Decent solid state amps

[Nitro Express]

I've pretty much played tube amps my whole life. The only solid state amps I have owned are little 12-15 watt practice amps that basically sound like shit.

I'm not familiar with the new digital modeling or the new solid state line of amps. I basically play through an old Marshall MK II and a Soldano SLO 100. I reciently had to replace the output transformer on the Marshall. I do my own retubing and rebiasing. Eventhough I think tubes are cool as hell and love old tube amps, I will be the first to admit they are a royal pain in the ass. I'm finding I'm craving more of a high gain sound now. In my oppionion, many of the high gain tube amps like the 5150, almost sound solid state to me.

We are fortunate that the Russians are making some decent tubes right now but I can remember when good EL-34's were getting hard to find. Marshall even started using 5881's instead of EL-34's because the quality of the tubes in the 1990's was poor. The reality is, guitar amps is a very small market and tubes are antiquiated. As Russia modernizes, is Svetlana or whoever going to be interested in manufacturere for a small market of tube buyers? China has stopped manufacturing consumer grade tubes and I'm afraid Russia might be next.

I think the reality is the availability of good tubes may dry up here fairly soon and the high end guitar market will be forced to give up tubes and use solid state circutry.

I just think for my next amp, I'm going to buy a solid state head of at least 100 watts of power. So what's good for a 5150 type of high gain sound in the solid state line of amps. Some say Randalls are good. Some praise the Marshall Valve state amps.

I'm not interested in anything that chops up and reshapes the sound like digital modeling, but I'm interested in a pure analog shaping and amplification of the sound.

[GAR]

Modeling amps are those things that have settings such as "British 60's 4x12 Cabinet" but then yield nothing near that when you play it. Then you go "fuck" when you find the same applies to almost every other setting on the dial, too.

I liked the Marshall Mode 4 which had 2 preamp tubes in it, analogue with a DSP reverb built in, but I think they discontinued them because I didn't see them at NAMM which was shocking. They only made them 2 years, and the mode 4 cab is the best cab design IMO they ever built because it's a little taller.

The Randall RG-80 and RG-120 were good crunch-types, and I suggest you try an RG-120 before you buy. It's really punchy, the clean channel is tight and bright and I think it had reverb.

My alltime-fav, and EVH used this thing too, was my old reliable Gallien-Krueger ML-250 (micro-lead, two separate 50 watt channels).
It had builtin chorus, reverb, clean and dirty channels but it had 4 parametric EQ tone knobs (hi, hi-mid, lo-mid, low) and footswitch. AND THEYRE remaking them even better come this summer!

The original 250ML's were completely solid state. The new one they had only one prototype of out, shows to be two preamp tubes, and DSP effects section.

I would prefer analogue delay based reverb versus Digital Signal Procesor reverb, but no one says you have to play with the DSP on.

I would get the RG-120 for under $150 locally or eBay, then eBay it off when the 250ML comes out.

[The Scatologist]

Don't worry, someone will always be making tubes

[Hardrock69]

Check out Crate amps. I have a mid-80s Crate CR-60 1 X 12 combo amp, and I used it to record with all through the 90s. It does not have that 'grunt' that tubes have when played live, but as a recording amp it sounds fantastic.

But that is just my amp.

Their more recent heads have pretty much impressed me.
Dimebag Darell was using Randall heads for most of his career.....

[The Scatologist]

Sammy Hagar uses Crate Amps.

That says it all.

[Nitro Express]

I've heard excellent things about the good old Marshall JMP-1. I might pick one of those up on Ebay. For balls to the wall, I use my Soldano, for a classic rock sound I like the Marshall, for blues I use a Sovtek MIG 50. Everything goes through my trusty Marshall 1960B cab. I still think Marshall makes the best cabinets.

I tried the 5150 but I like the Soldano better and frankly, the build quality is top notch. I don't buy a ton of gear but if I buy something, I like it well built and proffessional grade. I just don't like little disposable plastic boxes.

I think we are getting to the point where solid state might have some good things to offer. I'm skeptical if solid state will ever get that wonderful classic Marshall or Fender sound or feel but I think it can get some cool tone. I've had fun fucking with some of the Valvestate stuff.

My three main guitars are a Peavey Wolfgang that's stock except where I replaced the cheap ass Peavey Floyd Rose with a real made in Gernany Floyd Rose. A Les Paul Custom with Seymour Duncan 58's in it, A three pickup SG, and a beat to shit Stratocaster that looks like hell and sounds great.

[Nitro Express]

I don't know if anyone in the United States makes consumer grade tubes anymore. Sure someone could get ahold of some old tooling and make them in small runs but how good are they and how much are they going to cost?

My Marshall sounds like shit with some EL-34's on the market; especially ones from the 1990's. I ran NOS Mallards in it and babied the amp to make them last.

I don't know, that Marshall really is an antique nowadays. I just decided I want to get another amp I really don't need and want it to be solid state.

Someone told me a Marshall JMP-1 sounds good ran through the power amp stage of a Soldano. I guess I just want something different to fuck with.

[Nitro Express]

I saw Janes Addiction when Dave Navarro was playing a Marshall Mode 4 and he was getting a good sound. I had no idea those amps used solid state circuitry. It was a different guitar sound but I liked it.

[GAR]

Stage Jewelry and Loan in Hollywood CA has the first version GK 250ML for only $200.

There it is. They're on Vine south of Sunset Blvd.

[Hardrock69]

I had a Marshall 30-watt 2 X 12 Combo transistor amp in the early 80s. It had the tone, and some cunch, but was as ballsy as a piece of kleenex...

[GAR]

I know that one -

yeah when you turned it up past about 3 the bass response tapered down uncomfortably. I didn't like that about it.

[Nitro Express]

Wow, those GK 250 ML amps are pretty cheap.

[Nitro Express]

I did a little research on the GK 250 ML amp. People still love the things and I guess they are built like a tank. One guy said you can open a panel and custom tweak some hidden potentionmeters to custom shape the amp to your particular guitar and playing style. I guess Carlos Santana loves this amp as does Alex Lifeson who used it a lot in the 1980's.

I would have thought there would be a new leading edge solid state amp that would blow the old ones away but many players preffer the good old Gallien-Kruger 250 or a Marshall JMP-1. Those are old circuit designs but people still swear by them.

[jojo2371]

i run all my effects thru a roland jc-120 ,that thing brings the best outta all my pedals ,as for solid state distortion i have no clue who makes the best ,although dime had a pretty heavey sound for years playing randall amps

[Nitro Express]

What I really dug about Dime is that guy was the same age of me, listened to and was inspired by the same guitar players as me, but he was an original. It's very easy to fall into the rut of being an Eddie Van Halen copy or an Ace Frehley copy or whatever.

How many of us have spent a ton of money, effort, and time to copy Eddie over the years? I'm guilty.

No what's cool about Dime is he went for the solid state distortion when it wasn't cool. He played Dean styled guitars when they were out of style and dated. He didn't care. Dime was the real deal wasn't he?

Yeah, I have some good tube amps but I just have the solid state bug. I want something different and brutal I guess.

[ZahZoo]

The only solid state amp I really liked was a Yamaha 50-112 that I bought new back in 76. I used that thing for about 12 years before it went up in smoke...

[Kristy]

The old Fender Princeton Stereo Chorus amps (not the new ones they are making with all of that added digital shit that only makes you sound awful). Even Stevie Ray Vaughn played this amp in the studio for that
thick" chorus effect.

It's basically like a solid state Twin - only with not enough power or that patentend Twin sound -- that can serve as a great stage amp in small clubs with guitar volume can be a problem with the rest of the band, a wonderful practice amp and an amazing studio amp.

http://www.johnmanhart.com/images/princetonchorus.jpg

There! That's the amp you might want to look into.