Guitar (electric) players - What do you recommend for an amp?

I

Inzane

New member
I'm just starting out. I've been learning on an acoustic, but I've just bought my first electric. I decided to splurge a little and got one of the limited edition Ibanez 550s (20th anniversary reissue, in Road Flare Red).



Now I just have a little problem... nothing to plug this baby into yet.



What are you recommendations for a starter amp? I am willing to spend ~$250-400. I'm too inexperienced at this point to even know if I'll prefer tube over solid-state. I would like something flexible and well rounded that can do a bit of everything. Built in effects, etc. would be good too.



I've heard good things about the following brands: Peavey, Line 6, Mesa, Crate, and Marshall.



Influences range quite a bit from heavier stuff like Iron Maiden, Megadeth, and Metallica, to more intrumental stuff like Satriani. (and Steve Vai, Van Halen, etc.)



Thanks.
 
Whatever you buy, make sure it will be loud enough.



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Tort
 
My son was really happy with the Orange 10 I bought for him a few years ago. Small and only 10 watts, not to mention only $100, but it was an impressive performer. I read a few reviews that folks preferred it over the next model or two supposedly higher on in the Orange lineup.



You can also check out the equipment recommended by a friend of mine who's a professional jazz guitarist. I realize you're looking at a much different kind of music, but this guy knows his stuff pretty well, he has a M.A. in guitar and is a former professor, teaching guitar at a university in FL. He's now a music editor and touring performer.

CoreyChristiansen.com - Gear

He uses Acoustic Image Clarus 1-R amp and Leonardo cabinets.
 
I'd stick with tube amps. Peavey is amazing you cant go wrong there. But if its just for practice just make sure its a good quality brand name(peavey, line6, fender, etc) and play it first before you b uy it! thats all.
 
I prefer fender's. Tube amps ARE AWESOME, but have a couple of drawbacks. The big one being that unless you have some form of attenuator, they will blow the roof off if you want to get real good tone. The smooth overdriven tones that they are so sought after for come from saturating the power tubes with.. well... power. That means LOUD volumes generally. The second thing is that they are pricey.



For the money, I'd buy a line6 spider series amp. sound great, and plenty of cool effects to jack around with.
 
I have a lot of the same style influences, i.e. huge Metallica fan.... I started out on a Fender amp my Dad got me years ago, a Stage 160 (solid state, not tube), that I eventually replaced the speaker with a EVM 12L, and that thing is very loud, but clean too...and was able to do cleans and distortions well (with pedals). Move forward many years, and I'm now playing a tube amp...a Mesa Dual Rectifier 3 channel with oversized Mesa 4x12 cab. Talk about way louder!! Absolutely love the amp though, and I highly recommend Mesa products. Tone and build quality is top notch for the hard rock style. Maybe look for some used Mesa combo amps.



I also practice (at significantly lower volumes) with a small Marshall (solid state). Gives that classic Marshall vibe at low volumes. For your influences, I'd look hard at Marshall too. Every one of the bands you listed grew up on a steady diet of hot and loud Marshalls. And many mixed Marshalls with Mesa or went to Mesa altogether (Metallica). I'd eventually like to get a Marshall tude head, but my Mesa is holding its own at the moment.



Also, you might look for a used Peavey 5150 combo amp. I have heard amazing rock tones come from those amps, and I'm sure with some diligence on your part, you could find them at < $500. They are loud and rock very hard also, and can easily do the metal and rock tones.





Regards,



Mike
 
For your style of music, I would lean towards a marshall. Myself, a classic rock/blues player, I own a fender super reverb reissue, and a smaller solid state vox 15r pathfinder. I am not a fan of built in effects because many are far to digital, but I know the marshalls in your range come loaded with them.



Greg
 
If you're just starting out, definitely get a used amp, if nothing else, it will allow you to experiment with the tones without spending for a full-priced amp.



Mesa is really good, great tones, Marshall gets a bit 'dirtier', and there's always Peavey, Fender, Orange, etc. IMO, tube amps are the way to go -- solid state just doesn't generate the tones with a lot of guitars.
 
Awesome ax. I've got an original RG550 in my collection (blue with maple fretboard, original edge trem) - absolutely love those guitars.



Avoid solid state if you're looking to play metal - SS amps are really only good for cleans, and even then, a good SS amp isn't really any cheaper than a good tube amp.



In your price range, you've basically got two options. One, a modeling amp (i.e. Line 6 or Vox Valvetronix) - popular these days, but I'm not a fan at all. They all sound lifeless in my opinion. If you were to get one, I think the Vox modelers have the best tone, followed by the Roland (the Cube 60 isn't bad at all).



Two, a used tube amp - you won't get anything high end for that much, but you can get something pretty decent and upgrade the speakers. Will sound leaps and bounds better than a modeling amp for metal, but won't be as versatile. I'd primarily look for a Yamaha T50 or T100, which were designed by Mike Soldano and are some of the best low-cost tube amps I've played through - there's always one or two on ebay. Barring one of those, I'd look at a Peavey Classic 30 (and maybe swap out the driver for a Celestion G12T-75 or Vintage 30), Carvin MTS Combo (show up on ebay every now and then), or a Crate BV60.
 
Here's my stance: I've been playing for about 12 years. Playing guitar is part of my DAILY routine, and I really enjoy it. IF you are planning to stick with it, then go ahead and buy the best thing you can afford. My first amp, which I still have was a Peavey Transtube solid state. It is my practice amp these days and I would have no problems reccomending it for that. Mine is an Envoy 110 and I think it's 40 watts. I had a Fender Ultimate Chorus, which I sold to help fund my 85 Marshall JCM800. IMO, there is nothing like a nice tube amp, for really just about any style of music. I lean toward the harder rock stuff myself. I usually dont like taking the opinions of too many people at the music store, because just like detailing products....sound is so subjective, BUT if you can find an employee who likes the same style of music you do, have him demo a few amps for you. You want to buy an amp that you wont hate down the road. I feel comfortable reccomending the Peavey Transtube series (if they still make them...I think they do). I would also say, steer clear of Crate. I like the new All tube Crate stuff, but their solid states are among some of the worst sounding out there, IMO.
 
Until you have a "Definite" direction as to what/where you are going (sound) try taking a look at "LINE 6 Amps", you just might find out a lot about what you are trying to project and what "You" want to hear!!!

Changeling



PS. They are absolutely AWESOME!!!
 
Marshall!



Back when I played bass in a rock band to put myself through college, I had a 100 watt Marshall valve ( tube) bass brain. The speaker cabinets were made by Traynor, but the speakers in them were four 15" Altec Lansings.



Can you say "loud?"



Valve amps have a "warmth" to them that no solid state/transistorized amp can give.
 
I only noodle around on the guitar, but I've done a lot of studio work as a vocalist and an engineer, and I've never really liked Peavey for much of anything. YMMV. I have a little 20 watt Marshall that pretends to be a tube amp (they call it a Valvestate), and for what I use it for (practicing in the privacy of my own home), I like it quite a bit.
 
Check out the Fender Hot Rod amps. They are fairly inexpensive tube amps. I used to have one and they are fantastic for the price.



If it is truly just practice and it doesn't need to be loud you can also get a line 6 guitarport on the cheap. I also used to have one and you basically plug it into your computer (usb and line in) and then it will model tons of popular amps and effects. A fun toy for less than $100.



Also, if you happen to have a mac, the garageband program has built in amplifier models and effects also.
 
I have Fender Princeton tube amp that my mother bought me when I took a few lessons but quite after just a couple and hasn't been used in about 40 years. Just pulled it out and is in perfect condition, not even scratch on it.
 
I'm currently leaning towards the Roland Cube 30X (~ $300 CDN).



I've also been pondering the Peavey Valveking 112 combo (~$430-490 CDN).
 
I have a Crate DXJ112 that is 10 times louder than the Fender tube amp I had with a cabinet that had three 12"speakers under it (in the early 70's). The Crate also has 16? (not sure of the number) electronic effects built in to make the amp sound like 16 different amps.



I am amazed at the different sounds this amp makes, to sound like any of my old pedals and more. Best purchase (music-wise) I ever made.



Mike (still lives in the 70s music-wise, while occasionally learning newer music)
 
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