amps. help

[freefall123]

im looking for a new amp. i currently have this http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/reviews/guitar_amplifiers/crate/gt212/

i have two bands going at the moment and one is getting close to being able to play some shows.
i would like to get maybe a marshal or an orange amp. something with alot of power.
i would like it to be atleast 200watts - 300watts.
any suggestions?

[patrickhowell]

im looking for a new amp. i currently have this http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/reviews/guitar_amplifiers/crate/gt212/

i have two bands going at the moment and one is getting close to being able to play some shows.
i would like to get maybe a marshal or an orange amp. something with alot of power.
i would like it to be atleast 200watts - 300watts.
any suggestions?

I would suggest getting an all-tube amp, something around 30-50 watts. Either a 2x12 combo or a head and a 2x12 cab. Trust me, this will be a ton of power. 200 watts is almost unheard of in professional guitar gear. And really, anything over 50w is probably so loud that you will not be able to use it.

What is your price range? And what kind of music are you playing?

[freefall123]

I would suggest getting an all-tube amp, something around 30-50 watts. Either a 2x12 combo or a head and a 2x12 cab. Trust me, this will be a ton of power. 200 watts is almost unheard of in professional guitar gear. And really, anything over 50w is probably so loud that you will not be able to use it.

What is your price range? And what kind of music are you playing?

my price range is around 500-600

one band is playing along the lines of glassjaw and alittle at-the drive in type music.
and the other band is along the lines of livingston and the menzingers

[freefall123]

I would suggest getting an all-tube amp, something around 30-50 watts. Either a 2x12 combo or a head and a 2x12 cab. Trust me, this will be a ton of power. 200 watts is almost unheard of in professional guitar gear. And really, anything over 50w is probably so loud that you will not be able to use it.

What is your price range? And what kind of music are you playing?

question?
i currently have this http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/reviews/guitar_amplifiers/crate/gt212/

if i got this head http://www.guitarcenter.com/Crate-VTX-Series-VTX200SH-2-x-100W-Stereo-Guitar-Amp-Head-481051-i1175922.gc
and put the two together how would that work?

i know nothing about amps. as you can clearly see.

[alex.parent]

You should probably try and get away from buying crate amps. Most of them are junk, especially the solid state ones. http://www.guitarcenter.com/B-52-AT-100-100W-Tube-Guitar-Amp-with-Tri-Mode-Rectifier-102919289-i1145577.gc is a great amp for the price, and it's all tube.

[mylastflight]

Jcm 800,Jcm 900, 5015 block head, 5015 II, Vox AC30 212combo or head, You wouldnt be able to get orange for 600.If you are lucky enough YOU MIGHT be able to get Buddah supverdrive 30 head (killer amp)
you really dont need 200 watt. For cabs i recommend Avatar Cab with possibly celestion v30s or go to www.veretone.com (http://www.veretone.com) customize your own cab for really cheap and buy seperate speakers by celestions, tone tubby etc.

[fullofdust]

You should probably try and get away from buying crate amps. Most of them are junk, especially the solid state ones. http://www.guitarcenter.com/B-52-AT-100-100W-Tube-Guitar-Amp-with-Tri-Mode-Rectifier-102919289-i1145577.gc is a great amp for the price, and it's all tube.

i have to disagree with you on this one. yes crate's solid state amps sound like crap, but then again, so do most solid state amps. however their current tube stuff is really inexpensive and sounds pretty decent, like this one (http://www.samedaymusic.com/product--CRAV33H). it's basically a super-budget British style head with the el84 & 12ax7 tube combination. i played through one that had been re-tubed with sovtek's and i was really blown away. if i had tested it blind, there is no way in hell i would have guessed it was a sub $500 amp, let alone sub $200!

B-52's on the other hand... you couldn't pay me to play a B-52. and btw, i don't mean that to be insulting, that's just how strongly i feel about their lack of tone and quality.

[freefall123]

how are orange amps? i heard they sound great but they are overpriced. is this true?

and i was kinda thinking about this one http://www.guitarcenter.com/Marshall-MG100HDFX-MG412-Slant-Cab-Half-Stack-Package-482807-i1145908.gc

whats everyones opinion on it?

[patrickhowell]

i played through one that had been re-tubed with sovtek's and i was really blown away.

Sovteks are pretty bad tubes, really. JJ makes the best current production tubes by a long shot.

[theguy77]

you know i would encourage you to get a marshall JCM900 on ebay but i dont want people to steal them all considering i might want one myself soon ;)

[patrickhowell]

You should look for a used Peavey Classic 30 or Classic 50.

[fullofdust]

Sovteks are pretty bad tubes, really. JJ makes the best current production tubes by a long shot.

i was just talking about a specific experience... not a blanket statement on the best tubes. i like jj's, but all the sovtek's i've heard have been pretty decent as well. i'm not an electronics expert, i just go by what i hear. i work in sales at a pro audio shop with a large service center. we do amp repair and unless the customer requests a specific tube brand, the repair guys use sovtek, jj, ruby tubes, groove tubes, or whatever is in stock. i honestly can't tell the difference between any of the "name brands." i've heard a difference over the generic stock tubes that cheap amp manufacturers include, but that's about it. maybe i don't have enough knowlege on the subject, but from my experience, the quality of the amp's circutry + cabinent and speakers has made a far greater variance in tone quality than the brand of tubes used. but then again, you may have a more finely tuned audio palate than me and i respect that. i'm just providing another guitar player's 2 cents.

[patrickhowell]

i was just talking about a specific experience... not a blanket statement on the best tubes. i like jj's, but all the sovtek's i've heard have been pretty decent as well. i'm not an electronics expert, i just go by what i hear. i work in sales at a pro audio shop with a large service center. we do amp repair and unless the customer requests a specific tube brand, the repair guys use sovtek, jj, ruby tubes, groove tubes, or whatever is in stock. i honestly can't tell the difference between any of the "name brands." i've heard a difference over the generic stock tubes that cheap amp manufacturers include, but that's about it. maybe i don't have enough knowlege on the subject, but from my experience, the quality of the amp's circutry + cabinent and speakers has made a far greater variance in tone quality than the brand of tubes used. but then again, you may have a more finely tuned audio palate than me and i respect that. i'm just providing another guitar player's 2 cents.

Well, Sovtek makes some decent tubes, but I was just saying that it would have been even better with JJ. Also, Groove Tubes, Ruby, and Mesa don't make any of their own tubes. They're just rebranded, usually Sovteks, with a huge markup. If anyone claims their tubes are made in U.S.A. then they are lying and probably using cheap Chinese Sovteks.

[OveriseFan]

how are orange amps? i heard they sound great but they are overpriced. is this true?

and i was kinda thinking about this one http://www.guitarcenter.com/Marshall-MG100HDFX-MG412-Slant-Cab-Half-Stack-Package-482807-i1145908.gc

whats everyones opinion on it?

No. Absolutely not. Those amps sound like shit.

You should stop looking for a half stack. You should stop looking for 100W.

I'd recommend you get a tube amp, and probably even get a combo amp. No more than 50 watts, and probably more around 30 (depending on what sound you want. If you like a dirtier sound, even less.).

The Peavey Classic 30 was a great recommendation, for your price range. But there's others. Fender makes some good ones in the 15 - 40 watt range, that fit your budget. And I've heard great things about Crate/Palomino line of tube amps. They're generally in the 30 - 50 watt range too.

Best of luck.

[theguy77]

Well, Sovtek makes some decent tubes, but I was just saying that it would have been even better with JJ. Also, Groove Tubes, Ruby, and Mesa don't make any of their own tubes. They're just rebranded, usually Sovteks, with a huge markup. If anyone claims their tubes are made in U.S.A. then they are lying and probably using cheap Chinese Sovteks.

what do you make of svetlana tubes?

[patrickhowell]

what do you make of svetlana tubes?

They're cheap Russian tubes. Personally, I wouldn't buy anything other than JJ or NOS tubes.

[freefall123]

No. Absolutely not. Those amps sound like shit.

You should stop looking for a half stack. You should stop looking for 100W.

I'd recommend you get a tube amp, and probably even get a combo amp. No more than 50 watts, and probably more around 30 (depending on what sound you want. If you like a dirtier sound, even less.).

The Peavey Classic 30 was a great recommendation, for your price range. But there's others. Fender makes some good ones in the 15 - 40 watt range, that fit your budget. And I've heard great things about Crate/Palomino line of tube amps. They're generally in the 30 - 50 watt range too.

Best of luck.

yeah i went downtown and my local music store showed me this really really nice randall cabniet. it played great. it was pretty much perfect for what i wanted sound wise.
i loved the sound. im going back tomorrow to play around with it some more.
i also played an orange amp while i was there and yes it sucked, i hated it.

[mylastflight]

tungsol (notsure if i am spelling it right..) and EHX makes great tubes
and really? you dont like orange?
I think they have pretty good crunchy sounding overdrives.
rocker 30 is great i think ad 30 is good for softer music.
but distortion id say bad cat hot cat 30, bogner shiva, bogner umbershell, Framus Dragon...etc
clean sounding is def. Dr.Z string ray, route 66 and fender bandmaster, hot cat black catbassman, reverb deluxe etc..

[patrickhowell]

tungsol (notsure if i am spelling it right..) and EHX makes great tubes
and really? you dont like orange?
I think they have pretty good crunchy sounding overdrives.
rocker 30 is great i think ad 30 is good for softer music.
but distortion id say bad cat hot cat 30, bogner shiva, bogner umbershell, Framus Dragon...etc
clean sounding is def. Dr.Z string ray, route 66 and fender bandmaster, hot cat black catbassman, reverb deluxe etc..

Tung-Sol and ElectroHarmonix are both just rebranded Sovteks. Neither company makes their own tubes. Tung-Sol used to be a good tube manufacturer, but now it's nothing more than a name.

[freefall123]

tungsol (notsure if i am spelling it right..) and EHX makes great tubes
and really? you dont like orange?
I think they have pretty good crunchy sounding overdrives.
rocker 30 is great i think ad 30 is good for softer music.
but distortion id say bad cat hot cat 30, bogner shiva, bogner umbershell, Framus Dragon...etc
clean sounding is def. Dr.Z string ray, route 66 and fender bandmaster, hot cat black catbassman, reverb deluxe etc..

it was bad. the randall i played was just really nice. i liked it alot better.
i didnt play around with the orange as much as the randall though.
im going back to the store tomorrow to decide which one. but yeah so far not a huge fan of the orange.

[shes.a.ghost]

You have 500-600 total? So for a head and a cab? If so, then I would suggest a combo amp. You can find used Fender Devilles for that price easily. For the price, they really are great amps and get super loud. I would suggest getting a distortion pedal instead of using the dirty channel though. The Peavey Classics are pretty good as well.

Now if you are only talking about needing a head, then for the price, I would suggest finding a used Marshall Jcm 900. I would suggest the 800, but that is out of your price range. The 900 is almost out of it, but you can probably find one for that much pretty easily.

Definitely get a tube head though. Without a doubt.

The MG100HDFX that you asked about is a piece of shit by the way. They are made for people who don't want to spend a lot of money and want the Marshall name. Thats all. They blow.

[mylastflight]

buy my fender bandmaster silverface 1968 head
go to harmony-central.com or just google fender bandmaster silverface harmony review
thats a website you should go to before considering buying anything
you can learn a lot

[fullofdust]

Well, Sovtek makes some decent tubes, but I was just saying that it would have been even better with JJ. Also, Groove Tubes, Ruby, and Mesa don't make any of their own tubes. They're just rebranded, usually Sovteks, with a huge markup. If anyone claims their tubes are made in U.S.A. then they are lying and probably using cheap Chinese Sovteks.


hmm, that's interesting. i didn't know goove tubes and ruby didn't make their own tubes. i'll have to try out jj's next time i replace the tubes in my amp. thanks for the info.