I need a new amp!

[brentrocks]

I wanted to ask everybody's opinion on combo-style amps.

I have a Peavey Transfex 208 combo right now. I'm thinking about getting somthing with a little more power.

I was thinking about a Johnson or a 5150 combo? I'm not sure?

I have never owned a tube amp before. Are they a big pain in the A**?

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Lew]

If you have never owned a valve amp before,then I think you will be suitably impressed by most valve amps on the market.
Not a pain in the ass but it will need maintanance every now and then.
Can you be more specific as to what sound your'e looking for?

 

[phatduckk]

I have a Fender Blues Junior combo that I use at home and I love it. Its a tube amp ... I've had it since about 1998 or 1999 and I have never done anything to it as far as maintainance ... i just turn it on and it works ... sounds grea too.

as far as a powerful tube combo ... i dunno. but my experience with a tube amp has been great. they sound better to me. I have a solid state Marshall 2 x12 combo that i never use cuz the mini tube amp just sounds way better

 

[brentrocks]

If you have never owned a valve amp before,then I think you will be suitably impressed by most valve amps on the market.
Not a pain in the ass but it will need maintanance every now and then.
Can you be more specific as to what sound your'e looking for?

i'm looking for a lot of low-end crunch, which i can't really get out of a 2-8 combo like i have now. but i would like to also have a little bit of range for like playing on the neck pickup, stuff like that.

 

[Lew]

What wattage?Channels?What budget?
Soooo many options.

 

[tommyindelaware]

that 5150 combo weighs about 1000 lbs. !!!!!

 

[dfrady]

I used to have a 5150 combo, it's an awsome amp the only down side is the weight, i think it weighs about 90 lbs. the only thing i would recommend would be a set of casters. If you haven't already heard peavey has replaced the 5150 with the 6505 but it's basically the same amp, it just doesn't have eddie's sig. on it and it doesn't say 5150.

 

[brentrocks]

What wattage?Channels?What budget?
Soooo many options.

that's the problem. i'm not an electronics nut and i don't know a lot about amps. i bought the one i have now because it had a built in FX rack and it seemed like a nice feature at the time. (that was 10 yrs ago) but it lacks the low-end balls because of its size and lack of power, i think.

i just want something with a good crunchy lead channel and a clean channel. maybe some distortion boost/high gain channel or something like that.

i've played through half-stacks at guitar stores, but i think that is a little out of my price range.

i understand what you're saying abouth the 5150 and its weight, i won't be moving it much though. i was thinking about maybe getting a used one off ebay or something.

i wonder how much the new 6510 is? weren't the 5150 combos $1200?

anyway, that is my situation...of course there is the wife factor to figure in...i may not get too far

 

[jongitarz]

I have a Mesa DC3...35 watts, one 12...I use it as a practice amp, and it has enough balls for bar gigs etc. They don't make them anymore, but they pop up on ebay often.

 

[slukather]

that's the problem. i'm not an electronics nut and i don't know a lot about amps. i bought the one i have now because it had a built in FX rack and it seemed like a nice feature at the time. (that was 10 yrs ago) but it lacks the low-end balls because of its size and lack of power, i think.

i just want something with a good crunchy lead channel and a clean channel. maybe some distortion boost/high gain channel or something like that.

i've played through half-stacks at guitar stores, but i think that is a little out of my price range.

i understand what you're saying abouth the 5150 and its weight, i won't be moving it much though. i was thinking about maybe getting a used one off ebay or something.

i wonder how much the new 6510 is? weren't the 5150 combos $1200?

anyway, that is my situation...of course there is the wife factor to figure in...i may not get too far

I don't think the new 6510 will be as much as the 5150, because EVH doesn't get a cut of profits now. The 5150 is a great amp, l have a 5150 ii, it has a better clean channel and the Lead channel has more balls than the original 5150.

Is the 6510 based after the original 5150 or 5150 ii? anyone know. I'm thinking 5150.

Anyway they were going to release a 5150 ii combo, but didn't happened cause EVH left Peavey.

Other amps to maybe keep an eye out for. Peavey XXX (comes in a combo too), Rivera has some great amps, but they are expensive., try some Fender amps, Marshall, etc etc. Try anything and everything.

But l think Mesa amps are sh!t, l've tried a couple of their amps out, and my 5150 would smoke them. But thats just my opition.

Maybe if you give a list of bands or something you like so we know exactly what tone you are after, we could help.

Good luck.

Scott.

 

[bluebullet]

mesa is either a love or hate thing for most people but sh*t is not the word i would use. they are great amps. but tone is subjective. you might want to consider the smaller tube amps that way you can get the power tubes to breakup and thats when tube amps really come alive.

 

[dwf1004]

I don't think the new 6510 will be as much as the 5150, because EVH doesn't get a cut of profits now. The 5150 is a great amp, l have a 5150 ii, it has a better clean channel and the Lead channel has more balls than the original 5150.

The 5150 never had a dedicated "clean" channel; it has rhythm and lead. If you turn down the pre on the rhythm, you can get a decent clean, but not anything to write home to Mom about.

Is the 6510 based after the original 5150 or 5150 ii? anyone know. I'm thinking 5150.

6505 = 5150
6505+ = 5150II
6505 combo = 5150 combo

Anyway they were going to release a 5150 ii combo, but didn't happened cause EVH left Peavey.

No, EVH sat on it/wasn't satisfied with the sound, etc.

Maybe if you give a list of bands or something you like so we know exactly what tone you are after, we could help.

Brent? Hmmm....

Lawrence Welk Trio
Guy Lombardo
The Go-Go's
The Bangles
Human League
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD)
Simply Red







Nothin' but love for ya, Brent!

 

[brentrocks]

Brent? Hmmm....

Lawrence Welk Trio
Guy Lombardo
The Go-Go's
The Bangles
Human League
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD)
Simply Red







Nothin' but love for ya, Brent!

Yeah, don't forget flock of seagulls

http://www.peavey.com/news/wnamm05_6505.cfm

holy crap...those are expensive!!!


VH, of course
AC/DC
Boston
Velvet Revolver
ozzzy
3 doors down
seehter
rush
KISS


stuff like that

 

[spkirby]

For your kind of music I'd recommend going for a tube amp for that all important sound...there are lots out there so stick to your budget and find one that sounds good to you. Also dont get sucked in by amps with too many features...if you like the sound of an amp with only 4 knobs, get it as the sound counts... (Then you can buy pedals to do the whizz bang stuff!)

There are a lot of boardies here who are using the digital modelling amp stuff. It's amazing how fashions come around again - it's like an 80's digital revival! Whereas the technology has come on a long way and these amps would certainly give you a lot more tones and options they sometimes can still sound a little false compared to the real tube amps...but you may still want to spend some time checking them out.

Decisions decisions....

 

[edensdad]

I have a 55 watt Mesa combo with 4x10's and I'm very happy with it. Of course Mesa is a bit pricey. When I bought my JP6 I spent about 10 hours in a music store playing different guitars, and they had me playing through two killer amps that I would consider if I had to buy a new one today: Mesa Boogie F-50 and a Rivera (I don't know the model, but it sang man). Both were great small combos with a 12" speaker. If I was still playing out, I'd probably get a Marshall mode 4 or a Mesa Dual Rectifier. I don't need that kind of sheer power any more, I don't play in a metal band anymore.

>^..^<

 

[dwf1004]

Brent, remember that what you're looking at is MSRP. According to how Musician's Fiend lists their price in comparison to MSRP, expect to drop about 300-350 off of the price listed there.

There was a guy on the Peavey forums that said that he bought a 5150 head through them for 750 during the clearance, so that (900-950) seems about right...

Flock of Seagulls...that was awesome...how could I have forgotten them? (I added in Human League after the fact, trying to think of the lamest groups from the 80's!)

 

[SteveB]

I had to laugh when brent mentioned "A Flock of Seagulls"...

I don't know why I'm admitting this here, but the song "I Ran" is what really got me to pick up the guitar and play.. y'know, those cool delay-laden chords, etc.

I had been around guitars my whole life thanks to my grandfather, and he had given me an acoustic (Stella) and an electric guitar (Harmony), but I never really messed with them until that song came out.

I remember twanging around up and down the high 'e' string. Eventually it broke and I don't think the guitar ever saw another set of strings. Shortly thereafter, I moved up big time to a Hondo II Les Paul copy, and the rest is history.

(I should have prefaced this post with the words "My name is Steve and I'm a guitarist").

 

[dwf1004]

I am listening to this song now because of this thread. What a masterpiece. LOL!

Steve, there are 8 repeats before ending in each delay hit.

I Ran
A Flock Of Seagulls

I walked along the avenue.
I never thought I'd meet a girl like you;
Meet a girl like you.
With auburn hair and tawny eyes;
The kind of eyes that hypnotize me through;
Hypnotize me through.

And I ran, I ran so far away.
I just ran, I ran all night and day.
I couldn't get away.

A cloud appears above your head;
A beam of light comes shining down on you,
Shining down on you.
The cloud is moving nearer still.
Aurora borealis comes in view;
Aurora comes in view.

And I ran, I ran so far away.
I just ran, I ran all night and day.
I couldn't get away.

Reached out a hand to touch your face;
You're slowly disappearing from my view;
Disappearing from my view.
Reached out a hand to try again;
I'm floating in a beam of light with you;
A beam of light with you.

And I ran, I ran so far away.
I just ran, I ran all night and day.
I couldn't get away.

 

[SteveB]

Marshall prices going up Feb 1st...

I was trying out some Marshall heads at my local music store yesterday, and they informed me that the Marshall prices are going up Feb 1st. I'm talking significantly, here... like 300 bucks more for a JCM2000 TSL and nearly 300 for a JCM2000 DSL. The whole line will be affected, though, because the reason for the increase (I'm told) is the pound-versus-dollar ratio.

So if anyone here is on the fence, buy your Marshall in the next few days or you'll pay a lot more for it.

 

[Lew]

Get yourself to a dealer Brent,and see what tones you like.
Boogie can be VERY crunchy!
You can get deals on small boogie combo's,and add ext's later.Gotta say that I was really dissapointed by mesa's f30,the verb and drive were not to my taste.But the build quality seemed fine.
But looking at your list of bands,then Marshall will get you some of those tones.
Home use only?20 watts of valve is LOUD for your front room.
So you may want to buy a hotplate or other attenuater to het the most from your valves. http://www.legendarytones.com/thd_hotplate_power_attenuator.htm