Which amp with a MMJPM 6 string w/ Piezo ?

[yayito]

Hi,

I will receive soon my MM John Petrucci 6 string w/ Piezo guitar and I would like to buy an new amp that sounds coll with it (at the moment I've got a small Fender amp that I use with a BOSS multi-effect).
I play mostly metal, rock (AC/DC, Guns, Queen,...) , blues-rock, pop-rock (Pink-Floyd) at home and in a small band. I'd like also to have a decent cleen sound.

I have read into MMJPM guitar reviews that it doesn't sound so cool by using some amp, even nice tube amps. And I can't find or test every tube amp in the music store of my countries (they don't like to let you use the tubes of their amp !).

If I had the budget I would certainly buy a Mesa Boogie rectifier head but it's a bit expensive and I would prefer a combo for my use.
Do you have any advice ? Which amp did you test with your MMJPM guitar ?
Especially what do you think of using a MMJPM with a 5150 peavey combo, a TSL 602 Marshall combo, a F30 or F50 mesa boogie combo ?

One last thing, I have also a US Fender Strat Plus that I will use through the amp I plan to buy.

Thanks !

 

[blackspy]

I hate to say it, but if you're looking for the most versatile of the amps you mentioned, for hard rock type stuff, I'd say the Marshall. The 5150 is definitely not the most diverse amp and the Boogies I've tried also have a specific tone to them. Also you're talking some nice tube amps, and you mention your boss multifx box... I had one of these as well, gt5, and had to ditch it when I started getting some serious equipment, it would just suck the tone out my rig. I opted for individual mix and match pedals instead. Some in the loop, some before the amp.

 

[yayito]

Thanks.
Do you think it is possible to get a killer solo sound by using the Marshall with the MMJPM guitar ?
I agree with your advice about the boss multi-effect. It was good with my small cheap amp but if I buy a nice tube amp it would sux.
So, 1 point for the Marshall.

 

[blackspy]

I can't imagine not being able to get a good lead tone with a JCM2000 TSL, even if it is a combo, and a EB/MM Petrucci guitar. I'm not a big fan of Marshall, but thousands of players out there love them.

 

[fsmith]

Yayito or should I say Don Quixote...

You're on a quest for something that no one will probably have an answer for. Tone is very subjective and it's not always the equipment that makes the tone good or even memorable. It's the player, it's in his fingers and it's in his mojo.

Same setup, 2 different guitarists, very good chance that you're going to hear 2 very different sounding tones.

I always think back to an interview with Eddie Van Halen in his early years. He was playing a show with Ted Nugent. Nuge showed up at sound check and wants to see how Eddie gets his brown sound. Eddie gives him his guitar plugged into his rig, Ted begins to jam and it sounds like Ted. It didn't sound like Eddie's tone at all.

Sorry for taking off on a tangent, but amp choices are a very personal pick, *you* have to play through it and like what you hear. We can make suggestions, but they mean nothing until you plug in and play. I love my little Mesa Boogie Studio .22+ but it's not for everyone. But I'll tell you this, my Petrucci sounds huge through that thing according to my ears. I had a Traynor tube amp that I didn't care for the sound of, but my nephew could make it sing. I sold it because it didn't sound good to me.

Good luck in your search.
fred

 

[yayito]

Fred, you are right, I fully agree with you.
My problem is that a lot of amps are very hard to find where I live, especially tube amps. The only available amp for testing are cheap amps.
Same thing for top end guitars. For instance, I have bought my MMJPM guitar through ebay without having tested it !
That's why I am looking for advices.

Mesa Studio 22 + : 1 point

What about a Line6 or Roland or Vox Valvetronic amp ?
Can you get a sound closed to a tube amp ?

 

[mesavox]

Versatile... Mesa Road King or Triaxis setup. Or, Marshall JMP1 or thier 20th anniversery amp from a few years ago...

The thing to remember about the JPM is the pick attack is very accentuated. It also has very open sounding pickups... almost single coily. They are certainly not high output like say a Zak Wylde EMG, Dimebucker Duncan, or Dimarzio Distortion. The EB JPMs are higher output than the Ibanez JPMs were however.

This guitar works very well with a Mesa because that's how JP wanted it to work. Mesa's are dark sounding, and often referred to as boxy. The JPM helps this a lot and makes a Mesa a bit more versatile.

A JPM with a Marshall will still work well. You will find the openess of the pickups and the Marshall midrange create a definate tweak point. Same with a Soldano... However, not very much sounds bad through a Soldano. lol.

Really though, like has been said... all these are great amps really. I don't like the Marshall sound for my playing, but I love to hear Slash play through one. Brian May and a Vox... yep, that's pretty nice indeed. Matchless? Great stuff.

If you get a quality tube amp, you really can't go wrong in the sense that you surely won't have a cheap souding amp. It may not do what you wish it would for you're playing, but you at least won't sound like you are playing Metallica through a Peavey Special 112 transistor amp.

Take that guitar to a store, and play it through what they have. It's a long journey for many to find 'thier' tone because so many things sound great. I lucked into playing a Mesa and it doing exactly what I wanted pretty much accross the board. However, now as I've played more, there are other Mesa's I need(6l6 MK sounds very different than my EL84 DC3) and I still want an AC30 for more than one area of my playing. The new Orange with reverb, pre volume, and effects loop will likely impress most as well.

 

[brentrocks]

i would say that the 5150 would be good for ya !!

i just got a 5150 combo and i love it!!

i like to play the same type music you do...and it works great for me.

 

[beej]

It's really tough to buy an amp w/o hearing it in person. If you want to sample a wide range of sounds at a reasonable price, modelling gear (e.g. Line6 PodXT) might be the way to go. Lots of guys here (myself included) go this route. While not a high-end tube amp, the sounds can be pretty close.

The other thing to mention is that if you don't like the sound of a particular pickup/amp combination, there are a few things you can do. For example, if you find the Petrucci pickups to be too bright, you can lower the resonant frequency of the pickups by using a cable with lots of capacitance (wire up a 5 cent capacitor to your cable). Conversely, a low-capacitance cable will brighten up your sound.

 

[koogie2k]

What amp to get? Well, I cannot tell you that. However, some of the ones suggested are good. But, again, it is up to you.

Marshall? I had one. Great amp, just did not get the tone I was after. I got close, but something was missing. But, still a great amp.

Line 6? I have the Vetta II and it is wonderful. I love the amp for many many reasons. I also have a POD XT. I wrote the tunes to the following link using just the POD XT straight to the PC recording software. I did not adjust the tune or do any special stuff. Just plugged in and went at it.

http://www.purevolume.com/koogie2k

I have various tones stored that I have created and find the Line 6 products useful for what I do.

BTW, this was done using my new Rad Red JP w/piezo....

 

[fsmith]

Yayito,
I didn't mention the PodXT since I thought you were determined to get a tube amp.

Gotta give a +1 to the Line6 guys. Check out Koogie's clips, he gets some sweet tone out of his Pod.

I got one for Christmas and love it. I plug it into the FX return on my Mesa, and I can make the Mesa sound like a dozen different amps. Going into the return doesn't have much effect on the tone from the Pod, it's pretty transparent so the settings from the Pod can shine through.

Just another choice to muddy the waters with.

take care,
fred

 

[slukather]

i would say that the 5150 would be good for ya !!

i just got a 5150 combo and i love it!!

i like to play the same type music you do...and it works great for me.

I have to agree, l use a 5150ii with my Jp6, and it sounds killer, set the gain on 6, crank the volume, add a little echo to taste, sit for 5 minutes then start cranking out the tunes. Sorry, just got back from band practise, and l'm all hyped up.

I could never understand when people say the 5150 is not versitle, tonight, l was playing anything from jazz, blues, metal, rock, etc etc etc. And got great sounds.

Any who, good luck with the hunt, all l know is when l was looking for an amp, it took me 6 months to find one that l liked (the 5150ii). But don't settle for second best, you JP6 deserves the best amp, and so do your ears.

Scott.

 

[yayito]

Thanks guys for your advices.

Slukather I agree with you.
On one hand, I don't have an unlimited budget, but on the other hand, I didn't buy a $1500 guitar to use it with a cheap amp. I think I will try to find a 5150 combo in a music store to test it.

Fred, as I love the tube amp sounds, I was thinking of buying one. But I have heard some people who really likes modelling amps (Lin6 Flextone ...) that gives them closed different tube amp sounds. I think I can find one to test it.

koogie thanks for your clips, it gives good examples of what u can get with a Pod XT !

So Line6 receives 3 points
The 5150 receives 2 points


I am a bit surprised. I would have thought that a lot of people here would use mesa boogies amps and would advice to buy one.

 

[koogie2k]

Thanks for the kind comments.

Amps, like guitars, are a preference. Nothing more. Tube amps? Great. Solid state are great as well.

JP w/tubes = awesome
Dimebag w/solid state = awesome.

Just two examples of some great tone.

The problem will be....finding it! Good luck with it!

 

[blackspy]

I said earlier in the thread that the 5150 wasn't overly versatile. I use a 5150 Combo as my main amp, and I love it to death. However, your initial post mentioned you wanted to do lots of different sounds, and you specifically mentioned a decent clean sound. The 5150 is designed to be a hard rock amp, high gain, high volume, with a custom eq for EVH's ear. Clean-ish sounds can be coaxed out of it, but that's not what its made to do. I would think that you'd be looking forward to hearing the JPM w/ Piezo through a crystal clear amp, to get those sweet clean sounds. That's all I was saying. The 5150 is one of those love it, or hate it amps. I love it, but it don't do clean very well.

 

[tommyindelaware]

http://www.reverendguitars.com/reverend/amps_etc/kingsnake_20_60.html

these amp are very very well done. clean.......crunchy.......over the top....
i played one at a guitar show in philly........and was VERY impressed....
very light on the back...and your wallet !!!!!!

 

[edensdad]

I like Mesa Boogie. Mine is the cleanest guitar amp I've ever heard - tube or transistor. I have three channels, each with its own set of controls, which allow me to get a variety of sounds. The only sound that eludes me is the SRV F*nd*r bassman/leslie sound - The tubes saturate too quickly - from clean to heavy - not much middle.


>^..^<

 

[OrangeChannel]

Keep in mind running a Piezo thru a non fullrange standard guitar setup makes for a lousy time since you can't really balance the Mags and the Piezos well....Piezos tend not to sound so hot thru a guitar amp (tho I have recorded them DISTORTED at times for textures that are cool....)....so you may want to look into a small keyborad amp or acoustic instrument amp like the Strawberry BLonde or the Fender Acoustic amp...

 

[yayito]

Blackspy, in fact I didn't express myself very good. My priority is not the clean sound, it is to get a killer lead sound.
But if some amps have also a decent (not incredible but decent) clean sound that would be nice.
About the piezo I'm thinking about using a small accoustic amp or a PA.

Koogie, which amp did Dimebag use ?

 

[SteveB]

Yayito,

For what it's worth, I tried my JP6 through a Peavey JSX head and 4x12 cabinet. The rhythm "Crunch" channel sounded great. The lead channel wasn't bad but it needed something.. probably some delay or reverb. The clean channel held up very well.

I wasn't as impressed with the Marshall JCM2000 DSL or TSL's.

I still want to try it through a Peavey XXX though.