Looking to invest in a used tube head

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creepingdeath22

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Hey all! First time on the forums as a member! I don't know why it took me so long to finally register here at RT. Must have just slipped my mind all this time. Anyway, to the dilemma at hand...

I want to pick up a quality tube head on a budget of $1K and figured that I'd go look around on the net to see what my options are and saw some pretty good heads through Guitar Center's used gear page. The only problem now is deciding between them all :doh: , so I'd like to get some opinions/suggestions from those who are more knowledgeable than myself as to which one I should purchase.

I play lots of metal, which ranges from 90s thrash to death and black metal, but also enjoy dabbling in jazz and blues when I'm not busy opening the gates of hell :rock:. A clean channel is a must have for me, even if it doesn't have a super clean tone. As counter-intuitive as it sounds, especially for death metal, I love warm midrange in my metal tone because that's where all the epic crunch I seek seems to thrive. It also helps if the amp has "balls" to begin with, not because I don't normally use overdrive pedals in my setup, but I'd really like it if I didn't need to. Any extra features like external bias testing/adjustment, half power switches or variable wattage controls, direct line/XLR out, etc are a huge plus for me. To sum it all up, I need a head that can not only provide the sonic goodness I so desire, but one that can take a beating and still keep working hard while being versatile in the tones I can get out of it. It's a tall order, I know.

Here is a list of what I stumbled upon (with price before taxes) while on my search:
Egnater Vengeance - $600 (I hear the Vengeance and Armageddon have no "balls" for some reason. Is this true?)
Egnater Armageddon - $950
EVH 5150 III 100W - $1,100 (I can justify going $100 + tax over budget for this)
Framus Cobra - $900 (Surprised I found one of these in the <$1K price range)
Hughes & Kettner Trilogy - $610
Hughes & Kettner Switchblade 100H - $600
Hughes & Kettner Tri-Amp Mk I - $750
Marshall JCM2000 DSL100 - $620
Marshall JCM2000 TSL100 - $700
Mesa Stiletto Deuce - $810
Mesa Dual Rectifier - $1,000 (It's a 3-channel, multi-watt model)
Mesa Dual Rectifier Tremoverb - $900 (This one was made in the 90s, not so sure about how it sounds)
Peavey 6505+ - $700 (Leaning more toward the 6534+ though it's a little more for it)
Peavey Triple XXX II - $500
Peavey JSX - $500

Thank you all in advance for your replies!
 
Not really a metal guy but out of those amps you've listed I would choose from the Framus, EVH 100 watt and the Tremoverb. My best advice is to get one from Guitar Center online....30 days to see if its for you even with used gear is a great deal. Good luck.
 
Of you list, I'd go with the 5153, any of the Peavey's, the Dual Rec.

If you want thick mids, cleans, and an amp that can do metal or jazz I'd take a look at an Orange Rockerverb.

If you want something under the radar, I"d check out a Laney Ironheart.

For cheap, You can Get a Line 6 Spider Valve and splurge on the cab. BTW, what cab are you using?
 
Whenever anyone is on a budget, plays heavy music & wants a quality sounding tube amp, I'd always point them in the direction of a 5150 or 6505.
 
the rossness":69jc4z1m said:
Of you list, I'd go with the 5153, any of the Peavey's, the Dual Rec.

If you want thick mids, cleans, and an amp that can do metal or jazz I'd take a look at an Orange Rockerverb.

If you want something under the radar, I"d check out a Laney Ironheart.

For cheap, You can Get a Line 6 Spider Valve and splurge on the cab. BTW, what cab are you using?
Click to expand...

It's nice to see another CT native on the forums, the rossness!

I'm using the Line 6 4x12 that's meant to be matched to their DT50 Bogner collabo head. Has 2x 12" Celestion G12H90s and 2x 12" Celestion V30s in an X pattern. It's a very solid, very good sounding cab to my ears. Got a good deal on one of these at my local GC. They're about $700 new, picked mine up used but in great condition for half that.
 
If it's a good clean channel you want stay away from the Peavey 5150/6505. It does not have a clean channel. Rhythym and lead channels. People bitch the clean channel sucks. It was not designed to really have one. I have gotten decent cleans with single coils. But that's not what that amp is about. I love my 5150 and have two heads I'll never sell. So I'm not a Peavey 5150 hater.

5150 III will do what you want. In fact I think it's blues type tones will suprise you. And it's a real three channel amp with dedicated cleans and brutal way too much gain lead channel for metal.
 
Being that I'm an H&K guy, I'd say try the Triamp. It put my Triple Rec, 6505, and Peavey Ultra on the shelf for good. At 750, that would be a hard deal to beat. It has a three dimensional sound that cuts through anything in the mix, yet still sounds full. It cured my amp gas.
 
evh 5153 50 watt !!!!
Love mine and play everything you mention less the Jazz part.

Blue channel with my Maxon od9 as a clean boost... Amazing !!!!! The blue and red channels by themselves are great. I boost mine when playing at home volumes.

The cleans on the 5153 are great, and I disagree on the too much gain for lead channel?
Meaning the red channel? I see nothing wrong with the red as a lead channel whatsoever.

Overall a great amp for under a grand brand new. Best bang for the buck and tone IMO.
 
you've come to the right forum for advice on budget amps. good hunting.
 
steve_k":3t4alt4o said:
you've come to the right forum for advice on budget amps. good hunting.
Click to expand...
:lol: :LOL: :D
"Not that there's anything wrong with that..."
 
The reasoning for my advice....lots of metal bands use 5153 100 watt...some consider the Tremoverb to be right up there with a 2C+ as the iconic Mesa that can do it all..and Framus build quality and Rep as a metal amp seems to be pretty well written. If you could find an Engl also that might work for you. I'm not a peavey guy but a ton of bands use those as well.
 
Another vote for the EVH 5150 series. If you don't mind the size, get the 100 watt (the 50 is awesome though) as it has three totally independent channels (50 shares the EQ on the green/blue channels).
 
Thank you all for the very informative replies! I'm gonna try to see if there's any way for me to actually try some of these amps out. I know that words can't and won't do these amps any justice.

Anyone out there either own or play an Egnater Vengeance or Armageddon heads? How are they in terms of build quality, tone?
 
creepingdeath22":3fckggev said:
Thank you all for the very informative replies! I'm gonna try to see if there's any way for me to actually try some of these amps out. I know that words can't and won't do these amps any justice.

Anyone out there either own or play an Egnater Vengeance or Armageddon heads? How are they in terms of build quality, tone?
Click to expand...

Not sure about build quality, but re-sale value is shit. Safe bet is EVH, recto, 6505, etc.
 
johnpace2":27kvhi5l said:
creepingdeath22":27kvhi5l said:
Anyone out there either own or play an Egnater Vengeance or Armageddon heads? How are they in terms of build quality, tone?
Click to expand...

Not sure about build quality, but re-sale value is shit. Safe bet is EVH, recto, 6505, etc.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply man. I actually just did some research on Egnater amps. Other than the older TOLs, IE4 stuff, and the modular line of products, all their amps are made in China. Also read a lot of horror stories about their customer service and lack thereof.

And, just like that, Egnater is out of the picture :cry: If only they were more reliable. I really liked a lot of the features they had going on, like the XLR out for recording and being able to mix tube types with a quick bias adjustment.
 
creepingdeath22":1lx93875 said:
the rossness":1lx93875 said:
Of you list, I'd go with the 5153, any of the Peavey's, the Dual Rec.

If you want thick mids, cleans, and an amp that can do metal or jazz I'd take a look at an Orange Rockerverb.

If you want something under the radar, I"d check out a Laney Ironheart.

For cheap, You can Get a Line 6 Spider Valve and splurge on the cab. BTW, what cab are you using?
Click to expand...

It's nice to see another CT native on the forums, the rossness!

I'm using the Line 6 4x12 that's meant to be matched to their DT50 Bogner collabo head. Has 2x 12" Celestion G12H90s and 2x 12" Celestion V30s in an X pattern. It's a very solid, very good sounding cab to my ears. Got a good deal on one of these at my local GC. They're about $700 new, picked mine up used but in great condition for half that.
Click to expand...

What part of CT are you in? Do you have a band? I own a club in downtown Hartford, and we're always on the lookout for new bands that have a devoted following.

I don't know If your interested, but I have a USA made Randall RM100 combo that I don't play anymore. It's part of the Egnater modular line of amps. I doesn't come with any modules, but If you were interested in a local deal, I'd sell it at a discounted rate.
 
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