Off Topic Amp suggestions

[spychocyco]

I've played through a Crate GT-80 for years. It's been a good amp for me, but since I got my Axis, it's just not giving me what I want, and I'm about to start shopping for something different. So I thought I'd turn to my fellow forumites for some suggestions about amps to try out.

My main guitar is my Axis, and my main music is metal. So I'm looking for something that will give me a lot of crunch. The Crate gives me kind of a loose, rough distortion. I'm looking for something with a little more bite and a little smoother tone, and I just can't seem to dial it in. At the same time, though, I don't want to lose versatility. I want something I can get some warm clean tones out of, too.

I don't foresee doing any gigging with this amp. It will mostly be played in my home, and I have neighbors fairly close, so I'm not looking for a 150-watt stack. I'm looking for something that sounds good at low volumes as well as high. I don't have a timeline on getting the amp yet, so I haven't set a budget. If it's the right amp, I'm willing to wait as long as it takes to save the money. That said, I'm probably not going to go too far into the thousands either.

Two that I know I'll check out are the Mesa Roadster or a Mesa Single Rectifier with a 2x12 cabinet. I haven't played either yet since the nearest Mesa dealer is a 2-plus hour drive, but I'd welcome opinions from folks out there who have experience with either, particularly with an Axis.

I'm leaning toward Mesa purely because of name recognition and the good comments I've seen on here about them, not due to personal experience. But I'm open to any make. So please hit me with your best suggestions of what I should try out in my search.

 

[TimSz]

I recommend the Laney. TT series is great. GH and VH series is great too. It lacks the compression that Mesa seems to have, so the notes ring out very freely. Early Andy Timmons and Paul Gilbert has Laney all over it. Timmons has since gone to Mesa and Gilbert to Marshall, but their tone lied in Laney. Dragonforce uses them too, I think.

 

[fatoni]

you want a mesa mark iv or any mark for that matter. that is exactly what you are describing. you dont want a single rec, its too loud and not versatile. the mark series, however, is used by the likes of scofield, santana, and petrucci so...and early pg wasnt laney. he uses them now but then he had a couple of ada mp1 preamps

 

[TimSz]

I should have clarified. Early PG as in Mr. Big's hay day. He was using the ADA preamps in Racer X and early Mr. Big.

He's not using Laney anymore, by the way. He's using Marshall Vintage Modern amps.

The Mark series is pretty badass.

 

[JohnnyD19]

The mark series is good, but you may also want to check into the stiletto series. Its an EL-34 based Mesa. Its basically a marshall on steroids but better! I should do a Youtube search but its 3:30 and I'm feeling lazy haha

 

[fsmith]

One vote for the Roadster and the Axis (SS)... Probably a biased vote but hey you asked!

Mine sound great through it, both MM90 and hums. It's a very versatile amp that comes stock with 6L6's but can be swapped over to EL34's without rebiasing, just flip a switch.

Great crunch and leads, and the cleans are the same as the Lone Star which are incredible. I really like the tweed setting on channel 1 and the channel 2 brit setting was a big surprise. I'm really curious how the vintage setting on channel 3 will sound with the EL34's, I'm thinking sort of like my Ace. I had the Stiletto Ace for 2 years, and it was a great amp but this gives me more of a great thing. Channel 4 is just a beast that will rearrange the furniture for you.

Nice reverb that can be dialed in independently for each channel and is footswitchable. I like a fair amount on my clean channels and very little on the crunch side.

You can set each channel at 50 or 100 watts, and it has a very nice master volume that works, but I do run mine through a hotplate at -4db to smoke the tubes a little and it works very well in my bedroom even with the family in the next room watching TV.

Note: The hotplate is not really necessary' the master volume really does work as advertised, but for direct recording, when I get there will be invaluable. I can go direct to my computer and kill the sound to my cabinet keeping a load on the amp at all times running the signal through my monitors.

They're pretty easy to get really good tones out of quickly but like most Mesa's are very sensitive to small adjustments so you can play for a few days tweaking your sound to your space and guitars. They're not as difficult IMO to dial in as a Mark IV though.

Good luck,
fred

 

[hbucker]

I've never played one but a Mesa Roadster looks hard to beat if it'll do everything they claim. I do get a little suspicious of gear that'll "do it all". They tend to be a jack-of-all-trades, master of none pieces of gear.

Having said that, the roadster would be on my very short list of amps to check out if I were in the market.

One of the reasons I'm not in the market is that I love my PV Classic 100. I can honestly recommend any of the amps in the PV Classic series. They are rock solid offerings.

Good luck

 

[Jonny Dubai]

hahah I love these threads. I go me a Marshall Vintage Modern 50w head and for me it is great. Single chanel and a bag full of tone that suits me. For metal you may want a little bit more grit so try the JVM. Also the PV 6505 or JSX is a great metyal amp. H and K, ENGL,...

THE LIST IS ENDLESSSSSSSSS


Have a blast trying out as many amps as you can get your hands on.

J

 

[MusicManJP6]

you want a mesa mark iv or any mark for that matter. that is exactly what you are describing. you dont want a single rec, its too loud and not versatile. the mark series, however, is used by the likes of scofield, santana, and petrucci so...and early pg wasnt laney. he uses them now but then he had a couple of ada mp1 preamps

I beg to differ. To say the Single Rec is not versatile is a bit of a stretch. The Recto series is one of the most popular amps in rock and pop. It is capable of any tones the Mark is capable of, but with a different voice and feel. And it's easier to use. And the Mark series are just as loud as a Single Rec. I've owned both and prefer the Recto.

 

[MusicManJP6]

I've never played one but a Mesa Roadster looks hard to beat if it'll do everything they claim. I do get a little suspicious of gear that'll "do it all". They tend to be a jack-of-all-trades, master of none pieces of gear.

Having said that, the roadster would be on my very short list of amps to check out if I were in the market.

One of the reasons I'm not in the market is that I love my PV Classic 100. I can honestly recommend any of the amps in the PV Classic series. They are rock solid offerings.

Good luck

The Roadster is an awesome amp. I used to own one. It was more amp than I could ever use like it is supposed to be used so I sold it and 'downgraded' to a Rectoverb combo. Used the money I saved to help pay for my BFR. If money was not a problem i'd have a Roadster again.

 

[73h Nils]

You could also check out the Mesa F30 or F50 if you can find them. They have perfect volume balance from low to high and such good tonal possibilities.

 

[Tim O'Sullivan]

If you are not going to gig with it, have you thought about a POD or something like that into your existing amp?

 

[TonyEVH5150]

I've been pretty happy with my Peavey Valveking. 50 Watts, all-tube, two channels (footswitchable), gain boost (also footswitchable), effects loop. The cleans may leave a bit to be desired ( I honestly don't know - I've never used them), but the gain/lead channel is just great. I can easily cover classic rock to modern high gain with no problem. It's also a great amp to consider if price is an issue. a 1X12 will run you around $400.

 

[candid_x]

Another vote for the dark horse Laney. With a little attention to tubes and speaker and the LH50 and LC50 are impressive amps. For more modern rock, the GH50 smokes through a good quad cab of V30's (normally not a V30 fan). The GH is actually capable of covering a lot more territory then modern rock. You can find occasional used LC50 and LH50's for under 400 bucks. I don't care for the newer deeper cab of the LC50 II or LC30 II, too boomy for my ears.

 

[Sweat]

Man, the amp question thread is a killer, i have started one or two in my time on this forum, it is so subjective, everyone has thier likes and dislikes, I think Jonny hit it on the head just go out and try as many as you can and pick the one you like best and suits your need, for me I do not need a large wattage amp, no gigging for me and I like to run my processor into them so less stuff on them the better and less watage the better.

Again just try as many as possible

 

[MusicManJP6]

You could also check out the Mesa F30 or F50 if you can find them. They have perfect volume balance from low to high and such good tonal possibilities.

I used to own an F30 as well. Great amp and very portable!

 

[jbhafner]

You know, for versatility and also if you're on a budget, the new Line6 Spidervalve is pretty phenomenal. Plus it's power section was designed by Bogner. Go check one out if you get a chance.

 

[spychocyco]

Thanks for all the replies so far. Looks like I'll have a lot of stops to make.

Just to address a couple of things, I have tried a few modelers on my current amp, and while they've gotten me closer, I'm still not completely happy with the results.

Portability and space are also issues that I probably should have mentioned last night. I'd really prefer some sort of combo, or at least a small cabinet. I'm working with a 12-by-12 bedroom here that has a queen bed, all of the normal bedroom furnishings and a couple of guitar cases, too. Also, while I won't be gigging with it, I will be packing it up fairly regularly to take to my brother's house to jam.

 

[fatoni]

I beg to differ. To say the Single Rec is not versatile is a bit of a stretch. The Recto series is one of the most popular amps in rock and pop. It is capable of any tones the Mark is capable of, but with a different voice and feel. And it's easier to use. And the Mark series are just as loud as a Single Rec. I've owned both and prefer the Recto.

to each his own i guess. the single rec didnt do it for me at bedroom volumes, couldnt get that singy sustainy feel. the f30 is super sweet and cheap so i guess youre a rec guy and im a mark guy...the f is really the in between

 

[JohnnyD19]

to each his own i guess. the single rec didnt do it for me at bedroom volumes, couldnt get that singy sustainy feel. the f30 is super sweet and cheap so i guess youre a rec guy and im a mark guy...the f is really the in between

lets just settle it this way. MESA OWNS!!!!