What kind of guitar amp should I get?

Cafe Society
1

I’m in the market for a new amp. I have two crappy ones at the moment that I got for free from friends. I don’t know much of anything about amps. Rather than going into a music store and asking the commission whores, I thought I’d ask you guys. I’ve asked some people I know, but I don’t think they know as much as they lead on.

As for the questions I know you want to ask me, here are the answers:

I play mostly metal/progressive, but would like something with a decent clean sound too as I like to switch it up a bit.

I will be primarily playing an Ibanez RG570 with 2 EMG pickups (the middle, single-coil was taken out by the previous owner. Speaking of which, can anyone recommend me a good, clean single coil pickup?).

It needs to be loud enough to play small shows (ie. ones where the drums aren’t mic’d) and be heard.

As for the sound I’m looking for, I love Iron Maiden’s sound, but would like something a little heavier. I absolutely love Slash’s tone as well. I’m thinking I want something that’s suitible for something between them and the newer, heavier metal.

I’m looking to spend between $500 and $800. As I said, I don’t know much of anything about amps so I’m not sure if this is a reasonable amount of money to expect to spend, but from what I’ve gathered from acquaintences, I think it should be enough. (?)Also, if i can find something that’ll suit my needs for $400, great. If I can find something that’ll suit my needs and much more for $1000, don’t be afraid to mention it. I don’t mind saving a little longer. Also, I’m not opposed to buying second hand (though I’ll also take advice here as to wether or not that’s a good idea).

If there’s anything else you feel you should know before giving any advice, ask away.

Thanks for the help. It’s appreciated.

2

That is plenty of money. Get a peavey transtube stack or an Ibanez tubeemulator stack. Check musician’s friend for the detais.

3

Looking through Ibanez’s online catalog, I don’t see anything by that name. I can’t find any Peavey by that name either. Ibanez have a few different stacks – I imagine they don’t sound terribly different from each other. I’ll definitely look into those. Thanks, Ilsa.

Anyone else have any input?

4

Line6 seem to be at the forefront of guitar gear at the moment. The Flextone III has been reduced in price recently and look what it can do. Who wouldn’t like an amp that is advertised as “Refined Tone, Premium Effects, Really Loud”.

5

You need to get a tube amp that’s for sure. One great thing about tube amps is that you can always change out the preamp tubes or the power tubes to change your tone. Just swapping out different preamp tubes can make a big difference!

If you look around at Harmony Central you can find used amps listed daily in their Classifieds. Personally, I’d look for a Marshall JCM 800 2x12 for starters. You can find them in the $500 range. They are the ultimate utility rock amps.

6

Yes but these go to 11.

7

As Cholo says it’s gotta a valve amp. Figure out roughly how loud you need to be and get an amp to match. If you get a 100+Watt job you won’t be able to play at (ahem) 11 without drowning out the rest of the band. The reason for playing at 11 is to get output stage overdrive which is qualitatively different from pre-amp/master volume type distortion. It also feels different.

Can’t go wrong with a Marshall providing it’s got a valve/tube output stage and it’s not ten times more power than you need.

8

I’ve been reading up a bit on the Marshall JCM 800 2x12 Cholo recommended, and it sounds like it’ll do the job nicely. Trying to price it, I came across many different model numbers and a huge range of prices. Are all the JCM’s pretty similar? How exactly do the names work? Is JCM 800 the head part of the stack? By 2x12 do you mean any 2x12 Marshall cab? Sorry if I’m an idiot.

9

No I meant that 2 x 12 is the combo version. You know, head and speakers in one amp.

10

Bottom line? There is no right answer.

Recommending any one amp makes no sense - you need to basically listen to a bunch of amps and learn what your ears like.

A few points:

  1. You’re getting a tube amp - period. Anybody who tells you otherwise - or tries to sell you a solid state is merely interested in your money or has no clue.

  2. You need to figure out which tube amp type appeals to you - while there are many to choose from, it really boils down to three main groups: Vox (which uses EL84 tubes and is known for chimy clean sounds and less mid and bass); Fenders (which use 6L6 tubes and are known for great cleans that have a little break up when overdriven and can take reverb really well); and Marshalls (which use EL34’s, can sound good clean when your guitar’s volume is backed off, but are really suited to an overdriven gain sound). Based on what you say you play, I would pick you for a Marshall type of guy.

  3. You need to decide what you need function-wise - the more functions you need, the more you sacrifice tone - the longer the signal length, the worse the tone - the more effects pedals, the worse the tone. Essential features may be none - just get the simplest amp you can and overdrive it. Or, like me, as a working guitarist in a cover band, I need a clean rhythm, a boosted clean lead sound, a crunchy rhythm and a crunchy lead sound - and I need to be able to get these things at a volume suited to the room. So I need a master volume and two channels on the amp - so I can set one channel clean and one channel crunchy/overdriven, then use the master volume to dial up or down the loudness of the two channels. Then I use a pedal to boost either channel to get a lead volume.

  4. Once you decide what you need, you should try every amp that fits those criteria, and try used ones in the shop, too. I got my MESA/Boogie used in a shop for $250 and it meets all the criteria mentioned above and it rocks hard.

Not much of a help, but I hope it gets you thinking…