ugh I need a gig amp badly

[6strngs_2hmbkrs]

trying to play a gig with a 15 watt practice amp is no fun! trust me, I can barely hear myself and I'm standing right in front of my amp. the people in the back of the room definately can't hear me, and I'm being drowned out by the acoustic to my right, the acoustic to my left, the acoustic behind me, and the bass kinda behind me and to the left... interesting band I know, but trying to fit that many people on that stage is hard. anyways! I need a gig amp. and as much as I would love a marshall half stack, or a mesa boogie, I kinda can't afford one. I saw this one amp on musicians friend, here (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/fg=42/g=guitar/s=amps/search/detail/base_pid/487148/), it didn't get a single bad review, and it seems really good for the price, but I just randomly saw it, I don't have my heart set on it. please please recommend some amps in the 100-200 watt range, preferablly with more than one speaker, combo or half stack, it doesn't need to have effects, I'll be running my effects peddle through it. I just need more VOLUME, but I don't want to get something with crappy tone either, it doesn't need to be the best of the best tone, just not crap. I'd like to stay under $250 if at all possible, I may be able to stretch to 300 if there is an awesome amp that is way underpriced. please help me out guys

[PonyOne]

how about a used Roland JC120?

it's a solid state 120 watt amp, 2x12, 2 channel amp. if you're gonna be running effects, it's great; when all the settings are at 50% it doesn't color the sound at all.

it also has one of the best choruses built into an amp (JC stands for Jazz Chorus) and a really lush spring reverb box. it does have a gain circuit but the gain is really weak; it actually clicks off. I love it.

it was originally designed as a jazz amp, so that you can plug your drop-dead gorgeous, $8000 archtop into it and it it doesn't get messed with by anything (though obviously sometimes you want the amp to color your tone). it is also designed to be used in a small-to-medium club.

i got mine free (traded an early, Mac-uncompatible USB mixer for it), and you can pick up used ones for a song. they've been in production for about 25 years now so they're out there.

[6strngs_2hmbkrs]

umm, I looked up the Roland JC120, lowest price I could find was $550. and they only have one on e-bay, and it's brand new and selling for $700.

[chucklivesoninmyheart]

dude,your gonna get laughed at with a rogue.Pony's suggestion for the roland is excellent...I would love one myself to run my GT-8 into.

here,check out this fender...

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/fg=42/g=guitar/search/detail/base_pid/480723/

[6strngs_2hmbkrs]

hey, don't get me wrong, I would like the roland, but price is a big issue for me.

[6strngs_2hmbkrs]

ok, I just checked ebay again, apparently I get more results looking up "roland amplifier" then I did looking up "Roland JC120", I found a few more, but none of them are less than $300

[chucklivesoninmyheart]

check out the link to the fender above.^^^^^^^^^^^

[6strngs_2hmbkrs]

check out the link to the fender above.^^^^^^^^^^^
I did, it appears as though it would get the job done, but still a bit high in price. if all else fails and I can't find anything better, I may get the fender

[chucklivesoninmyheart]

Dude,its worth it.Don't settle...ever.Suck it up for a few weeks for the money if you have to...it will be worth it and be that much sweeter.

[chucklivesoninmyheart]

Also,even if the gig is soon and you need an amp ASAP,you can rent from a local store.If your only doing one or two gigs a month,renting might be a good idea until you can afford something good.

[6strngs_2hmbkrs]

no, I gig every sunday morning, and pracice every thursday, I want to get an amp that I can just leave there so I don't need to drag an amp with me everytime I go. and until I get a new amp I'll just be playing in the background with no one hearing me...

[Raskolnikov]

trying to play a gig with a 15 watt practice amp is no fun! trust me, I can barely hear myself and I'm standing right in front of my amp. the people in the back of the room definately can't hear me, and I'm being drowned out by the acoustic to my right, the acoustic to my left, the acoustic behind me, and the bass kinda behind me and to the left... interesting band I know, but trying to fit that many people on that stage is hard. anyways! I need a gig amp. and as much as I would love a marshall half stack, or a mesa boogie, I kinda can't afford one. I saw this one amp on musicians friend, here (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/fg=42/g=guitar/s=amps/search/detail/base_pid/487148/), it didn't get a single bad review, and it seems really good for the price, but I just randomly saw it, I don't have my heart set on it. please please recommend some amps in the 100-200 watt range, preferablly with more than one speaker, combo or half stack, it doesn't need to have effects, I'll be running my effects peddle through it. I just need more VOLUME, but I don't want to get something with crappy tone either, it doesn't need to be the best of the best tone, just not crap. I'd like to stay under $250 if at all possible, I may be able to stretch to 300 if there is an awesome amp that is way underpriced. please help me out guys
If I was in your position, I would be looking for a used Peavey Classic 30 or Classic 50.

As the names suggest, they're only 30 and 50 watts, but being tube amps they're A LOT louder than you'd think they'd be compared to soid state amps of the same or higher wattage.

[PonyOne]

the Peavy Classics are freakin sweet. they're really great deals; tube power is almost always better than solid state anyway.

Rogue is an ubercheap manufacturer. a friend of mine had one that he said was killer; said it sounded as close to a tube Marshall as you'll get from a solid state amp. well let me tell you it didn't. i know how it goes, you want a new piece of gear and you have the resources to do it, and you want to do it right then; i'm the same way. but sometimes it's worth it just to wait a week or two and get something way nicer.

also, i don't know if you live in or near a major city (though you are in CA), but, there is always the Craigslist classifieds. www.craigslist.org and all the cities are on the far right. click on the "music instr" under "classifieds," there's probably a good deal up.

a Fender would be an excellent choice. i take it you're playing at church so you don't need anything that's gonna lay down hellfire or anything; Fenders get a nice light overdrive, and have great reverb and chorus; they're usually pretty cheap to boot. you can get killer used deals on them.

[PRSplaya]

I've got a classic 50 and it is uber loud! Also, I'm pretty sure that the classic 30 would be plenty loud for your application. Trust me, it's a lot louder than you think. Plus, if it doesn't sound exactly like you want, you can alway's change out the tubes and speaker to customize it to your liking. Link to classic 30's on ebay (http://search.ebay.com/classic-30_Amplifiers_W0QQcatrefZC3QQcoactionZcompareQQcoentrypageZsearchQQcopagenumZ1QQfposZQ5AIPQ2fPostalQQfromZR2QQfsooZ2QQfsopZ2QQftrtZ1QQftrvZ1QQsacatZ38072QQsadisZ200QQsbrftogZ1QQsocdpfcatZ38072QQsofocusZbs)

[Cryptic Excretions]

dude,your gonna get laughed at with a rogue.Pony's suggestion for the roland is excellent...I would love one myself to run my GT-8 into.

He's right, don't get a Rogue. I've got a 50 watt Rogue that I confiscated from a friend of mine and the thing just sucks. It was about $150, the clean channel is less than mediocre and the distorted channel? Shouldn't the guitar distort when you hit the distortion button? And don't be afraid to spend a bit more out of your price range. When I bought my SG I intended on spending $600 and ended up spending $1200. But you know what? It was worth it. I got a far better piece of equipment by waiting that extra bit and saving up. One of the mistakes too many people make when shopping is not spending enough money. What you pay for is what you get.

[Raskolnikov]

I've got a classic 50 and it is uber loud! Also, I'm pretty sure that the classic 30 would be plenty loud for your application. Trust me, it's a lot louder than you think. Plus, if it doesn't sound exactly like you want, you can alway's change out the tubes and speaker to customize it to your liking. Link to classic 30's on ebay (http://search.ebay.com/classic-30_Amplifiers_W0QQcatrefZC3QQcoactionZcompareQQcoentrypageZsearchQQcopagenumZ1QQfposZQ5AIPQ2fPostalQQfromZR2QQfsooZ2QQfsopZ2QQftrtZ1QQftrvZ1QQsacatZ38072QQsadisZ200QQsbrftogZ1QQsocdpfcatZ38072QQsofocusZbs)
I actually like the tone of Classic 30's better and yeah, for what they are, they're UNGODLY loud.

[6strngs_2hmbkrs]

a Fender would be an excellent choice. i take it you're playing at church so you don't need anything that's gonna lay down hellfire or anything; Fenders get a nice light overdrive, and have great reverb and chorus; they're usually pretty cheap to boot. you can get killer used deals on them.
well, actually... I kinda am raising hell-fire at church... I'm described as the one that makes the normally boring church music into something fun. I do play with distortion, compression, etc. but I don't need an amp with a good overdrive channel, just a loud clean channel that I can run my effects into.

[6strngs_2hmbkrs]

ok, I found a marshall mg100dfx (combo, not head) for $220 on that www.craiglist.com should I get it? musicians friend describes the amp as being "a fully gig-capable amp". the amp costs about $465 new. it is a few months old and in like new condition. it's a solid state with 100W and a 12" speaker. it seems like an extremely good deal, should I go for it?

[Raskolnikov]

Personally, I would steer you away from any solid state amp.

They just don't sound good to me.


As to the amp in question, I'm going to bow out of the discussion as I've never delt with it specifically.

[6strngs_2hmbkrs]

Personally, I would steer you away from any solid state amp.

They just don't sound good to me.


As to the amp in question, I'm going to bow out of the discussion as I've never delt with it specifically.
the amp that I have right now is a solid state, it sounds fine, at least, it sounds good enough, if I could take the amp I have right now and make it louder I would, but it is a cheapo and I don't think I could even plug it into a cabinet. it has three input/output jacks, labeled Input, Headphones, and Footswitch... and there is nothing in the back... if you want to see it go to: http://www.johnsongtr.com/RepTone_15.135.0.html

[PRSplaya]

My cousin has the mg100dxf 2x12 version, and he seems to like it pretty good, though I've never heard it. The thing about tube ams, is that it takes fewer tube watts to get as loud as solid state watts, i.e. 50 tube watt's will be every bit as loud as 100 solid state watts if not louder. Plus you can alway's swap out the tubes and speakers for a different tone or more clean headroom. To me, solid state amps seem to fart out (for lack of better description) the louder they get, but tube amps just get sweeter and sweeter the louder they get. I defanately suggest saving up a little more money to get a better amp, than just setteling with what you can get now. You will thank your self later! In the mean time if your amp isn't loud enough, does your church band go through a PA? If so, and you're using an effects unit that models amps and cabinet's, then just run one of the outputs directly to the PA.
Here's another amp that might be worth looking into: Pignose (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/fg=41/g=guitar/search/detail/base_pid/489058/)
or this one: Blues Jr. (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/fg=41/g=guitar/search/detail/base_pid/480512/)
or this one: Ampeg (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/fg=41/g=guitar/search/detail/base_pid/481702/)

I would love to have each one of those amps! And I promise they will be louder than you think, and much louder than your current amp.

Good luck, and have fun with your search! ;)

[PonyOne]

or this one: Blues Jr. (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/fg=41/g=guitar/search/detail/base_pid/480512/)
blues jr's are really nice little amps; a budget AC15 with more gain, if you will. okay so it's not. but it's still nice.

i've seen them go used in the mid $200's.

[6strngs_2hmbkrs]

ok, how about a mesa boogie .50 caliber combo amp? I found one for $150 and it just needs the tubes replaced. or there is one on ebay for $175 (right now) that has just had the tubes replaced and it comes with 3 effects pedals (Boss DS-1 distortion, DOD wah/volume, Arion octave) sound like a good deal to me but who knows how high the price will get in the next 6 days.

[6strngs_2hmbkrs]

otay, I just talked to my mom about this, and she's telling me that I can buy an amplifier on a credit card then I can pay it in monthly payments. so now my price range just increased to like $700-800. so now I'm thinking I'm gonna get a half stack. but I want to know a little about half stacks before I get one, can you mix and match heads and cabinets? for example, can you put a Marshall AVT50H head with a Marshall MG412 cabinet? or is there something with having to be able to match the wattages and ohmages? yeah, I need a little educating about this... I can't really afford a AVT50H head with an AVT412 cab, but I might be able to afford the head with a cheaper cabinet... anything that will help me understand what is possible in mixing and matching heads and cabinets will be appreciated... I'm going to guitar center this weekend to try some out, but once I decide I'll probably buy it off musicians friend cause it's probably cheaper... unless it's the same price, then I could just buy it there.

[PonyOne]

the Peavy XXX in PRSplaya's review is evidently hooked up to a Marshall cab...

yes you can use whatever cab as long as the ohms/etc match up. you might want to look at a cab that isn't made by a huge company like Marshall or Mesa; the name does, indeed, affect price. Behringer makes nice cabs that are (or were at least) loaded with Celestions and are pretty inexpensive, freeing up some $$$ for a nicer head.

look at Marshall, Vox (i highly recommend them but they cost more for a good reason... they still cost more), Peavy, Fender, etc... there are lots of good heads out there.

the Mesa .50 is a great deal. thanks for letting me know... if i had a job... it would be being shipped here right now :D

[6strngs_2hmbkrs]

I take it that wattage has to match up somewhat too? now, if I'm guessing right then the wattage of the cabinet has to be higher than the wattage of the head because wattage of a cabinet means how many watts it can handle? that is a total guess... but ohms has to match up... k...

[6strngs_2hmbkrs]

ok... I've got this narrowed down then... Marshall MG100DFX (solid state) head, with Marshall MG412 cabinet... OR... Marshall AVT50H (Hybrid) head with a Behringer BG412S cab... I can't really afford anything better... but would the marshall/behringer combo that I listed work? the Marshall AVT50H has 50W, and I don't know how many ohms it has but the BG412S is an 8-ohm, 400W cab... also, does anyone know if the AVT50H has a clean/crunch switch on the clean channel and a OD1/OD2 switch for the OD channel like the MG has? thanks

[6strngs_2hmbkrs]

wait, ok, I just found out that the AVT50H has a 4 ohm impendance.. so will that work with the behringer?

[rockonman]

Dude if you want a half stack...check musicians friend man...I got a crate I love and one of my friends has an ibanez out of there its alright...not phenomenal(sp?) but alright...but be warned I'm a metal guitarist...so I crave super distortion. :D

[6strngs_2hmbkrs]

Dude if you want a half stack...check musicians friend man...I got a crate I love and one of my friends has an ibanez out of there its alright...not phenomenal(sp?) but alright...but be warned I'm a metal guitarist...so I crave super distortion. :D
dude, I am checking musicians friend and zzounds ALOT... I think I've spent more than 20 hours researshing amps in the last few days

[PRSplaya]

You are correct in that the cab should be able to handle the same or more watts than the head. My cousin has a Behringer 4x12 cab and he seems to like it ok. But... unless your church or wherever you play can hold around 1,000 people, with ought going through a PA, then a 4x12 is a little overkill. With your new price range, I would suggest buying a used Peavey Classic 30 and an Avatar 1x12 extension cabinet with an Eminence Governor speaker. Check them out here (http://www.avatarspeakers.com/) . That would be one sweet set up, and be under your $700 limit :D !

[Re2point0]

the Line 6 vetta II is a pretty nice amp. the effects and stuff are almost limitless. Its prolly gonna be my next amp. it really expensive tho. 1`600 for just the head. i think the cab is 1600 too but I dunno.

[chucklivesoninmyheart]

the Line 6 vetta II is a pretty nice amp. the effects and stuff are almost limitless. Its prolly gonna be my next amp. it really expensive tho. 1`600 for just the head. i think the cab is 1600 too but I dunno.


$1600 on a solid state amp?!It hurts my brain to even think about it!That things costs like $30 for them to make probly!Get a Mesa tripile rectifier or ENGL powerball or something.

If you disagree that you indeed feel its worth that much money,then please enlighten me.Otherwise,my head will explode.

[6strngs_2hmbkrs]

don't worry about, my church has a PA... and when we went up to winter camp this year, they had 2 guitarists that both had a half stack. and that was just playing in a fairly small room, smaller than the one I'll be playing in, playing for about 30-40 people, I'll be playing for around 50-70 people... even though those guitarists were so much better than me... seriously, one of them played a lightning fast solo for "amazing grace" and played with his teeth... but yeah, I really can't decide on whether to get the behringer with the marshall hybrid, or just to take the marshall solid state with the marshall amp... one set-up has a better head, the other has a better cab (celestions!) if I could afford to get the hybrid marshall head with the marshall cab, I would... but I suppose if I get the behringer now, I can upgrade the speakers to celestions later... sound good?

[Raskolnikov]

If you're going to go with a half stack, make sure the head has a "club" setting.

So, let's say it's a 100 watt head, there's a switch on the back that will cut it down to something like 25 watts. Most good heads now-a-days have one and it's louder than you'd think. A guy I know picked up a Sunn 300t and played it for quite a while on the low-power setting before realizing that's what it was. He said he was afraid of what the full 100 watts was going to do in terms of volume.


I point this out because for what you're going to be doing with it, 30 - 60 tube watts is going to be more than loud enough. In fact, to get a 50 or 60 watt amp turned up loud enough to make it "happy" (they're designed to operate at certain volumes), you're going to be making a lot of people's ears bleed.

Also, if you're going to be playing with the acoustic players, they're not going to be very happy about you drowing them out. Conversely, you're not going to be at all happy to play through an amp that's turned down so low you can't get a good tone out of it.

[6strngs_2hmbkrs]

Also, if you're going to be playing with the acoustic players, they're not going to be very happy about you drowing them out.
ha ha ha... it's their turn... they've been drowning me out up till now!!! just kidding. but we seriously have like 3 acoustic players, and I'm the only electric... it's a very messed up band... 3 acoustics, one electric (me), one bass, 4 female singers, occasionally one male singer, one keyboard player, and since we don't have a drummer we have someone who plays bongos and a djembe..... very messed up band indeed... but the way it usually goes is the acoustic players are all playing the same thing, the bass is playing single notes that match the chords, and I'm playing the power chord equivilent to the chord (for example, if it calls for C#m, I play a C#5) so if a tube amp needs to be in a certain volume range then would I be better off sticking to the solid state amp?

[Raskolnikov]

so if a tube amp needs to be in a certain volume range then would I be better off sticking to the solid state amp?
ALL amps are designed to operate in a certain range.

A 100 watt amp is designed to be LOUD, it doesn't matter if it's tube or solid state.

The biggest difference you'll find is that tube amps, once they get to 3 or 5 on the dial start to come into their own and tend to get better and better as you turn it up. Solid states on the other hand will be happy within a certain range, above it and below it they don't sound so good.

That's outside of tube amps sounding warmer and fatter; solid states tend to sound cold and brittle.

[6strngs_2hmbkrs]

what I'm playing through right now is a solid state amp, and it doesn't sound bad to me... it could be better, but it's not bad.

[elklandercc]

Yea I perfer a tube amp, they sound better.

[chucklivesoninmyheart]

heh,what songs do you play 6strings?Does the distortion help pickup the overall 'scape' of the hymns/worship music?

It would be neat to hear a hymn with deep pantera-like palm muting..

[6strngs_2hmbkrs]

heh,what songs do you play 6strings?Does the distortion help pickup the overall 'scape' of the hymns/worship music?

It would be neat to hear a hymn with deep pantera-like palm muting..
An x below the chord means it's plam muted

G|-----------------------------------------5--------7------
D|-2--2--2--2--2-2-2-2-2--2-2--2---------5--------7------
A|-2--2--2--2--2-2-2-2-2--2-2--2---------3--------5------
E|-0--0--0--0--0-0-0-0-0--0-0--0--------------------------
x x x x x x x x
{ played 3x }

this is what I play as an intro to "awesome god"... how's that? obviously I have to tone it down some for slower songs and usually end up just playing a chord and holding it... and some other songs I play some single string riffs high up on the fretboard... trust me, you can use distortion in worship music, we are converting traditional church songs into something more contemporary... which is good, cause if they tried to throw an acoustic in my hands and told me to play normal chords... i would quit

[Lep]

I saw your post and might have a suggestion for you. I recently went "amp shopping on a budget" myself. I tried out some "Classic Names" and everything else in between.

I tried the Behringer V-tone GMX 212 combo, and fell in love. It is a 100 watt 2x12 2 chanel combo. It is a analog modeling amp, with 3 amp models, 3 speaker simulators,and many many built in affects (That can be tweaked and stored).

It has 98 adjustable presets, and an presence knob to tweak the highs a bit more. it also has more plugs in the back than I will ever use, with line in & out,
loud speaker outs (For hooking into a cab) tape in and out (you can hook in a tape or cd player and play along) aux. with adjustable volume, slave inputs, loop, and midi port.

Since it is analog it has a sweeter warmer sound, similar to tube like sounds, both channels have a drive knob so you can tweak from just a hair distortion to full shred on either chanel.

Or go all acoustic if you like. So far it has been realy user friendly.

The price new is $275.00 I believe. So far I have been realy happy with it. You might want to test drive it and see what you think.

Good luck hunting!

Lep

[6strngs_2hmbkrs]

well, just to let you all know, I got the Fender FM 212 R, cause my budget went back down, but I'm not going to get all technical on you and tell you why... but musicians friend says it'll be here in 2-5 days, can't wait...

[PRSplaya]

hope you enjoy it! and be sure to give us a tone report, and/or a full review (following the format) in the "gear review" section.

[chucklivesoninmyheart]

Awsome choice 6strngs!I think you will enjoy it and its a great investment(like any music gear usually is).

You'll be heard loud and clear at your services now :D

[6strngs_2hmbkrs]

well, the amp got here today, and I played around with it for like 4 hours today... lol. yeah, it's nice and loud, if you set the volume know to about 1 1/2 (the quietest you can get while still having sound) it's pretty much as loud as my other amp set to 5 or 6, if you crank the volume knob to 3 it's louder then my other amp at full blast... so I think it'll definately be loud enough, I'll find out tomorrow, I have practice on thursdays... I think that the 'more drive' channel sounds pretty crappy unless you push in the 'mid contour' button. and the whole thing is pretty treble heavy, but I can compensate by turning my bass knob up (to like 7 or 8) and my treble knob down (to 3 or 4), but other then that, I think it sounds pretty darn good! I especially like how responsive it is to picking strength, if you are picking light then it sounds very gentle, and increasing the attack increases the gain, so I like it alot! I might give a review of it tomorrow, cause after tomorrow I'll only be able to use it on thursdays at practice, and sundays for the live show... apparently my parents tell me that I'm not allowed to keep something that loud in our house... oh well.