Best guitar amp to buy?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I have a Fender Deluxe tube amp. It has one 12" speaker, and I’m pretty happy w/ it, but with the distortion turned on, it puts out a fairly muddy sound. I’m looking to upgrade, and will probably spend around $800. Plus, I think I can get a good $200.00 or so if I trade in my amp. So, if you had $1,000 to spend on a nice guitar amp, what would you recommend? I’m in a rock band, so I need a good distortion sound, but it also needs a nice, pretty, clean sound for some songs. Should I get one w/ a head that separate? Any experts out there?

2

If you like Fender, why not a Twin?

3

If you like Fender, how about a Twin

4

Couple questions before I can give you my $0.02:

  • what guitar(s) do you intend to use with the new amp?

  • do your band play “Creedende, Lynyrd Skynyrd rock”, “AC/DC, Cult, Guns & Roses rock”, “REM, U2 rock”, “Creed, Korn rock” or yet another “flavour” of rock?

5

Not an expert, but I have a few amps. I like the Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier w/ tremelo. It’s huge sounding. However, it’s big and heavy, a pain in the ass to lug around. I also have a smaller less complicated mesa boogie that weighs about 50 pounds. It’s perfect for gigs, even big rooms. I got mine used for about $500.

I also have a Fender, the Fender HotRod Deville.

Line 6 makes a great amp, a modeling amp (non-tube). Has all the effects built in.

6

http://www.matamp.com/

7

Well, I hate classifying my band (as do all bands) but of the bands you mentioned, we probably sound the most like REM/U2…but some of our stuff is a lot heavier than either of those bands. If you know the band Suede, we have some stuff that sounds like early Suede.

And, since I live on the second floor, and the place we practice is on the third floor (no elevator) I don’t want anything that ways a ton. Can’t they start making inflatable amps or something…hmmmm…patent pending!

8

Ok, based on your info, let me suggest one of my current amps: Laney VC50 - http://www.laney.co.uk/html/products/valve/VC50.htm . It’s a 50W, 2x12" all-tube combo.

Pros:

  • great (I mean REALLY great) crystal-clear clean on the first clean channel;
  • a very good Vox AC30 impersonation on the second clean channel (that’s where your U2 & REM will come from);
  • tight, focused, heavy distortion on both dirt channels (it’s hard to believe that the punchy tone that your hearing is coming from an open-back cabinet);
  • it’s loud (enourmous headroom);
  • cheaper than both Marshall & Mesa.

Cons:

  • it’s heavy. You definitely need two people to move it upstairs/downstairs;
  • it’s loud. No power-amp saturation here (if you are into it). All your dirt must come from the pre-amp tubes.

Feel free to ask any questions, ok?

9

My friend’s Mesa Boogie Rectalfrier has a tremendous sound.

I like my vintage Gallien-Krueger 200RG with matched 4x12 cab.

Be sure to check eBay before buying, they have outstanding bargains.