Valve Amp Recommendations

pbrizzolari

Hi All,

I've been doing a little research on buying a valve amplifier for home and jamming with friends. I currently have a crate gt212 but as loud as it is, it's a little lifeless. I play everything from Dire Straits to Killswitch Engage etc so I would like a 20-50 watt amp that has good cleans, decent crunch and if possible a nice heavy distortion. I would also like an effects loop (serial or parallel is relatively unimportant to me.) I would prefer the amp to have 2 channels so that I can neatly integrate it with my GT8 using the 4 cable method. (Before the tone purists complain I do know that the gt8 is a bit of a tone killer, however the warmth of the tubes does still shine through.)

The amps I've found that seem to meet my criteria and come in roughly within my R 10 000 budget are as follows.

Orange Thunder TH30 - nice distortion, not the best clean and has an effects loop.
Marshall Haze 40 - better cleans than the orange, not as heavy distortion and has an effects loop.
Marshall MA50C - proper marshall cleans and distortion with an effects loop.
Marshall DSL401 - even better clean and distortion with an effects loop.
Hayden MOFO head - beautiful clean and distortion although I'm not really sure it gets to true metal territory. Has an effects loop but I am concerned about some reliability issues with the Hayden brand.
Peavey Valveking 112 - beautiful sound but not really metal territory on the OD.

All 3 of the marshalls have either a boost or a 3rd channel in the case of the dsl, I'm not really sure how I could integrate that with the GT8. My thought at the moment is that I would probably pick either boost or not from the top of the amp for now and just use the GT8 to switch between clean and OD.

What I'd like to know is what you guys think about the possibilities for getting a good general purpose tone for R10 000 from a valve amplifier. I know that any of these amps will give a brilliant tone for cleans and classic to hard rock. It's just for the silly gain levels that metal asks for that I think they might need help.

vic

The Vox AC30 CC2 (with alnico speakers) is a very good amp....good overdrive and reverb. Warm sounding with crystal clear cleans. Good resale value as well...Try getting one 2nd hand.
Good luck.

pbrizzolari

Thanks for the reply Vic and please excuse my ignorance, this is my first foray into valve amps. How would I get a good metal tone out of the Vox, can I just boost the signal into the amp using a transparent boost or would i need to use an overdrive in front of it?

AlanRatcliffe

There is almost always a tradeoff in the lower to mid range price brackets (we are talking about opposite ends of the sonic spectrum here), so you may need to decide which is more important. Many of the Mesa amps cover a lot of ground well, but then you're talking $$$.

If you want really good clean to bluesy tones first and foremost, I think you'll need to start there and use your distortion a bit more for the heavier stuff and be prepared to live with a little flub at higher gain settings. The newer style Fender amps like the Hotrods are a lot more flexible (or the Ultrasonic in the upper price brackets).

On the other hand, if teh brootalz is more important to you, go for an amp made more for higher gain and be prepared for a little bit of a flat clean sound. That's the nature of the beast, I'm afraid.

pbrizzolari

Thanks Alan, that was pretty much my guess as well, it seems like only the serious amps can make a go at doing both ends of the spectrum.

What would be your suggestion, given that I'm looking around and willing to try any amp right now to see what it sounds like.

I quite like the Hotrod as well, beautiful fender cleans up to quite serious OD for rock.

vic

pbrizzolari wrote: Thanks for the reply Vic and please excuse my ignorance, this is my first foray into valve amps. How would I get a good metal tone out of the Vox, can I just boost the signal into the amp using a transparent boost or would i need to use an overdrive in front of it?

hmmm...with the AC30 you'd probably need some treble and gain boosting..? Alan summed it up pretty well imo.

Charlie4

I was looking for the same thing but the truth is, it's simply not realistic on that budget. Fender Cleans and Mesa High gain for 10K? Unlikely.

I have a Valveking 112 (fitted with a Celestion V30) and boosted with a Fulltone OCD for metal tones (Tightens up the gain but still not tight enough for such low tunings). Worked out about 8-9K - Don't buy the Valveking if you're not going to replace the stock speaker cause it's horrible.

Far from perfect but the best combination of those tones you're looking for on that budget. Also as far as metal is concerned you really don't need that much gain for metal (lamb of god, opeth etc.) It's all in the pick attack.
My 10 cents on a 10K subject.

pbrizzolari

Thanks Charlie and Vic, I think I'm leaning towards getting an amp with lower gain but a really beautiful clean with a smooth overdrive. My reasoning is as follows, we agree that high gain amps for 10k are one trick ponies, I have experienced this and agree entirely. Given that this is the case it follows that by buying an amp with a lower gain circuit we will achieve the beautiful vintage type sounds I would like to get and I will still be able to get all the way to high gain heaven by using a serious distortion pedal like the blackstars or Krank Distortus maximus in front of the amp.

Thanks very much for the help, I think I'm going to need to go and try out the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe and De Ville. Sorry Vic, but I'm still not convinced by the Vox. ?

vic

pbrizzolari wrote: Thanks Charlie and Vic, I think I'm leaning towards getting an amp with lower gain but a really beautiful clean with a smooth overdrive. My reasoning is as follows, we agree that high gain amps for 10k are one trick ponies, I have experienced this and agree entirely. Given that this is the case it follows that by buying an amp with a lower gain circuit we will achieve the beautiful vintage type sounds I would like to get and I will still be able to get all the way to high gain heaven by using a serious distortion pedal like the blackstars or Krank Distortus maximus in front of the amp.

Thanks very much for the help, I think I'm going to need to go and try out the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe and De Ville. Sorry Vic, but I'm still not convinced by the Vox. ?

No problem...the Fender amps are very nice too. I would also go for a Blues DeVille. They use to make 'em as a 4*10 if I'm not mistaken. I think it'll suit a Les Paul beautifully.

MikeM

Where are you situated? I can show you a vox and pedal that does hi gain well ?

pbrizzolari

Hi Mike, funnily enough I'm in Pretoria too. What amp and pedal are you talking about?

Banditman

I run a Gibson LP & Fender Strat through a DSL 401 (that's had some minor work & a new set of JJs done by JP at Demolition Amps). I tend to run my pedals on the clean channel, & dip into the OD side to push it for lead work when I want to make more noise.

Love it. It can get a little muddy on the high gain stuff, and it's not quite as sparkly as a Fender amp on the cleans, but it does a great all-round job. For blues & classic rock territory it ticks the boxes just fine. Considering how cheaply I got it new, plans are to replace the speaker with something better & possibly get a decent used extension cab at some point.

Be aware that the DSLs can suffer from some overheating issues with the bridge rectifier (melts the solder & your sound disappears) but the fix is pretty easy if you know how - or know someone who does.

Use a pedal for the insane stuff.

MikeM

Vox Ac15cc1x with some Blackstar hi gain tube based pedal..

MIKA-the-better-one

Blackstar is where good gain is......... and decent clean......... Maybe a bit expensive............ there is a guy selling a fender supersonic for 12k, and those apparently get your metalish sound......

Vox ac 30 is a beautiful thing, with a beautiful sound......but I would cringe at one being used for metal, its far to pretty for metal...

pbrizzolari

You make me laugh Mika, I promise I wont hurt the amp with my metal tones. ?

Vick

Dud,have you personally tried the thunder30 coz I have played on one,and with sum tweaking, that clean tone is amazing? IMO...

And plus one to the super sonic... ?

O and check out the MESA express range maybe? ?

pbrizzolari

Hey Vick,

all i meant by the thunder comment is that it's not the greatest clean, I do like it quite a lot as well.

The problem with the mesa express range is the R16 000 for a 5:25. Otherwise that would have been my absolute first choice.

Vick

Crap the mesa's are getting expensive.....

I think the boogie would have been kinda suited to what you want to do, IMO....

Do you already have a cab?
Have you considered importing a 5:25 head from the Usa...? ?

pbrizzolari

I've had a brief look, but it's expensive even in the states. It is on my list though, I just wanted to compile a must play list before I went any further. Otherwise I have a tendency to try, like and buy all in one go. With something this expensive I want to take a more measured approach.

pbrizzolari

Hey Guys,

so after all the talking I went through and played a number of the amps at different stores.

I eventually landed up buying a Hughes & Kettner Edition Tube 25th Anniversary that I found used at Music Connection. It has a beautiful clean channel and an overdrive that goes all the way from dirty clean to borderline high gain.

Thanks for all the advice, I think you were definitely right about picking an amp that does the classic sounds well. I'll post some pics shortly.