$-2000 Need An Amp. Options

[dimeisgod]

hey,
I thought you guys could help me about this..
I have about 2000 bucks more or less. I need an amp that will sound great for both real heavy stuff and jazz or blues.

any recomendations?

thanks..

[MickeM]

hey,
I thought you guys could help me about this..
I have about 2000 bucks more or less. I need an amp that will sound great for both real heavy stuff and jazz or blues.

any recomendations?

thanks..

I'd recommend my Hugnes and Kettner Switchblade any day or the Trilogy. Thet can do anything, you'd be surprised. For "anything" soundwise I think Celcetion Vintage 30's are good speakers.

My big wet dream though is to get my hands on an Elmwood Modena 60. You might get one used for $2000

[dimeisgod]

thanks,
i havent heard of those companys yet.. i will go try em out maybe get some more opininions.
do you know if they have a dealer in israel or maybe one that ships to israel?

[MickeM]

thanks,
i havent heard of those companys yet.. i will go try em out maybe get some more opininions.
do you know if they have a dealer in israel or maybe one that ships to israel?

Go to www.musicstore.de and find a contact to ask about Israel. They ship worldwide but you have to find out about the shipping cost. When I got my amp head and cabinet I payed 15E in total. That's nothing concidering they delivered to my door step.

This is my exact set head and cabinet

The Switchblade is also available as combo. I don't think you will find anything as versatile. For more specialized sound go for Fender, ENGL, Marshall or Mesa Boogie (which are pricy in Europe)
If you're looking for the sound of 6L6's the H&K Switchblade has EL34's so a Marshall is closer in sound than ENGL - though you can dial in anything with this baby. Crystal clear, crunchy, brown, and everything inbetween up to insane hi gain. And it sounds good at bedroom levels too.

A couple of other amps that I concidered before I got the Switchblade were Laney VR100R... huh...what was it more... a couple of Marshalls, DSL and TSL nothing good really, the JVM model wasn't out at that time, I'd definitly check that one out.

But for what you asked for, Jazz, blues, real heavy stuff - versatility - I stick with the H&K Switchblade. If you look for a more specialized amp there are others like Fender with amazing cleans or ENGL with real fat punch, I don't know about Mesa Boogies, they are too pricy here in Europe to even be interesting so I never bothered about them.

Anyway, good luck on your quest finding the perfect amp


EDIT: Elmwood btw is a Swedish amp producer, not too many have discovered them but the ones who does kick out their ENGL's, Diezel's, Mesa Boogies, Marshalls etc to make room for their Elmwood. I doubt you can find one in Israel to take for a spin.

This post has been edited by MickeM: Jun 12 2007, 10:06 AM

[dimeisgod]

thanks a lot!
yeah i wanted a mesa boogie at first but their price was way out of my range..

[Ben Howell]

thanks a lot!
yeah i wanted a mesa boogie at first but their price was way out of my range..

Fuchs amps are stunning.

I have the lucky 7 and it is awesome, but for that amount of cash you could get a more expensive fuchs.

Hers is the web page:

www.fuchsaudiotechnology.com



Incredible for jazz/fusion, blues.

Hope this helps,

Ben

[MickeM]

Oh.. and I just recalled two more options I looked at when buying my amp head were the Peavey 6505+ and JSX. How could I forget?

The JSX is a pretty damn sweet amp head, will do anything too. Top choice together with the H&K.

[dimeisgod]

jazz really isnt my main thing so i would rather have an amp thats incredible for metal and "just" ok for jazz.. i think i might go for a marshall dsl100 half stack,or the hughes & kettner switchblade , or a laboga mr. hector head.

but im free for any suggestions really...

thanks.

[MickeM]

or a laboga mr. hector head.

Cool! So it's Hi-Gain stuff you're looking for really?

The DSL and Mr Hector on your list have VERY different characteristics just so you're aware.

What sound are you looking for mainly?


EDIT: If you want a bit of both EL34's and 6L6's Brunetti has a killer amp head called Pirata Valvemix that can user either OR both at the same time. Dang!

This post has been edited by MickeM: Jun 12 2007, 05:45 PM

[dimeisgod]

woah man looks like you know a lot about this subject...

i heard good stuff about the mr. hector head and the dsl 100 and the mesa boogie rectifier heads. 2000 dollars is a lot of money im not going to rush and buy something ill be sorry for.


the heavy bands i like (and the heavy sound im looking for) are:
pantera, metallica, lamb of god, trivium, slipknot.

there is a lot of differences between the sound that each band has but maybe u can get a sence of what sound i want.

the clean im looking for should be good for jazz/blues but i should also be able to play songs like metallicas : fade to black or panteras planet caravan\cemetary gates.

i dont have a band (yet!) but im using a 10 watt kustom amp and i want to get out of the bedroom phase. so im not really sure what my band is gonna sound like but i cant play with my amp in any band..

hope you can give me some more opinions and recomendations

thanks a lot!

[Andrew Cockburn]

woah man looks like you know a lot about this subject...

I've said it before, MikeM is the Amp guy

[MickeM]

The bands you mention, I wouldn't got for Randall, but hey... the Rivera Knucklehead is good, if not great even!
I have no idea what Trivium and Land of God uses.

Hopr you find one that blows you away :-)

[dimeisgod]

hey everyone does anybody use a :

marshall dsl100 head?
laboga mr. hector head?
krank revolution or krankenstein head?
hughes and kettner switchblade head?

or any other amp!
(i got 2000 bucks so dont reply if you have a 10watt amp thats worth $10)

can you please tell me about the amp what kind of music you play with it and the price you bought it?

thanks a lot!

[MickeM]

can you please tell me about the amp what kind of music you play with it and the price you bought it?

thanks a lot!

Hughes and Kettner Switchblade 100W amp head
I use it with a 4x12" slanted cabinet with Celestion Vintage 30

Bought the head for about 1150-1200 Euro (~1500 USD)

I use it in our Dream Theater cover band so it's mainly that kind of music. But I've ripped some british crunch stuff with it too.
It got a built in effects section with delay + temolo/flanger/chorus and MIDI switch with 128 presets you can store. While storeing you also store the Volume for the preset. Then you have a master volume aswell. Meaning all presets have their respective volume and you can adjust with the master wether you play in your bedroom or an arena.

A couple Switchblade users
Edguy, Candlemass, Queensryche.

A demo video with buth a Strat and a Les Paul
Demo


One of the top amps in your list. The other is Mr Hector. It's tougher than the Switchblade I'd say if you're looking for insane hi-gain.

You should also concider second hand value. Like if you're in Sweden (like me) H&K is not very known here so people just don't understand how good it is. That lowers the second hand value. Think about that aswell incase you're planning to sell whichever amp you choose in the future.

EDIT: Isn't that Krank more or less a one trick pony? I never heard it or played myself but I got the impression it's a doomsday machine, plenty of doom, less versatility.
Anf for a high second hand value the DSL100 would be the safest pick.

This is how I list them, not a scientific list, just what I think/know/guess.
Second hand value
1) DSL100
2) Mr Hector
3) Switchblade

Chuga-Chuga
1) Mr Hector
2) Switchblade
3) DSL100

Brown sound
1) DSL100
2) Switchblade
3) Mr Hector

Versatility
1) Switchblade
2) DSL100
3) Mt Hector

I'd also like to list playability at bedroom volume but I don't know how Mr Hector and DSL100 does. The Switchblade is great for low volumes, sounds really good.

Perhaps you should have a look at the Marshall JVM. I havn't heard it live but there's a few neat demos over at marshallamps.com. To me it looks like JVM is the first Marshall for a long time that really rocks. You'd get a way cooler amp than the DSL I belive for only a litte more money.

This post has been edited by MickeM: Jun 16 2007, 02:01 PM

[Smikey2006]

I use a Krank Revolution 100W Tube Amp head. Its such a simple amp that i love it, you have two channels basically Clean and Distorion ( Kleen and Krank ) i definatly recommend any Krank Amp. with 2000 you can get any Krank Head and if you have a little more cash sitting around and you need it you can get a Cab, or the Krank 100watt combo. The Chadwick 50W Classic is the other option for Krank heads. The Krankenstien head and cab are basically just the Revolution but specified to Dime bag Darrel.

This is a great metal amp ( what i use it for ) but clean with a few pedals it still gives a great sound for anything else you want to play ( ive been playing alot of Jazz latly) for about 1500 you can pick up one of these badboys and give it a shot, im not too sure about shipping but the guys at Krank are great with customer service so contact them for more information

http://www.krankamps.com/home.aspx

[dimeisgod]

i've wanted a krank amp for some time.. a lot of guitarists\bands i like use it.. i need to buy cabinet with the 2000 bucks i have. should i buy a krank combo amp or the revolution head and a cheap cabinet? or used? shipping would also cost some money (quite alot to israel i think). so lets say i have 1800 bucks, is that enough for a krank head and cab?

im not going to perform as a jazz player for a few years i think.. so if its clean sounds even ok i'll be satisfied.. but i am playing some vai and satriani songs so does it have only real real heavy distortion?
im really looking for a versatile amp i dont think the krenk has it? or not ?

i play alot of pantera lamb of god trivium vai satriani stuff.. does the kranks sound fit my style?


thanks...

[Smikey2006]

For what you want to play i would say Krank fits perfectly. for the Combo or head and cheap cab question it depends what you are playing. if its just for at home jamming and a bit of gigging then go with the combo, but if ur doin alot of gigging and some bigger venues then id go with the head and cab. talk to the guys at Krank for more info, e-mail em im sure they would be happy to answer your questions.

[MickeM]

I came to think of this thread again as I stumbled over a music store in Israel, not what I was looking for but it just showed while I was browsing Laboga.
Israel music store

And when I saw the Laboga Studio Reverb it hit me... There's an EXACT same model with another brand, in Germany. After some research I found that they in fact are the same.

If you're looking for that Laboga Mr Hector and don't want to spend 1300 Euro and still get the same amp just with a diffrent look and brand go find the Fame Rock Force V - it cost only 777 Euro.

I havn't played it but right now I'm thinking I could get the Mr Hector 30-40% off (30-40 because the Fame head comes in different shells for different prices, 777 up to 899 Euro), it comes with different shells and I was concidering getting a Hiwatt for like 1200 Euro and use with my cover band. Right now I'm leaning towards moving my Hughes and Kettner to the coverband and get this Fame Rockforce for the Progressive metalband. The Rockforce V got the same front, knobs and everything, Rectifier Diode switch, 50/100W overswitching... everything.

Handwired!

So it's not the same as Behringer is doing with their new brand Bugera that copies the Peavey 5150 and sells for 1/3 of the price. Don't think they are out yet so I can't say anything about the quality though. They might rock, who knows.

So, there's a tip for anyone who wants two Laboga Mr Hector for the price of one

[blindwillie]

Damn you Micke! All your amp talk have really turned me on to a Hughes and Kettner. I've been reasoning that it's just stupid to have a bigger amp as long as I'm just a bedroom player but now I really want that Switchblade. Hell will be pretty could though before my wife would let me get that in our house :/ And all the money ... not to mention that I can't play my guitar yet: Need to get my priorities right. *sigh*

[MickeM]

Damn you Micke! All your amp talk have really turned me on to a Hughes and Kettner. I've been reasoning that it's just stupid to have a bigger amp as long as I'm just a bedroom player but now I really want that Switchblade. Hell will be pretty could though before my wife would let me get that in our house :/ And all the money ... not to mention that I can't play my guitar yet: Need to get my priorities right. *sigh*

A Hughes and Kettner Switchblade in the bedroom will NOT be beneficial for your marriage

There's a amp-kit, sells for $300, and you have to solder it together yourself, but that's on my wishlist for the bedroom. Together with a 1x12" cabinet I'm sure it will do wonders.
The Switchblade is 100W, well there's a 50W combo now... this other amp, the kit, is just perfect for playing at home it's only 1/2W so you can really cranck it, and it's all tubes of course, and get anything from clean, blues, rock and hard rock sound from it.
I have plenty of amp plans myself and this amp kit is one of them.

Have to convince my dear wife I have to get a Fame Rock Force V (still have Hiwatt in mind), one 1/2W amp kit, one 1x12 combo for the kit. ...wish me luck



EDIT: Talked to them and appearantly the "Mr Hector" is called "Rock force VII".
But there's a difference because it has no rectifier tubes. And what the Rock force V was similar too they couldn't or wouldn't say. Fame sells their products through musicstore.de and they also sell Laboga so my guess is they had to take the exact copy off the shelves and took away the rectifier tubes in the new model so it's not an exact Mr Hector any longer. He wouln't say.

This post has been edited by MickeM: Jun 19 2007, 06:18 PM