need some amp advice...long read

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Neeklaus

Neeklaus

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as some of you know I've been on the hunt for a new amp. it's been full of ups and down. mostly downs for a variety of reasons.
I need some help, some sort of recommendations or direction. HELP!

Basically the whole point of this amp purchase is to get me through til I get my tax return around jan/feb and buy a mesa. probably a recto but maybe a mark III.
also, I want whatever my next amp purchase is to be my back up amp to my main mesa...this is pretty important to me. I've also got myself convinced to give SS the boot at 'go tube' finally.

so I wanted to get a Tiny Terror at first. i owned one in the past and it sounds great, I really like it. but my two things are this:
1) if i'm paying around 400-450 for an amp I want a little more versatility than 1 channel and 3 knobs.
2) would this really be a realistic backup amp? I reallly don't think so...

I've been looking for a peavey ultra plus in my price range but i haven't had much luck...also I just wanna get away from the ultra/5150 sound. I know it seems petty but I've had so many peavey amps I just want a change

I've recently become interested in Randall amps after playing a RH200 tonight at practice. it was ok, but I've been reading about and listening to clips about the RH350 G3 Plus. It actually has a tube in the preamp, but I'm not 100% sure how it works into the circuitry...I was pretty set on the idea of getting a tube amp but the G3 plus sounds great, especially for modern metal sounds.
any idea how well these amps take pedals?

but then I've also been reading and listening about the Bugera amps. Specifically the 333XL and the 1990.
Also the B-52 at-100s got my interest for a while, obviously because it is very recto like

I know they aren't well liked...but would a 'decent' tube head (b-52/bugera) trump a pretty good SS/hybrid head (randall)?

one good argument for the randall would be that the SS would be a more reliable for a backup amp. I just HATE that solid state HISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS when the amp is on...

ugh I have no idea what to do. I won't have money back in my paypal account (from a refund) til mid week maybe later so I've got quite a bit of time to discuss this.

Many thanks in advance! :rock: :rock: :rock:

Nick


edit:

ok lets make this a little more narrowed down and in a specific direction.
as far as sounds that I am trying to go for two very good references would be Between the Buried and Me and After the Burial. I think that pretty much nails the modern metal sound I am looking for.

and here's the short list of amps I'm interested in and generally seem to be in my price range (in no particular order):

Laney GH50L
B-52 AT100
Bugera 1990
Randall RH300 G3 Plus
Orange Tiny Terror
Egnater Rebel 20

The 1 channel amps are sort of a compromise for me though because I've never had a 1 channel amp. I'm a big fan of channel switching and having more than 1 sound on tap....hence my dilemma since I do enjoy the tiny terror. If i didn't play in a band and didn't like so many different types of music I probably would have immediately just bought up a TT, but i dunno. Am I just being to pissy for my own good?
 
You'll find that most people will say "you gotta try and hear for yourself man" which is completely true.

But one thing I can add after reading your post is, don't base the price of an amp on how many knobs and channels it has. You know as well as I do that 99% of the boutique one channel amps out there cost 3 times any Mesa you'll get.

The key to getting the most out of your 4-5 hundred dollars in my opinion is to get an amp that both sounds good AND has a good second hand value. So in this case, I really don't believe TT is a bad route since you already like its tone. I know you said you want it as a "back up amp" but all of us amp whores know that that's bs (why do i say bs? cause i've done it a million times myself) and you're gonna end up selling whatever you get after the Mesa. Maybe not 100% truth but it's a good chance, trust me.

Another point on the TT cost. You are aware that it's been THE BOMB and everybody and his mother had to have one right? There's a reason for that. That many people aren't stupid and it's not just hype. For the money, if you're into that tone, it's a great little amp and that's why it sold thousands and thousands and thousands.

Good luck with your purchase :thumbsup:
 
Have you considered the Randall MTS series? You can find a used RM20 + a module for less than $500. If you get tired of the sound you just swap the module instead of flipping the amp.
 
I recommended the Carvin MTS head in the last thread and I stand by it. I also own a recto and the mts honestly rivals the recto for a nice heavy sound.
The Carvin is voiced a bit more like a marshall, but not completely. Almost voiced right between mesa/marshall. It's better for lead playing and almost as good for rhythms.
Grab one for cheap, throw some good tubes in and prepare to be impressed. I'm serious. It blows away a tiny terror, and is different from the peavey stuff. I used to get many compliments on my tone when I played shows with the Carvin. Want to play metal with it? Use a boost. You would need one with Recto also.
 
GRK":15ufbu4w said:
You'll find that most people will say "you gotta try and hear for yourself man" which is completely true.

But one thing I can add after reading your post is, don't base the price of an amp on how many knobs and channels it has. You know as well as I do that 99% of the boutique one channel amps out there cost 3 times any Mesa you'll get.

The key to getting the most out of your 4-5 hundred dollars in my opinion is to get an amp that both sounds good AND has a good second hand value. So in this case, I really don't believe TT is a bad route since you already like its tone. I know you said you want it as a "back up amp" but all of us amp whores know that that's bs (why do i say bs? cause i've done it a million times myself) and you're gonna end up selling whatever you get after the Mesa. Maybe not 100% truth but it's a good chance, trust me.

Another point on the TT cost. You are aware that it's been THE BOMB and everybody and his mother had to have one right? There's a reason for that. That many people aren't stupid and it's not just hype. For the money, if you're into that tone, it's a great little amp and that's why it sold thousands and thousands and thousands.

Good luck with your purchase :thumbsup:
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some very good points made here...thanks dude that sort of put some perspective on things.
tehuk":15ufbu4w said:
Have you considered the Randall MTS series? You can find a used RM20 + a module for less than $500. If you get tired of the sound you just swap the module instead of flipping the amp.
Click to expand...

wow that's a freaking great idea....i'm looking more into this right now.
 
Well, if I were you I'd go out and pick up an old school Johnson millenium, they were like $1500 when they came out and now like $400 or even less for the 2x12 combos with vintage 30s. I don't know what the rest of the RT community thinks about then but I think they absolutely rip. All built in effects, 200 presets, direct outs, true stereo, tube preamp and the whole front end is analog. They also have a built in noisegate and they model rectos, marshall, Vox, soldano, matchless, fender etc. I don't think you can get more amp for your money. I've actually picked up 2 of them recently and sold all my other stuff and my recto is on the chopping block right now :lol: :LOL: cleanest of the cleans and dirtiest of the dirty. Here's a short clip of some hispanic dude playin a little enter sandman on one and then soloing. Check YouTube though, there are a lot of other good vids.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJYVqPgD ... tube_gdata
 
wow, i may have just gotten convinced on the B-52 AT100...
I know that they aren't a fantastic brand but I think it would help out on the RECTO gas.
check out this video, the kid is slightly annoying, but he's actually got decent chops and I think once he gets to the gain 2 channel it sounds pretty fucking good, and pretty close to the sound I hear in my head...

thoughts?

 
Marshall AVT series is fuckin' awesome. You can get one used for cheap.

I run a boost in front of mine and it does REAL well.
 
FWIW I saw a couple of young kids at the local GC playing some metallica and it had more more hiss than any amp I've ever heard. I don't know if it was an isolated incident or not but I would say if you care about noise and feedback you might want to for sure try one out first, they might not be what you're looking for.
 
how much you wanna spend nick? i found an ultra plus for 299. found a block letter 5150 for a little over 500. also found a jcm900 slx 50 for 499. might wanna look at the laney aor's also. see them a lot for 299 also.
 
JackBootedThug":2unwxpys said:
how much you wanna spend nick? i found an ultra plus for 299. found a block letter 5150 for a little over 500. also found a jcm900 slx 50 for 499. might wanna look at the laney aor's also. see them a lot for 299 also.
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Where'd you find the Ultra plus at? I can't seem to find them to save my life!
I've got roughly $450 to spend


moltenmetalburn":2unwxpys said:
Did you check out the album Iron Gag by A Life Once Lost as I suggested?

https://www.myspace.com/alifeoncelost

the second song firewater joyride is the at-100.
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checked it out, i like it...and the clips I've heard with people using EMGs (like how I'll be using the amp) sounds great too...
 
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