Need help on buying guitar amp head

[mudknot624]

Hey guys im interested in buying an amp tube head to replace my fender roc 1000. I play alot of circa survive stuff and saosin so i need an amp that can do good with reverb and also with distortion.

Im gonna be using with a fender 4x 12 cab and i got a line 6 dl4 and ibanez tube screamer so if you guys can give me some suggestions that would be awsome!!!!!

P.s.: This is the band i play with - myspace.com/tdtessband (we need a singer btw lol)

[theguy77]

i saw circa live recently with thrice, they use sommatone amps and they sound realllly fucking good

[patrickhowell]

Hey guys im interested in buying an amp tube head to replace my fender roc 1000. I play alot of circa survive stuff and saosin so i need an amp that can do good with reverb and also with distortion.

Im gonna be using with a fender 4x 12 cab and i got a line 6 dl4 and ibanez tube screamer so if you guys can give me some suggestions that would be awsome!!!!!

P.s.: This is the band i play with - myspace.com/tdtessband (we need a singer btw lol)

What's your budget ?

[mudknot624]

around 300 to 600 dollars. Im willing to buy used gear or ebay w.e lol

[verity38]

your best bet for the money you are spending is a fender head, or a b-52 at100 or a vox amp

[verity38]

just remember that a head is a valuable part of your rig and you get what you pay for.

[alex.parent]

your best bet for the money you are spending is a fender head, or a b-52 at100 or a vox amp

the b52 at100 is really impressive for the price

[patrickhowell]

around 300 to 600 dollars. Im willing to buy used gear or ebay w.e lol

Check out the Orange Tiny Terror. I think it's $600 new, so a used one should fit nicely in that budget. It's 15w, but you will be very surprised how loud that is.

Also, Epiphone is making a big brother to it's Valve Junior - the Valve Senior, an 18w class A/B dual 6v6 head for $300.

[verity38]

yeah the b52 is a bad rip off of a mesa with reverb, its not bad just a little bright for my liking, but worth the 600 dollars.

[ChrisCTL]

Crunchy distortion sound you play.. hmm

Mesa Triple Rec.. alot of power.. my one guitarist has this.. and it's great for live.. but it's too powerful for recording.. So if you're into recording as well.. Mesa Dual (3-channel) is great

Also.. Marshall JCM 900 is a great purchase (mind you it's discontinued so you'll have to find that one on eBay)

If not, the Marshall JCM 2000 is excellent as well.

[patrickhowell]

Crunchy distortion sound you play.. hmm

Mesa Triple Rec.. alot of power.. my one guitarist has this.. and it's great for live.. but it's too powerful for recording.. So if you're into recording as well.. Mesa Dual (3-channel) is great

Also.. Marshall JCM 900 is a great purchase (mind you it's discontinued so you'll have to find that one on eBay)

If not, the Marshall JCM 2000 is excellent as well.

All of those are probably out of his price range, and I definitely prefer the 2 channel dual rec to the 3 channel, or the triple rec.

[remoteCONTROL]

Marshall jcm 900s can be found on eBay and craigs list for $500. It's worth the wait of you find one

[theguy77]

Crunchy distortion sound you play.. hmm

Mesa Triple Rec.. alot of power.. my one guitarist has this.. and it's great for live.. but it's too powerful for recording.. So if you're into recording as well.. Mesa Dual (3-channel) is great

Also.. Marshall JCM 900 is a great purchase (mind you it's discontinued so you'll have to find that one on eBay)

If not, the Marshall JCM 2000 is excellent as well.

HAH the two i tried in the studio. the marshall won my preference so easily it wasnt even a contest.

[ChrisCTL]

HAH the two i tried in the studio. the marshall won my preference so easily it wasnt even a contest.


Yeah I find the Marshall has a tighter sound! Same with Marshall cabs.. Marshall cabs OWN Mesa cabs.

[theguy77]

Yeah I find the Marshall has a tighter sound! Same with Marshall cabs.. Marshall cabs OWN Mesa cabs.

agreed. the mesa sounded all.. mushy to me. i like the upper-midrange bite and sharper breakup the marshall had.

[mylastflight]

sometimes when you are lucky people post JCM800 by marshall for 600 (just the head).
Other than that, you might wanna save up 200bucks more to get something like
buddah superdrive 30, it does clean and dist pretty well. b52..i dont really recommend.
jcm 2000, and jcm900 are other options too...I just got myself a bad cat black cat r 212, im playing it through mim tele modded basically into usa made tele with bunch of pedals one of them being ehx english muffin and i gotta say the amp does everything you wanna do with it. you can change the tonal colorations paper thin to rich creamy thick...got off topic but yeah, jcm800 should do pretty well with your price range.

[thefollowthroug]

Don't overlook the Epiphone SoCal 50. It's a great amp and you can get it new for $500. When I say great amp I really mean it.

Re Mesa vs. Marshall in my experience I could go for either but have a slight preference for Mesa. On top of that, most people who own a rectifier haven't read the manual and don't know how to use the EQ section (hint they are not like other amp's EQ sections). I too thought my rectifier was "mushy" until I read the manual and after that I can dial up way better tones than I ever got with either of the Marshalls I had.

[TD-McInnes]

id also take the advice of looking for a used marshal jcm series amp. you can find them for your price range but those are definately rare.

another good option for that price is a used peavey amp. either the triple x or the 5150/6505 (they are basically the same amp, just renamed once eddie van halens endorsement ran out). a lot of the newer metal bands are using the 6505. they arent as powerful or versatile as marshalls or mesas, but they do produce some good tone.

one thing you want to keep in mind buying used though is that to really get the amp sounding good you will probably have to replace the tubes, and that can cost upwards of $250.

[patrickhowell]

one thing you want to keep in mind buying used though is that to really get the amp sounding good you will probably have to replace the tubes, and that can cost upwards of $250.

If you're spending that much on tubes, you're probably getting ripped off. Groove Tubes, Mesa, Ruby, and many other "premium" manufacturers sell some of the worst, poorly made chinese tubes at a huge markup.

[theguy77]

right so i think the best option is, get an old school marshall all-tube head off of ebay.

unless you're looking for a versatile clean tone with some soul in it, then you'll want to look at something else.

[miketrondson]

Remember this: If you buy cheap, shitty equipment, you're going to get cheap, shitty results.

Save up go for a Marshall, Mesa or Orange. Seriously, save your money and get something that not only sounds amazing, but will hold up to the test of time.