Thrash Metal Amps!

Which Amp Should I Get?

  • Peavey 6505+

    Votes: 1 33.3%
  • Mesa/Boogie Mark V

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Peavey Triple XXX

    Votes: 2 66.7%
  • Marshall 8100

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    3

Metalmann13

New member
Recently I have been looking for a new amp for thrash and heavy metal, and my top three choices are Peavey 6505+, Peavey Triple XXX, and a Mesa/Boogie Mark V. At this point the 6505+ is what i'm thinking about getting because of great distortion and lower price. I have also seen Marshall 8100 which seems fine, but i'm not entirely sure about it. My budget at the moment is around $800. I want to get tones like early Metallica and Megadeth. Which amp would be the best for me? If I do get the Peavey, what can I do to get better clean tones?
 
Honestly none of those would be my first choice for thrash. With your budget, I'd be looking at a Splawn Quickrod or Fryette/VHT Deliverance 60.
 
I'd take a Triple XXX and put KT77's in it for thrash before I'd go 6505+

Slayer, Megadeth, Metallica and Pantera all have pretty different guitar tones. Which of those do you lean towards the most?

MetalHeadMike":1k10y14b said:
Honestly none of those would be my first choice for thrash. With your budget, I'd be looking at a Splawn Quickrod or Fryette/VHT Deliverance 60.
This!
 
JerEvil":4gj5p76s said:
I'd take a Triple XXX and put KT77's in it for thrash before I'd go 6505+

Slayer, Megadeth, Metallica and Pantera all have pretty different guitar tones. Which of those do you lean towards the most?

MetalHeadMike":4gj5p76s said:
Honestly none of those would be my first choice for thrash. With your budget, I'd be looking at a Splawn Quickrod or Fryette/VHT Deliverance 60.
This!


Hell yeah on the Triple XXX :thumbsup: It doesn't get much more thrash than Exodus :rock:
 
MetalHeadMike":3p1hd9t7 said:
JerEvil":3p1hd9t7 said:
I'd take a Triple XXX and put KT77's in it for thrash before I'd go 6505+

Slayer, Megadeth, Metallica and Pantera all have pretty different guitar tones. Which of those do you lean towards the most?

MetalHeadMike":3p1hd9t7 said:
Honestly none of those would be my first choice for thrash. With your budget, I'd be looking at a Splawn Quickrod or Fryette/VHT Deliverance 60.
This!


Hell yeah on the Triple XXX :thumbsup: It doesn't get much more thrash than Exodus :rock:
I'm saying. $350 all day too. Those amps can be had for a song!

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/Peave ... 4743493.gc
 
JerEvil":1s1cag6w said:
I'd take a Triple XXX and put KT77's in it for thrash before I'd go 6505+

Slayer, Megadeth, Metallica and Pantera all have pretty different guitar tones. Which of those do you lean towards the most?

MetalHeadMike":1s1cag6w said:
Honestly none of those would be my first choice for thrash. With your budget, I'd be looking at a Splawn Quickrod or Fryette/VHT Deliverance 60.
This!

This again. Metalheadmike and JerEvil both have it right. These suggestions are all miles better than the amps in the pole. I own all of them AND play in a thrash band. The QR is my #1 choice, followed by the VHT Deliverance.
 
I guess I'm surprised by the responses, though I've never played a Deliverance (had a Sig X for a bit). I've heard they are pretty similar. 6505+ is an awesome all-around metal amp, including thrash. 5153 is another contender in that vein. Maybe not pure thrash amps but what is really? Mark is a pretty defining Metallica tone too, but yes out of OP's price range.

Agreed, Dual Rec isn't really what you're looking for. Never played a Splawn, I should look into them.
 
My 5150 II can get thrash tones all day long, and the clean is superb with some chorus. Throw an EQ in the loop and you sculpt the tone to anything you want. Awesome amp.

Lower the gain and throw an OD for even more options.

For what you listed as far as bands go, this would be my number 1 choice.
 
People far more well versed than I are chiming in, but I think everyone should at some time own a 5150/6505. It’s just does a thing plugged straight in that I haven’t heard in other amps. Good luck with the hunt!
 
I agree with Jer.....the tones you reference, while all being thrashy, are pretty different.

Do you want old school thrash or more modern thrash?

FWIW, thrash tone is where I live on guitar and I can get there in a lot of ways, but it is kind of hard to beat modded Marshall type amps and Mesa Mark series as the basic platform for thrash. With a mid heavy boost up front and an EQ in the loop, you can nail a lot of different thrash tones.

Pantera is the outlier. You can get close with a lot of amps, but to REALLY get there you need an old school SS Randall and a PQ3 or PQ6 (two 3’s in the same unit.....this is what I have, so I can run one in front and one in the loop of my RG100HT)

With all that said, I played in a thrash band for a long time using an old school JCM 800 boosted, then went to a Marshall DSL50 when I got tired of sound guys telling me to turn down (the 800 needed to be FUCKING LOUD to sound good)...and I think the DSL is a very underrated amp for thrash.



The XXX is a great reccomendation and is an awesome sounding amp, regardless of the price.


Lots of rambling here :D
 
mctallica1":36aa1yi2 said:
I agree with Jer.....the tones you reference, while all being thrashy, are pretty different.

Do you want old school thrash or more modern thrash?

FWIW, thrash tone is where I live on guitar and I can get there in a lot of ways, but it is kind of hard to beat modded Marshall type amps and Mesa Mark series as the basic platform for thrash. With a mid heavy boost up front and an EQ in the loop, you can nail a lot of different thrash tones.

Pantera is the outlier. You can get close with a lot of amps, but to REALLY get there you need an old school SS Randall and a PQ3 or PQ6 (two 3’s in the same unit.....this is what I have, so I can run one in front and one in the loop of my RG100HT)

With all that said, I played in a thrash band for a long time using an old school JCM 800 boosted, then went to a Marshall DSL50 when I got tired of sound guys telling me to turn down (the 800 needed to be FUCKING LOUD to sound good)...and I think the DSL is a very underrated amp for thrash.



The XXX is a great reccomendation and is an awesome sounding amp, regardless of the price.


Lots of rambling here :D
The main band I would like to emulate is Metallica, but I am leaning towards a 6505+ because I also play a lot of heavy metal.
 
Wizard of Ozz":2jpppk9i said:
Mesa Mark III
Agreed, Mark III for sure! In this price range none of the other amps mentioned come even close unless you get very lucky and find a cheap older JCM800. That plus a good overdrive pedal would be the ones to consider imo
 
Mark III, Peavey XXX, or a Marshall JVM would be my choices. The Engl Blackmore is really good too, I'd recommend an Engl Savage but those are probably cost a bit too much.
 
I have a Splawn Nitro and I love it. It does the punchy Marshally thrash tones pretty well. It really depends on which type of tone you are chasing though. It can do Slayer, Megadeth type shit all day. Metallica, Anthrax not really.
 
Metalmann13":2yu5an49 said:
mctallica1":2yu5an49 said:
I agree with Jer.....the tones you reference, while all being thrashy, are pretty different.

Do you want old school thrash or more modern thrash?

FWIW, thrash tone is where I live on guitar and I can get there in a lot of ways, but it is kind of hard to beat modded Marshall type amps and Mesa Mark series as the basic platform for thrash. With a mid heavy boost up front and an EQ in the loop, you can nail a lot of different thrash tones.

Pantera is the outlier. You can get close with a lot of amps, but to REALLY get there you need an old school SS Randall and a PQ3 or PQ6 (two 3’s in the same unit.....this is what I have, so I can run one in front and one in the loop of my RG100HT)

With all that said, I played in a thrash band for a long time using an old school JCM 800 boosted, then went to a Marshall DSL50 when I got tired of sound guys telling me to turn down (the 800 needed to be FUCKING LOUD to sound good)...and I think the DSL is a very underrated amp for thrash.



The XXX is a great reccomendation and is an awesome sounding amp, regardless of the price.


Lots of rambling here :D
The main band I would like to emulate is Metallica, but I am leaning towards a 6505+ because I also play a lot of heavy metal.


Which Metallica era? They are quite a bit different really. I would personally go 5150III over the 6505+ based on what your saying but its all a matter of what tones you really need.
 
Cheapest....Peavey XXX. Think Gary Holt/Exodus tone and boost the front with mids for that razor cut. A graphic eq and Decimator in the loop for final tone shaping and silencing the hiss. Holts tone cuts thru any mix,and harmonics jump off your fretboard like pubic lice from a 60's era bush set on fire. Pure thrash. Use the extra bux saved for good tubes.

Fuck the clean tone.
 
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