Hey guys... I'm sure this has probably been asked a million times.. but; Could you guys suggest me a good tube amp for under $600? I play mainly 80's metal (Metallica, Judas Priest, and Slayer especially), and my solid state Crate just isn't doin for me. I have been looking around a while, and I think my best shots so far are Laney (Vh100r, GH series), Crate Blue Voodoos, and Peavey 5150's. How do these amps stack up against each other? I am wanting to buy used, in case you couldn't tell already. Thanks in advance guys!
Lookin for my 1st tube amp..
- Thread starter voodoo_child
- Start date
Hexer
Member
I'd recommend ENGL, Fireball, Screamer, ...... Powerball and Savage are really great amps for metal, but pretty expensive (I doubt you can get one used for 600$) but the smaller modells should do really well, too.
plfffffft
Madly in anger with you
Search Ebay for a vintage JCM 800.
Barring that, the 5150II. Same as the original, but the clean tone is about ten times better
Barring that, the 5150II. Same as the original, but the clean tone is about ten times better
plfffffft
Madly in anger with you
The JCM 800 is the vintage Marshall sound, besides a Plexi Head, and thats gonna be expensive, if not impossible, to buy.
So if you play old school metal, an 800 is your best bet.
IT's one channel, though, so you might need two of them
So if you play old school metal, an 800 is your best bet.
IT's one channel, though, so you might need two of them
Indiooo
Member
The 2203 and 2204 are the ones to get if you really want a JCM800. The dual channel 800's are kind of hit and miss, some sound great, some are kind of bad, and even the good ones have a crappy "clean" channel. And believe me, you'll want a pedal in front of it you you need to make a JCM800 scream. The tone gets fizzy if the gain is over 6/7. A good OD pedal boost the input giving you more gain and most important, if you ask me, more clarity and tightness. The 800s are great rock amps by themselves, but they need a kick in the ass for metal. That or a Silver Jubilee JCM800, which is like a 2203 with a boost pedal inside the chassis. Slash has been using those amps for years, altough he doesn't go for the chunky metal tone.
