Which Amp is the Biggest Kick In The Nuts?

[Horus]

How many of the lead guitarrists out there are or have been stuck with a small amp when the other band members' amps can kick you in the nuts? Well, the time has come for me to start thinking of ways to kick them in the nuts! I've narrowed my choices down to the following (No matter what, It's always gonna be atop a Marshall Cab of sorts.)

- a Crate Blue Voodoo head (Not sure which one. There's a bunch.)

- theFender MetalHead stack

- Mesa Triple Rectifier stack (thats castration right there)

I have tried all of these out. Unfortunately, not to their full potential. This is really all a matter of opinion, and suggestions are more than welcome. Remember, It's for upholding the dignity of the guitarrist that uses the flashy guitars!

Low End Heavy Ass Distortion + 7 String + Big F'in Amp = Armageddon.... just the way I like it.

 

[The Yngster]

Whats your price range? I find that for the money, Crate's pack the most power. But thats if you're looking for strictly power, they're not good for much else other than that unless you have an effects board.

 

[Progbass]

So you have that 7-string ibanez which has dimarzio evolution in it? Add the Triple Rectifier to that and it will kick you and all the other band members in the nuts as long you keep playing the low B, haha.

 

[guitarguru777]

The most kick you in the nuts amp EVER was the 94 Dual Recto 2 Channel head. The newer rectos dont sounds as good as the old ones, you can find them on ebay for about $1100. Other than that if you want something awsomely kick you in the nuts and you got $5000 the Diezel Huebert CANT BE BEAT !!!!!!

You may want to try out the ENGL Powerball aswell Or the New KRANK amps .. Guys like Nevermore, Soilwork, and FearFactory have recently switched and they are absolutely MIND BLOWING .... Unless you get an OLD RECTO Your just gonna sounds like everyone else out ther right now. Even though the Triples are 4 channels they just dont have the versatility of the amps menioned above.

The Crate Blue Vodoo is great for those on a budget, so is the new B-52 tube head.

Whatever you do if you want a clear focused sound get a Boss DS1 or some type of low gain Distorion pedal and run it in front of the amp as a clean boost. it will DEFINE the tone and help you cut through in the mix...

Good Luck
Da Fukn Guru

 

[Yngvai X]

I've heard the Krank amps aren't that good. Don't go by endorsements to judge how good something is. Its always nice to get free gear or even $$$ from a company when you're a musician. Just remember that.

I'm a big supporter of Line6. The digital amps are getting better and better from when they first started, and its only a matter of time until there will be absolutely no difference in sound between them and tube or solid state amps. With that being said, I love my HD147 head. Theres tons of great sounds in it, you can record directly with it, and it sounds great through a cab as well (the first time I tried it, it was plugged into a marshall 4x12 and I was completely sold). Plus, the price is a little more friendly than that of the Vetta II, although you can't update the amps like you can on the Vetta. The sound quality is the same though (and I've heard some people say they think it actually sounds better than the Vetta, although I haven't compared the two myself).

 

[Rick Pierpont]

How many of the lead guitarrists out there are or have been stuck with a small amp when the other band members' amps can kick you in the nuts? Well, the time has come for me to start thinking of ways to kick them in the nuts! I've narrowed my choices down to the following (No matter what, It's always gonna be atop a Marshall Cab of sorts.)

- a Crate Blue Voodoo head (Not sure which one. There's a bunch.)

- theFender MetalHead stack

- Mesa Triple Rectifier stack (thats castration right there)

I have tried all of these out. Unfortunately, not to their full potential. This is really all a matter of opinion, and suggestions are more than welcome. Remember, It's for upholding the dignity of the guitarrist that uses the flashy guitars!

Low End Heavy Ass Distortion + 7 String + Big F'in Amp = Armageddon.... just the way I like it.

Honestly, out of the choices, I'd most definitely go with the Boogie. However, I'd also dump the Marshall 4x12 in a second flat and get a Boogie cab.

Someone recommended the Engl and the Krank, those are both awesome sounding crunch masters! The Engl was used on the Odyssey -- need I say more? If you want to hear a Krank, a Peavey 5150, a Mark IV thorugh a few different cabinets, go check out some of Matt Smith's posts on the Theocracy UM forum! He even had two different Boogei cabs and there was quite a difference. I wasn't too crazy about the 5150 (wasn't terrible by any means), but the Krank and Boogie Mark IV were my favorites. Good thing since I've been playing a Mark IV for over 14 years! The Krank is really, really tempting though! I also liked the smaller Boogie 4x12 cab he used.

And yes, Line 6 has come a LONG, LONG way and I think within the next 5-10 years they might win me over totally because of the sound quality/convenience/price. I have a Pod XT I use for practicing (by myself)and it is surprisingly amazing. I have used it for band practice through the PA too and it was OK, but doesn't come close to a real tube amp. I have also recorded some with it and it is also OK, but I strongly prefer my Boogie. If you want to kick someone in the nuts, you HAVE to go tubes and you HAVE to go with a quality manufacturer -- not who gets you based only on a budget!

If you are worried about the price then my advice would be to not buy anything else until you can afford what you want! Otherwise you will be wasting your money! And that is speaking from experience! If I had just saved up and bought a Boogie from the beginning I would've probably saved a ton of money!!!

Good luck!

 

[Rick Pierpont]

I've heard the Krank amps aren't that good. Don't go by endorsements to judge how good something is. Its always nice to get free gear or even $$$ from a company when you're a musician. Just remember that.

I'm a big supporter of Line6. The digital amps are getting better and better from when they first started, and its only a matter of time until there will be absolutely no difference in sound between them and tube or solid state amps. With that being said, I love my HD147 head. Theres tons of great sounds in it, you can record directly with it, and it sounds great through a cab as well (the first time I tried it, it was plugged into a marshall 4x12 and I was completely sold). Plus, the price is a little more friendly than that of the Vetta II, although you can't update the amps like you can on the Vetta. The sound quality is the same though (and I've heard some people say they think it actually sounds better than the Vetta, although I haven't compared the two myself).

Check out these threads from Theocracy... then you will know!

http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=198460
http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=210559

 

[Kenneth R.]

marshall does it for me

 

[Horus]

Whats your price range? I find that for the money, Crate's pack the most power. But thats if you're looking for strictly power, they're not good for much else other than that unless you have an effects board.

I DO have a pedalboard. Not a multi-fx pedal, but a bunch of single fx.

The Crate Blue Vodoo is great for those on a budget, so is the new B-52 tube head.

Da Fukn Guru

I've actually been wanting to try out the new B-52's, but unfortunately, every time I go to Guitar Center, it's always unplugged though.

 

[The Yngster]

So ask them to plug it in. If they bitch tell them to shut up cause its their job

 

[guitarguru777]

Agreed ... the B52 Doesnt have a TON OF GAIN, So be aware you may have to run a SD-1 or a TS-9 (perferrably) into the front end to the all the gain you want. But for the price honestly you cant beat it ... I mean come on a tube amp for $500 ...its a steal

As far as the Kranks i used to say the same thing. They suck ... UNTIL i went to gigantour this past summer. The Tone coming of the stage from Nevermore, Fear Factory and Bobaflex was IN FRIGGIN CREDIBLE !!!!!!!

I was totally sold, So i shot up to reno to try one out (they were the closest dealer) I pluged in and was BLOWN AWAY !!!!

I LOVE the Diezel For Lead and Clean Stuff, but the Krank just KILLS for Rythm Work. Its got this SICK crunch int he Upper mids without all the High end noise.

Da Fukn Guru

 

[guitarguru777]

O ... dude .. it also helps if you have a credit card, just flash it at them to make them think your willing to buy it right then and there. They will do ANYTHING for you if they think your going to buy ...

Da Fukn Guru

 

[!Aviso!]

Don't waste your money on a big 100+ watt amp that isn't even appreciably louder than something 50 watts or less. It costs nothing to convince your bandmates to turn down, and investing $500 in a 30-watt amp that has beautiful tone will make you far happier than investing $3000 in something so loud that you'll never be able to get good tone out of it anyway.

Seriously. Take my advice. Buy a 30 watt combo and a 4x12 cabinet (or 4x10 if you dare to be different) and then never look back.

 

[guitarguru777]

Well it all despends on the tone and sound he wants really. If he likes rectos then he should buy a recto.

Da Fukn Guru

 

[Chris Brooks]

Tonally I'd go with the Mesa but downsize it to the Dual Rectifier head, with a Mesa box as suggested. The older 2-ch heads are warmer. The boxes are brilliant for mid and lower frequencies and use better real timber (not compressed particle board) and better cable from input to speaker. The triple recto head might be great for the rehearsal room, but live on stage you will never need it's power while being mic-ed up. Every sound guy will strip you back.

Any attempt Fender makes at reaching the metal market has failed time and time again with guitars and amps.

The Crate is hardly a tone machine but if you want gain and volume, worth a look at least to see what you're gaining with a better amp. Crate really only does well domestically in the US because they are a "value" amp. Overseas they end up more expensive, and in Australia at least, you never see real players using them because it's worth the added expense of the better brands.

 

[guitarguru777]

I would totally agree there. The 94 Duals are the HOLY GRAIL of recto tone. They were just amazing amps. While the triple is indeed a bit over powered, they have a character that some guitarists like myself like.

Crates in the US are gonna give you the most bang for your buck definitely. But by no means can you compare it with a Mesa, Marshall or something like an Engl.

What it all comes down to is personal preference. Go out try these amps at Gig worth Volume levels and see what you like. Thats what ot all comes down to anyway. Play waht you like not what someone thinks is cool ....

da Fukn Guru

 

[Horus]

Well it all despends on the tone and sound he wants really. If he likes rectos then he should buy a recto.

Da Fukn Guru

'High ass gain, wet your pants in the no no zone distortion, ready to drive us all to oblivion' leads. You know the kind.

 

[Horus]

What it all comes down to is personal preference. Go out try these amps at Gig worth Volume levels and see what you like. Thats what ot all comes down to anyway. Play waht you like not what someone thinks is cool ....

da Fukn Guru

I have been going by my own preference for the entire time. I'm just asking what other people would do, so I can try it myself, and decide for myself if I like it or not.

 

[!Aviso!]

Well it all despends on the tone and sound he wants really. If he likes rectos then he should buy a recto.

Da Fukn Guru

They make smaller rectifier combos. Besides, if we're really talking about nailing tone, you're going to have to buy a power attenuator for your 100 watt amp anyway.

 

[Horus]

I can't do small combo's. The entire point is that I can't stand up to the bigger amps in my band. That's why I'm looking at stacks and stuff that can and will -as stated multiple times- KICK THEM IN THE NUTS!