Please recommend a new high gain amp for me
- Thread starter amp maniac
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Greazygeo
Well-known member
Your opening sentence said it all…it comes close….close is good enough for some and not for others.
I have not played a QR, never liked what I heard from one to want to try one. Maybe they do everything, but in my experience it is better to have an amp do one thing great than a bunch of stuff so/so. Not a knock on the QR at all, never played one.
Bram576
Well-known member
Yeah, I’m largely confused by this. The 5150 is like the easiest high gainer to play on out there to me. It is one of the most compressed, most gain on tap amps out there.
RaceU4her
Well-known member
Unforgiving probably isn’t the right word, I’m not even sure what the right word or description is, it just doesn’t respond right for me and isn’t fun to play and my mistakes seem worse than they actually are, I think it makes me play shittier not better.
ZEN Amps
Well-known member
Yeah that's a tricky one - it seems ‘unforgiving’ means different things to different players. Honestly I’ve never really known what it means - very uncompressed maybe? Then there's stiff and dry.... all I know is they're the opposite of loose and greasy (maybe).
romanianreaper
Well-known member
I consider myself a Marshall-tones type guy and love that sound. I have a Friedman Pink Taco v2 and a 5150-III 6l6 50w. Loved that amp so much I got the 5150-III 6l6 50 Stealth recently. I've never been happier with my tones.
With that said, if I didn't have the EVH amps, I'd probably get a Splawn or Friedman BE.
With that said, if I didn't have the EVH amps, I'd probably get a Splawn or Friedman BE.
braintheory
Well-known member
Yeah they’re one of the easier amps to play. I can get away with pretty sloppy playing on it honestly lol and still sound pretty decent I think. Total opposite of wizards
braintheory
Well-known member
Agreed. Splawn’s are definitely something to try before you buy. I personally can’t stand them. I don’t like that filtered sound & every powerchord sounding like a quacking duck with weird notches yet peaky in the mids. For my taste they don’t really do anything too well other than quacking, but some guys here & there seem to love them
TheGreatGreen
Well-known member
Hey man, just to help you out, first we’ll need to know your budget. Otherwise for “articulate and punchy, classic to modern gain” I could just quickly recommend you a 100w Wizard Modern Classic II, which would do everything you’re asking for, but it also costs north of $5k.
Next, you’re really going to need to give us some example tones. Most people don’t want to hear this but most modern high gain amps honestly sound similar enough that requests for amp recommendations using words like “modern,” “unforgiving,” “punchy,” that don’t technically have a specific objective definition, could realistically be satisfied by about 80% of the popular high gain amps out there
Not trying to single you out, By the way. Most people who ask for amp recommendations sort of do this.
On a personal note, one recommendation I’m going to make is that you pay at least as much attention to the cab you’re going to use (or reactive load + IR’s depending on what works best for you) as the amp you pick. The cab and speakers you use are going to be at least as important as the amp, if not more so, especially considering you’re going to be using this rig for high gain sounds.
Next, you’re really going to need to give us some example tones. Most people don’t want to hear this but most modern high gain amps honestly sound similar enough that requests for amp recommendations using words like “modern,” “unforgiving,” “punchy,” that don’t technically have a specific objective definition, could realistically be satisfied by about 80% of the popular high gain amps out there
Not trying to single you out, By the way. Most people who ask for amp recommendations sort of do this.
On a personal note, one recommendation I’m going to make is that you pay at least as much attention to the cab you’re going to use (or reactive load + IR’s depending on what works best for you) as the amp you pick. The cab and speakers you use are going to be at least as important as the amp, if not more so, especially considering you’re going to be using this rig for high gain sounds.
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Greazygeo
Well-known member
I took that too mean hard to play as is a very stiff power section feel…I guess it could also be taken as when there is too much gain and every little noise is way worse.
glpg80
Well-known member
When I say unforgiving, I mean it to be choking in playing, sorta like there’s no smear. Not in the chug tight sense like VHTs or Wizards, more like the SLO thing (which makes sense being it’s based on a SLO)
Also it depends on how each person dials in the amp. I never boost my 5150II so straight in I personally find it to be overwhelming.
braintheory
Well-known member
One of the more forgiving amps for sure. I remember back when I was in my teens I got used to just playing a Line 6 POD X3 through my boogie express 5:50 & then right after started trying all the more known high gain amps out there at all these studios & some stores and everything seemed so dry & hard to play for a while lol, so the only amps I got along with at first were 6505’s/5150’s, Uberschall’s, XTC’s and a few others. Eventually after playing in a band I went too far the other way for a bit with dialing things in way too trebly & undergained and later balanced that out
romanianreaper
Well-known member
I think Splawns have that tone you are talking about but works in a full mix really well because the tone stands out. In a room, it is more pronounced.
braintheory
Well-known member
Idk even straight in and less gain dialed in I always found those amps to be very forgiving with some smear, but that’s also imo part of the appeal with their over the top saturation. I find the SLO’s to be less forgiving, but still not too hard to play and less gain/compression. Still have my late ‘80’s SLO
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braintheory
Well-known member
I agree that it works functionally well in a mix (lots of clips show this), but the tone itself is still equally not good imo in that context. A good Marshall boosted or modded, SLO, Naylor and a few other amps can cut through as well (or better in some cases) with tone that is actually good. It’s not just about cutting through well in a mix, but also having good tone while doing so. I think some guys think about sound too functionally like that and sometimes overlook tonal quality that has complexity and other aspects of what can make some sounds magical/inspiring, not just functionally good/getting the job done
I remember similarly when I was in a band a while ago I would cut through better with a BKP painkiller loaded guitar, but the tone was still bad for similar reasons, so I found other pickups that cut through similarly well with better tone, no peaky, bloated mids
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Guessing if you had your choice you pick a Rectifier over a Mark?
8len8
Active member
Unforgiving means it has a stiffer feel and you hear a lot of note articulation so any little flub in your playing will be heard.
RaceU4her
Well-known member
My Hermansson is what I think a lot would call stiff and unforgiving, it’s so immediate in the attack and the gain is so tight and furious that it takes a few minutes to get used to after playing other amps, once I’m warmed up and ready though I find it easier to play cause I can lighten up on my grip and let the amp do the work instead of me having to lay into it to get it to sing. My 6505+ just feels soft and saggy and I just don’t really feel connected to it.
RaceU4her
Well-known member
My iic+ and Cameron mig feel the best, I read about the mythical feel of those two for 20 years and didn’t understand till I got my mig then the iic+, they just compress and have a bounce that other amps don’t have that is very pleasing when palm muting especially for me. My triple G does have that nice bounce compared to the rest of my other amps but not as much as those two