Need New Metal Amplifier, Help!

[Ravenous Enemy]

Right, i've been looking around extensively and i just can't decide on what amp to buy, so i thought this was the best place to ask!

I need an amp that can do modern metal, but can also give me a decent clean sound. I'm looking at a half stack probably.
I've had my eye on a Peavey 5150, but i know the clean sound's not much cop. I've heard of clarity mods and bias mods but will it work?
Otherwise i've thought about Engl, Ashdown FA, Hughes and Kettner Trilogy and this new Randall MTS series with those module thingenemies.

Got any suggestions?

Oh, and i have about a grand (£) to spend but'd prefer to grab a bargain secondhand. and i mainly play an active EMG equiped gibo explorer, but have passive duncans in a washburn that i use too.

cheers.

 

[Exocaster]

Out of your list, I'd say a Randall MTS modular head or preamp will give you the best clean tones. It does seem to offer advantages over traditional heads in that the voicings for your different channels can be nothing alike- you can have a Twin or AC30 preamp for your clean tones and a modded Superlead, Recto, Bogner Ecstasy, etc. for your heavy tones. I don't know if you can do this with the heads, but with the MTS preamp and poweramp, you can route the channels to EL34s or 6L6s seperately, which will give you even more tonal versatility.

ENGLs have a reputation for having good, very clean clean channels as well. I've heard the Powerball's clean breaks up at higher volumes, but whether that's even an issue is highly subjective. They'll certainly handle the metal end of things without issue.

As for the Fallen Angel and the Trilogy, I'm not familiar enough with them to comment.

I don't know what the UK price would be, but apparently the new Marshall JVM is quite highly thought of, certainly much more so than the JCM 900s and JCM 2000s that have diminished Marshall's reputation in recent years. Apparently the cleans are quite nice- a rarity for Marshall anything- the mid-gain tones are (unsurprisingly) good and the third and fourth channels have uber-gain without the thinness or mud that's plagued some of their more recent offerings. It's, by all accounts I've heard, a huge return to form for them.

 

[schismatic]

I own the Randall RM20B 20w combo with a recto module. I find it's excellent sound, especially for recording. The direct xlr out mic eliminator outputs the same sound as if you were listening to it - really really similar. Module system is awesome.......plenty of good tones to be had and of course you can always swap out tubes, speakers, modules whatever to get your desired tone. rack options, heads, combos - i think the key to the mts series is it's versitility. good user forum over at www.grailtone.com too. I got my combo for £300 from USA (that includes delivery and import tax). Got the module second-hand off ebay for £65.

 

[Ravenous Enemy]

thanks very much for the replies, this is the kind of advice i was looking for.

i think i'll try and find somewhere where i can try out the randall, they seem to be pretty hard to locate though.
have you had first hand experience of them exocaster?

any opinions on hughes and kettner anyone? aslo what about the peavey XXX? i'll look into the marshall too.
cheers.

 

[Exocaster]

I found a badass clip of the Marshall JVM on the Harmony Central Amps Forum.

http://www.sicksdeep.com/jvm.mp3

He's just going through the channels getting all sorts of different tones out of it. It starts off with some serious metal riffage. That's a Marshall...

 

[cobhc]

That first set of riffs sounds seriously like a 5150 with the gain up a little high and without a tube screamer.

 

[cobhc]

thanks very much for the replies, this is the kind of advice i was looking for.

i think i'll try and find somewhere where i can try out the randall, they seem to be pretty hard to locate though.
have you had first hand experience of them exocaster?

any opinions on hughes and kettner anyone? aslo what about the peavey XXX? i'll look into the marshall too.
cheers.

I've hardly ever heard anything good from a Hughes and Kettner, the triple XXX is pretty good. I've always been dubious of the Randall with the modules, but maybe that's just me preferring a dedicated solution as such.

If you're worried about a good clean sound, get a 5150 for distorted tones, and a Pod XT to run into the Poweramp for your clean sounds, still cheaper than the ENGL at least, I don't know how much the Randall's cost, but you'll end up with some nice tones with the 5150 and the Pod XT, plus you've also got a shitload of fx with the Pod XT you can use as well, just my 2 cents.

 

[Mood Bender]

have you considered a Cobra or Rev1

 

[Ravenous Enemy]

i think they are out of my price range. having said that if i find something totally awesome i can dig deeper into my student loan heheh.
I like the idea of a 5150 then something else doing the clean, but wont that be a bit awkward switching when i play live? is a Mk II a big clean improvement?

i like the look of this JVM, i seriously need to try it out. the clip sounded good but seemed to lack some of the middly grunt of 5150 i thought, but i'll have to try it./
cheers again.