guitarists?

[eaeolian]

get yourself a Triple Rectifier.

I approve of this statement.

Seriously, the 5150/6505 is great for a distortion tone, but the clean is, uh lacking. (I can get something decent out of one, but it takes some work.) However, in terms of bang for the buck, a used 5150 is hard to beat.

 

[En Vind Av Sorg]

Not really sure about the lack of balls concerning JCM 2000's, but my vote goes towards Engl. The Powerball and the Fireball are both awesome amps with great tone and power. The new Invader 150 is getting great reviews as well.

 

[ATGuitar_NInja]

Ey dudes, I have a XXX and the thing is beefy but like all tube amps it depends on what sort of tubes you have going. It came stock with Solvtek 6l6GC's and I replaced those with some JJ KT-77's (EL34 stand in's) the difference is noticeable. Next time I retube I'm gonna try some 6L6's again, it sounded a little crisper and punchier. I also run a GT-6 on top of it for effects. Good stuff. I also once owned a 5150 combo amp that was beefy as hell but had a lot more high end attack to it. A result most likely due to that fact that it only had 2 12" speakers! but could power a half stack additionally that I didn't have at the time. Never retubed that bitch but if I had it would have ruled.

Rectifiers have that loose low end thing going on where it's boomy and all but not very tight. Whereas the Line 6's are very tight and digital, might as well run your GT-8 striaght into the PA live if you want that sound.

Whichever amp you end up getting, it's all about how you play and the tone you want. Marshalls all have a lot of Mid range, whatever they do it definately has a distinct tone to it that I think is better in general for Rock or Blues. Not METAL!

 

[Mike]

i have a quesiton, without getting too far into electrical engineering, what difference to the amp's sound will different tubes make? i thought the tubes only handled the power, not the sound.

but i dont fucking know, i've only owned solid state amps. any answers?

 

[Dead Winter]

Wow thanks everyone!!! I like Engl as well and if I had to choose an amp besides a Peavey, that would be the one. They have a really solid and heavy bottom end and great tone. I'm not so worried about the clean channel because I run my GT-8 with the 4 cable method, so any clean tone I need is completely bypassing the amp's power amp and coming straight from the GT-8's preamp, resulting in a crystal clear tone that I can tweak till my heart's content. It has really good distortion and amp simulators, but nothing compares to the power of the gain from a good tube amp. I figure I'll just run a Tubescreamer setting on the GT8 and that should just about do it for distortion. Right now I've got a metal stompbox setting from the GT8 in conjunction with the distortion from the Marshall, and I really have to up the settings on the GT8 to get a good metal tone out of it. The tone I've found is really good and heavy, but it can't do everything. Well, ok the GT8 actually CAN do just about everything, but I'd rather use it as an effects unit with some distortion tweaks rather than having to tweak for days to get a decent sound out of the Marshall, although I finally found it. Although the Marshall sound is good, it's not the same when we're talking metal.

 

[Mike]

I'm not so worried about the clean channel because I run my GT-8 with the 4 cable method, so any clean tone I need is completely bypassing the amp's power amp and coming straight from the GT-8's preamp, resulting in a crystal clear tone that I can tweak till my heart's content.

huh?

 

[Dead Winter]

With the 4cm, one can set the REAL amp's power amp in the FX chain, thereby simply adding little touches here and there or just flooding the amp with distortion and effects...however you want it. If you turn OFF the poweramp setting in the FX chain and turn ON the GT8 preamp in the FX chain, you give the GT8 preamp a straight shot to your power amp, without any interference from the sound of the amp. In other words, you basically turn off your amp and the only thing that it's used for is a medium from the GT8 to the cab. In this mode, you can create your own distortion, effects, etc. I can create a 5150 amp with a certain cab, a Mesa Boogie with a certain cab, a Fender Bassman with a certain cab, or a Marshall Vintage amp with whatever cab you want. They are amp simulators, but the best that money can buy...and they sound like the real thing...almost. However, I choose to use my REAL amp's power amp in conjunction with some effects like a tubescreamer, Metal Zone, Overdrive, Big Muff, or whatever other stompbox you can think of because they're all built in. This is for distortion. Add wah, flanger, phaser, chorus, delay, or whatever you want, you've got it. There are limitless possibilities. I can use this setting and then switch to a new patch and it basically puts my REAL amp's power amp in standby and the GT8 gets a straight shot to it from the built in GT8 preamp. I can have 100 different amp tones all in one song all at the touch of a button...this is where the clean tone comes in. Instead of using a Marshall footswitch, the 4cm will bypass the need for it, so all I do is change to a different patch setting on the GT8 and BOOM...I've got clean sounds that you'd swear was directly from a JC-120. Tweak it a little bit with some chorus and maybe a touch of delay and you can do anything. However, in the 4cm, all the amplifier's controls are bypassed and you must control the volume and settings from the GT8. However, that's ONLY when the REAL amp's power amp is bypassed and using the GT8's preamp. I step on my second button on the GT8 for MY Marshall's sound boosted by a stompbox, compressor, EQ, and more all built in to the GT8. Now I need a clean break? I just tap the next patch button with my foot and since I have already created the settings and rearranged the FX chain, it will automatically turn off the REAL amp's power amp and use the preamp directly from the GT8, because I have a different FX chain in EACH patch.

The possibilities are limitless with this damn GT-8. It's amazing, except for the volume peda/wah pedal. It's got a really shallow throw. I'll just buy a Cry Baby and run my guitar through it and into the input of the GT-8 and I'm set.

I hope this makes it a little clearer.

 

[Dead Winter]

By the way, your avatar owns.

 

[Mike]

mine? thanks

see when you said bypass the power amp and turn off the power amp i was like wtf... im guessing you mean bypass the amp's preamp and use your own.

i used to have a shitty behringer power amp and used my GT-6 as my preamp, it worked pretty good.. but it lacked balls. so i went with the crate for the balls and im using my gt-6 as just a multi-effects floor pedal.

 

[Dead Winter]

Basically that's what I'm doing because the Marshall doesn't have enough balls for me. It's good, but I need more. I used the preamp from the gt8 for a while but like you say, it's not the same. I want to boost an even more powerful amp to melt everyone's faces with tone, not just have "good" tone.

Sorry, sometimes I get confused when speaking about pre and power amps, lol.

 

[Duckhat]

What are you fags doing using the clean channel anyways!? :zombie:


Ha, really though, I have a 5150 II with a BBE Sonic Maximizer. Do NOT cheat yourself if you get a 5150. Drop the extra $90 for the Maximizer and it's a whole new monster, really. Also, don't geta shit cab. Keep your Marshall 1960, assuming that's what you have with the JCM.

Schecter C7 Hellraiser ---> 5150 II w/ BBE in the FX loop ----> Marshall 1960 cab = A great amount of balls upon balls.


Of course, a Dual or Triple Recto would be far more ideal... :Smug:


And whoever said that the 5150 has one volume... LOUD, you're precisely correct! I keep the post on 3 at band practice... 4 drowns everyone else out...

 

[Calamitas1786]

I hate the way rectifiers sound. They're so goddam dry and harsh. I'm sure it's nothing a tubescreamer can't handle, but I prefer the natural tube ballsy ness of my 5150.

 

[Det Som Engang Var]

I hate the way rectifiers sound. They're so goddam dry and harsh. I'm sure it's nothing a tubescreamer can't handle, but I prefer the natural tube ballsy ness of my 5150.

When I hear a 5150 playing lead I can always fucking tell its a 5150 man, wouldnt have thought a Van Halen sig amp would do high gain so good.

I dont have any thing nice to say about their gimp ass cabs though.

 

[SirDidymus127]

i have the same Crate head that Mike uses. playing it through, fuck, i forget... 400w (maybe more?) B-52 cab. sounds pretty bad ass to me. sounds good enough to me that i got rid of my GT-6. pretty good set up to me, and it didn't cost me too much with trade in values and such.

 

[Dead Winter]

What are you fags doing using the clean channel anyways!? :zombie:


Ha, really though, I have a 5150 II with a BBE Sonic Maximizer. Do NOT cheat yourself if you get a 5150. Drop the extra $90 for the Maximizer and it's a whole new monster, really. Also, don't geta shit cab. Keep your Marshall 1960, assuming that's what you have with the JCM.

Schecter C7 Hellraiser ---> 5150 II w/ BBE in the FX loop ----> Marshall 1960 cab = A great amount of balls upon balls.


Of course, a Dual or Triple Recto would be far more ideal... :Smug:


And whoever said that the 5150 has one volume... LOUD, you're precisely correct! I keep the post on 3 at band practice... 4 drowns everyone else out...

I'm keeping the 1960 cab OF COURSE! Again, the GT-8 provides me with everything I need: compressor, EQ, every effect and stompbox known to mankind, and plenty of power. I just need a heavier amp head.

Don't like Mesa Boogie's distortion. It's just so muddy and metallic...it sounds like sheet metal being banged on in a swamp.

 

[Mike]

What are you fags doing using the clean channel anyways!? :zombie:

All you need is a nice warm sounding clean channel, then let the GT-6 or better yet the GT-8 do the rest. This way you can go from the heavy as balls distortion to an awesome delayed acoustic with the stomp of the foot. Its great if you like to play songs that switch from a clean to acoustic because you can make your clean and distorted channels sound like almost anything you want, plus theres 4 stomp pedals to choose from, and you only need to hit one switch to switch channel, turn on multiple effects, and all this other shit.

 

[eaeolian]

Don't like Mesa Boogie's distortion. It's just so muddy and metallic...it sounds like sheet metal being banged on in a swamp.

Strange, mine doesn't sound like that - it's neither muddy nor metallic, just nice and fat and crunchy. It's all in the EQ settings...

For what you're looking for - and since you have Mesa pre-bias - a 5150's probably the best bet. The JSX is more flexible, but I don't think it sounds as good for balls-out crunch.

Don't even get me started on the XXX.

You might want to look at an Engl Fireball, too, if you don't mind shared tone controls...

 

[Dead Winter]

I really love Engl sounds as well...I'm not completely sold on the Peavey line, as I want to try them all and make an educated decision. However, sometimes Engl sounds really cold and clinical...I don't really like the new sound of Zyklon's amplifiers, which are Engl. But I've heard lots of other bands with great tone out of it...I guess it's personal taste. Please, GET STARTED ON THE XXX!!! Give me your opinion!!!! I welcome all opinions, facts, gripes, complaints, praises, EVERYTHING.

I was exaggerating quite a bit about the Mesas...they have a heavy tone but it's not to my taste. It seems too raw for me. Novembers Doom's last album had the tone I'm basically looking for, which was a 5150. Also, early Arch Enemy songs like Bury Me an Angel have the same tone...again 5150. But at the same time, I'd like something more than a one-trick pony...I want it to be flexible as well, if possible. I have a GT8 which can make anything flexible, but I NEED BALLS OUT DISTORTION AND TONE. The tone is key here, though. Anything can make a lot of distortion, but there needs to be some solid tone and chunk added in there to smooth it out. Marshall has the greatest tone ever, but relatively no distortion when it comes to metal. Peavey has really good distortion and crappy clean tone. Mesa has the best clean tone you'll ever hear but the distortion leaves something to be desired. Soldano has the best of everything but they cost an arm and a leg.

Next week I'm going to try my buddy's 6505+ and see where it leads me. I've tried the XXX before and it just didn't seem to be all that loud, actually. It had the balls when it came to tone, but volume left something to be seriously desired. A good amplifier should be able to be heard clearly whether distorted or not and whether miked or not. Marshall is good at this, but again, they need more balls. We shall see where the Peavey takes me. Who knows? Maybe I'll discover something that I really like about Mesas and get one of them. We'll see.

Thank all of you for your input and keep it coming!!! I value everyone's opinion!!!!

 

[eaeolian]

Please, GET STARTED ON THE XXX!!! Give me your opinion!!!! I welcome all opinions, facts, gripes, complaints, praises, EVERYTHING.

I've played four of them. Channel two has a nice lead tone if you don't get overly gain-y with it. Otherwise, I can't stand the freakin' things - they have absolutely no tone and no soul to me. The JSX and 5150/6505 are far superior, IMO.

I was exaggerating quite a bit about the Mesas...they have a heavy tone but it's not to my taste. It seems too raw for me.

Try one with a TubeScreamer (TS808 or a TS9 modded to an 808, preferrably - although a TS7 or Bad Monkey is useable in a pinch) in front of it with the drive off, level to match, and the tone to taste. It'll tighten it up while keeping all the good things about the tone.

This works well for 5150s, too.

Soldano has the best of everything but they cost an arm and a leg.

I spent about two hours with a SLO the other day. It's lead tone is to die for, but I prefer my Triple Rec for rhythm tones - the Soldano's actually TOO smooth.

Honestly, without breaking the bank, a Mesa Single Rectifier or 5150/6505 (the original, not the +, I don't think they sound as good) with a TS in front will get you where you want to go, I think.

 

[Warden_D]

More balls... Well the 5150 certainly is "that" sound that everyone seems to be going for right now. I had to admit the first time I heard Heartwork richardsons mix blew me away, but on repeated listens it almost seems like it's too much gain. My buddy swears by the 5150, but he's a little more lamb of god, I'm a little more megadeth...

The dsl 2000... I think I heard somewhere there was diode clipping going on in the pre-amp stage.. That's fucked up, but like I said the kids want a different sound these days.

Never NEVER sell an amp because of low gain, especially if you like the tone. Gain levels can be changed by swapping out components. I've seen so many people exchange perfectly good amps like Laneys or Marshalls for 5150's or B-52s just because the latter amps provide more distortion right out of the box. They're always ecstatic in practice because of all the crunch-crunch but often disappointed when they record to tape. In order to get that sneap sound you gotta turn the gain down a good deal so you can put a bunch of guitar tracks on each channel and then it really doesn't matter how much gain you can get playing in your bedroom.

Do I even have a point? Um, oh yeah. You can get a really heavy distortion out of any high gain tube amp providing you know a little about electronics and don't have your music recorded by a total moron. The Soldano, Engl, Laney and some others are all based on a JCM800 modded by Lee Jackson. If you like the Marshall tone, have one (Preferably an 800) modded to break up at a lower volume and output more gain. IMHO it's the best sound in metal, think No More Tears, Master of Puppets, Peace Sells... Check out the Death Live in LA DVD. Just an awesome sound and the ONLY way you're gonna get an attack like sneap did on Dead Heart or The Gathering.

D.