a room together with both amps, each one would claim that there amp smoked the other!


Each statement is subjective gents!

 

[MrDan666]

and Id be willing to bet if you put D-Rock and Strat+Marshall in a room together with both amps, each one would claim that there amp smoked the other!


Each statement is subjective gents!

Exactly!!!

 

[jcj]

I've never owned a high gain amp, but am ready to buy one. Tone I'm most interested in is best exemplified by Megadeth's United Abominations album - especially Gears of War and Blessed Are the Dead. I may be way off, but I think it's also a pissed-off Marshall tone. Don't want to start anything here, but I think the Cameron CCV might be just what I want - played one briefly at NY Amp show, but don't really want to wait as long as it seems it will take to get one. Splawn is an obvious candidate, but the QR and Nitro have gotten mixed reviews (midrange thing that can't be dialed out on QR, and "boomy" bass and low-mids on Nitro). Definitely considering the ENGL Blackmore, OD100SE+, VHT Sig:X. Am I on the right track? Will spend $3500 if necessary.

The Quickrod is the best modded Marshall I've ever played, that wasn't ACTUALLY a modded Marshall. The BIGGEST issue with the Quickrod, is that is has to be LOUD to sound its best.....and I mean LOUD.

Some people use a volume pedal in the loop, or attenution. From my experience, not having tried any attenuation, or the volume pedal thing, the master needs to be at 9 or 10 (o' clock) before it thickens up, and once again, 9 or 10 is FUCKING loud on the Quickrod. Other than that, GREAT amp. I'd own another in a heartbeat.

 

[D-Rock]

and Id be willing to bet if you put D-Rock and Strat+Marshall in a room together with both amps, each one would claim that there amp smoked the other!


Each statement is subjective gents!

Fair enough

 

[Strat+Marshall]

and Id be willing to bet if you put D-Rock and Strat+Marshall in a room together with both amps, each one would claim that there amp smoked the other!


Each statement is subjective gents!

I'm not arguing tone or what sounds better. Any properly working 70s JMP would drown out a jsx in the same room, its a simple fact.

If we got in the same room he probably wouldn't even be able to hear his amp well enough to decide if he liked it more or not.

 

[ironcity]

I've never owned a high gain amp, but am ready to buy one. Tone I'm most interested in is best exemplified by Megadeth's United Abominations album - especially Gears of War and Blessed Are the Dead. I may be way off, but I think it's also a pissed-off Marshall tone. Don't want to start anything here, but I think the Cameron CCV might be just what I want - played one briefly at NY Amp show, but don't really want to wait as long as it seems it will take to get one. Splawn is an obvious candidate, but the QR and Nitro have gotten mixed reviews (midrange thing that can't be dialed out on QR, and "boomy" bass and low-mids on Nitro). Definitely considering the ENGL Blackmore, OD100SE+, VHT Sig:X. Am I on the right track? Will spend $3500 if necessary.

The Quickrod is the best modded Marshall I've ever played, that wasn't ACTUALLY a modded Marshall. The BIGGEST issue with the Quickrod, is that is has to be LOUD to sound its best.....and I mean LOUD.

Some people use a volume pedal in the loop, or attenution. From my experience, not having tried any attenuation, or the volume pedal thing, the master needs to be at 9 or 10 (o' clock) before it thickens up, and once again, 9 or 10 is FUCKING loud on the Quickrod. Other than that, GREAT amp. I'd own another in a heartbeat.

Might check one out real soon - one for sale not too far from me. Still thinking about the Sig:X. Just finished band practice with my Straub Cantus (pretty much a 50W JMP) and am resigning myself to searching for an attenuator. As good as the master is on that amp, it just sounds better at 12:00 and up. At which point, I'm guessing that's about the volume the QR would be at 9 ot 10:00 - a little too loud for most venues.

 

[jaybird]

At the end of the day why does it matter what is inside the amp if it sounds good? You said you wanted to shy away from a Cameron / modded amp because the parts may be inferior? Mark goes through his modded amps and replaces what needs to be done. I had him mod my plexi re-issue and wanted him to change the transformer, and he said it didn't need it - made the circuit work with it. Not that I thought it was bad, but reading everything about changing them made me think if I didn't have a premo name OT in my amp something would be inferior - not so though. I also have a Sovtek MIG he modded that friggin screams - I am sure it doesn't have Sozso caps , whatever top shelf parts inside, but it doesn't matter to me- and I am technology geek at heart but gave up on that. I am not saying it's a bad thing to have top notch internals in a product but if it sounds great than it shouldn't matter IMO. My 2 cents anyways...

Best of luck on the search

 

[ironcity]

At the end of the day why does it matter what is inside the amp if it sounds good? You said you wanted to shy away from a Cameron / modded amp because the parts may be inferior? Mark goes through his modded amps and replaces what needs to be done. I had him mod my plexi re-issue and wanted him to change the transformer, and he said it didn't need it - made the circuit work with it. Not that I thought it was bad, but reading everything about changing them made me think if I didn't have a premo name OT in my amp something would be inferior - not so though. I also have a Sovtek MIG he modded that friggin screams - I am sure it doesn't have Sozso caps , whatever top shelf parts inside, but it doesn't matter to me- and I am technology geek at heart but gave up on that. I am not saying it's a bad thing to have top notch internals in a product but if it sounds great than it shouldn't matter IMO. My 2 cents anyways...

Best of luck on the search

Thanks - great perspective. It is easy to get all wrapped up in all the talk about caps, trannys, etc.. But I have heard some great clips of modded 1987Xs and 59SLPs. Bray has a pretty good deal on new HWs with his mod built in. After listening again and again, I'm not sure the modded Marshalls reach far enough into metal - when I go back and listen to Megadeth's United Abominations, it sounds more Marshall than their earlier stuff, but still very heavy, so I was leaning to VHT, until I read the responses to my other thread on VHT reliability - now I just have a headache