Good cheapy amp, help?

G-Man

Hi

I just got back into guitar and have decided to buy my first electric guitar! (I played accoustic for quite a bit but never got an electric)
It's an Ibanez RG321 MH (second hand but excellent condition) and now need an amp. I'm looking at playing mainly old school death/thrash metal and was hoping you guys could recommend a good cheapy amp that I can practice on (and has the right sound for this particular style of music) until I can afford a decent amp and some better pups.

I'm thinking second hand preferably and price wise around R1000 - R1500, can it be done? ???

Thanks

InFlamesWeTrust

Try find yourself a second hand roland cube, they come in various sizes of varying power values so you will have to decide on one depending on how loud you need and how much you can afford. Good little amps that should give you the tone you want ? . Thats all i can suggest perhaps someone else has a better idea?

G-Man

Thanks for the advice, I'll look at the roland cubes. I think a smaller practice amp is all I need right now (the less people that hear me play, the better , haha)

To elaborate a bit on the music I'm looking to play, stuff like death, pestilence, obituary, slayer etc. Unfortunately my gear knowledge is next to nothing so in short, I think I'm looking at smaller amp with a solid metal tone, if that makes sense.

Thanks!

guitarboy2828

Well, You got the right guitar for that style! ?

Amp wise, I'd check out gumtree for a second hand amp. Probably get a better deal that way. If it's just for bedroom practicing, a 30 watt amp is perfect. I think roland cube is a great way to go if you can find one for that price.

http://capetown.gumtree.co.za/c-Stuff-for-Sale-musical-instruments-Marshall-Valvestate-20-Model-8020-Guitar-Amp-W0QQAdIdZ203856869 You could get a nice marshal.. You may need to put a pedal in front of it though, not sure what the gain is like on these marshals.

http://easterncape.gumtree.co.za/c-Stuff-for-Sale-musical-instruments-Peavey-Guitar-Amp-W0QQAdIdZ202999770 If this amp is still available, I'd buy it.. I used to have one, it was pretty awesome, loud too.. Good amount of gain! ?

I guess, reality is, some cool little SS amps out there, you godda play a couple and see what you like. You will probably have to get a pedal to really get that fully distorted sound. I think?

Jack-Flash-Jr

The Marshall will need a pedal for sure if you're going super heavy plus ahem, valvestates have a rep for not being the most reliable thing marshall ever put out. I'd look for a cube or go for the peavey....

G-Man

OK cool, thanks. That peavey amp looks perfect (price wise at least ?) , but I'm in KZN though, doh!

Do you think if I had to buy a dimarzio x2n pickup I could avoid having to use a pedal at all? From my limited experience playing on someone else's electric guitar who had a metal zone, I didn't like the sound of it at all, it sounded kinda cheesy , :-\

Do you have to be able to really pump up the gain and volume on your amp to get the right kind of distortion out of a pickup?

guitarboy2828

G-Man wrote OK cool, thanks. That peavey amp looks perfect (price wise at least ?) , but I'm in KZN though, doh!

Do you think if I had to buy a dimarzio x2n pickup I could avoid having to use a pedal at all? From my limited experience playing on someone else's electric guitar who had a metal zone, I didn't like the sound of it at all, it sounded kinda cheesy , :-\

Do you have to be able to really pump up the gain and volume on your amp to get the right kind of distortion out of a pickup?

If you don't have the right amp, I doubt a pickup change will change a whole lot. It will probably give you better tone and maybe slightly more output, however, most of the gain is going to come from the amp itself.

singemonkey

Yeah. Absolutely forget about pickups for now. Concentrate on an amp - and a modelling amplifier (digitally simulates the big, expensive kickass tube amps) is almost certainly the way to go. Roland Cubes are common, hence inexpensive, and sound great from what I've heard.

There are more pedals to give you that metal sound than just the metalzone. Two examples I can think of as a non-metal guy:

AlanRatcliffe

Most modern amps have more than enough gain to get lots of distortion with the lowest output pickups, while high output pickups actually limit your tone. "Cheesy" is as good a description as any for the X2N. ?

Any modelling amp that has a Mesa amp simulation will have plenty gain and with most others if you stick a decent distortion pedal in front of the amp it'll give you enough too. I'm a fan of the Roland Cubes too. If you get something like a Microcube, it's always going to be handy as a practice amp - even once you have something bigger.