Looking for an ultimate multi channel amp. Help me

[FourT6and2]

I am going to sell my peavey 5150 and dual recto to get a multi channel amp.

I am considering vh4 or colossus. I played vh4 before. It was great. But, I felt it's a little bit compressed.

I never played colossus. But, from the clips it's pretty similar to vh4. Tons of gain and refined gain structure.

Maybe colossus has more open sounding. Am I right? I need some opinions who tried both amps. Thanks

Multi-channel amps are all about compromises and what you are willing to accept.

The VH4 is probably the single most compressed high-gain channel switcher on the market. It's also a little too dark and lacking upper mids for my taste. Other than that, it's built like a tank and is super flexible. Arguably one of the most flexible, best built, and the fx loops are some of the best designs going: transparent and no tone suckage.

The Rhodes Colossus is a nice amp with plenty of features but the bottom end was to harsh and soft/spongy no matter what you try to dial in. Not tight and percussive enough for me. Other than that they are also buil really well... But I prefer the the transparency of the VH4 fx loop if your an fx junky.

Some others you may want to look into are the Marshall JVM410, Engl SE/Invader, Fryette CLX/UL.

Some mentioned the Bogner XTC, which will cover clean, country, blues up to hard rock. It won't do metal even with a boost. The voicing and low end won't handle it IMHO.

The KSR Gemini is tighter and more aggressive from what I hear. And it still has tons of MIDI flexibility. My Ares is tighter, more aggressive, and punchier than the VH4 I had. The VH4's loops are awesome, for sure. No complaints on my Ares' loop though. It has send/return level control. The VH4 doesn't But the VH4 does have both a series and a parallel loop. But no independent signal controls.

Yes and no. The Gemini is a bit more aggressive sounding, but it has the same amount of gain on paper as the Colossus. Just a stripped down version. Still lacks the tight, percussive low end I prefer (as well as many others) for metal. I haven't tried the Ares yet... but I tend to favor 100-150W tube heads for the headroom and ballsier lowend from the extra power.

Wait, if the Gemini and the Colossus don't have enough gain for metal, then what do they have? Easy listening 101 The River jams?

 

[garey77]

I am going to sell my peavey 5150 and dual recto to get a multi channel amp.

I am considering vh4 or colossus. I played vh4 before. It was great. But, I felt it's a little bit compressed.

I never played colossus. But, from the clips it's pretty similar to vh4. Tons of gain and refined gain structure.

Maybe colossus has more open sounding. Am I right? I need some opinions who tried both amps. Thanks

Multi-channel amps are all about compromises and what you are willing to accept.

The VH4 is probably the single most compressed high-gain channel switcher on the market. It's also a little too dark and lacking upper mids for my taste. Other than that, it's built like a tank and is super flexible. Arguably one of the most flexible, best built, and the fx loops are some of the best designs going: transparent and no tone suckage.

The Rhodes Colossus is a nice amp with plenty of features but the bottom end was to harsh and soft/spongy no matter what you try to dial in. Not tight and percussive enough for me. Other than that they are also buil really well... But I prefer the the transparency of the VH4 fx loop if your an fx junky.

Some others you may want to look into are the Marshall JVM410, Engl SE/Invader, Fryette CLX/UL.

Some mentioned the Bogner XTC, which will cover clean, country, blues up to hard rock. It won't do metal even with a boost. The voicing and low end won't handle it IMHO.

The KSR Gemini is tighter and more aggressive from what I hear. And it still has tons of MIDI flexibility. My Ares is tighter, more aggressive, and punchier than the VH4 I had. The VH4's loops are awesome, for sure. No complaints on my Ares' loop though. It has send/return level control. The VH4 doesn't But the VH4 does have both a series and a parallel loop. But no independent signal controls.

Yes and no. The Gemini is a bit more aggressive sounding, but it has the same amount of gain on paper as the Colossus. Just a stripped down version. Still lacks the tight, percussive low end I prefer (as well as many others) for metal. I haven't tried the Ares yet... but I tend to favor 100-150W tube heads for the headroom and ballsier lowend from the extra power.

Uh, what venues are you playing that allow you to actually allow you to open up an amp like that? Also, the Gemini is plenty tight. I noticed that when played through my G12H30 cab the head was a touch darker, but by no means less percussive - more time may be needed exploring the amp.

 

[Wizard of Ozz]

I am going to sell my peavey 5150 and dual recto to get a multi channel amp.

I am considering vh4 or colossus. I played vh4 before. It was great. But, I felt it's a little bit compressed.

I never played colossus. But, from the clips it's pretty similar to vh4. Tons of gain and refined gain structure.

Maybe colossus has more open sounding. Am I right? I need some opinions who tried both amps. Thanks

Multi-channel amps are all about compromises and what you are willing to accept.

The VH4 is probably the single most compressed high-gain channel switcher on the market. It's also a little too dark and lacking upper mids for my taste. Other than that, it's built like a tank and is super flexible. Arguably one of the most flexible, best built, and the fx loops are some of the best designs going: transparent and no tone suckage.

The Rhodes Colossus is a nice amp with plenty of features but the bottom end was to harsh and soft/spongy no matter what you try to dial in. Not tight and percussive enough for me. Other than that they are also buil really well... But I prefer the the transparency of the VH4 fx loop if your an fx junky.

Some others you may want to look into are the Marshall JVM410, Engl SE/Invader, Fryette CLX/UL.

Some mentioned the Bogner XTC, which will cover clean, country, blues up to hard rock. It won't do metal even with a boost. The voicing and low end won't handle it IMHO.

The KSR Gemini is tighter and more aggressive from what I hear. And it still has tons of MIDI flexibility. My Ares is tighter, more aggressive, and punchier than the VH4 I had. The VH4's loops are awesome, for sure. No complaints on my Ares' loop though. It has send/return level control. The VH4 doesn't But the VH4 does have both a series and a parallel loop. But no independent signal controls.

Yes and no. The Gemini is a bit more aggressive sounding, but it has the same amount of gain on paper as the Colossus. Just a stripped down version. Still lacks the tight, percussive low end I prefer (as well as many others) for metal. I haven't tried the Ares yet... but I tend to favor 100-150W tube heads for the headroom and ballsier lowend from the extra power.

Wait, if the Gemini and the Colossus don't have enough gain for metal, then what do they have? Easy listening 101 The River jams?

Where did I say they don't have enough gain? I never said that. I didn't like the voicing and the low-end is too mushy squishy for me. I like a tight attack when cranked. That's all. They are both really nice well built amps, not taking anything away from them as far as that goes.

 

[Wizard of Ozz]

I am going to sell my peavey 5150 and dual recto to get a multi channel amp.

I am considering vh4 or colossus. I played vh4 before. It was great. But, I felt it's a little bit compressed.

I never played colossus. But, from the clips it's pretty similar to vh4. Tons of gain and refined gain structure.

Maybe colossus has more open sounding. Am I right? I need some opinions who tried both amps. Thanks

Multi-channel amps are all about compromises and what you are willing to accept.

The VH4 is probably the single most compressed high-gain channel switcher on the market. It's also a little too dark and lacking upper mids for my taste. Other than that, it's built like a tank and is super flexible. Arguably one of the most flexible, best built, and the fx loops are some of the best designs going: transparent and no tone suckage.

The Rhodes Colossus is a nice amp with plenty of features but the bottom end was to harsh and soft/spongy no matter what you try to dial in. Not tight and percussive enough for me. Other than that they are also buil really well... But I prefer the the transparency of the VH4 fx loop if your an fx junky.

Some others you may want to look into are the Marshall JVM410, Engl SE/Invader, Fryette CLX/UL.

Some mentioned the Bogner XTC, which will cover clean, country, blues up to hard rock. It won't do metal even with a boost. The voicing and low end won't handle it IMHO.

The KSR Gemini is tighter and more aggressive from what I hear. And it still has tons of MIDI flexibility. My Ares is tighter, more aggressive, and punchier than the VH4 I had. The VH4's loops are awesome, for sure. No complaints on my Ares' loop though. It has send/return level control. The VH4 doesn't But the VH4 does have both a series and a parallel loop. But no independent signal controls.

Yes and no. The Gemini is a bit more aggressive sounding, but it has the same amount of gain on paper as the Colossus. Just a stripped down version. Still lacks the tight, percussive low end I prefer (as well as many others) for metal. I haven't tried the Ares yet... but I tend to favor 100-150W tube heads for the headroom and ballsier lowend from the extra power.

Uh, what venues are you playing that allow you to actually allow you to open up an amp like that? Also, the Gemini is plenty tight. I noticed that when played through my G12H30 cab the head was a touch darker, but by no means less percussive - more time may be needed exploring the amp.

And this is where we differ. A H30 is about one of least "tight" sounding speakers around... even in a 4X12. It's a vintage Celestion with lots of speaker distortion and a ragged bottom end... as that's what it was designed for... early breakup. It's not going to have the sort of huge tight clear low-end of a GK100 for example. I think we all have different ideas as far as what the terms: "metal" "heavy" and "tight" mean. I don't consider Van Halen heavy fwiw.

 

[Wizard of Ozz]

ENGL SE670, but the Master Volume is unusable.
It is versatile and loud as hell.
The volume on 01 and your ears starts to bleed.
I has an amazing dynamics on the knobs, when you deal with another amp just after you think the knobs were broken.

Just to add to this...

The volume on the SE670 does get super-loud... it's louder than the Engl 150W Invader... and more robust/thicker sounding as well. And as you mention all the knobs/switches actually do something. Not like in some amps where you twist a knob from 1-10 and it changes the tone ~ 5%.

 

[garey77]

I am going to sell my peavey 5150 and dual recto to get a multi channel amp.

I am considering vh4 or colossus. I played vh4 before. It was great. But, I felt it's a little bit compressed.

I never played colossus. But, from the clips it's pretty similar to vh4. Tons of gain and refined gain structure.

Maybe colossus has more open sounding. Am I right? I need some opinions who tried both amps. Thanks

Multi-channel amps are all about compromises and what you are willing to accept.

The VH4 is probably the single most compressed high-gain channel switcher on the market. It's also a little too dark and lacking upper mids for my taste. Other than that, it's built like a tank and is super flexible. Arguably one of the most flexible, best built, and the fx loops are some of the best designs going: transparent and no tone suckage.

The Rhodes Colossus is a nice amp with plenty of features but the bottom end was to harsh and soft/spongy no matter what you try to dial in. Not tight and percussive enough for me. Other than that they are also buil really well... But I prefer the the transparency of the VH4 fx loop if your an fx junky.

Some others you may want to look into are the Marshall JVM410, Engl SE/Invader, Fryette CLX/UL.

Some mentioned the Bogner XTC, which will cover clean, country, blues up to hard rock. It won't do metal even with a boost. The voicing and low end won't handle it IMHO.

The KSR Gemini is tighter and more aggressive from what I hear. And it still has tons of MIDI flexibility. My Ares is tighter, more aggressive, and punchier than the VH4 I had. The VH4's loops are awesome, for sure. No complaints on my Ares' loop though. It has send/return level control. The VH4 doesn't But the VH4 does have both a series and a parallel loop. But no independent signal controls.

Yes and no. The Gemini is a bit more aggressive sounding, but it has the same amount of gain on paper as the Colossus. Just a stripped down version. Still lacks the tight, percussive low end I prefer (as well as many others) for metal. I haven't tried the Ares yet... but I tend to favor 100-150W tube heads for the headroom and ballsier lowend from the extra power.

Uh, what venues are you playing that allow you to actually allow you to open up an amp like that? Also, the Gemini is plenty tight. I noticed that when played through my G12H30 cab the head was a touch darker, but by no means less percussive - more time may be needed exploring the amp.

And this is where we differ. A H30 is about one of least "tight" sounding speakers around... even in a 4X12. It's a vintage Celestion with lots of speaker distortion and a ragged bottom end... as that's what it was designed for... early breakup. It's not going to have the sort of huge tight clear low-end of a GK100 for example. I think we all have different ideas as far as what the terms: "metal" "heavy" and "tight" mean. I don't consider Van Halen heavy fwiw.

No, I completely agree, which is also why Kyle Rhodes recommends using A-Type and V-Type Celestions with these amps. That was my point with these amps, is they are very responsive to the type of speaker voicing and power handling. That being said, I put a Maxon OD808 in front of the amp and dialed back the gain, and that tightened it right up.

 

[Pushead]

I have a KSR Artemis and I'll just add that I've noticed that the play between the low EQ knobs and the bottom control of the power amp (whatever he calls the opposite of the presence) has a lot to do with how tight the bottom end is. And it varies greatly between the cabs I've used it with.

 

[garey77]

I have a KSR Artemis and I'll just add that I've noticed that the play between the low EQ knobs and the bottom control of the power amp (whatever he calls the opposite of the presence) has a lot to do with how tight the bottom end is. And it varies greatly between the cabs I've used it with.

This

 

[Wizard of Ozz]

I am going to sell my peavey 5150 and dual recto to get a multi channel amp.

I am considering vh4 or colossus. I played vh4 before. It was great. But, I felt it's a little bit compressed.

I never played colossus. But, from the clips it's pretty similar to vh4. Tons of gain and refined gain structure.

Maybe colossus has more open sounding. Am I right? I need some opinions who tried both amps. Thanks

Multi-channel amps are all about compromises and what you are willing to accept.

The VH4 is probably the single most compressed high-gain channel switcher on the market. It's also a little too dark and lacking upper mids for my taste. Other than that, it's built like a tank and is super flexible. Arguably one of the most flexible, best built, and the fx loops are some of the best designs going: transparent and no tone suckage.

The Rhodes Colossus is a nice amp with plenty of features but the bottom end was to harsh and soft/spongy no matter what you try to dial in. Not tight and percussive enough for me. Other than that they are also buil really well... But I prefer the the transparency of the VH4 fx loop if your an fx junky.

Some others you may want to look into are the Marshall JVM410, Engl SE/Invader, Fryette CLX/UL.

Some mentioned the Bogner XTC, which will cover clean, country, blues up to hard rock. It won't do metal even with a boost. The voicing and low end won't handle it IMHO.

The KSR Gemini is tighter and more aggressive from what I hear. And it still has tons of MIDI flexibility. My Ares is tighter, more aggressive, and punchier than the VH4 I had. The VH4's loops are awesome, for sure. No complaints on my Ares' loop though. It has send/return level control. The VH4 doesn't But the VH4 does have both a series and a parallel loop. But no independent signal controls.

Yes and no. The Gemini is a bit more aggressive sounding, but it has the same amount of gain on paper as the Colossus. Just a stripped down version. Still lacks the tight, percussive low end I prefer (as well as many others) for metal. I haven't tried the Ares yet... but I tend to favor 100-150W tube heads for the headroom and ballsier lowend from the extra power.

Uh, what venues are you playing that allow you to actually allow you to open up an amp like that? Also, the Gemini is plenty tight. I noticed that when played through my G12H30 cab the head was a touch darker, but by no means less percussive - more time may be needed exploring the amp.

And this is where we differ. A H30 is about one of least "tight" sounding speakers around... even in a 4X12. It's a vintage Celestion with lots of speaker distortion and a ragged bottom end... as that's what it was designed for... early breakup. It's not going to have the sort of huge tight clear low-end of a GK100 for example. I think we all have different ideas as far as what the terms: "metal" "heavy" and "tight" mean. I don't consider Van Halen heavy fwiw.

No, I completely agree, which is also why Kyle Rhodes recommends using A-Type and V-Type Celestions with these amps. That was my point with these amps, is they are very responsive to the type of speaker voicing and power handling. That being said, I put a Maxon OD808 in front of the amp and dialed back the gain, and that tightened it right up.

Ok... cool.

I like to use/qualify a tight amp based on it's own sound... sans pedals. If you're going throw in a pedal option, a Dual Recto with a 808 sounds massive an tight as well... absolutely killer metal sound... but many would decry it as a tight sounding amp on it's own.

 

[crankyrayhanky]

Lots of great choices in this thread. DMoll has to be on the list of candidates too.

 

[RedB4Black]

Fryette Ultra-Lead - one of the best there is IMO

but avoid if you need/want compression and fizzy saturation in the gain

 

[RJF]

Diezel and Engl are going to be at the top of the food chain as far as 3+ channel amps with great loops, tons of features, and especially with midi capabilities. A cheaper option that is a killer amp in it's own right, is the Framus Cobra. 3 channels, 2 masters, and midi capable.

 

[bulletride]

Engl..I tried powerball 2 and fireball before. Those were also compressed for my taste. I haven't tried se. What about h&k triamp mk3? Anyone tried it?

 

[stratjacket]

All the amps listed here are great amps, really couldn't go wrong with any of them.
I'll throw a hat in the ring for the Hagen. 4 channels, the cleans are pretty damn clear to me and goes about as brutal as you want. Takes pedals well, can shape some great tones with it. I'd love to get a Soldano SLO or Herbert, but I'd have to sell the Hagen to get one and I can just never bring myself to do that.

 

[Candiria]

Yes and no. The Gemini is a bit more aggressive sounding, but it has the same amount of gain on paper as the Colossus. Just a stripped down version. Still lacks the tight, percussive low end I prefer (as well as many others) for metal. I haven't tried the Ares yet... but I tend to favor 100-150W tube heads for the headroom and ballsier lowend from the extra power.

The Gemini has more gain than the Colossus (5 gain stages vs 4) and has increased switching/midi capabilities. The Colossus is more of a "stripped down" amp than the Gemini. The Colossus is also tight as hell and does metal just fine. I own/owned various VHT/Fryette stuff, and the Colossus is just as tight, but no it isn't as percussive. It is more musical and better suited for leads, whereas Fryette stuff is stiff and really needs a boost for leads to feel right.

 

[webrthomson]

All the amps listed here are great amps, really couldn't go wrong with any of them.
I'll throw a hat in the ring for the Hagen. 4 channels, the cleans are pretty damn clear to me and goes about as brutal as you want. Takes pedals well, can shape some great tones with it. I'd love to get a Soldano SLO or Herbert, but I'd have to sell the Hagen to get one and I can just never bring myself to do that.

Thats a good recommendation, but if you want brutality get the Herbert, its amazing! Oh and try it through the front loaded cabs

 

[RJF]

Herbert is actually a really good option. It's more like a 3.5 channel amp, if the -/+ switch was midi switchable it would be a 4ch amp. Herbert's ch2+ is not all that compressed really. Hagen is also another great option, it's literally half way in between the Herbert and VH4 tone.

But, if the Diezels and Engls are too compressed for the OP, then I'm not too sure what he's going to get that is as flexible as those two brands. I guess something Marshall based, the JVM410 I guess.

 

[bish0p34]

If the Triamp MkIII sounds anything like the MKII, which I'm sure it does, look into that. The MKII wss not that compressed, has built in midi, incredible tone, and mega versatility.

They're also dirt cheap used these days.

 

[Oblivion DC]

Diezel and Engl are going to be at the top of the food chain as far as 3+ channel amps with great loops, tons of features, and especially with midi capabilities. A cheaper option that is a killer amp in it's own right, is the Framus Cobra. 3 channels, 2 masters, and midi capable.

The Cobra is a monster amp with an unfortunate effects loop. It's also picky about what speakers you're using.

 

['63-Strat]

I am going to sell my peavey 5150 and dual recto to get a multi channel amp.

I am considering vh4 or colossus. I played vh4 before. It was great. But, I felt it's a little bit compressed.

I never played colossus. But, from the clips it's pretty similar to vh4. Tons of gain and refined gain structure.

Maybe colossus has more open sounding. Am I right? I need some opinions who tried both amps. Thanks

Multi-channel amps are all about compromises and what you are willing to accept.

The VH4 is probably the single most compressed high-gain channel switcher on the market. It's also a little too dark and lacking upper mids for my taste. Other than that, it's built like a tank and is super flexible. Arguably one of the most flexible, best built, and the fx loops are some of the best designs going: transparent and no tone suckage.

The Rhodes Colossus is a nice amp with plenty of features but the bottom end was to harsh and soft/spongy no matter what you try to dial in. Not tight and percussive enough for me. Other than that they are also buil really well... But I prefer the the transparency of the VH4 fx loop if your an fx junky.

Some others you may want to look into are the Marshall JVM410, Engl SE/Invader, Fryette CLX/UL.

Some mentioned the Bogner XTC, which will cover clean, country, blues up to hard rock. It won't do metal even with a boost. The voicing and low end won't handle it IMHO.

Won't do metal even with a boost? Lmao, you are one of the worst players on any forum. Your opinion is completely worthless.