amps

[snufeldin]

I was wondering what a good amp around the $500 is?

[szulc]

Can you be a little more specific on what you want from an amp?
Are we talking something to play clubs with or lage venues or just for the apartment? Also the style you want to play is important. Jazz Guys like the Roland Jazz Chorus but not too many Rock or metal guys like em, most rock players like big nasty tube amps that will blow the balls off of a charging rhino at 60 paces. Could you get by with just a headphone amp or preamp for this I like the pandoras Box. I think you could get a quite a few choices for 500$. WHat do you wnat to play and sound like?
Where are you going to use the amp? Do you live in an apartment?

Answering these questions will help narrow your search path.

[snufeldin]

Hey szulc,

Thanks for responding. I'm looking for an amp that has a nice clean sound that isn't too trebly. I also want a distortion that is alot like Greg Howe's... with lots of sustain, but not to heavy. I would like to use this for live performances, although I'm only a 16 year old so it is only for small places (now at least). I'd also like to use it to record a demo with. So basically it needs to have a nice clean sound, light distortion with lots of sustain, almost clean, and heavy distortion. Oh and I'd like it to have reverb on it. Also while I'm at it are there any special amps for voices?

Snufeldin

[szulc]

Bands that actually play in front of people use a PA system for their live sound, this usually has everything coming out of it and the stage volume is provided by stage monitors for vocals and whatever instrument mixing for the stage is necessary. These are usually quite expensive 10-50K$. If you are playing in your home with friends a small amp is good for guitar, you can get a monitor for 200-400$ to put your voice through. Peavey makes nice small amps classic 30 is one I have played and liked. In general in an amp you are going to have two easily accessable sounds Clean and Distortion if you want stuff inbetween these you will have to adjust your amp or volume control to get it. Huges and kettner makes some real nice gear I am not sure of the cost, I use dto have a cream Machine and it was a great sounding 1 watt amp, but only did varying degrees of distortion, no clean sound.

[snufeldin]

this amp isn't just for playing with friends, this amp is for actually playing in front of audiences. I think you got the impression that I was only going to use it at home... maybe I'm wrong.

[szulc]

The amp suggested is fit to be used for any event 30 watts is enough power to get the police to your door. If you are playing in a band with a decent PA you don't even need that much. In the mid 80's I played with a rockman for a couple of gigs because the band was giving me **** about being too loud. I actually had a very good sounfd through the monitors and out front. The next gig the band begged me to used my tube amp again. Most of the time I used a 35 watt tube amp for about 2 years I used a Carvin X60 Combo (pushing a 2X2 closed back Cabinet), then I hopped up and old fender twin and used it (135 watts) for 3 or four years with a 4 X 12 cabinet, later I got a Mesa Boogie Studio Preamp and ran it through a Harmon Kardon Citation II (Stereo 80 watts).
Even with these higher wattage amps I rarely used over 25-35 watts. When you play you are going to mike your cabinet and hopefully run a line level signal as well, so your stage volume doesn't need to be loud, it just needs to sound good and have a good tone.

[snufeldin]

alright thanks alot szluc, but one more question: what do you think of the johnson millenium 150?

[szulc]

too many ic's and transistors for my taste, it sounds like a zoom pedal or some other rack mount thing or stompbox. I only play through tube amps unless I am just playing through headphones.

[metaljustice83]

i love my johnson amp to death except that you can't have an extension cabinet but my amp is something like120 watts stereo i think? correct me if i wrong by all means. But i love my amp to death and don't think that i'll get rid of it ever unless its for another johnson. It has just about every effect you could ever want. here is a link to some user reviews just to give you an idea but the true test is for you to play it yourself. http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Data/Johnson_Amplification/JM120_Marquis_212_Combo-01.html that is the address to the amp i have

http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Data/Johnson_Amplification/
there is some more reviews of other johnson amps

have fun

:cool:

[Bongo Boy]

Adding a connector for an external cab should be child's play for anyone who knows simple circuits...I'd think. Provided you can get access to a section of panel to mount the connector.

[metaljustice83]

that's what i thought bongo boy and since from what i hear that johnson amps are being discontinued or are discontinued the warrenteee wouldn't hold up much longer anyway, i got mine used so no warrentee for me anyways

[EricV]

Originally posted by Bongo Boy
Adding a connector for an external cab should be child's play for anyone who knows simple circuits...I'd think. Provided you can get access to a section of panel to mount the connector.

Well, with an amp like the Johnson, I would leave that ( adding a connector for an external cab ) to an experienced tech... after all you can fry an amp easily, especially when you mess with the poweramp ( which is what you´re doing when you wanna add an external cab ).
Maybe there´s a reason why they didn´t put in that option ? Because these days, external cab-jacks are almost a standard, so I wonder why Johnson didn´t include it.
I have heard that many companies that build those "virtual amps" use special speakers which were designed or modified to work with that amp specifically. ( after all, I guess such amps offer lots of different sounds and therefor might require different speakers than a regular tube combo )
Just a thought. Maybe it´d be a good idea to get in touch with the Johnson customer service,...

Eric

[Bongo Boy]

Just FYI, Musicians Friend current has the Johnson JM120 for, get this...$419 USD (2x12). The 150 is going for $550 USD.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com

[szulc]

Go to the local Guitar Center or whatever local music store(s) are in your area. Take your guitar and any toys that you use. Then play through all the amps you think you might want or can afford. Get someone form the store to help you unsderstand the various features of each amp. Then decide for your self what amp (that you can afford or are willing to pay for) gives you what you want.
Eventually this is the only thing that matters, what you want and what you like. I think if you like distorted guitar that you will be happier with a tube amp, but that is just my opinion, other people here like modeling amps, I don't. If you go in and play and find the sound that gives you chills, then put that amp on your short list for consideration. Just make sure you can get all the different tones you want out of one amp, the amp doesn't need to have an effects processor, you can add that later and wll likely be happier with a separate one.
Use your hands and your ears, and find out what is right for you.

[Bizarro]

If you get to a Fender store, check out the Hot Rod Deluxe (for straight up tubes) or try the Cyber-Deluxe.

The Cyber-Deluxe sounds very nice, much better than the more expensive Cyber-Twin, IMHO. I was able to dial in some really cool tones very quickly and they really had character. I have not been impressed with Line 6, Crate, or Yamaha modelling amps. I have not tried the Johnson amps myself, but the sound samples on the web site are really good.

The Fender amps won't get you super thick, scooped mid distortion, which is so popular nowadays. Both the amps I mention should get really nice clean sounds and good sustain.

Buying an amp is like getting a new car. It's expensive and you'll be stuck with it for awhile! Try before you buy!

Keep us posted with your decision, and good luck!:D

[Danster]

Hey snufeldin,

I've been looking into amps myself lately. I'm leaning toward a tube amp, although I dunno if that's important to you. Right now the Peavey Classic 30 (combo) is tops on my list. It's in your price range: <$500 at http://www.peaveymag.net/11105/prod-details.asp?prodid=2792. On ebay, they're about $300. It's got pretty good features for the price.

Features (ones that are important to me!):
30W
1x12"
FX loop
2 channels, footswitchable
tubes in preamp and poweramp stages

A couple of features I wish it had are separate EQ controls for the two channels, and a headphone jack. (If anyone knows of an amp that has the above features plus the sep EQ and phone jack, lemme know!). I haven't played it yet. Harmony central reviews are pretty good.

Happy shopping!
Dan

[szulc]

I saw a video of Dokken playing unplugged (Except for George)where george was using a peavy classic and getting his usual great tone, I don't think it was a 30 though because it looked like t had 2-12" speakers. I suspect he was using a DS-1 with it to take it into heavier distortion. Most of the Dokken albums were done on a unmodified purple 100w marshall owned by Aspen Pittman (Of Groove Tubes), with a DS-1 driving it into distortion.
Rumour has it George has offered him 10K$ for it and he was not willing to sell it. If you have the REH video of George you can see him using it in the studio.

[EricV]

Lynch also thought about taking out the guts of that particular Marshall and putting in the guts of another Marshall before returning it to Aspen, so he could the guts of that amp, but he didn´t... he later found a tech who modded his Marshalls so they´d sound similar to that particular amp...
Eric

[Bizarro]

If only Aspen would let someone take apart that amp!

With modern tools, all the impedance values of the caps, resistors, and other components could be measured very accurately (especially their AC characteristics). Then a crappy sounding Marshall of a similar vintage could be made to sound more like the nice ones.

The component tolerances for those old parts is horrible! Heck, even today a lot of caps are +80/-20% tolerance! This resulted in every amp sounding just a bit different. This doesn't even get into the different brands of components that were used (usually the least expensive they could find).

I've read that George Lynch, Warren DeMartini, and Jake E Lee are all good friends and they would share amps for studio work. Could you imagine getting to hang out with those guys and borrowing their amps? Wow!

[EricV]

That reminds me of a comment by Paul Stanley, who said ( in 1993 or so ) that, when he listens to rock music on the radio, he gets the impression that there´s one big Marshall amp in LA, and all the guitar players go there and plug into it to record their parts...

But seriously, yeah, ever since companies SIT and Andy Brauer Rentals were established, it´s become a common thing for a guitarist to use the same amp someone else had been using. At least it was like that for a while.
If I remember right, Greg Howe used Jason Becker´s Marshall top to record guitar-parts for his debut album. And Andy Brauer provided amps and other gear for a lot of LA-productions in the late 80s and 90s...
Eric

[snufeldin]

Anybody here have or tried a peavey ultra 410? I tried one at my guitar store and it sounded very very nice. Very good distortion.

[EricV]

Hi there, Snufeldin

That sounds good... When I started using tube amps, I always got amps that didn´t have enough distortion for my taste. I used some overdrive- or distortion pedals to boost those, just to get the sound I wanted.
Later, when I i.e. started using the 5150, I really learned to appreciate an amp that had plenty of gain, or rather: to get all the gain and distortion you need from the amp only without having to use extra gadgets to get it to sound the way you want it to.
There´s nothing wrong with using a booster, some overdrive pedal like the tube screamer or some Boss pedal ( I use a Boss SD-1 to boost the Laney ).
But I feel really comfortable with an amp who doesn´t need a booster to provide some high gain sounds
Just my opinion =)
Eric

[Bizarro]

Be careful what you wish for! Hi gain amps can be hard to control if you're playing loud.

A player can always turn down the volume knob on the guitar, but this alters the tone (even with hi-pass caps). A pedal can be nice because it is instant on/off. Having said that, my Hot Rod Deville has *two* gain channels, gain and more gain. It's great for giving a quick boost for solos.

But then again, I also like the flexibility of having a pedal to do that too. That's why I have both!:eek:

[EricV]

Well, I have been using HiGain gear for like 8 years now, and I can handle it both live and in the studio.
I control it with the volume knob live ( I do have the capacitor soldered to the volume knob to limit loss of treble when I turn it down ).
The JMP1 has presets which I can choose with a MIDI-Pedal, so I can easily switch from HiGain to crunch.
The Laney has two different gain stages for each channel, so I can switch from gain to higain with the footswitch... no problem...
Eric

[snufeldin]

I think I'm going to get either the peavey classic 50 or the fender Hot Rod DeVille 212.... I love the clean on both, but both of the distortions leave a lot to be desired. I want smooth distortion, but I think I'm going to have to buy a pedal for that. Oh well the clean is very nice.

snufeldin

[Bizarro]

Good luck with your decision. Keep us posted!