I played an Axis Super Sport at the store though a solid state Marshall and it sounded much better IMO than on a Blackstar tube amp! The Marshall sounded bad, but I was making allowances for that. On the Blackstar, it was mushy and muddy with absolutely no "attack". What is the best amp, other than the EVH branded stuff for the Axis?
- Thread starter AC Long
- Start date
DrugDM
Well-known member
Hello. I think there are so many factors that impact why a player likes one amp and doesn't like another. How was the eq set on the amp, what type of music do you play, what kind of tone are you wanting to achieve, etc... That Axis Super sport can pull off an incredible number of tones so I do not believe there is a specific amp quality that is necessary to make that guitar sound great. If you provide some more info the guys on this forum are very willing to help.
Luke Duke
Well-known member
It's going to depend on the VH era. During his EBMM days it was Soldanos, and then the 5150 before he switched to PV. Prior to that he was using a Marshall 1959 Plexi. You are killing people by the time a Plexi starts to distort though, so a JCM 800 or 900 would be a good option for that tone. If you can find a 5150 combo you'll get everything and nothing you don't. They seem to go for between 500-700 bucks on Ebay. In case you didn't know the 5150 became the 6505. Those combos can be had for less that a 5150 too.
Hope that helps.
Luke
TNT
Well-known member
For that EVH sound you have no choice but to go all "tube"! Primarily EL34's (early) and 6l6's later on. Those particular pickups are really nice but not necessarily the best for "that" sound. A Dimarzio PAF Pro or a Norton in the bridge would make that guitar sparkle!!
Thanks for the advice! I actually have a THD Univalve. THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) amps have a very AC/DC sound with my Les Paul. If you engage the Hot Plate switch, you get great sounding saturation that to my ears sounds like it could work for any era of Van Halen, depending on the guitar. The guitar shop is super small, so I can't bring my loud tube amp there, and I won't be able to return it if I buy it. It's Taiwan. Not the U.S.A. So I will be gambling.
ksandvik
Well-known member
I would get a 5150. It's not the early day Brown sound but the later day VH sound. Used ones are cheap, too. Also get a V30 speaker cab.
I have used the mesa Mini-rectifier with 1 x 12 cab for 6 months now, and with my Axis supersport that has piezzo bridge I achieve any sound I could possibly wish for. I can not recommend the set up highly enough. For effects I use a TC Nova system on the effects loop.
I hope that helps
I hope that helps
beej
Moderator
There are so many great amps available today, it's hard to choose. As your options are going to be limited by what's available, I'd say you're best to spend time with the amps in your local stores and see what you like the sound of. Use the Internet to research some of the specific ones, and go from there.
The tone is in your hands and your ears. I play a SS and find it to be the best STOCK instrument I have owned...only put a paint job on it.
You need to figure out what YOU want to hear and chase that sound. The SS sounds great with any amp, even a crappy one. The better you can play the better you will sound no matter the amp. EVH could play a banjo through a gorilla amp and sound like EVH. There is no best amp for a SS axis...they are all good.
The missing ingredient to any "tone" quest is the player. What if you had your dream amp and a crappy cab with speakers ill suited to the task? You still would be chasing a tone.
All that said I much prefer tube amps and good ones at that. I do not like the modeler amps and am not convinced they compete with what I can do with what I have. I own some very expensive amps but in the end you learn it is really in your hands. Your ears hear it and your hands make it happen.
You need to figure out what YOU want to hear and chase that sound. The SS sounds great with any amp, even a crappy one. The better you can play the better you will sound no matter the amp. EVH could play a banjo through a gorilla amp and sound like EVH. There is no best amp for a SS axis...they are all good.
The missing ingredient to any "tone" quest is the player. What if you had your dream amp and a crappy cab with speakers ill suited to the task? You still would be chasing a tone.
All that said I much prefer tube amps and good ones at that. I do not like the modeler amps and am not convinced they compete with what I can do with what I have. I own some very expensive amps but in the end you learn it is really in your hands. Your ears hear it and your hands make it happen.
xjbebop
Well-known member
Just out of curiosity, which Blackstar did you try?
Most of them have way more gain than needed, so cranked up to "8" would be way too much, imho.
I bought an HT40 when they came out, more so for the clean channel. Usually run the gain around 9 - 11 o'clock.
Tried the HT5 and hated it, even though they are very popular.
Anyway, most amps out there these days have good / great sounds in them if you give them a chance...
Most of them have way more gain than needed, so cranked up to "8" would be way too much, imho.
I bought an HT40 when they came out, more so for the clean channel. Usually run the gain around 9 - 11 o'clock.
Tried the HT5 and hated it, even though they are very popular.
Anyway, most amps out there these days have good / great sounds in them if you give them a chance...
ksandvik
Well-known member
Another interesting way to try out amp sounds without the need to purchase them or go around stores is to use something like NI's Guitar Rig and try out various amp simulations so you get a feeling what a Rectifier sounds versus a Soldano versus a Marshall JCM and so on.
I agree that some of the tone is in the fingers but some of the tone also has to do with the amp/cab combination and settings -- the more you know how a Rectifier sounds versus a Marshall or Bogner then you know what you want to sound yourself.
It seems the generic sound of guitars have changed each ten years or so, from Marshalls to scoped Mesa Boogies to a myriad of sounds today. Me thinks even better is that you develop your own unique tone that you like rather than sounding like any other let's say emo-metal band out there.
I agree that some of the tone is in the fingers but some of the tone also has to do with the amp/cab combination and settings -- the more you know how a Rectifier sounds versus a Marshall or Bogner then you know what you want to sound yourself.
It seems the generic sound of guitars have changed each ten years or so, from Marshalls to scoped Mesa Boogies to a myriad of sounds today. Me thinks even better is that you develop your own unique tone that you like rather than sounding like any other let's say emo-metal band out there.
