Amp Suggestions?, I like Metal (LOG, Megadeth, etc). Options

[Sircraigery]

Hi Folks,

I'm looking for suggestions on small metal sounding amps.

I have a couple criteria:
- both a clean and a dirty channel (WITH A SOLO BOOST)
- 12" SPEAKER
- amp < 50W, or switchable
- 6L6 power tubes (for some reason, I like them better than the EL84's)

The absolute top of my budget is $1500, with lesser being better.

I have to admit, I'm sort of leaning towards a ENGL gigmaster & cab, OR a Mesa 5:50+. Any other ideas would be appreciated, since I don't want to miss any. For instance, does anyone in here play a Rivera and have a good recording of it?

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[thefireball]

I like the Peavey Valveking 112. I played on it last week. It's killer for metal!!!

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[Mudbone]

I like the Peavey Valveking 112. I played on it last week. It's killer for metal!!!

I have the Valveking head, and I can say, for the money, its a great amp. I wrote a review on it a while back. I must say though, it is a head, and I do play it through a Marshall 1960A cab, so there is a noticeable difference between that and the cab.

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[thefireball]

I have the Valveking head, and I can say, for the money, its a great amp. I wrote a review on it a while back. I must say though, it is a head, and I do play it through a Marshall 1960A cab, so there is a noticeable difference between that and the cab.

That's cool! The amp I played was combined - head and cab in one. There are so many combos in the world. Glad you found something that works for you. When I pick up my guitar from the shop I will plug it into the amp I played. But I sure would love that 7 string.

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[Mudbone]

That's cool! The amp I played was combined - head and cab in one. There are so many combos in the world. Glad you found something that works for you. When I pick up my guitar from the shop I will plug it into the amp I played. But I sure would love that 7 string.

You'll like that Valveking even more once you play it through a decent cab. Its possible to find a Valveking head for $300 used and Peavey 5150/6505 cab for about $100. Thats a killer halfstack for $400. Thats even less than what many solid state halfstacks cost. Right now I mainly use a Peavey Ultra Plus, which is the predecessor to the 5150/6505. It sounds somewhat similar to the 5150. The Valveking is still a great amp. I like it because its tone cuts through a mix. It also has a great clean channel, better than the Ultra Plus.

This actually leads back to the original post. If you want the best bang for your buck, go with the Ultra Plus. You will not find a better amp for the money. In fact, for high gain tones, it can run with the big boys. The tone on it is simply beastly. The amp isn't that popular because the 5150/6505 overshadows it. Plus it comes from the era when Marshall and Mesa ruled the roost, Peaveys were considered the poor mans Marshall. For many years they actually sold for little money. I got mine for $300 on craigslist about two years ago. They're not easy to find, and the price is going up on them, especially on eBay, but if you keep checking craigslist, I'm sure you can find for roughly the same price I got mine

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[Ben Higgins]

Right now I mainly use a Peavey Ultra Plus, which is the predecessor to the 5150/6505.

I still got my Peavey Ultra. I loved being able to switch being crunch for rhythm and ultra for lead. I felt though, that what I needed was a rhythm channel more like the ultra channel and then something extra for lead which is why I got something else but I guess you could always add a pedal onto it for extra juice. In terms of tone it's a great amp

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[Mudbone]

I still got my Peavey Ultra. I loved being able to switch being crunch for rhythm and ultra for lead. I felt though, that what I needed was a rhythm channel more like the ultra channel and then something extra for lead which is why I got something else but I guess you could always add a pedal onto it for extra juice. In terms of tone it's a great amp

The JVM is definitely a more versatile amp. Plus its got that classic Marshall tone, whats not to like? By the way, did you ever get around to changing the tubes in the Ultra?

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