New Amp

[stackny]

Alright, Im planning on getting a new amp, but I need some opinions first. Ive got $300 to spend. Please do not tell me to save my money and get something better, and please dont recommend anything more expensive. What would you guys go with? Ive looked at some Crates that I liked so far. Any recommendations?

Thanks

[Lordathestrings]

Just about anything other than Crate!

[stackny]

Just about anything other than Crate!

First of all thats not helpful at all, second of all what do you guys have against Crates???? Ive played on em and like em a lot. Maybe cuz Ive been playing on a 10w.... Seriously though, wtf is wrong with Crates?

[gogogo]

Vox Amps in this price range are half transister and half tube which gives you a little of the tube tone and feel...For a lower price

[Lordathestrings]

The blond tolex crate vintage club 30 from the early 90's is OK, if you replace the speakers. The Blue Voodoo makes OK metal, but sounds bad on anything else. The new V-series may actually be OK. But for the price of the OK amps, you could get just about anything else that sounds better, so why bother? The rest are a total waste of cash.

[markc2005]

i just bought a marshal mg15dfx for £110 n i love it for 300 hundred dollars u could brobably gat a 100 or 200 watt one

[Akira]

The blond tolex crate vintage club 30 from the early 90's is OK, if you replace the speakers. The Blue Voodoo makes OK metal, but sounds bad on anything else. The new V-series may actually be OK. But for the price of the OK amps, you could get just about anything else that sounds better, so why bother? The rest are a total waste of cash.

I've got a GX212 Crate, sounds nice (isn't the worst), looking for something better next year though.

[stackny]

Played on a Crate FXT65 today with an Ibanez and Jackson. Not sure of the models on the guitars. It was a low end Ibanez and a $500 Jackson. I can honestly say I like my Strat better than the Ibanez, but as I said it wasnt anything expensive or special. I did like the Crate though. Sweet effects. Ill prolly get it unless you guys steer me somewhere else and the price is right.

[stackny]

Found this thread today.

http://www.guitartricks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13781&page=1&pp=7&highlight=Crate+FXT65

Maybe Ill give that a try....

[bigbuda]

Found this thread today.

http://www.guitartricks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13781&page=1&pp=7&highlight=Crate+FXT65

Maybe Ill give that a try....

You're seriously going to buy a CRATE after almost everyone is telling you there are better amps in your price range? :confused:

[stackny]

You're seriously going to buy a CRATE after almost everyone is telling you there are better amps in your price range? :confused:

No... I am thinking about trying the Line 6 recommended in that thread. ;)

[bigbuda]

No... I am thinking about trying the Line 6 recommended in that thread. ;)

Ahhhh, much better choice dude!

[hbkolb]

Line 6 is a much better choice, I'll let you know my experiance with Crates, I have played through or heard over 6 different models and if your lucky at a low volume you may get a good sound. (one sound). There was a point when I was running a commercial studio and we would not let clients bring in crate amps, too much time trying to get them to sound good. I would rather not record something than, record it and have it sound like crap. Now I have a little better attitude about their bass amps but not much better.

I did have the Vox Valvetronics 30, really good amp for 239.00.

I now play through a Fender Vibrolux (custom shop)

DISCLAIMER: this is my opinion, take if for what it is.

[Fenderalltheway]

Ya, I've got a crate, its not too bad,(its only like 15 w though haha) but I think in the next year or something like that i might get a new one, So i would recomend a marshall, or something like that. I dont know to much about amps.

[6strngs_2hmbkrs]

line 6 spider II is good amp for the money, but do yourself a favor, with the money you have left over, buy yourself a good distortion and/or overdrive pedal. I recommend a boss OD-20, I play mine through my line 6 spider II 30 and I get just about some of the best tones I have ever heard (apart from cd recordings of professionals, but alot of that is "studio magic")

[Lordathestrings]

Aaaaarrrrggghhhh! I can't take it any more!

'Modelling' amps are soul-destroying poison!!! :mad:

[Hammurabi]

Agreed. Ten characters.

[6strngs_2hmbkrs]

Aaaaarrrrggghhhh! I can't take it any more!

'Modelling' amps are soul-destroying poison!!! :mad:
hey, I didn't say it would be a good replacement for a $2000 tube amp... no... but for the money it get's the job done nicely.

it's really not a bad little amp. have you actually tried one before making such accusations?

[Lordathestrings]

hey, I didn't say it would be a good replacement for a $2000 tube amp... no... but for the money it get's the job done nicely.
I think the best amps on the planet today are Magnavox Ampeg amps built in the 70's. Any of them. And even the 120 Watt VT-22 combos and V-4 heads routinely sell for under US$500.

Line 6 and their ilk make amusing toys with lots of gadgets to play with. They offer lots of sounds, but have truly offensive tone. Yes, I tried one out at a jam session. There just aren't any settings that actually sound good. Junk! If you really want to get the sound of a Worldbeater ZZZ, then save your pennies and buy a Worldbeater ZZZ!

It's not a matter of tube vs. transistor. I sold one of my Ampeg G-18 1x8" combos (another Magnavox model) to a friend who records with it because it sounds at least as good as his tube amp. No bells or whistles, just great tone.

[6strngs_2hmbkrs]

yes but there are alot of people out there that don't know exactly what kind of tone they want, so they get an amp that can do all of them before figuring out which kind of amp to get... now, an amp model of a particular amp won't sound as good as the real thing, but it'll give you the gist of it. also, some people want more then one tone, without having to buy several guitars and amps. thus, an all-in-one amp suits them.

it makes for a good practice amp... I wouldn't use one for gigging (ok, that's a lie, because I do use my spider II for gigging, but only because it's the only amp I have at the moment!) but if I were to go professional, or at least get together with a real band to play a gig for 100+ people that I've never met before, then yes, I would go with a non-modelling amp.

you've been playing for a long time lord, and have had lots of different kinds of gear over the years. so you probably already know what kind of tone you want by now. however, some people don't fully know what they want, and they need something that can do everything, though not perfectly, to decide upon which things they use the most, and what they can do without. this is also why I recommend multi-fx pedals to beginners. it helped me, for example, I now know that I love chorus, and never use tremolo or pitch shifter, and very rarely flanger. thus, I know what single pedals to buy... it's like this, except with amps, not pedals. for example, I find myself using a good crunch more then a light overdrive or super high gain setting for most applications, therefore, I know I'll probably want an amp that gives a good crunch sound, so I know that I probably won't want a mesa... does this make sense at all to you?

[z0s0_jp]

Aaaaarrrrggghhhh! I can't take it any more!

'Modelling' amps are soul-destroying poison!!! :mad:
modeling ...smodeling :mad: p.s. eeewwwwww!!

[z0s0_jp]

i must admit ...i have a brand new, crate blue voodoo, skibbilby-bop-boo, and i love it. great fer metal. clean channel is excellent and when it breaks up i sound early zep and WHO pete townsendesque :D

[3fingeredblues]

The blond tolex crate vintage club 30 from the early 90's is OK, if you replace the speakers. The Blue Voodoo makes OK metal, but sounds bad on anything else. The new V-series may actually be OK. But for the price of the OK amps, you could get just about anything else that sounds better, so why bother? The rest are a total waste of cash.


How about an example of something better in this price range Lord? instead of just dogging a product you don't care for? I would really like to see your opinion on what you would recomend, other than "anything but Crate".

I personally think that for the money the VC series from Crate are outstanding tonally. Espescially the smaller VC2010R and the VC30112, and the old VC50's(I prefer the real spring reverb over the DSP on the new ones) are great sounding amps. I especially like my VC2110R as it is incredibly portable, and sounds great. I have even gigged with it mic'd up to the pa with excellent results. I'll admit that they aren't perfect, as I don't much care for the pc boards and the way the the tubes are mounted sideways and how big a pain it is to remove the speaker baffle to perform a tube change, and the lack of a cooling fan(the VC20 and VC30's that run in class A get really hot), but again, for the money I can't think of a better bargain...goes from Vox chime to Marshall dirt.

[3fingeredblues]

Aaaaarrrrggghhhh! I can't take it any more!

'Modelling' amps are soul-destroying poison!!! :mad:

AGREED 100% and more......digital technology destroys the phase angle relationship of the sound coming from the speakers and sounds very 1 dimensional to me.

[3fingeredblues]

yes but there are alot of people out there that don't know exactly what kind of tone they want, so they get an amp that can do all of them before figuring out which kind of amp to get... now, an amp model of a particular amp won't sound as good as the real thing, but it'll give you the gist of it. also, some people want more then one tone, without having to buy several guitars and amps. thus, an all-in-one amp suits them.

it makes for a good practice amp... I wouldn't use one for gigging (ok, that's a lie, because I do use my spider II for gigging, but only because it's the only amp I have at the moment!) but if I were to go professional, or at least get together with a real band to play a gig for 100+ people that I've never met before, then yes, I would go with a non-modelling amp.

you've been playing for a long time lord, and have had lots of different kinds of gear over the years. so you probably already know what kind of tone you want by now. however, some people don't fully know what they want, and they need something that can do everything, though not perfectly, to decide upon which things they use the most, and what they can do without. this is also why I recommend multi-fx pedals to beginners. it helped me, for example, I now know that I love chorus, and never use tremolo or pitch shifter, and very rarely flanger. thus, I know what single pedals to buy... it's like this, except with amps, not pedals. for example, I find myself using a good crunch more then a light overdrive or super high gain setting for most applications, therefore, I know I'll probably want an amp that gives a good crunch sound, so I know that I probably won't want a mesa... does this make sense at all to you?


Mesa Boogie makes more than just the rectifier models....they also make some smokin' low to high gain amps that are incredibly versatile. Go check there website and look at the different models they offer. They are not a one trick company. Check out the LoneStar series, the Road King series is riduculously versatile (why bother with digital when you can get a plethora of tones with tubes?) and the old HeartBreaker amps are classic sounding british tone. Of course these are out of the price range for our friend seeking advice.

[Lordathestrings]

... Check out the LoneStar series, the Road King series is riduculously versatile (why bother with digital when you can get a plethora of tones with tubes?) ... Exactly! I use Magnavox-era (1970's) V-series Ampegs for just that reason. A very wide palette of great tones, with any guitar, and if you just gotta use pedals, old Ampegs love 'em. A digital 'model' is a second-hand approximation that was created by an engineer who may well have tin ears when it comes to identifying good tone! :p

... Of course these are out of the price range for our friend seeking advice.How about an example of something better in this price range Lord? instead of just dogging a product you don't care for? I would really like to see your opinion on what you would recomend, other than "anything but Crate".Which is why in an earlier post I said...

I think the best amps on the planet today are Magnavox Ampeg amps built in the 70's. Any of them. And even the 120 Watt VT-22 combos and V-4 heads routinely sell for under US$500....

It's not a matter of tube vs. transistor. I sold one of my Ampeg G-18 1x8" combos (another Magnavox model) to a friend who records with it because it sounds at least as good as his tube amp. No bells or whistles, just great tone.I bought that little G-18 transistor 'practice amp' on eBay for US$100, including shipping. ;)

[Lordathestrings]

And for those who prefer new gear with warranty, >Traynor (http://www.yorkville.com/products.asp?type=32&cat=18)< makes some absolutely killer amps :cool: at very reasonable prices, which work out to be bargains in the USA because of the currency exchange rate.

[stackny]

Still most likely gonna get the Line 6. I dont have the money to pay for an amp and a head, so Im just gonna get a combo. Ive only been playing since February and Ive been playing on a 10w. Basically everything sounds good to me, so Ill take your guy's word for it and get the Line 6 instead of the Crate.

Unless somebody steers me in the direction of another combo 300 bucks or down.....

[6strngs_2hmbkrs]

Mesa Boogie makes more than just the rectifier models....they also make some smokin' low to high gain amps that are incredibly versatile. Go check there website and look at the different models they offer. They are not a one trick company. Check out the LoneStar series, the Road King series is riduculously versatile (why bother with digital when you can get a plethora of tones with tubes?) and the old HeartBreaker amps are classic sounding british tone. Of course these are out of the price range for our friend seeking advice.
ok, well, I was just using that as an example, as when people usually think mesa, they think high gain... plus, the only mesa that I have ever played through was a triple recto, so I don't know what the others sound like (and yes, I did know that they exist)

personally, I would take a high end tube amp over my spider II, but I'm not going to get a high end tube amp for $200 am I? honestly, playing my OD-20 pedal (which uses COSM modeling) through my spider II's clean channel, I can get some seriously awesome tones. better tones then I've gotten out of anything short of a $1500 tube half stack (marshall JCM2000 TSL100, and mesa triple recto for high gain stuff) the tones really are much better then you would think would come out of modelling units... ok, I will admit that I wasn't a big fan of the tone of my spider II before buying that pedal. but the two combined make some awesome tones. the MT-2, crunch, DS-1, and OD-2 settings are my favorite.

[6strngs_2hmbkrs]

Still most likely gonna get the Line 6. I dont have the money to pay for an amp and a head, so Im just gonna get a combo. Ive only been playing since February and Ive been playing on a 10w. Basically everything sounds good to me, so Ill take your guy's word for it and get the Line 6 instead of the Crate.

Unless somebody steers me in the direction of another combo 300 bucks or down.....
for me, I think it was down to the line 6, and a vox ad30vt, I settled on the line 6 because my local shop stocked them, so I wouldn't have to wait for it ship, and I could try it out before buying it. and I think also because the vox wasn't capable of footswitching channels. and also because I think vox and korg are tied (correct me if I'm wrong) and I have a korg multi-effects that I don't like very much, and I think most of the amp models were the same on the vox amp as on my korg pedal. so yeah...

there is always this one (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=guitar/s=amps/search/detail/base_pid/481371/) (don't know how I looked over this one when choosing my amp) I hear good things of the brand, but the good things I hear are of their tube amps, I think this one is solid state... but the name says "transtube"... but I'm pretty sure it's solid state

[3fingeredblues]

You are correct in that the transtube is solid stae.
In my experience one of the better sounding solid state amps out there.
But, for the same price, you could get an all tube Crate VC30 w/ a 12" speaker.
has 2 chanels that go from vox chime to marshal chrunch.

It doesn't do high gain, but does heavy rock/metal very well.

I own a Peavey Special 212, and a special 112 from the transtube series.. They are cool for me for clean tones, and can do the serioulsly overdistorted tones very well, but they don't sound very organic or natural on the distortion side. But if you like DimeBag Darrell's tone, you can easily approximate it with the transtube series. The clean side is incredibly pristine however, like a Roland JC120, without the stereo chorusing.

I like using mine on the clean chanel while at the same time running my Rivera Jake combo on the dirty side. It gives it a wonderfull sounding clarity and definition with the more orgaic sound of tube distortion.

Peace

[magicninja]

Have you read the Spider II Review. I say go with The Spider it is very versatile and I dare say you will use it even once you get a better amp.

[Hammurabi]

why bother with digital when you can get a plethora of tones with tubes?

$$. New valve amps are too expensive for me.

[Lordathestrings]

Check out the used equipment at any music store or pawnshop you can get to. And lurk on eBay. Old Marshalls and Fenders go for obscene prices because they are popular. There are other makes that offer great sound at reasonable prices. Don't ask me to do all the leg-work for you. Get out there and look around.

[stackny]

Check out the used equipment at any music store or pawnshop you can get to. And lurk on eBay. Old Marshalls and Fenders go for obscene prices because they are popular. There are other makes that offer great sound at reasonable prices. Don't ask me to do all the leg-work for you. Get out there and look around.

I would, but I really dont know what Im looking at. I know nothing about amps.

[Lordathestrings]

I would, but I really dont know what Im looking at. I know nothing about amps.
It doesn't take very long to realise that a New York cut AAA steak tastes better than a McBurger. Spend some time pluggin' in and playing. Preferably with your own guitar. Check out the clean sound, and then go for crank. With a good amp, chords will sound clear, even with distortion. Lesser amps tend to mush all of the notes together, making lots of distortion, but not sounding powerful. You'll know the difference once you've heard it.

[3fingeredblues]

And for those who prefer new gear with warranty, >Traynor (http://www.yorkville.com/products.asp?type=32&cat=18)< makes some absolutely killer amps :cool: at very reasonable prices, which work out to be bargains in the USA because of the currency exchange rate.

I forgot about the new Traynor's...they are an excellent amplifier for a very fair price. Good call Lord.