New Amp, i need some advice on which amp is best for me please
norules
Apr 7 2013, 06:03 PM
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Posts: 77
Joined: 11-March 11
From: bristol england
hello people.

i'm looking to get a new amp. reason being i have a roland cube 40xl which i do like but i've now got my band off the ground and it is not loud enough to compete with a drum kit. alot of the gigs i'm going to play i'm not gonna be able to mic the amp so i need something loud enough to be heard over the drummer.

my band is very loud. we're a 3 piece but our drummer is a very hard hitter and we play what i call dub punk. we go from all out heavy fast punk/metal to chilled out dub reggae to drum n bass in one song so the amp needs to be able to cover cleans and heavy distortion. i use alot of effects as well. Ideally i want the amp to have 2 channels and no built in effects. i'm not over bothered about an effects loop. i also like the idea of having a separate amp and cab as we will be traveling a lot and i wont always need the cab.

i've never owned a valve amp but i'm very interested in getting one.

a couple of questions please:

what wattage amp do you think i need? ive been looking at some of the 15w valve amps you get these days such as orange tiny terror and vox night train but as my 40w amp isn't cutting it will one of these? Ive heard they will and i understand that the watts in relation to volume is different between valve and transistor amps but i'm not too sure.

if i did get one of these small valve amps what size cab would i need to play un-miced gigs?

is it wise to buy a second hand valve amp?

if i just got a head can that be put straight into a p.a or does it have to have a cab mic'd to do that?

can anyone recommend me an amp that would suit my needs? my budget is about 500-700 including the cab

thanks very much for your time sorry for so many questions

wayne

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Gabriel Leopardi
Apr 7 2013, 09:49 PM
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From: Argentina
Hi man! It's great to know that you are now rehearsing and getting ready to play live! You have many options and your decision would be based at first on the tone that you are looking for. If your sound is around rock, punk & metal I think that you could go for Orange, Marshall or Mesa Boogie amps. Buying an used Valve amp isn't an issue, you only need to have in mind that you surely will have to buy new tubes for it unless the seller says that the tubes are new.

I'm not sure if you wanted a combo or a head. In the second case you will need to also buy a cabinet. You can't get a good tone connecting a head by line when you play live. If you want to play by line, you will need an amp emulator like Pod, Axe Ultra.

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Todd Simpson
Apr 8 2013, 06:04 AM
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Posts: 25.297
Joined: 23-December 09
From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
This is well worn ground here in the forum as you might expect so the good news is that there is a plethora of info and replies on this very topic. But to save you some time running forum searches, let's see if I can't give you the quick and dirty of it smile.gif

1.)For gigging purposes, small bedroom sized amps are not your best bet.

2.)For the working musician, a beefy combo in 1 or 2x12 @ 100 Watts (Tube Amp) generally does the trick.

3.)The main limiting factor is price.

So essentially, I'd say go try out some 2x12 combo tube amps rated @ 100 watts. Your wallet will dictate the final choice. Any of the usual suspects is a fine place to start.

MARSHAL
MESA
ORANGE

etc. smile.gif


Todd


QUOTE (norules @ Apr 7 2013, 01:03 PM) *
hello people.

i'm looking to get a new amp. reason being i have a roland cube 40xl which i do like but i've now got my band off the ground and it is not loud enough to compete with a drum kit. alot of the gigs i'm going to play i'm not gonna be able to mic the amp so i need something loud enough to be heard over the drummer.

my band is very loud. we're a 3 piece but our drummer is a very hard hitter and we play what i call dub punk. we go from all out heavy fast punk/metal to chilled out dub reggae to drum n bass in one song so the amp needs to be able to cover cleans and heavy distortion. i use alot of effects as well. Ideally i want the amp to have 2 channels and no built in effects. i'm not over bothered about an effects loop. i also like the idea of having a separate amp and cab as we will be traveling a lot and i wont always need the cab.

i've never owned a valve amp but i'm very interested in getting one.

a couple of questions please:

what wattage amp do you think i need? ive been looking at some of the 15w valve amps you get these days such as orange tiny terror and vox night train but as my 40w amp isn't cutting it will one of these? Ive heard they will and i understand that the watts in relation to volume is different between valve and transistor amps but i'm not too sure.

if i did get one of these small valve amps what size cab would i need to play un-miced gigs?

is it wise to buy a second hand valve amp?

if i just got a head can that be put straight into a p.a or does it have to have a cab mic'd to do that?

can anyone recommend me an amp that would suit my needs? my budget is about 500-700 including the cab

thanks very much for your time sorry for so many questions

wayne

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


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Cosmin Lupu
Apr 8 2013, 10:08 AM
Instructor
Posts: 22.808
Joined: 14-June 10
From: Bucharest
My opinion is the same - Marshall, Orange or Mesa. But judging by your budget, I think that you can't quite fit a cab and a valve head in it so my suggestion would be to start scouring Ebay for a combo from the names above, which will fit into the budget, that has valves and was kept in good condition.

Let us know what you found and we'll help further!

Cosmin

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dcz702
Apr 8 2013, 10:44 AM
Learning Tone Seeker
Posts: 613
Joined: 5-March 13
From: Las Vegas
QUOTE (norules @ Apr 7 2013, 05:03 PM) *
hello people.

i'm looking to get a new amp. reason being i have a roland cube 40xl which i do like but i've now got my band off the ground and it is not loud enough to compete with a drum kit. alot of the gigs i'm going to play i'm not gonna be able to mic the amp so i need something loud enough to be heard over the drummer.

my band is very loud. we're a 3 piece but our drummer is a very hard hitter and we play what i call dub punk. we go from all out heavy fast punk/metal to chilled out dub reggae to drum n bass in one song so the amp needs to be able to cover cleans and heavy distortion. i use alot of effects as well. Ideally i want the amp to have 2 channels and no built in effects. i'm not over bothered about an effects loop. i also like the idea of having a separate amp and cab as we will be traveling a lot and i wont always need the cab.

i've never owned a valve amp but i'm very interested in getting one.

a couple of questions please:

what wattage amp do you think i need? ive been looking at some of the 15w valve amps you get these days such as orange tiny terror and vox night train but as my 40w amp isn't cutting it will one of these? Ive heard they will and i understand that the watts in relation to volume is different between valve and transistor amps but i'm not too sure.

if i did get one of these small valve amps what size cab would i need to play un-miced gigs?

is it wise to buy a second hand valve amp?

if i just got a head can that be put straight into a p.a or does it have to have a cab mic'd to do that?

can anyone recommend me an amp that would suit my needs? my budget is about 500-700 including the cab

thanks very much for your time sorry for so many questions

wayne

This week I was at the shop and I played through a blackstar ht 60. It was a awesome amp. Nice gain channel and good cleans. And plenty loud. Good price for a tube amp to. Blackstar was started by old Marshall guys.

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This post has been edited by dcz702: Apr 8 2013, 10:48 AM
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Darius Wave
Apr 8 2013, 12:52 PM
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Posts: 5.871
Joined: 29-November 12
From: Poland
Me basic advice anytime some student asks me about gear is...

Buy used gear. Buy popular models from popular brands - there are easy to be sold, and with same cash amount You gave for it. This way You can easy change between a few amps to make yourself some expirience on this field. Than You'll be shure Your choice was best for the price or...even if You'll finaly buy some D.I.Y amp...You'll be 100% shure it's because it sounds like You want..not just costs like You afford it smile.gif

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Gabriel Leopardi
Apr 8 2013, 02:12 PM
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Posts: 36.043
Joined: 3-March 07
From: Argentina
QUOTE (Darius Wave @ Apr 8 2013, 08:52 AM) *
Me basic advice anytime some student asks me about gear is...

Buy used gear. Buy popular models from popular brands - there are easy to be sold, and with same cash amount You gave for it. This way You can easy change between a few amps to make yourself some expirience on this field. Than You'll be shure Your choice was best for the price or...even if You'll finaly buy some D.I.Y amp...You'll be 100% shure it's because it sounds like You want..not just costs like You afford it smile.gif



Great advice Darius! It's true that you don't really have experience with amps if you don't use them for a while so this method is great to get experience and to finally get exactly the tone that you want.

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liveOASISforever
Apr 8 2013, 05:22 PM
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Posts: 713
Joined: 14-March 10
From: Scotland
Hi

Great advice from everyone. Am not able to give much advice but one thing I can say is dont watch reviews on YouTube thinking you can sound exactly like that. That is one thing I did and and found myself buying and selling amps over and over. I recently just bought a Blackstar HT5R which I think is a great amp. Maybe you would be interested in the Blackstar range.

Cheers Sean

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This post has been edited by liveOASISforever: Apr 8 2013, 09:26 PM
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klasaine
Apr 8 2013, 05:32 PM
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Posts: 4.552
Joined: 30-December 12
From: Los Angeles, CA
QUOTE (Darius Wave @ Apr 8 2013, 04:52 AM) *
Me basic advice anytime some student asks me about gear is...

Buy used gear. Buy popular models from popular brands - there are easy to be sold, and with same cash amount You gave for it. This way You can easy change between a few amps to make yourself some expirience on this field. Than You'll be shure Your choice was best for the price or...even if You'll finaly buy some D.I.Y amp...You'll be 100% shure it's because it sounds like You want..not just costs like You afford it smile.gif


+1

Finding a speaker cabinet used and inexpensive should be pretty easy. Guys get rid of cabs all the time and unless they are vintage Marshall or 'boutique' handmade cabs they can't command a high price. Maybe focus your budget on the amp head first? 50 to 100 watts will be fine.
*There are some 30 watt amps that are loud enough to gig with ... even with a loud drummer.
Vox (AC-30), Dr. Z, Bad Cat and Matchless but they are usually very expensive.

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Cosmin Lupu
Apr 9 2013, 08:51 AM
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Posts: 22.808
Joined: 14-June 10
From: Bucharest
QUOTE (Darius Wave @ Apr 8 2013, 11:52 AM) *
Me basic advice anytime some student asks me about gear is...

Buy used gear. Buy popular models from popular brands - there are easy to be sold, and with same cash amount You gave for it. This way You can easy change between a few amps to make yourself some expirience on this field. Than You'll be shure Your choice was best for the price or...even if You'll finaly buy some D.I.Y amp...You'll be 100% shure it's because it sounds like You want..not just costs like You afford it smile.gif


+1 Darius! True experience with gear comes from using it. I have a friend that occupies his free time with hunting down and buying gear on Ebay laugh.gif Sounds like a maniacal occupation, but in fact, he is one of the most knowledgeable people when it comes to gear. He knows and he tried! Needless to say, he is ALWAYS selling something biggrin.gif

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