Thinking of getting 2nd amp. JVM, Coreblade, or Blackstar?

[romanianreaper]

I currently have a Friedman Modded Marshall (and a second amp if you count my 1 watt Blackstar) I've been thinking about getting a second amp and have pinned down three amps I'm interested in.

- Marshall JVM 205. I used to own a JVM410 and really liked it but did not have a good cab to use with it so didn't fully appreciate it. Was playing one the other day again and enjoyed it.

- Hughes and Kettner Coreblade. This amp seems very versatile and has alot of great options. I don't know enough about their amps to know how reliable they are, etc. It sounds great based on clips and is made in Germany. Seems killer.

- Blackstar Series One. I can't seem to get an answer on where these are made. I know the cheaper amps are Korea but not sure if some are made in England. Nice to have the American to British knob option. I have the 1 watt Blackstar and it is a cool feature.

Just wondering if anyone has had any experiences with any of these amps and would recommend one over the other.

 

[glpg80]

all blackstar's are made overseas in korea, designed in UK. same situation as the fender 5150 III - german designed, made in mexico.

no experience with the amplifiers you are speaking of though.

 

[university81]

i use a blackstar ht dual pedal into a hiwatt in my main rig/tone , and a ht-5 for everything at home, even recording stuff

so i'm somewhat biased towards the blackstar =) i'm really interested in their series 104 - el34 , their HT stage 100 looks decent as well, but the el34 series one seems killer

h&k make great amps, their resale value is terrible unfortunately

 

[irondeth21]

For what it's worth, I just traded my stiletto ace for a JVM 205 and I'm loving it, a lot. I don't have to go over all the features, but once you get the channels and modes set up you have essentially 5-6 killer tones at your feet if you get the 410 f/s. It's an awesome thing to have with the band. I really like crunch red with the gain high and od orange with the gain on 4 for most stuff. I kick on od red for leads sometimes too. People usually say the clean on my ace was killer, but I think the JVM has it beat there. Gain channels have more low end as well. When I got it I could dial in a pretty killer tone in about 30 seconds too, easy to use.

 

[The Hoff]

I'd vote for the JVM. One of the most versital amps hands down. It's a Swiss army knife of an amp. Why go for the 205 and not the 410?

 

[Mailman1971]

I hear good things about the JVM all the time.
Wouldnt mind checking one out someday.

 

[romanianreaper]

I'd vote for the JVM. One of the most versital amps hands down. It's a Swiss army knife of an amp. Why go for the 205 and not the 410?

Thanks man. Well I figured I could get a cheaper amp with the same tones if I go the 205 route. I heard someone mention that the 410 sounded more trebly to them than the 410 but you know amps can vary.

 

[romanianreaper]

For what it's worth, I just traded my stiletto ace for a JVM 205 and I'm loving it, a lot. I don't have to go over all the features, but once you get the channels and modes set up you have essentially 5-6 killer tones at your feet if you get the 410 f/s. It's an awesome thing to have with the band. I really like crunch red with the gain high and od orange with the gain on 4 for most stuff. I kick on od red for leads sometimes too. People usually say the clean on my ace was killer, but I think the JVM has it beat there. Gain channels have more low end as well. When I got it I could dial in a pretty killer tone in about 30 seconds too, easy to use.

That is cool to hear a comparison with a Mesa. I actually considered a Mark V as well but for some reason I like the sound of a JVM better. I think I'm just a Marshall-tone guy.

By the way, what is the main differences between the 410 and 205 other than wattage and channels? Are there any main features missing or is it just a matter of having less footswitchable options regarding channels?

 

[romanianreaper]

all blackstar's are made overseas in korea, designed in UK. same situation as the fender 5150 III - german designed, made in mexico.

no experience with the amplifiers you are speaking of though.

Thanks! I didn't even know the 5150-III was made in Mexico.

 

[romanianreaper]

i use a blackstar ht dual pedal into a hiwatt in my main rig/tone , and a ht-5 for everything at home, even recording stuff

so i'm somewhat biased towards the blackstar =) i'm really interested in their series 104 - el34 , their HT stage 100 looks decent as well, but the el34 series one seems killer

h&k make great amps, their resale value is terrible unfortunately

I like my HT-1R. Amazing tone for a 1-watt amp. One of these days I gotta throw clips up. The amp won't blow anyone away but I tell ya, for 1-watt, it is a cool little amp.

 

[romanianreaper]

I hear good things about the JVM all the time.
Wouldnt mind checking one out someday.

They are really versatile amps. It was nice to see Marshall step up and make a great line of amps after a few duds in the 90's. The JVM definitely was another great page in Marshall history.

 

[romanianreaper]

Not sure how much this will throw things off but what if the Mesa Mark V is included in these choices?

 

[Digital Jams]

From those three the jvm for me, just put the right tubes in it. Had it for close to 4 years and lost one knob, no breakdowns through many at volume jams.

 

[racerevlon]

Coreblade... I've heard all three and the CB is the best-sounding and most-versatile (to my ears).

 

[the rossness]

The only Blackstar's that are UK-made are the Artisan series. I had a HT-100 and wasn't happy with it. It did leads well, but everything else sounded crummy to my ears.

I have a JVM 205h right now as my 2nd amp, and so far its been giving me the Marshall tones I've been lacking with my main amp. I don't think its the end all amp in my tone search, but it does a darn good job and has lots of usable tones.

As for the H&K, I've never been able to get into their stuff. I haven't tried a CB, but I did try the switchblade and it just sounded ok, but wasn't anything special. Same with the TriAmp- It had some cool features, but didn't sound special.

The next amp I want is a Krank Rev+, it might be worth a look, but Kranks are one of those love it/ hate it amps.

 

[irondeth21]

For what it's worth, I just traded my stiletto ace for a JVM 205 and I'm loving it, a lot. I don't have to go over all the features, but once you get the channels and modes set up you have essentially 5-6 killer tones at your feet if you get the 410 f/s. It's an awesome thing to have with the band. I really like crunch red with the gain high and od orange with the gain on 4 for most stuff. I kick on od red for leads sometimes too. People usually say the clean on my ace was killer, but I think the JVM has it beat there. Gain channels have more low end as well. When I got it I could dial in a pretty killer tone in about 30 seconds too, easy to use.

That is cool to hear a comparison with a Mesa. I actually considered a Mark V as well but for some reason I like the sound of a JVM better. I think I'm just a Marshall-tone guy.

By the way, what is the main differences between the 410 and 205 other than wattage and channels? Are there any main features missing or is it just a matter of having less footswitchable options regarding channels?

No main differences, I had a 410 once too, it was wayyy noisier then this one, but I think I had a lemon with that. I used to run two noise gates (one in the front and one in the loop) and I would still get some feedback. The 205 is a lot quieter, I use an decimator in front and it's good. The OD channels are OD2 from the 410 and clean is clean, jtm 45 and jcm 800.

 

[romanianreaper]

From those three the jvm for me, just put the right tubes in it. Had it for close to 4 years and lost one knob, no breakdowns through many at volume jams.

Thanks man. I know you have owned/played alot of amps so that gives me a bit of perspective.

 

[romanianreaper]

Coreblade... I've heard all three and the CB is the best-sounding and most-versatile (to my ears).

You even like that over your Mark V? Not sure if you saw that I added that into the mix.

 

[romanianreaper]

The only Blackstar's that are UK-made are the Artisan series. I had a HT-100 and wasn't happy with it. It did leads well, but everything else sounded crummy to my ears.

I have a JVM 205h right now as my 2nd amp, and so far its been giving me the Marshall tones I've been lacking with my main amp. I don't think its the end all amp in my tone search, but it does a darn good job and has lots of usable tones.

As for the H&K, I've never been able to get into their stuff. I haven't tried a CB, but I did try the switchblade and it just sounded ok, but wasn't anything special. Same with the TriAmp- It had some cool features, but didn't sound special.

The next amp I want is a Krank Rev+, it might be worth a look, but Kranks are one of those love it/ hate it amps.

I heard the guitar player in Alice Cooper playing a Krank Rev live a few years ago and it actually sounded pretty good although it was a bit trebly. I'm sure it was because I was near the stage right in front of his stack though.

 

[romanianreaper]

For what it's worth, I just traded my stiletto ace for a JVM 205 and I'm loving it, a lot. I don't have to go over all the features, but once you get the channels and modes set up you have essentially 5-6 killer tones at your feet if you get the 410 f/s. It's an awesome thing to have with the band. I really like crunch red with the gain high and od orange with the gain on 4 for most stuff. I kick on od red for leads sometimes too. People usually say the clean on my ace was killer, but I think the JVM has it beat there. Gain channels have more low end as well. When I got it I could dial in a pretty killer tone in about 30 seconds too, easy to use.

That is cool to hear a comparison with a Mesa. I actually considered a Mark V as well but for some reason I like the sound of a JVM better. I think I'm just a Marshall-tone guy.

By the way, what is the main differences between the 410 and 205 other than wattage and channels? Are there any main features missing or is it just a matter of having less footswitchable options regarding channels?

No main differences, I had a 410 once too, it was wayyy noisier then this one, but I think I had a lemon with that. I used to run two noise gates (one in the front and one in the loop) and I would still get some feedback. The 205 is a lot quieter, I use an decimator in front and it's good. The OD channels are OD2 from the 410 and clean is clean, jtm 45 and jcm 800.

Thanks! I know some 50 watt amps sound way different than their 100 watt versions. I am mainly playing in my basement so I don't need anything too over the top watt-wise. I just wonder if I would miss the extra channels?