SeaOfEnergy Posted January 28, 2008 Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 well im not really looking for a *brilliant* amp, just one thatll suit heavy metal/death playing( i use pedals so would only be using the clean channel), basically loud, clear with good bassiness but wont distort when used on clean at high volume. hmm ill have a look for some of the ones you mentioned 2nd hand but id probably be happier buying new so as to get the warranty etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeinzHines Posted January 28, 2008 Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 For the sake of a warrenty you will get a far less superior amp. Most people wont sell you a duffed amp, normally they will say it isnt working etc....get a decent second hand amp, then pay for a service and re-tube, it will be fine....i havent had one single problem with my Sovvy, even after it fell on the ground from full stack height. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuartmaxwell Posted January 28, 2008 Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 well im not really looking for a *brilliant* amp, just one thatll suit heavy metal/death playingbrilliant amps suit metal and any genre. they improve song dynamics (esp seeing as you have no bass player and currently sound like a muddy mess) and fill the sound out nicely. Buy a brilliant amp now and never have to buy another one again, saving you LOTS of money in the long term.My advice is to buy second hand and get Emerson Williams to service it and revalve it (which wont cost more than 100) The value of your amplifier will only go up as time goes on and Dennis will make it sing like fuck! Revalve and service the thing every few years (100) and you wont go far wrong. The key to succesfully owning a second hand amp is to service it, nipping most problems in the bud before they break down on you. Buying new amps are a false economy, straight away you lose 150 off of the value. You also find that new, factory/machine built amps have a warranty for a reason (see AVT for more info). Not too mention that most amps these days have too much wiring, effects/knobs and circuitry, therefore degrading the output into "pund o mince" territoryso here is the maths-------------------------brilliant second hand amp budget (inc post) 450service and revalve 100total = 550then service every few years (10 years) 500for you to buy and run that great amp for ten years it will cost 1150 (10 years of superb tone)-------------------peavey valveking 350-400new cabinet as your current one sounds gash with your new head 400+then replacement amp after two because you realised that your head is gash 500+new pedals for new amp 100+and so on1400 (3 years of headaches) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaOfEnergy Posted January 28, 2008 Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 (esp seeing as you have no bass player and currently sound like a muddy mess)wow thanks, and ill think youll find we dont sound muddy, more tinny( kinda need more bass to be muddy). And it cant be that much of a mess the amount of people who tell us they like it(even though their not into death metal generally).straight away your advice seems less valuable.My advice is to buy second hand and get Emerson Williams to service it and revalve it (which wont cost more than 100) The value of your amplifier will only go up as time goes on and Dennis will make it sing like fuck! Revalve and service the thing every few years (100) and you wont go far wrong. The key to succesfully owning a second hand amp is to service it, nipping most problems in the bud before they break down on you. Buying new amps are a false economy, straight away you lose 150 off of the value. You also find that new, factory/machine built amps have a warranty for a reason (see AVT for more info). Not too mention that most amps these days have too much wiring, effects/knobs and circuitry, therefore degrading the output into "pund o mince" territoryk i agree with that, sounds good.brilliant second hand amp budget (inc post) 450service and revalve 100total = 550then service every few years (10 years) 500for you to buy and run that great amp for ten years it will cost 1150 (10 years of superb tone)ok so how exactly do i get a brilliant second hand amp with cab (i assume seeing how the avt cab just WONT be good enough) for 450, a good head alone will probably cost me that much....and ive seen a review sayin that the peavey valveking sounds worse through a valveking cab than an AVT one.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Gold Posted January 28, 2008 Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 straight away your advice seems less valuable..Don't be a pussy, Maxwell knows tone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuartmaxwell Posted January 28, 2008 Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 thing is, the avt cabs are actually quite good! not amazing, but certainly good enough until you can stitch together fundage. the red stars parade boys have been battering 4 avt 4x12 cabs for years!i aint listened to your music though, but i remember an east neuk gig and your tone was rank rottenyou should be able to pick up one of these second hand under 450sound city 50, 120 etcsovtek mig 50/60/100 (may take a few months)jcm800 (if you stick at it enough!)sims wattsfender bassman 135WEM, sound city, h & h pa heads also make killer guitar amps for metaletcim not saying you have to take my "less valuable" advice, fuck, feel free to buy a crap amp which sounds great when you get it yet in a years time sounds gash (you will find that once you buy a new amp you begin to get the ear for tone and this only gets better with time, then you realise that what you own is crap and you want something better. buying something great just now only sets you up for bigger and better things should you choose to upgrade again) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaOfEnergy Posted January 28, 2008 Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 wel yeah the east neuk was a bad gig for us, our second one ever really, lawrie hated the drum kit, i was using an amp id never used before, and had no soundcheck, it was basically a disaster gig,but its all experience and how else can you learn?. We have rough recordings of our songs @ MySpace.com - Cranial - Aberdeen, UK - Death Metal / Progressive - www.myspace.com/cranialdeath, if your interested, although both times i used the studio's in-house amplifiers, seeing how my avt was either out of action/not really any better than the studio amps . All of the recordings apart from 'The Severity of Brutality' are over a year old now as well so the songs themselves have tightened/improved since then.And thanks for the advice, i now understand why you said about us being muddy, if that gig was your only reference point! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeid Posted January 28, 2008 Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 Maxi knows his stuff... a good amp... although more expensive... is WELL worth the investment.Unless you get lucky like me and manage to pick up a Mesa Boogie for 150 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HairyScaryMark Posted January 28, 2008 Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 ENGL screamer is a good value valve amp for a gigging musician, in my opinion anyway.Suits metal also.See if you can find one of them in Glasgow or Edinburgh or possibly even Dundee.You need an acceptable quality amp and Stuartmaxwell is right and you should avoid buying things that you will inevitably want to replace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaOfEnergy Posted January 28, 2008 Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 yeah thanks guys i will definately be looking out for some of the amps mentioned second hand, completely see the sense of it in the long run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huw Posted January 29, 2008 Report Share Posted January 29, 2008 Unless you get lucky like me and manage to pick up a Mesa Boogie for 150 lucky does not describe it. probably on par with winning euro millions.yeah thanks guys i will definately be looking out for some of the amps mentioned second hand, completely see the sense of it in the long run.Yeah, that Kerry King jcm 800 is the way to go if your wanting to fork out the big bucks. Or possibly the 5150 EVH, don't really know what it sounds like though.Another options the Marshall Vintage Modern - can get it for around 560 new. With the right pedals and guitar it sounds great - probably sound OK with the likes of boss metal zones too. Really versatile, lovely clean channel, a few knobs and simple controls means theres less tone draining going on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vega Posted January 29, 2008 Report Share Posted January 29, 2008 Spoke to the chap who owns/runs Merchant City Music at the weekend. He was telling me that the AVT series is now discontinued and Marshall will be upgrading the MG series as well as producing some kind of limited run of "Advanced Valve" products, on an "order only" basis. I wouldn't touch them for all the tea in China. Having just managed to get rid of my AVT for an Orange 2 x 12" (YAS and MIN), I would urge anyone "amp shopping" to avoid any solid state/"valvestate" Marshalls like the plague. Anyone that does have one and is trying to get rid of it, brace yourself for a large loss on it.I have learnt over the small time I've spent playing and buying guitar equipment, that it's crucial you don't "settle" for something. As maxi pointed out, you'll want to sell it within the year. I've also found the disappointment from a poor purchase will lead to the amp or whatever, being unused and you're back to square one but with less cash and equipment to get rid of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HairyScaryMark Posted January 29, 2008 Report Share Posted January 29, 2008 VHT AmplficationThat is a very good small amplifier which sounds great clean as well as on overdrive. It also sounds great quiet as well as loud.Available to buy on this UK website.Machinehead Music-Amps-Guitar Amps-VHT-Pitbull Super 30This one is also a good choiceGUITARGUITAR - Engl Screamer Combo AmplificationFor less money you could look at Peavey Classic but you wll probably need a distortion pedal to get the sort of metal sounds you want.Head and Cabinet is fun if you have space and can be bothered carrying it. Also generally less cost effective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diesel Posted January 29, 2008 Report Share Posted January 29, 2008 This one is also a good choiceGUITARGUITAR - Engl Screamer Combo AmplificationI have a Engl Screamer combo and it's the best amp I've ever owned!The bonus with these is that you can get great tone at house volumes.Paulps - G-Man, is any of this getting you any closer to an amp repair? - it was fair cutting oot the other night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
britheguy Posted January 30, 2008 Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 whilst I agree with your other points I have to disagree about the dslmarshall havent built a great amp since the 800That's a bit harsh don't you think. I think my DSL50 sounds pretty damn good. The lead channel might be a little thin sounding sometimes at lower levels, but that does not make it a bad amp. The clean and crunch are ace. I've played a 800 lately, in fact I did a back to back test with the DSL vs 800...result... both good sounding amps, but different in their own ways. TBH I prefer the DSL because of the switching etc, and to my ears slightly better sounding. Both were played through a Marshall 4x12 70's cab c/w with greenbacks.Over the years I've had too many amps to remember, and they have all had something good about them - granted, some more than others - Line 6, marshall valvestate, 60's Vox AC 30 (s) mesa, peavey classic, plexi, bluesbreakers etc etc etc. Every one of those amps had a sound which I thought was good for a certian type of music etc.I hear all the time about valve amp this, valve amp that, tranny this and tranny that. We all have different ideas about what is good to listen to and what's not.So to get back to your comment about marshall not building a great amp since the 800...your talking utter pish! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huw Posted January 30, 2008 Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 That's a bit harsh don't you think. I think my DSL50 sounds pretty damn good. The lead channel might be a little thin sounding sometimes at lower levels, but that does not make it a bad amp. The clean and crunch are ace. I've played a 800 lately, in fact I did a back to back test with the DSL vs 800...result... both good sounding amps, but different in their own ways. TBH I prefer the DSL because of the switching etc, and to my ears slightly better sounding. Both were played through a Marshall 4x12 70's cab c/w with greenbacks.Over the years I've had too many amps to remember, and they have all had something good about them - granted, some more than others - Line 6, marshall valvestate, 60's Vox AC 30 (s) mesa, peavey classic, plexi, bluesbreakers etc etc etc. Every one of those amps had a sound which I thought was good for a certian type of music etc.I hear all the time about valve amp this, valve amp that, tranny this and tranny that. We all have different ideas about what is good to listen to and what's not.So to get back to your comment about marshall not building a great amp since the 800...your talking utter pish!you said yourself most of those amps had something good about them and that they were suited for a certain style. but when someone is playing through an 800 you KNOW it... no matter what style... that makes it a great amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lame Guitarist Posted January 30, 2008 Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 That's a bit harsh don't you think. I think my DSL50 sounds pretty damn good. The lead channel might be a little thin sounding sometimes at lower levels, but that does not make it a bad amp. The clean and crunch are ace. I've played a 800 lately, in fact I did a back to back test with the DSL vs 800...result... both good sounding amps, but different in their own ways. TBH I prefer the DSL because of the switching etc, and to my ears slightly better sounding. Both were played through a Marshall 4x12 70's cab c/w with greenbacks.Over the years I've had too many amps to remember, and they have all had something good about them - granted, some more than others - Line 6, marshall valvestate, 60's Vox AC 30 (s) mesa, peavey classic, plexi, bluesbreakers etc etc etc. Every one of those amps had a sound which I thought was good for a certian type of music etc.I hear all the time about valve amp this, valve amp that, tranny this and tranny that. We all have different ideas about what is good to listen to and what's not.So to get back to your comment about marshall not building a great amp since the 800...your talking utter pish!DSL50 is a good amp but still a bit harsh and fizzy, i did a lot o modifications to my ones like changing values of caps on the circuits which smooth out the sound really well, puts it more into the JCM800 territory. As for 5150's - good amps but they really need a bias mod installed to heat up the tubes, the amp sounds too cold without it.Mesa's good amps but i have never been keen on the lead tone of them. still nothing that a few modifications cant sort. ENGL's - great amps that i wouldnt mod and DIEZEL the same.Still have my diezel herbie which is by far the best amp i have heard and played and doesnt need any pedals in front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuartmaxwell Posted January 30, 2008 Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 Over the years I've had too many amps to remember, and they have all had something good about them - granted, some more than others - Line 6, marshall valvestate, 60's Vox AC 30 (s) mesa, peavey classic, plexi, bluesbreakers etc etc etc. Every one of those amps had a sound which I thought was good for a certian type of music etc.I hear all the time about valve amp this, valve amp that, tranny this and tranny that. We all have different ideas about what is good to listen to and what's not.and I was giving my opinion.So to get back to your comment about marshall not building a great amp since the 800...your talking utter pish!Again, my opinion, but I still stand by it: the dsl series/jcm900 et al are poorly made, poorly designed amplifiers that certainly dont represent value for money and do nothing to enhance the reputation of marshall amps. They gave up caring about tone and more about making a huge wad of $$$ a long time ago Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blingking Posted January 30, 2008 Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 and I was giving my opinion.They gave up caring about tone and more about making a huge wad of $$$ a long time agoNow that's a different thing. I would have to agree with you there. I've heard of several new era Marshall tranny amps that have just giving up the ghost after a few months.You just need to make a phone call to both Marshall and Matamp to see who gives a shit about making the user/buyer a very '(un)happy tattie'.BTW, my early 70's 50watt head blows the 800's and DSL away for tone, but it's just too damn loud most of the time;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diesel Posted January 30, 2008 Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 Aye, all well and good, but who's fixing G-Man's fucking amp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alkaline Posted January 30, 2008 Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 and I was giving my opinion.Again, my opinion, but I still stand by it: the dsl series/jcm900 et al are poorly made, poorly designed amplifiers that certainly dont represent value for money and do nothing to enhance the reputation of marshall amps. They gave up caring about tone and more about making a huge wad of $$$ a long time agoYou and your "TONE"... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaOfEnergy Posted January 30, 2008 Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 Diesel Aye, all well and good, but who's fixing G-Man's fucking amp emmm Marshall? oops just realised its the bass amp your speakin about, it was another guy with the avt275 i thought u meant. Whoever makes it will fix it most likely though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuartmaxwell Posted January 30, 2008 Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 matamp - now there is a quality amplifier made by people who give a shit about tone.i love my 2x12 with all my heart and now that I have just accepted a promotion which has another 9k a year on it a matching head will be getting ordered Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HateEvent Posted January 30, 2008 Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 I can't praise ENGL enough - if you find one for a decent price - go for it!Re everything since the JCM800 being shit = incorrect. The DSLs are good. However, not AS good. But to say that they are bad is wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeid Posted January 30, 2008 Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 Opinions are like arseholes... everyone knows one I'm not a fan of the whole Marshall sound at all. Not on it's own anyway. Their cabs are well constructed... but that's about all I'd buy.I love my Mesa... I compared it with a TSL100 and fuckin hell, the TSL was pure utter pish. No life to it at all... just toppy upper mid range bollocks. There was no beef to it.I owned a 900, it was my first amp, it was ok... better than the TSL.Marshall's time was in the 60's... they've been riding a wave ever since if you ask me. But again, I'm just being opinionated... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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