I need head. (Amp head, need help)

Mike

Member
Jan 11, 2004
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Denzel, WA.
My Marshall head died... and I need a new one ASAP. Here's my setup / situation.

I have a Line 6 150 Stereo 4x12 cabinet, and all my effects are taken care of through my Boss GT-6. So all I really need is a cheap head that can get a very LOUD and CLEAN sound. I was thinking about getting the Line 6 head that goes with my cabinet, the Spider II HD 150 Stereo head... that way I'm taking full advantage of my cabinet.. I tried Line 6 head once, and it sounded pretty clean, but now I'm reading reviews and quite a bit of people are saying it blows up (actually smokes and dies) but I'm I'll just get the exteneded guitar center warrenty if i deicde to purchase this one.

I'm just looking for oppinions on heads (based on my situation) I dont need a really "good" head or even a really good "metal" sounding head.. I just need loud and clean.

Thanks.
 
If you do get the line 6 make sure you absolutely get the warranty. I know half a dozen people off hand who have had there line 6 heads just up and die on them for no apparent reason. You can get a cheap marshall or peavy head loud enough, but at the low cost your tone will suffer, even through a processor. I would look for a cheap solid state tube amp head. Im not sure really how much your willing to spend, but obviously your options become more limited when you descended below the $1000 price tag.
 
money's a big factor, but im not gonna buy something unless it can do what i need, and right now i need a loud, clean chanel. any head that can get me a very low distortion at high volume on the clean channel would be great for me. I need it loud and clean... can't stress it enough.

right now the line 6 will give me a full 150 watts on my cabinet, im gonna go try it out tongiht and probably bring it home to try it out with my equipment, if all sounds good, then line 6 FTW.
 
Tempest said:
money's a big factor, but im not gonna buy something unless it can do what i need, and right now i need a loud, clean chanel. any head that can get me a very low distortion at high volume on the clean channel would be great for me. I need it loud and clean... can't stress it enough.

right now the line 6 will give me a full 150 watts on my cabinet, im gonna go try it out tongiht and probably bring it home to try it out with my equipment, if all sounds good, then line 6 FTW.

I use a straight up power amp for my floor pedal. No head. POD XT Live --> Europower 1500 Power Amp --> 4x12 cab. It's about as clean a signal you can get.

And yes, that's a Behringer power amp, but it's loud as hell, plus it's a stereo power amp so you can output each signal to separate cabs.
 
Hapexamendios said:
I use a straight up power amp for my floor pedal. No head. POD XT Live --> Europower 1500 Power Amp --> 4x12 cab. It's about as clean a signal you can get.

And yes, that's a Behringer power amp, but it's loud as hell, plus it's a stereo power amp so you can output each signal to separate cabs.

Yeah, I know a lot of people that are doing the same thing with the GT-6 and Rocktron Velocity amps and the like. Since you really don't need tonal shaping at all, I recommend you go that way.
 
That Behringer is only like 250 bucks, that much cheaper than any head i've seen so far... fucking sweet, thanks guys.

Edit: and from the looks of them and what you two have told me, its EXACTLY what i want. Thanks again.
 
zmetallica said:
behringer uses shitty parts from what i hear, which means it could break easily.

i'd recommend a similar set up (didn't occur to me that you would wanna go without a head), but without using behringer.

It doesn't matter if it's a head or not, I just need something to make good sound. I'm gonna run to guitar center afterwork to check some power amps out.. the Behringer may be made of shitty parts.. afterall its only 250 bucks... you cant expect high end parts with a price like that. I'm gonna put it in a rack case anyway No matter what kind i get), so it should keep it safe, unless you mean regular use will fry the components or something.
 
En Vind Av Sorg said:
If you do get the line 6 make sure you absolutely get the warranty. I know half a dozen people off hand who have had there line 6 heads just up and die on them for no apparent reason. You can get a cheap marshall or peavy head loud enough, but at the low cost your tone will suffer, even through a processor. I would look for a cheap solid state tube amp head. Im not sure really how much your willing to spend, but obviously your options become more limited when you descended below the $1000 price tag.

"Solid state tube amp head"?? Are you talking about something like a Valvestate (12ax7 preamp & solid state power amp), or are you just confused?
 
Yeah if you're strapped for cash and you already have an effects processor and cab I'd probably just go for a power amp. Last I checked the Peavey 50/50 wasn't much, but there are cheaper ones that get the job done I'm sure.

I do believe guitar center is in the middle of a 'don't pay for a year' thing too so you may want to check that out.
 
Something cheap, might I suggest

Diezel-Herbert.jpg
 
^^^LOL!!!^^^

So anyways, what happened to the Marshall? What Marshall head is it, too?
 
i can answer the first part of the question. it doesnt create any sound. it turns on, and when you plug the foot switch in, it doesnt work. my guess is that while traveling, a bump set a few wires loose and disconnected the front panel, minus the power switch. i told him that yesterday, but its up to him to see what he wants to do
 
Tempest said:
the Behringer may be made of shitty parts.. afterall its only 250 bucks... you cant expect high end parts with a price like that. I'm gonna put it in a rack case anyway No matter what kind i get), so it should keep it safe, unless you mean regular use will fry the components or something.
yeah thats what i heard, it'll last a while, but not as long as a quality thing. so if u want a temp replacement for something, while you save up for something better, it'll suit you well. but i'm sure it won't last 5+ years. the only behringer thing i've heard is actually decent is their mixers. but even those contain crappy parts.