High Gain Heads
- Thread starter roboboticus
- Start date
Nico
Active member
D-Rock":a0flnsdp said:
+1, Why do people name Wizard amps I don't get it. He asked for something low price wise and they name a 5 grand amp that is not even better suited than a 5150 or a Mark to play Metallica or the heavier stuff...
5150 great amp, also the Marks...I'd reccomend one of those.
Yeah of course if want to spend 4K then buy a Diezel and be done with it
Dehumanize":1x78fulp said:
One reason? A lot of people just like to dog on the "new model" no matter how good it may be, because they are totally happy with earlier models of the Mark series. Another big reason? Mesa fucked up naming two modes of the lead channel: "MKIV" and "MIIC+", when they should have known good and well that these were not faithful enough representations of these earlier models. (MKIV being the closest of the two, but still not dead on) These modes by themselves actually stand well enough on their own, as long as you are not assuming them to sound exactly as they are labeled. And for the record, I was a long time MKIV owner, and later sold it for a MKV and I honestly would not go back. I thought the MKIV was a great amp, with the one exception being the 2nd Rhythm channel that I never found that usable at all, just as many others feel about it. Although, I find every channel, mode, etc on the MKV to be totally usable. I find the MKV to have a better clean channel overall. And, although the MKIV has an outstanding lead channel that the MKV can not perfectly duplicate, I still enjoy the many more variables that are available on the MKV's lead channel overall. I also prefer the MKV's interface a whole lot more to the MKIV's....for me, it just seems easier and faster for me to get the tone I'm looking for.
For you though, I believe either one (MKIV/MKV) would fit the bill you are looking for. A lot of ppl in your situation would probably go with the MKIV, just to save quite a bit of cash. Either way, you can't really lose.
roboboticus
New member
You guys have been great. Thanks for the flood of info! I started a little spreadsheet to keep track of all the amps that've been mentioned. As far as price goes, don't hold back. Most anything that's been mentioned here is gonna cost more than I should be spending right now, but I'd like to know what's out there that I can work toward, and I might stretch the wallet a little 
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TeleBlaster
New member
Krank Rev+ or Nineteen80
gibson08
Well-known member
High gain tones are very subjective, def depends on what certain "tone" you are looking for, there have been a lot of great suggestions, I will put some votes for a 5150III, and one of my favorites that are under the radar(a little) the Budda SD80, Great amp, usually not too expensive to pick up used and a wide variety of modern edged tones available with two channels, aggressive, punchy and gainy with a hard in your face tone. 
And FWIW my MKV sounds pretty damn good!!!
And FWIW my MKV sounds pretty damn good!!!just42dave
Well-known member
My triamp has tons of useable gain and stays clear..Close to the xtc tone more gain just not as frikin stiff to playthe rossness":3fagm5oi said:
Spaceboy
Well-known member
So, I went to try out that Mark V and think I nearly leveled the store.
It sounded great on all channels but I wasn't able to dial in the tone that I'm looking for in the ~20 minutes I played it. There's so much tweakability on this amp that I'm going to have to give it another shot soon after doing some studying.
It sounded great on all channels but I wasn't able to dial in the tone that I'm looking for in the ~20 minutes I played it. There's so much tweakability on this amp that I'm going to have to give it another shot soon after doing some studying.
roboboticus
New member
I'm jealous. I don't know of any music stores around here that stock the Mark series. But I live in Seattle, land of the indie-rock.
gibson08
Well-known member
Def go back and try it again, great amp with lots of options, combo or head? cab?Dehumanize":3828wb04 said:So, I went to try out that Mark V and think I nearly leveled the store.
It sounded great on all channels but I wasn't able to dial in the tone that I'm looking for in the ~20 minutes I played it. There's so much tweakability on this amp that I'm going to have to give it another shot soon after doing some studying.
bubbastain
Well-known member
roboboticus":l6zppegb said:
I was in the Seattle GC about a month ago and they had a Mark V, 2 5150 iiis, JVM and a bunch of used amps. Oh, had a VHT ultra lead (i think) in the fancy guitar room. GC in Tukwila is lacking, Tacoma store is lacking in the amp head department big time. Going back to the Seattle store on Sat to pick up my layaway.
roboboticus
New member
Cool, thanks for the heads up. I'll have to drop in on GC soon.
racerevlon
Active member
Dehumanize":1p4iqns4 said:So, I went to try out that Mark V and think I nearly leveled the store.
It sounded great on all channels but I wasn't able to dial in the tone that I'm looking for in the ~20 minutes I played it. There's so much tweakability on this amp that I'm going to have to give it another shot soon after doing some studying.
Well, there's a lot of good information above, but let me provide my take based on my "stable" of amps.
There's a lot of guff about the Mark V. My experience: I went to buy a Road King, hated that and the Roadster, and bought the Mark V. After doing one or two rehearsals with the Mark V, I find myself actually playing Channel 2 most often, and it's got all the massive gain I need--just a function of dialing in the amp. Channel 3 is great for the "over-the-top" stuff and has plenty of gain and tone on tap.
Hughes & Kettner: I own both a TriAmp MK II and a Trilogy. The Trilogy is a little more "tubular" of an amp, but still has massive amounts of gain. I always envisioned that I would play the "Lead" channel for my rhythms, but find that the Crunch channel + Boost (on-board) is all I need. You can get a B-Stock Trilogy from ProAudioStar for ~$1500 and it'll be like new. The TriAmp MK II is a whole other beast. A little more difficult to dial in, but when you get it dialed in it's tonal bliss. Think the best of Marshall and Mesa with gain to give. My personal belief is that Hughes & Kettner really don't make a bad tube amp. I just sold a Switchblade 100 and am sad to see it go.
The Diezel VH4 has the most punishing, compressed gain of any amp I've ever played. This amp has a distinctive tonal signature and is IMHO one of, if not THE premier metal amp (Herbert is an excellent candidate as well). Again, you MUST spend the time dialing in the tone. Playing at a store won't truly represent the amp, nor will playing at bedroom levels.
The JCA100H is the "sleeper" of the pack. Soldano amps are known for being gain monsters and the JCA is no exception. I actually did an A/B comparison with a friend of mine who has an actual SLO100 and the differences were negligible at best. Truthfully, this is where I would start my search and if this amp gives you everything you need, save the $$$.
Splawn--not the most gain of the pack, but tone for days and weeks. My new main sound is a combination of Quick Rod and Nitro and is (as I dial it in) becoming one of the best crunch/grind sounds I've ever had. Truly inspiring. The Nitro will rival some, but not all of the amps in the gain department. Definitely worth a look--I've heard you definitely want the KT88 model--I'll be converting mine in my copious spare time.
Hope this helps!
9ball
New member
Mudder":1m5we8bk said:
yeah - i bought my tsl 60 when i was an amp noob - prolly ten years ago, but i had it modded after a few years, at fja mods (not trying to be an fja spokesman or anything lol) but i'm pretty happy with it now and am hanging on to it. it can do LOG as well as good old classic marshall sounds, even has a good clean.
my advice would be to find a used marshall DSL 50 or 100 for around 500 bucks, get it modded (probably another 500 or so - i got every mod fja does to an amp) and put some JJKT77 power tubes in that bastard (they work great in my amp i think) and some nice low gain preamp tubes (it will be a gainzilla after modding) and be happy with a good sounding versatile amp for under 1500.
it's also taken me quite a while to actually learn how to dial it in good as it's a touchy/finickey/sensitive amp. any amp that is capable of several different tones will be also capable of being dialed in shitty lol.
if you could spend a little more right now just about the only other amp i'm interested in trying is a marshall JCM800 kerry king signature.
my dream rig would be a CAE3+se pre amp with a VHT 100 watt power amp, but that's up in the 4 or 5 thousand dollar range lol
i'd also like to check out a mesa boogie roadster, but that's just based on what i've read about them - never actually played one. i did see one for sale on my local craigslist for 1300 a month or so ago though (for a 2x12 combo)- that's a place you can find a good deal on something sometimes if you know what you're looking for.