Recommend me a combo?

[Ali]

Hi everyone. Well, I've stopped buying guitars now. I can't think of a better combination than the two I have now....though a JP7 and Y2D may be coming one day...

Anyway, still got a bad case of GAS and now think I need a better amp. Thanks to family constraints and a job that involves a 55-60 hour week, the likelyhood of gigging is pretty low, so I need a neat combo with masses of warm, smooth tone. The problem I'm having is finding something versatile to do the Luke and Axis justice. I've tried pretty much everything in the £700-£1800 price range now and no joy.

At the moment I have a Marshall AVT150 combo and, in many ways, I love the tone. The clean is lovely and very Larry Carltonesque through the Luke, with e nough jangle left on the Axis to cover the country and blues side of things. The OD1 channel is near perfect for my Luke tone, and the OD2 suits the Axis very well, coming close to the brown sound. The only problem is that the bass is a bit too muddy for my likinga dn notes tend to find it hard to be heard individually. Glorious tone higher up the register, but those lower octave notes just tend to fudge together on both guitars. The AVT is also near useless to add an effects board to as everything suddenly turns horribly glassy and thin, and VERY digital.

The top favourites I've tried are the Mesa Boogie F50 and Lonestar, and the Rivera Clubster 45. However, the F50 sounds a bit to compressed when the gain is up high...a bit too "modern" for my tastes. The Lonestar sounds superb with the Luke, but the Axis sounds muddy on the drive channel, whereas the Rivera is a perfect match for the Axis but makes the Luke sound too harsh and fizzy when driven...glorious clean channel for both guitars though.Going to try and ENGL and VHT later today but anyone recommend anything else (that can be found in the UK). Happy for either a 1x12 or a 2x12, but must be lower wattage, or switchable, to allow home use.

At this rate, I might end up test driving amps forever more and saving the cash whilst keeping the AVT.

 

[beej]

If you're just looking for home use, have you considered a modeller? The PodXT sounds fantatstic at low volumes, you can run it in the FX loop of your current amp and it's not expensive.

 

[DaveB]

I agree with Beej - give the modelling stuff a go.

Other names to look for - Koch do a 20 Watt Studiotone which sounds very nice and is very flexible. Engl do some nice amps and the 15 Watt Laneys get good reviews though from past experience there are sometimes some build issues.

At the high end of your budget there are people like Dr Z, Carr etc who make boutique grade amps.....

Dave

FWIW - most of the time at home despite having several thousands of pounds worth of amps I play through a 79 quid Roland MicroCube (I learnt that from kbaim in the bedroom!)

 

[Ali]

Don't like modelling to be honest. I just got rid of my Boss GT6 as it sounded poo through the AVT. Test drove an ENGL Screamer combo at lunch. Didn't have much time with it but very, very impressed! Must go back and give it a decent thrash though.

 

[beej]

Only problem with tube is that you have to crank 'em up a bit to get good tone at low volume (note: upcoming Guytron combo won't have that problem, though I doubt it'll be cheap ...) - thus the modeller suggestion. (Seriously like my PodXT for that and you can play with headphones if need be.) But a solid state combo wouldn't have that problem. Also you get built in FX with it, so that saves some $$$.

Also- most of the modellers aren't going to sound good through your combo unless you use the FX return. I've always loved keyboard amps for this as they've got a pretty wide dynamic range so you get clean power.

Then again, there's nothing more fun than heading down to your local store and trying everything out

 

[Motojunkie]

I like the idea of the PODxt for home use. If you want some volume couple it with an Atomic Reactor for best results. The Atomic is an 18 watt all tube power section specially designed to warm up the tone of the modelers.

Here's a link to Atomic's site - http://www.atomicamps.com/

 

[Ali]

Sorry guys. Tried the Atomic with the Pod and really didn't like it. Too thin and fizzy again. I also tried the Boss through the FX return and also through the 4 lead method and still sounded horrid through the AVT150. Marshalls just don't get on well with multi effects it would seem.

 

[3855M]

If your looking for a low wattage tube amp for home maybe you should check out Cornford's Harlequin or Carrera. I'm looking to buy another amp this year and the Carrera is at the top of the list. They are very expensive in the US, maybe since you are in Scotland you could get a better deal. I haven't played through one, as the nearest dealer is several states away, but everything I've read about them has been very good.

 

[Tim O'Sullivan]

How about a Soldano Astroverb? 20watts into 1x12"

 

[brentrocks]

have you thought about a 5150 combo, or is not quite what you are looking for?

 

[Axis Sport]

Ali,

Last month I purchased a Carr Mercury. Wow is all I can say. It is only 8 watts and loud enough for a small club, but with an attenuator that will take it down to 1/8 of a watt. I can be playing with awesome tone at two in the morning with the kids sleeping close by. They are not cheap, but a great all around amp. This amp is discussed in this months guitar player. The website is www.carramps.com.

Good luck.

 

[nobozos]

Budda Superdrive 18 1x12 combo. Just got one. Love it. Only wish I still had my Axis to play through it. I used to have a 5150 combo, a Mesa F50, a Mesa Nomad, a JCM 900 combo, and a 1964 Fender Bandmaster. This amp blows them all away. 2 channels with a bright switch for the clean channel, and a "modern" switch on the mids. Loads of real tone.

 

[Ali]

Thanks guys. Good recommendations. I tried the Cornford a few months back but didn't get long on it. Very impressive but it sold before I could go back and try it again! 5150 combo seems to be enormously heavy so I'd have to get the wife to let me keep it downstairs but worth a look. I think our store have a Buddha as well, and hopefully the VHT will ahve been repaired by today

 

[jpmrulez]

Sorry guys. Tried the Atomic with the Pod and really didn't like it. Too thin and fizzy again. I also tried the Boss through the FX return and also through the 4 lead method and still sounded horrid through the AVT150. Marshalls just don't get on well with multi effects it would seem.

Has anyone else tried the Atomic? Because this is excactly what I've been looking for to warm up the digital tone from my Pod. Well, that or a tube poweramp+cab.

 

[beej]

Never did. I tried a bunch of ways - PA Systems, Poweramp + Cabs, etc. but my favourite Pod sound was through my 100W keyboard amp. Just smoked.

(That said, while I love the Pod at low/medium volume, it was always missing something when cranked up. Really really close, but not quite there.)

 

[jpmrulez]

On a sidenote:

My cousin has this amp modelling software in his recording studio which is just unbelievable!! I don't know the name of the software, but many professional guitarplayers have been blown away after testing it. It ownes all the other modellers in recording guitar.

So I guess my point is that apparently the modelling technology is pretty advanced by now, the very high-end stuff just isn't very popularized yet.

 

[Ali]

Tried the Boogie Mk4 in a very posh and epxensive custom cabinet.....and didn't like it at all!!! I just couldn't get it to move away from that compressed Boogie sound despite all the options. It also blew 3 fuses in an hour!!!

Tried the Engle Screamer 50 again and still like it a lot. Just wish it had separate bias controls for the clean channel though. Seems like such an oversight.

 

[quakenut]

My Luke II and Parker Fly Mojo sound superb through my Rivera Fandango 1x12 55W.

 

[spkirby]

I'm still into my Axis and Cornford Hurricane

 

[Jonny Dubai]

I'm still into my Axis and Cornford Hurricane

With you on the Cornford stuff. Sounds amazing.