Hi gainers that fly under the radar?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Mogwai
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Very cool amps...many i've never heard of. I think Ben Verellen is onto something with his Meatsmoke and Skyhammer. The pre-amps are pretty righteous sounding. I have an '80's workhorse Rivera M100 - ok, not super high gain/modern, but really solid, great sounding head in the Marshall-meets-Fender category. And, paired w/my Herbert it creates a really wide and colorful picture.
 
Another vote for Baron.

Picked up a second-hand DHG recently and WOW!... really digging it. High gain that is juicy and detailed... very open-sounding.
 
Laney VH100R. More a classic tone than modern tone, high gainer but has some serious amounts of gain to it with its boost engaged. Great lead guitarist amp. I won't be w/o mine.

Genz Benz El Diablo, both the 100/50 watt and the 60/30 watt (I have both).

With the active EQ, the tube contour knob and the need for volume in in the 100/50 watt variant, they can be a bit tricky to dial if you're not running volume about half way (or using an attenuator). Below 3 the distortion can have a muffled tone, especially when the "compressed" mode is used. Open her up a little (or use a Hot Plate like me!) and an El D 100/50 sounds amazing! There are like 12 different footswitchable options for great tones!

Now the little brother 60/30 doesn't have that muffling problem at all, just a great sounding amp!

Derek
 
What about a Mesa Rectoverb? I don't have many posts here but have trolled for a while and have not really heard much mention of them. A friend of mine owns a couple and they seem to be a real nice amp all around.
 
Erock":1fdb8sdj said:
The Mesa Royal Atlantic 100 doesn't get talked about much, but it's a great sounding high gainer IMO. Fantastic cleans, and a gain ch with 2 modes that can go from classic rock all the way into more modern metal tones. A very organic sounding gain, with a great feel and lowend that stays tight and articulate. Ch selectable spring reverb, built in attenuation per channel that works surprisingly well, good loop, etc. The only knock I've found so far, is the lack of a presence control. Volume or boosting takes care of it for me, but I would find it useful at low volumes.
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I had a rough time selling one. Good thing I bought it cheap. I think it's a decent amp but when you compare it to other Marshally voiced amps it doesn't compare well...IMHO. I say Marshally because Mesa are the one's who mention "british" every 2 seconds.
 
danyeo":2zew1fy2 said:
Erock":2zew1fy2 said:
The Mesa Royal Atlantic 100 doesn't get talked about much, but it's a great sounding high gainer IMO. Fantastic cleans, and a gain ch with 2 modes that can go from classic rock all the way into more modern metal tones. A very organic sounding gain, with a great feel and lowend that stays tight and articulate. Ch selectable spring reverb, built in attenuation per channel that works surprisingly well, good loop, etc. The only knock I've found so far, is the lack of a presence control. Volume or boosting takes care of it for me, but I would find it useful at low volumes.
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I had a rough time selling one. Good thing I bought it cheap. I think it's a decent amp but when you compare it to other Marshally voiced amps it doesn't compare well...IMHO. I say Marshally because Mesa are the one's who mention "british" every 2 seconds.
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Yeah, selling anything is tough right now unless its the latest greatest. What you lose on a mesa is small change compared to the resale on some amps. Imagine buying last years mk I herbert, and trying to resale now.

And yeah, not really British, but I do like the el34 grind mixed with the Mesa lows. I'm not sayin its a world beater, but was definitely a pleasant surprise for a primarily metal player.
 
The AC50/ 100 classic plus series. Awesome overdrive channel, I've never heard another amp quite like it.
 
The Jaded Faith Mods "UltraLead" and "Snakebite" MTS Modules as well as the "EV Trilogy" which gives you the tones of all 3 5150 models in a single module.
-mp-
 
Devin":2t7i5oa4 said:
The Fender Prosonic - bastard love child of Fender and Zinky that sounds sorta like a cross between a Mark and Recto :inlove:
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Agreed. The guys from Guitar Rez suggested I try one when I was considering a PRS with them and they didn't have a boogie mark IV to try it out with. Much less compressed than the Mark, much more playful and the vibrolux clean channel just killed me. It is so much more bubbly and lively than most modern amp clean channels. Hrm surprised I haven't bought one yet.

I would say some of the smaller blackstar combos are decent as well (i think it was the HTR-5 or something like that). I tried my friends with a mild boost pedal upfront and a delay in the loop; it sounded just fine. It wasn't a bad apartment set up at all.
 
D-Rock":2h7eg2w6 said:
The Laney GH50L has always eluded major attention, but still gets some recognition. I have one, and its like a JCM800, with 5150 levels of gain. I prefer two EL34s in it, but it also takes 6L6s. I'm looking to get either 6550s in it or KT88s after a mod from my tech.
Anyways, about 1K new, and $400-$600 used. Single channel w/ high gain boost. Made in the UK. Damn sweet.
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+1
You can buy a Marshall and hotrod it, or you can buy a boutique clone of a hotrodded Marshall...

Or you can just buy a Laney and be done with it.
 
Elmwood M60/M90...close second only to my Bogner XTC 20th, 4 gain levels all scorching....great clean and great mid gain when set just right with the fat control in back, high gain was really great modded Marshall sort of thing with a twist.
 
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