PDA

View Full Version : I Need a Good Combo Amp



sambo
01-05-2005, 05:27 PM
Heya all

I am in the market for a good combo amp for gigs / recording. I have a 100W Marshall Plexi (with Powerbrake) but it a little large to cart around (and loud) and I only want to really use it for recording now anyway.

So far I have looked at:

Laney VC212
Vox AC30
Carvin VL212

and only played the Vox. I am looking in the 30W-50W Class-A or equivalent in terms of volume. I love a warm saturated tube tone (I don't play much metal anymore, plus, my SansAMP GT2 infront can fill that gap if need be) and will find it hard to go to solid state (unless my ears tell me otherwise!) ;)

I also do not need a lot of "bells and whistles", just a reliable great sounding amp.

Thoughts guys and gals?

Cheers!

jojo2371
01-05-2005, 07:43 PM
carvin has the better warm tube tone than laney imo but it is impossible to get them worked on or fixed by anyone othere than carvin ,they have a nice little amp called the nomad that thing is all tube and rocks like it was hand wired by jesus himself ! but i have been warned by every amp guy i know to stay away from them ,because if it breaks u box it up and ship it to them to have it fixed!!!!they dont hand out there specs for other people to work on 'em! but if your sticking to the 3 u listed i personally have never like vox ,but thats just me ,and i have never had any problems with laney ,i'd go with laney ,u might wanna check out peavey too ,they make some nice combo's too, there tube sound is warm but leans toward a slightly metallic sound were as laney has a better all around tube sound . right now im saving up for the genz-benz el-diablo combo i cant say enuff about that thing ! if money is no object thats what might like its 1800$ switch between 50w +100w a buddy of mine that works at chuck levins here in MD turned me onto it ,he actually told "dude if darth vader had a practice amp,this would be it !" he wasnt joking either,in 3 months i plan to be terrorizing my neighbors with that thing and my lousy playing too!!!! i hope any of this helped u bro !!!!!!!!!!

sambo
01-05-2005, 07:55 PM
Jojo

Thanks bro! You've done well. I am not a big fan of the Vox for what I play and the Laney has been well recommended.

Carvin has been applauded for it's customer service and we have a good dealer / service centre in South Australia from my enquiries so far. The Carvin I mentioned is the Vai signature combo with Celestions and from all reports (and sound files) it looked pretty good was just another alternative to the Laney. I am not committed to any amp as yet.. those were just the first three I was looking at. I like my Plexi tone and don't want to deviate too far from that in a combo.

Might go check out the Genz-Benz..don't know how I will go in Australia though.

Most appreciated... cheers, 5 stars for you!

jojo2371
01-05-2005, 08:00 PM
hmmm maybe thats just a problem here in the states with carvin ,i have played the vai combo and it is very nice ,then again the laney is a little more affordable version

saint
01-05-2005, 09:16 PM
I played an Orange AD1512 the other day and it blow me away, it got that smooth, sweet sound, and for a 15w its really loud. If I played more often and had the money I would own one my self.

Big Troubles
01-05-2005, 09:40 PM
Originally posted by sambo
Heya all

I am in the market for a good combo amp for gigs / recording. I have a 100W Marshall Plexi (with Powerbrake) but it a little large to cart around (and loud) and I only want to really use it for recording now anyway.

So far I have looked at:

Laney VC212
Vox AC30
Carvin VL212

and only played the Vox. I am looking in the 30W-50W Class-A or equivalent in terms of volume. I love a warm saturated tube tone (I don't play much metal anymore, plus, my SansAMP GT2 infront can fill that gap if need be) and will find it hard to go to solid state (unless my ears tell me otherwise!) ;)

I also do not need a lot of "bells and whistles", just a reliable great sounding amp.

Thoughts guys and gals?

Cheers!

I just picked this up. Nice features. Lightweight. check out the samples audios.

http://www.line6.com/spiderII/about_30.html

sambo
01-05-2005, 09:56 PM
Heya BT, Happy New Year

Pretty versatile amp. I like the samples, in particular the clean and insane settings.

I also like the fact that it is lightweight... one of the downsides of tube amps.

I have a G-Major and a few pedals that I have used for my fx over the years, so I just don't know if I need fx with my amp.

Apart from that, impressive. Just take your guitar and the Line 6 and you're set... nice work; thanks man :cool:

Eyes of the Night
01-05-2005, 09:58 PM
Line 6 ...

Hey Sambo, will the Gmajor rackmount read my notes if I drop my tunning to D or even C#? ...

I have a Rocktron Xpression rack that's pissing me off ...

sambo
01-05-2005, 10:08 PM
Hey Eyes

Short answer is yes.

Mine does, although I have to tweak it a bit when I go to C# (which is not often).

Drop D (+ down whole step) and other alternate tunings present no problem.

Also does Bass Guitar.

check this out... http://www.tcelectronic.com/G-Major

I looked for while before settling on this...

Cheers!

sambo
01-05-2005, 10:12 PM
Originally posted by Big Troubles
I just picked this up. Nice features. Lightweight. check out the samples audios.

http://www.line6.com/spiderII/about_30.html

Still looking at that site BT and I like what I see.. everything in one package. The gap between Solid State and Tube is lessening and technology is getting so much better.

SlipKnot are playing at our National Music Festival (Big Day Out) so I will be very keen to hear how they sound live, may just be tempted...

Nice work..

Knucklebones
01-06-2005, 01:13 AM
Roland Cube 30 or 60

Cheap as shit

Sounds good

sambo
01-06-2005, 01:21 AM
Originally posted by Knucklebones
Roland Cube 30 or 60

Cheap as shit

Sounds good

Heya KB

I've heard nothing bad about these babies, will go have a look. As I've said, I am not committed to any amp at this stage, only what I need to hear.

Thanks mate!

Panamark
01-06-2005, 02:35 AM
Demeter TGA 2T-100 Head ,

Unashamedly a direct copy of a Plexi (for the dirty tone) and
a Fender Amp for the clean tone..

Sounds interesting huh ! :) Fookin expensive though..

Hey Sambo wanna sell that Plexi Head ??

Eyes of the Night
01-06-2005, 07:09 AM
Cool idea Pana ...

oh and sambo, I dialed her in so no worries and thanks ...

kentuckyklira
01-06-2005, 09:31 AM
Get a Peavey Classic 30 combo. I´m sort of GASing for one myself!

Big Troubles
01-06-2005, 01:32 PM
Originally posted by Knucklebones
Roland Cube 30 or 60

Cheap as shit

Sounds good

I was in the market for a Roland Cube 30, when the salesman plugged me into the Line 6. Leaps and bounds ahead of Roland IMO.

I know you dont need much fx, Sambo, but the insane settings, along with a distortion pedal turned down and the equalizer tweaked, you get a pretty sweet fuckin' sound.

Big Troubles
01-06-2005, 01:35 PM
Originally posted by sambo
Still looking at that site BT and I like what I see.. everything in one package. The gap between Solid State and Tube is lessening and technology is getting so much better.

SlipKnot are playing at our National Music Festival (Big Day Out) so I will be very keen to hear how they sound live, may just be tempted...

Nice work..

Im extremely impressed with the 30 watt 12" box I have. "Insane" is one fantastic sound. Throw in a sweeping delay and you plug away for hours and hours. let me know how SlipKnot sound.

sambo
01-06-2005, 04:35 PM
Originally posted by Panamark
Demeter TGA 2T-100 Head ,

Unashamedly a direct copy of a Plexi (for the dirty tone) and
a Fender Amp for the clean tone..

Sounds interesting huh ! :) Fookin expensive though..

Hey Sambo wanna sell that Plexi Head ??

Hey mate, happy new year. Hope you had a good one!

Never heard of Demeter, but got to love the internet, I'll go check them out - always fun doing that sort of stuff.

and sorry man, it took me prolly 10 years to get that white Plexi, but next time you're in Melbourne, you've got a free pass to give it a good thrashing!

Cheers mate.....Roth on 2005.

Oh and Eyes... well done on tweaking your Rocktron, sometimes it can be a biatch can't it? :)

Panamark
01-06-2005, 04:39 PM
Sambo, happy new year to ya too mate !!

I hope my hometown had a good one :)

Grab the latest copy of Australian Guitar,

VOL 43. Its got the dude from The Living End
on the cover.

Theres a write up and pics of tha Demeter, even has
a Plexi look about it..

Eyes of the Night
01-06-2005, 05:07 PM
Originally posted by sambo
Oh and Eyes... well done on tweaking your Rocktron, sometimes it can be a biatch can't it? :)

Word ... it was my final mix ... to where I didn't need it plugged in cause I knew the parameters well enough ...

Shit's fookin' cherry ... right in time for "open mic" tonight:D ...


I'll have sample clips up sometime soon ...

Big Troubles
01-06-2005, 08:36 PM
I'd love to hear that as well. :)

Eyes of the Night
01-06-2005, 10:29 PM
No go on the open mic tonight ...

Going to record though for the next hour or so ... those will be a start to what I was eventually gonna do ... which is try and showcase ROTH ARMY TALENT ...

Like a new forum maybe ... Cat's idea

Big Troubles
01-07-2005, 04:25 PM
I like this idea. Alot. It gives us newbies, to the musical instrument world, a chance to listen and compare, and learn and eventually shocase our talent. very cool!

Knucklebones
01-09-2005, 01:57 AM
The cube amps sound a lot more organic then the Line 6 amps, even though the cube is also like a modeling amp.

For the price of a Cube 30, you can only get like a shitty line 6 practice amp. The Roland cubes are really loud for their size.

Also keep in mind, the Roland Jazz Chorus model is included in the Cubes. What better company to model one of the best clean amps ever made other then the one that made it itself?

The other amp models are great too. You can get a dead on VH1 sound using the Marshall Plexi model.

GAR
01-11-2005, 09:30 PM
The Laney is pretty loud, and has good tone. I was surprised by my freinds' little 1x12 combo he has had for 12 years now.

The king of those 3 you cited is the AC30, which will be pricey. Hoffman Amps does a clone, like a lot of people including Mojave Ampworks which I have also heard. Screaming distortion upper end with a deep midrange yet pricey.

Carvin and a pod is the cheapest combo. Carvins are really clean but not very punchy for the wattage. I would dirty it up with tube screamer, DD5 or DD6 delay and a purple flanger, just for practice.

Carvins are just-alright. I'd rather have a Carvin than a Peavey 5150 combo

sambo
01-11-2005, 09:46 PM
GAR

Cheers mate.. I found a Laney 1 x 12 plus matching 1 x 12 cab for about $1200 AUD on ebay so I am keeping my eye on that. Should be big and loud enough for most small to medium gigs. Hell, we're mic'd in most instances anyways

Carvin Legacy 2 x 12. http://www.carvin.com/vai/vaidemo.mp3
Not a bad tone.. I found out they are $2400 AUD here. :(

Re pedals: In addition to the SansAMP GT2, I have an Aphek Peanut Butter OD http://www.aphekstudio.com.au/currpnut.htm . IMHO, better than the Tubescreamer - hand made and worth a look for about $180 AUD ($136 US) - check Ebay, best pedal I've ever bought.

AC30 - Yep, you're right, my mate plays through one but they are very pricey. I reckon I could get better value for money huh?

So far... Laney for value for money.

5 stars GAR.. thanks mate!

Knucklebones
01-12-2005, 02:12 AM
What about some of the orange amps then?

sambo
01-12-2005, 02:28 AM
Heya Kb

Very very expensive over here mate.

I would only like to be recording through my plexi and use the combo for live work.

I would probably still like class A sound but with maybe a few more tonal options and a built-in fx loop. Not keen on built in FX tho...

Great tone and ripping loud - no doubt , I've played an AD50 head and if this is any indication...

I'll keep my eyes and ears open.

Then again, maybe an orange 2x12 cab to go with the plexi head? I could take out 2 outer tubes from the head and run at 50W into an Orange 2 x 12... hmmm ;)

Cheers!

Knucklebones
01-13-2005, 08:45 AM
Plexis are hard to find so I wouldn't really wanna drag that around to gigs.

Right now , Roland Cubes and Vox Valvetronix amps are real cheap so you might wana look into either one.

They're both about the same price, but the Valvetronics have a real tube in the preamp.

Personally I prefer the cubes because they have way more accurate amp models and sound cleaner though. They also bring out the sound of your guitars a lot. 2 different guitars will sound totally different through cubes.


but at these prices, why not just buy one of each?

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=home/search/detail/base_pid/480197/

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=home/search/detail/base_pid/482615/

jojo2371
01-23-2005, 07:59 PM
i just checked out the roland 60 cube ,man that thing is pretty damn good ,the 5150 and rectifier sound pretty close to the real thing and the clean settings are sweet , good call knucklebones!!!!!!!!!

sambo
01-23-2005, 08:27 PM
Going to to my local music store today to check the Cube out.. cheers!

jojo2371
01-24-2005, 03:43 PM
cool tell me what u think bro ? i tried the line 6 version of the cube,although it was less money and had more effects,the cube felt more real and not as processed as the line 6 model !

sambo
01-24-2005, 05:15 PM
Very impressed. The cleans were very nice although not as loud as I thought. Amp models were very surprising, being a confessed tube amp fan. Sounded real, warm, responsive. I particularly liked the Rectifier and Tweed sounds the best. Hard to believe this is the same amp every time you turn the dial.

Effects were good, especially the delay and chorus. Not a big fan of the phaser, a little harsh sounding for me; but managed to get a passable a "Unchained"-type sound. Footswitchable channels / fx was handy.

At about 15kgs (32lbs) it is pretty light.

For years I have used the same effects set up so to rely on an amp to do all of this was a little daunting. I can happily say it passed the test.

I'd like to take it to a rehearsal / band situation to see if it cut through enough, but I guess if you play medium sized gigs with this you'd be mic'd anyway. I could just bring my guitars and this amp, and leave everything else at home, making setting up a lot easier and quicker.

Pretty impressed- a low maintenance, great sounding amp.

jojo2371
01-24-2005, 06:45 PM
yeah i'm pretty much sold on it ! plus i was told u can run it thru a 4x12 cabinent so i can only imagine what the rectifier would sound like then !!!!!!

Knucklebones
01-24-2005, 07:46 PM
Don't forget THIS feature, a dream come true.


A Roomful of Amps—All in One

The CUBE-60 comes with nine onboard COSM Amp models, including JC, British Combo and R-Fier. COSM modeling faithfully provides every inspired nuance and characteristic of a variety of classic and modern amps, down to the preamp and circuits, speaker and outputs. Roland's new "Dyna Amp" amp type lets you create unique tone transitions based on picking dynamics. You can get a transparent clean output sound by picking softly, or a powerful hi-gain amp sound by picking more aggressively. Dyna Amp's distortion can create cool tonal transitions based on the intensity of your performance.

Knucklebones
01-24-2005, 07:47 PM
BTW they also have a battery powered mini amp version. It's my main practice amp, it's really great.

It's called the Micro Cube, only cost me $125 bucks, and has most of the regular cube features, effects, models and all.

Knucklebones
01-24-2005, 07:54 PM
http://www.roland.com/demos/en/CUBE-Series_IT/index.html


Has a shockwave flash thing where you can check out the different sounds of each one and stuff