yeah same here with the cash part. im saving up for a 130 watt marshall half stack which is around 1000 or something. other things i got though...
a laptop which was an early present
a nile, darkthrone, dummi burger, hate eternal, and necrophagist shirt
xbox 360 w/ call of duty 2 and online (mike owns me in that game btw)
got to see amon amarth and bodom which was also an early present
ummmm i think thats about it
Be careful what you wish for, speaking of the Marshall half stack. I just sold my Marshall JCM 2000 DSL head and a guitar to buy a new head...Peavey this time. If Marshall is the sound you want, then by all means, run don't walk to the music store. A TSL will give you some more crunch, but not that much. Of course, you can boost them with pedals and racks and shit, but it sounds like you want something that you can plug in, crank up, and blow the house down with, right? Then a Marshall is probably not for you. They are the best rock amps that money can buy, in my opinion. For metal, only the cabs outdo the others, which is why I kept it. Bands who use Marshall heads have at LEAST $1000-$2000 dollars worth of rack equipment backing it up...and I'm talking bands like Nile who use the TSL. You don't see all the other stuff that goes along with it at the concerts...you only see the amps.
I'm not promoting anything or saying buy the amp I bought, I'm just speaking from experience. It's got a lot of gain, but no balls. I even bypassed the distortion completely for a time and used it only as a medium from my Boss GT-8's amp sims. Depending on the sound you want, I would recommend the following if you're wanting to play seriously heavy stuff:
Peavey 6505 or 6505+ (5150's replacement)
Mesa Boogie Single, Dual or Triple Retifier (personally I really don't dig their distortion, but hey, you might. The Single Rec's actually quite nice)
Krank Revolution, although I really don't like the type of tone they have. It's got GREAT distortion and tons of gain, but the tone seems kinda flat and hollow to me.
ENGL!!!!!!! If I had the money, I'd get an Engl Powerball over all of the above.
Now, if you REALLY want to lay down some cash, I recommend the following:
ENGL!!!!!! Once again, ENGL!!!!! The Invader 150 has the best tone I think I've ever heard...it would be a toss up between that and the next two amps I will mention.
Soldano SLO-100 - There's a reason it costs 3 grande for the head alone
Bogner Uberschall - Bogner has probably the heaviest crunch I've ever heard. Engl has a good balance of tone and power with the Invader, Soldano has THE sweetest distortion and clean tone, but the Uberschall is like a nuclear bomb in an amplifier. It's so heavy that the line between the crunch and the tone is blurred. You won't be able to decide which you like better.
These last three amps run for about 3 grande brand new, just the heads. You can get them cheaper used, of course. It also comes down to the stye of your playing. Are you playing a lot of leads, or do you need face-melting crunch? For the face melting, I'd go with the Bogner, but for the leads coupled with crunch, I'd probably go with the Soldano. But then again, the Invader gives them all a run for their money.
The best advice I can give is to find out what sound you like and get that amp. Don't worry about what band is endorsed with what because most of the time, their endorsed amps are mainly for live use...not studio. Machine Head's famous 5150 never gets taken on the road for a reason. Arch Enemy's Mike Ammott is endorsed by Krank, but do you think all those really heavy sounds came from only Kranks? Doubtful. Just something to think about.
So far it kicks ass, I just need to read more of the manual to figure out all the details about it. My wife was telling me I can load mp3s on it, but I can't figure out how to do it yet. Working the day after Christmas BLOWS DOGS!!!!!
