Amp Advice

Greenwater_Pond

Greenwater_Pond

Role model of males 18-49
Apr 28, 2002
826
1
18
Ottawa, Canada
www.ultimateguitarpage.com
I'm in the market for a new amp, a halfstack at least since I'll be needing it for upcoming shows, recently when checking out amps I found a store that offered me 2 deals on 2 halfstacks, one was the Kustom 200DFX head and cab for $1000 even (each was $600), the other was the peavey 5150 + cab for $2000 even ($1200 head and $900 cab normally), the 5150 is a bit of my price range, but does anyone know what the customs are like because that one is right in my price range

these are CDN prices btw. anyone who's used Kustom amps please your feedback would be much appreciated
 
sounds like they were changing you list price which is a lot higher. you should be able to get a 5150 2 head and cab for under 1,600. i would go a line 6 for the price great amps. get the hd147 and line 6 cab. it'll run you like a little under 1,600.
 
But that can get a little more expensive, depending on how far you wanna go...That's why it's better to get just a head and cab for starters...Racks and such are for if you really want to go all out on your tone.
 
Never heard of Kustom amps.

One piece of advice I have is this: AVOID THE HALF-STACK. There's no reason to buy a half-stack nowadays. Your amp gets mic-ed during shows, so the 4x12 cabinet becomes completely irrelevent. A combo amp is a lot less expensive, so you can purchase a better-quality amp for a lot less money, and if you absolutely MUST have more volume, then you can always add a 2x12 cabinet to your combo ex post facto.

Also, you should buy a 50watt amp, not a 100watt amp. Doubling the power is EXPENSIVE, and it does NOT add much volume to speak of. The jury is out as to whether or not it even affects your tone (some say yes, some say no, but at the low volumes you will be forced to play, the affect on your tone if it exists at all will most assuredly be negligible). Volume comes from speaker surface area, so if you want volume, add more speakers, not more watts.

You will be able to get better tones than you ever imagined if you invest your money wisely. Purchase a 50 or 60-watt combo amp with two 12-inch speakers and a speaker-out jack, and you will have better tone than most people for a fraction of the cost. Do *NOT* become overly impressed by large, 100-watt amps for no good reason. Read up on some of the high-quality combo amps on the market and you will be much happier in the long run.
 
It really depends on what kind of shows you're playing, or what you use for practice. Myself, for example, I am going to need a half stack for band practices, because no one I know owns a PA system. And a good PA system can be A LOT more expensive than a Line 6 HD-147 half stack. And I have only played two shows ran by my school, and they only provided us with a vocal and percussion PA system, and it wasn't nearly enough to mic all of our amps (3 guitarists, bassist, and keyboardist). So if you're playing small shows, or if you're practicing in a garage, a half stack is wonderful. 50 watts isn't nearly enough power in a 6 piece band, trust me, I would know, but if it works for you, go right ahead and use somethin like that, as for me, I'm stickin to Line 6 300 watt half stacks ;)
 
"50 watts isn't nearly enough power in a 6 piece band, trust me, I would know,"





No offense, but it doesn't sound like you do know. Try adjusting your EQ to accommodate for the other players in the band, and raising your amp up off the ground and angling it up toward your ears. 50watts is plenty of power to fill up an entire auditorium. If you absolutely must have more volume, then more speakers will meet your needs, not more wattage. Seriously. Please trust the voice of reason here. Otherwise you're going to end up spending a lot of money on stuff you don't need.

But in the end, it's your pocketbook that will suffer, so if you're absolutely in love with 100watt superstacks, then there's no arguing with obstinance. :)
 
As far as I've seen, all the bands I listen to use full stacks (or more) in a live setting, and it seems to do them plenty of justice. So while you're going to go on being absolutely convinced that you're right and I'm wrong, I'm going to go ahead and let my nonexistent pocketbook suffer.
 
hahaha... A lot of those "half stacks (or more)" are there only for show. Look closely at the amp next time... You'll notice one 12" speaker is mic-ed, and the rest of them are left alone. In some cases, the stacks and stacks of speakers are nothing more than empty wooden boxes with a Marshall logo glued onto them (I'm serious).

Like I said, there's no arguing with obstinance but consider the fact that you have only played 2 gigs, and I have played... well, more than two. ;) Is it possible that I know what I'm talking about?
 
Greenwater_Pond said:
I'm in the market for a new amp, a halfstack at least since I'll be needing it for upcoming shows, recently when checking out amps I found a store that offered me 2 deals on 2 halfstacks, one was the Kustom 200DFX head and cab for $1000 even (each was $600), the other was the peavey 5150 + cab for $2000 even ($1200 head and $900 cab normally), the 5150 is a bit of my price range, but does anyone know what the customs are like because that one is right in my price range

these are CDN prices btw. anyone who's used Kustom amps please your feedback would be much appreciated
Click to expand...

I have not played Kustoms, so I don't know what they are like, but I've never really heard of them, aside from seeing them at guitar center, but I can recommend you a number of other fairly good half stacks...But I think your best bet for that kind of money would be a Line 6 Spider II HD with a 4x12" cab. That goes for around $800US. I tried one out awhile back, and it was the next best thing to the HD-147. Also, Randall makes some pretty nice half stacks, the RH200G2 is pretty nice, and it's around the same price as the Line 6 Spider II.
 
well besides kustom being a pretty low quality amp company(i mean sound quality not construction) i would avoid them and as for the 5150 in my experience is a decent amp, there are better amps out there but for its price its not bad, I perfer to go the rack path though, and now im saving for a fireworx and g-force and a good wireless system.
 
I would agree with Aviso here. But, that said, I would look at a stereo amp and get two 2x12 speaker cabinets to take advantage of that arrangement.

Anybody up for eBay? I'd look into an ADA MP-1 and a microTube 100 set-up with two 2x12s. You can get the whole set up for under $1000 and rip big time. But, I'm just an '80's metalhead still stuck on the whole ADA thing from way back then.
 
goth_fiend said:
as for the 5150 in my experience is a decent amp
Click to expand...
well then tell eddie van halen that his amp is just decent and same goes to a lot of awsome guitarists who use them. i hope i'm not comming across as a dick but i'm just saying that the 5150 is a pro amp not a decent one. i love mine and would recomend them to any one. and 50 watts is plenty of power! :headbang:
 
theunforgiven246 said:
and 50 watts is plenty of power!
Click to expand...
But the 5150 is 120W...Unless you're talking about the combo, then it's 60.

Either way...Yeah, 5150s are awesome...Just think, Mike & Chris Amott of Arch Enemy, Bjorn and Jesper of In Flames, and of course, Eddie! All of them have awesome tone. They're just wonderful if you like tubes (Which many people do), but I personally prefer solid state, so naturally, I'm going to recommend the Line 6 HD-147 to anyone. I would say that 5150s are relatively cheap (price, not quality) for a good tube head. $1000 is a steal for that awesome tone! And personally, I would say (as far as tube heads go), a Mesa Triple Rectifier or even a Peavey JSX are "pro" amps. ;)

:headbang:
 
oh man, i am gonna get blasted :D but one of the guitarists in my band has a 5150... blech.
Maybe its the way he's got the settings, but it sounds like shit. Everybody who listens to us thinks that the other guitarists CRATE amp sounds better, i agree. And so does the 5150 owner who wants to get rid of it, hell maybe its just because the two amps sound so different...but the crate just sounds more precise and sharp, whereas the 5150 is...not as metal :headbang:
 
Romeo.jr said:
oh man, i am gonna get blasted :D but one of the guitarists in my band has a 5150... blech.
Maybe its the way he's got the settings, but it sounds like shit. Everybody who listens to us thinks that the other guitarists CRATE amp sounds better, i agree. And so does the 5150 owner who wants to get rid of it, hell maybe its just because the two amps sound so different...but the crate just sounds more precise and sharp, whereas the 5150 is...not as metal :headbang:
Click to expand...
then he must not know how to use it cause mine is very heavy and beautiful.
 
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