Need some amp advice for a Luke

[samplesize]

Hi folks,

So, here's the deal: I'm shopping for a combo amp, probably tube, that has a nice clean sound and that goes loud enough without breaking up to play with drums/bass/etc at rehearsal, and to be miced on stage. At the same time, it would be great if it's not super heavy. And price is a consideration.

The thing is, it seem that my Luke's active pickups cause amps to break up at lower volumes than a guitar with passive pickups would.

I tried a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe and it breaks up pretty quick.

Tried a Peavey Classic 50 and it's a great sound, except it's too heavy.

Tried a Peavey Classic 30 and it's certainly nice and light but, again, breaks up just a bit to soon with the Luke. This one was real close and I may get it anyway. I really wish they made a Peavey Classic 40.

So...I would greatly appreciate your advice. Anything else I should try out?

Thank you.

 

[slukather]

I just went amp hunting today, and discover a fantastic amp, it's the Randall RM100c, l don't know if you have heard of them, but what this model is, it's got 3 modules, and you put any 3 you want (whats available anyway), l was play one with a Fender clean module and Mesa Boogie Recifier module in it, and they sound exactly like the acutal amps, well according to the guy they are pretty much are the boards from the actual amps (they even had 2 tubes on each module), l was sold, l'm gonna sell off some of my guitars (not ernie ball) and buy one, just after l read a bit more on them. Read about it more at the randall website. they have heads, 50 watts combos and more.

I also tried out some mesa boogies today, and can't say l was impressed, the only one l liked was the new Mesa Boogie Siletto, but not gonna buy it.

Scott.

 

[sandyt1987]

Hmm have u tried lookin at any of the marshall stuff at all?
would be helpfull if u told us what kind of price range ur looking at and what kind of amps u would prefer mate.

 

[samplesize]

Hmm have u tried lookin at any of the marshall stuff at all?
would be helpfull if u told us what kind of price range ur looking at and what kind of amps u would prefer mate.

Haven't tried the Marshall stuff yet. Any suggestions?

I'd like to keep it under $700, if possible.

By "what kind," do you mean brand? I'm open to anything with the right sound and features.

 

[SteveB]

slukather,

That Randall sounds like the same concept that was behind those Seymour Duncan "Convertible" amps.. you could plug in various modules, in the sequence you desired, and come up with all kinds of great amp sounds.

I don't think they make 'em anymore, but they were really great combo amps.. ahead of their time.


samplesize,

If you can't find a light amp that you like, maybe you could build a base with wheels to cart your amp around. Then you would only have to lift it for steps or loading/unloading.

I don't think there's such a thing as a light tube amp. So you might be stuck with solid state if the weight is that critical. Ever consider using a Roland Jazz Chorus with a distortion pedal? They make a 2x12 combo (JC-120) and a smaller model.. which I can't remember offhand. Beautiful clean sound on these amps. You'll have to create your own distortion sound, though.

 

[slukather]

slukather,

That Randall sounds like the same concept that was behind those Seymour Duncan "Convertible" amps.. you could plug in various modules, in the sequence you desired, and come up with all kinds of great amp sounds.

I don't think they make 'em anymore, but they were really great combo amps.. ahead of their time.

Yeah simliar thing, l was blown away by this amp though, it was just great to have a Fender/Marshall/Mesa Boogie in one amp, the best of both worlds. I just can't get over it. hehe.

Scott.

 

[deweyd]

I would suggest trying the Crate V3112. It's a 30 watt Class A amp. The one I played thru had a Tone Tubby Speaker

Rivera's are in a different price range but the Clubster might be an option. I think the Chubster is a bit heavier in weight.

I own a Peavey Classic 30 and am returning to using it as my #1 amp over a Line 6 Flextone 3. The Peavey discussion board has a lot of suggestions on mods to the amp, tube changes and speaker changes that might help you get the sound you are looking for.

 

[Pundix]

Samplesize,

I don't have a luke, but I use a variety of guitars with my Boogie MK IV. Question is, if you set the amp the way you want it and crank back a bit on your guitar's volume knob does it still break up too early? When I play I tend to run my amp a bit hot so I can get a decent breakup with the guitar all out, then crank back the volume knob on my guitar to get a nice rounded clean. This works with my Silo really well. It also works with my Paul.

Pundix.

 

[samplesize]

<snip>
if you set the amp the way you want it and crank back a bit on your guitar's volume knob does it still break up too early?
<snip>

Now, why the crap didn't I think of that? ...Guess I'll have to go try some of the same ones again with the volume down a bit.

Perhaps someone can further enlighten me...What exactly are those EMGs doing that is causing the amp to break up sooner? What is overdriving, exactly? Is it that the output of the guitar is so hot that it's overdriving the input of the amp?

 

[samplesize]

Thanks for all your replies and suggestions.

Slukather: That Randall sounds interesting. There's a 50 watt that's just barely in my price range. I'll have to find somewhere to try that out.

SteveB: Yeah, if I was gonna do wheels, I'd go with the Peavey Classic 50 -- same 60 lbs as the JC-120, real nice, hot, clean sound plus nice tube warmth. I may yet check out the JC-90, which is the smaller model to which you referred, although I would like to steer clear of solid state if possible...mostly because, if it does break up, I'd rather have tube overdrive than solid state distortion.

deweyd: The Crate sounded nice but, again, broke up too soon. Apparently, they're coming out with a big brother to that one soon. Maybe that would do the trick...especially if it's two-channel. Rivera's are definitely too pricey for me.

 

[lukeman]

I've got a Luke, and it kicks ass on any amp really! My two amps that i have are a Marshall Bluesbreaker combo and a Laney VH100R. The Laney is a total beast and the Luke just smokes through it, i cant believe the sound really, the best ever! I dont think the Luke breaks up at all early, and i only play the clean channel of the Laney with a Ibanez Tube Screamer for heavy rhythm and solos. I get to go out and play it tonight too, woo hoo! Go Luke!

 

[kbaim]

Does it need a new battery?

Mine never broke up at high volume through Line6 FlextoneII clean mode.

Broke up lots with Soldano mode, though.
KEITH

 

[samplesize]

Does it need a new battery?

Nope, just replaced it.

 

[slukather]

I've got a Luke, and it kicks ass on any amp really! My two amps that i have are a Marshall Bluesbreaker combo and a Laney VH100R. The Laney is a total beast and the Luke just smokes through it, i cant believe the sound really, the best ever! I dont think the Luke breaks up at all early, and i only play the clean channel of the Laney with a Ibanez Tube Screamer for heavy rhythm and solos. I get to go out and play it tonight too, woo hoo! Go Luke!

I have to agree, the Luke sounds great through any amp.

Lukeman, l still have to come check out your band, and see you rip it up onstage with your Luke.

Scott.

 

[JDouglee]

The Randall modular stuff sounds great, I heard them at NAMM. Best Recto sound
I've heard yet. Plus many pros are using them now, including Ty from King's X.
I'm thinking about picking up a RM100 head.

 

[slukather]

The Randall modular stuff sounds great, I heard them at NAMM. Best Recto sound
I've heard yet. Plus many pros are using them now, including Ty from King's X.
I'm thinking about picking up a RM100 head.

Finally someone who agrees with me, l've gotten abuse for saying theres a better amp than a mesa/boogie, l don't think the mesa's are that great though. I'm gonna pick up a RM100 myself in the next couple of weeks, probably get the Fender Clean mod, Brown Mod, and Mesa/Boogie mod.

Scott.

 

[JDouglee]

Finally someone who agrees with me, l've gotten abuse for saying theres a better amp than a mesa/boogie, l don't think the mesa's are that great though. I'm gonna pick up a RM100 myself in the next couple of weeks, probably get the Fender Clean mod, Brown Mod, and Mesa/Boogie mod.

Scott.

Oh man, the Recto module in both the Randall & the Egnater amps are so much better than the Mesas. 1000 times more accurate & punchy. I've heard good things about the Plexi & XTC modules as well. The price is right, it's versatile, and it's all tube so you're not dealing with the limitations of modelling amps.

Good luck, let us know how U like it!

 

[slukather]

Oh man, the Recto module in both the Randall & the Egnater amps are so much better than the Mesas. 1000 times more accurate & punchy. I've heard good things about the Plexi & XTC modules as well. The price is right, it's versatile, and it's all tube so you're not dealing with the limitations of modelling amps.

Good luck, let us know how U like it!

I've tried a Plexi, The Fender Clean, Rectifier, Brown modules.

I'm going back to the store in the next couple of days to try the rest of them out, but l'm very excited by this amp, atm l love the Fender Clean, it sounded great with my Petrucci on the Bridge pickup. The brown module is pretty much Eddie Van Halen/AC/DC sound, and everyone knows what the recitifier sounds like.

I've tried a heap of Mesa Boogie and just wasn't happy with them, I liked the F-series, and the new Stiletto. But those amps are too expensive. I was in the guitar store for ages screwing around with settings, some of the workers came over and recommended some settings, but l wasn't happy with them. I've heard you have to screw around with Mesa's for a while, I like a Plug n play amp, cause my 3 year old Nephew always screws with my settings on my 5150, and if he did that with a mesa boogie, l'd be constantly screwing with my amp to find my settings.

But l'll let you know, how the mod's sound, there are sounds samples on the randall website. It'll be a couple of weeks before l buy it, don't know weither to get the 100 combo or 100 head, l'll probably get the combo for ease, but l'll have to wait for it to be released here.

Scott.

 

[Pundix]

I've tried a heap of Mesa Boogie and just wasn't happy with them, I liked the F-series, and the new Stiletto. But those amps are too expensive. I was in the guitar store for ages screwing around with settings, some of the workers came over and recommended some settings, but l wasn't happy with them. I've heard you have to screw around with Mesa's for a while, I like a Plug n play amp, cause my 3 year old Nephew always screws with my settings on my 5150, and if he did that with a mesa boogie, l'd be constantly screwing with my amp to find my settings.
Scott.

Scott,

You really do have to tweak the Mesa's to get the sound you're after. I've been using them for years and love them, but they certainly aren't for everyone. One of the tricks of tweaking a mesa is to set the treble first. Especially on a MK IV, set your treble around 4 or 5 then adjust your mid to 3 or 4 and bass to 3 or 4.

Unlike most amps, small eq adjustments on a lot of mesa's actually change the sound quite a bit. Once you get used to them they become fairly easy, but there is definately a learning curve.

Ron

 

[slukather]

Scott,

You really do have to tweak the Mesa's to get the sound you're after. I've been using them for years and love them, but they certainly aren't for everyone. One of the tricks of tweaking a mesa is to set the treble first. Especially on a MK IV, set your treble around 4 or 5 then adjust your mid to 3 or 4 and bass to 3 or 4.

Unlike most amps, small eq adjustments on a lot of mesa's actually change the sound quite a bit. Once you get used to them they become fairly easy, but there is definately a learning curve.

Ron

Yeah l know you have to tweak those amps, l have, the guys in the store have, they/I just can't get a sound l like out of them, i like the distorted sound on the recifiers, but was unhappy with the clean, that''s why l am after the Randall, a recifier distorted and fender clean in one amp, what's not to love about the amp. It gets annoying at times when people abuse you for not liking Mesa Boogie amps, as you said, they are not for everyone, like Ernie Ball guitars, they are not for everyone, but l love em, and don't abuse people who don't.

The stiletto was nice, but the price for a stiletto head and 2x12 was $6200 (aus dollars), where the Randall 100 watt combo was just over $3000, the shop couldn't give an exact price, cause they haven't been released here. BUt the guys in the shop were nice about everything, they said if l like l could have a randall 100 watt head, and 2x12 for the price of the combo, but l still have to find the time to go down to the store again, and have a chat to them about prices.

I don't know about you, but half price for an amp l like better.

Scott.