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GMC Forum _ GEAR & PRODUCTION _ Buying A New Amp...?
Posted by: Roko Apr 10 2009, 05:41 AM
Okay, I have had good experience with helpful people at GMC, so I am kind of throwing a large question ball here. Here goes:
1. I am thinking of buying a new amp (if you didn't guess from the title) for live shows. I currently have a 75W Line 6 Spider III, which works fine for practice, but as soon as i crank it up even close to halfway, it falls prey to feedback and annoying thumping sounds. It feels like the amp just can't take the volume. But did I just screw up my amp?
2. If I was to get a new amp, which one would you recommend? My budget is around 700 $, which admittedly is not a lot for an amp. Combos or cabinets work. I play some shred, Satriani/Vai style, not a lot of metal anymore, and mostly hard rock and/or 80's rock.
3. If it is just my amp and not Line 6, where do I send it for repairs, assuming it can be repaired?\
Thank you all so much,
Roko
P.S. Coming up on 2nd year of membership! Thanks GMC for the memories and technique!
Posted by: Marc_Maiden Apr 10 2009, 06:35 AM
hey there san fran neighbor
go with any tube amp! 40+ watts will be plenty!
for $700 you can get a decent one, and you will be throwin that line 6 in the trash
Posted by: Roadside Apr 10 2009, 06:37 AM
Hey mate,
I don´t think that you amp is broken at all. Audio feedback is a sound loop between an audio input ( your pickups ) and an audio output, which is your amp. The pickup "picks up" the signal which is amplified through your amp. You should pay attention for several things, which might be the reason for your feedback.
1) You should setup your amp correctly. By setup I mean the place, where the amp stands. For example take a rock concert normaly the amps dont stand 2 or 3 meters next to the guitarist or singer. They are often locked at the sides of the stage from bottom to the top. This is done to prevent the signals from interfering each other. For this reason there are monitors which point back at the band. The direction the signals are sent is important. Try to get a long cable for gigs and try to stand as far away from your amp as possible.
2) The gain.: This differs from pickup to pickup as far as I know. I had pickups with a lot of output which can control a lot of gain like EMGs, SDs ect. But there are other pickups which can´t control that much gain, because they are not made for it. Like in a telecaster of a friend of mine. The neck pickup can´t take any gain at all, if it´s volume knob is turned up 
3) Solutions: There are things called Feedback Killer, which control the frequencies.
http://www.musik-produktiv.de/behringer-dsp110-shark-2817030.aspx ( I don´t know if this one can be used for guitar )
Or you might get a volume pedal and always kick it when the feedback appears! After all it shouldn´t appear while playing, right?
Back to your amp questions.
700$ = 532€, which is for sure not enough for a half stack. If you would go for a halfstack like the Marshall MG 100 HFX, you wouldn´t get a real halfstack sound. Halfstacks are just a bit more expensive. Just like tubeamps, though there are some like the Peavy Valveking:
http://shop.kirstein.de/shop/default.aspx?TY=item&ST=1&IT=1128&CT=278&utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=ncpc
The 100 Watt Combo goes for ~500€, though I think that 50W is more than enough for smaller gigs.
This would be my recommendation for ya, but others might have other ideas 
After all, I would suggest to save a bit more money and get a realy good tube amp or a decent halfstack, which would be better for gigs in my humble opinion, though I don´t know for which gigs you plan to use your amp.
Cheers,
Tim
Posted by: fkalich Apr 10 2009, 06:59 AM
1. I am thinking of buying a new amp (if you didn't guess from the title) for live shows. I currently have a 75W Line 6 Spider III, which works fine for practice, but as soon as i crank it up even close to halfway, it falls prey to feedback and annoying thumping sounds. It feels like the amp just can't take the volume. But did I just screw up my amp?
2. If I was to get a new amp, which one would you recommend? My budget is around 700 $, which admittedly is not a lot for an amp. Combos or cabinets work. I play some shred, Satriani/Vai style, not a lot of metal anymore, and mostly hard rock and/or 80's rock.
3. If it is just my amp and not Line 6, where do I send it for repairs, assuming it can be repaired?\
Thank you all so much,
Roko
P.S. Coming up on 2nd year of membership! Thanks GMC for the memories and technique!
Carvin Belair. They are out in California. It is 50 watts, but real nice. In case you are not aware, the increase in volume is not a linear relation to increased power. A 100 watt amp is only 3db louder than a 50w amp. A speaker cabinet would mean a lot more, if you want to spend more money.
It takes a 500W amp to sound twice as loud as a 50W.
Posted by: Roadside Apr 10 2009, 07:01 AM
Oh thanks for that, this is an aspect, which I forgot!
Posted by: sted Apr 10 2009, 08:54 AM
Fender Deville's go for around that sort of money, real tube amp with a big sound, not good or metal but a nice OD will give you some good rock tones.
If you like the Line 6 range it could be worth looking at the Spider Valve as well, it has tube power amp with modelling as well.
Posted by: kaznie_NL Apr 10 2009, 05:05 PM
If you're also going to do some giggin, maybe http://www.guitarcenter.com/Vox-Valvetronix-VT100-100W-2x12-Guitar-Combo-Amp-105186209-i1444500.gc will do, the Vox VT 100. it has a built in power control, so you can crank it in your room without a lot of noise. If you don't want to gig with it, 100 watt is a bit to much, and the 50 or
30 watt versions are below the price range...
Posted by: Marshmall0wz Apr 10 2009, 09:52 PM
Carvin Legacy 212 combo amp. It's steve vai's signature amp so you know its got great distortions and cleans. Right up your alley. You could probably find one for 700-1000 dollars used. Great very professional amp. Plenty loud, 50/100 watts (it has a switch to change it)
Posted by: 29a Apr 10 2009, 10:46 PM
The question of which amp to get depends highly on the tone(s) you want to get. So I'm not able to answer that one really. Vai uses a carvin legacy (just make sure you get one WITH master volume), Satch uses his JSX. But that doesn't mean that you should use a Legacy or JSX. As you've already said yourself your budget is probably too small to get a great amp. You should probably consider saving up some more money and consider looking for something used.
One more thing: When you buy a classic tube amp instead of the line6 you'll probably need some separate effects for it.
Jonas
Posted by: MickeM Apr 10 2009, 11:21 PM
If you settle for hard rock and really don't need metal (which could be reached with a wonderful clean channel) I can recomend the Peavey Classic 30 (or 50 for that matter). It's got a very full and rich clean channel and a wonderful distortion one. Blues, Jazz, Rock, Hard rock it does all of that just great.
Posted by: fkalich Apr 10 2009, 11:41 PM
I was thinking Carvin, especially because they are out their where he is in California. I had the impression that the price on the vai amp get a bit hiked because of the name, I would think about one of their other tube amps.
Another nice thing about Carvin, they use real wood for there amps, unlike everyone else who uses particle board. Maybe that means nothing in sound, but I never wanted furniture made out of fake wood either, don't want an amp made out of it either if I can help it. The real wood puts out magical vibrations undetectable by science, and makes you play better.
edit: oh, and the vintage amps just look cool, the old style tweed covers, like 50's fender. Good quality, durable. It really looks good. And sounds good, really does.
Posted by: jdriver Apr 11 2009, 07:26 PM
+1 on the Peavey Classic 30, especially with a set of JJ tubes from Eurotubes, matched to your preferred playing style ($70-90). I have the Peavey Delta Blues, which is basically the Classic 30 with a 15" speaker. The clean channel is truly rich and creamy. Also, made in USA.
Posted by: fkalich Apr 11 2009, 07:35 PM
I agree on the Eurotubes, I bought from them, and they are the people to talk to.
However I don't know about buying a new amp and trashing the tubes immediately. Carvin has nice tubes in them from the factory. I would get a used amp if I was going to replace the tubes right away.
Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Apr 11 2009, 10:19 PM
I would definitely recommend that you check out stores tryout all the amps that you can find, and share those experiences here with us. This way we will have much better info on what you liked/disliked, so we can give you better advices.
Posted by: Jad Diab Apr 11 2009, 10:30 PM
I have MG100DFX too, It's not a good amp, but I bought a POD X3, so now it sounds 100 times better .. If you can't afford a new amp, maybe try buying a POD XT, it's not really expensive and does lot of things 
Posted by: synfection Apr 14 2009, 01:01 AM
1. I am thinking of buying a new amp (if you didn't guess from the title) for live shows. I currently have a 75W Line 6 Spider III, which works fine for practice, but as soon as i crank it up even close to halfway, it falls prey to feedback and annoying thumping sounds. It feels like the amp just can't take the volume. But did I just screw up my amp?
2. If I was to get a new amp, which one would you recommend? My budget is around 700 $, which admittedly is not a lot for an amp. Combos or cabinets work. I play some shred, Satriani/Vai style, not a lot of metal anymore, and mostly hard rock and/or 80's rock.
3. If it is just my amp and not Line 6, where do I send it for repairs, assuming it can be repaired?\
Thank you all so much,
Roko
P.S. Coming up on 2nd year of membership! Thanks GMC for the memories and technique!
I have a spider 3 120 watt and i get the same thing. the second its past halfway. your not alone!
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