New Head - 500ish Budget

m3csl2004

m3csl2004

m3csl2004

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Joined
17 Jun 2005
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622
Location
Sheffield
Firstly I'd like to say I'm really stuck here


I currently have a framus 2x12 cab with V30s, a 5w all valve head, and an orange crush 30r

Problem is, not only do I need something louder now my bands started, I play fairly modern metal, and none of the above cut it

I currently play a prs se standard (modded to dual volumes, no tone) and a squier strat which is getting its pickups replaced shortly (with humbuckers)

I love john petrucci's tone, lots of mids. I know for my kinda budget thats wishful thinking but you see the kinda sound im going for. I like this cab so it's just a new head I need - what would you go for in my situation?


(really helps when you get the right forum)
 
I used a JCM2000 DSL100 head for a few years when gigging. I really like it, it didn't cost a huge amount but I always got compliments on my tone.

I stayed away from the scoop button and used to up the mids to get a nice cutting sound. We played some heavy stuff but the sound really worked for it.

There's such a huge choice nowadays, and the £500 price point is as competitive as any. I've always liked Marshalls so my vote goes with a JCM2000.

Note..The 100 watt head was huge overkill for anywhere I played, and hindsight tells me that a 50 watter would have been plentiful. I used to love the look landlords gave me when I wheeled my head and 4x12 in...
 
Look around for a second hand JCM900.

They have the classic tonality of the JCM800, but with lots of extra gain for solo's and heavier music. They were the last before the JCM2000 series began to emerge, which aren't really as good in comparison. :)
 
I'd disagree slightly on the JCM900 being better then then JCM2000. I auditioned both when buying mine and the 2000 just had the better rock/metal sound.

The practice room we used had a JCM900 head there so I used it during rehearsals. The sound was pretty good but I just preferred the tone of the JCM2000.

Anyhow, it'd be worth popping to a shop and trying a few out I guess, we all have different taste's :)
 
I'm not kidding when I say try the Peavy Valveking VK100.

Its a seriously good head. It's really vesatile. It's an all tube head. It can easily emulate both the JCM 800 and 2000 and is a lot less in price. The clean channel is amazingly clean. You could run an acoustic through it, its so clean. The Lead channel can do any kind of music you wish, from Death Metal to rock n roll. It has a "Texture" control which changes the tone from Class A to Class A/B power output.

It comes highly recommended. I'd say its about the best "bang for your buck" all tube amp on the market right now. Try one if you can. They're seriously good.
 
The SpiderValve is awesome. I'd have got that if my budget stretched to that when I went for a head.
 
dmpoole said:
When it first came into Sound Control all the staff were hanging around it saying that it was seriously good.
Click to expand...

Somebody I know with a guitar shop was telling me when they first got them in they had the 2x12 turned up trying it out and it set the burglar alarm off in the shop next door.:D
 
dmpoole said:
When it first came into Sound Control all the staff were hanging around it saying that it was seriously good.
Click to expand...

It really is. I like Line 6, but always found the Spiders really thin sounding. With amp modelling and now the valves, they are seriously one of the best things around right now.
 
Woody__ said:
It really is. I like Line 6, but always found the Spiders really thin sounding. With amp modelling and now the valves, they are seriously one of the best things around right now.
Click to expand...


My problem is how they would sound on stage.
I'm a Line 6 fanboy but live they've never cut it for me.
Perhaps this amp is THE ONE.
 
One from leftfield for you, if you can find a Trace Elliot Speed Twin 100 (or even the 50) it'll give you a pretty fantastic modern metal voice, it's also very good at crystal cleans and crunches... Like a TSL only better, essentially. Not very common now though, and the footswitch is very hard to find unless you buy the Gibson one new (though you could build your own easily). The combo was OK but the speakers didn't suit it (well, actually were pretty rubbish budget model celestions), the heads on top of a Marshall AV cab with the Vintage 30s was the way to go with those IMO. I miss mine.

Hmm... Hughes and Kettner Warp 7 half-stack? Ashdown Fallen Angel? Both decent options at a much lower price than the usual suspects, though the Warp 7 is very limited. The Ashdown's cabs were all rubbish IMO but the head seemed basically good to me, I never got to try one with a better cab.

Or, modelling amps often do pretty well for metal, so maybe the Line 6 or Vox attempts? My VOX AD60 has been my only amp since I got it, it does everything pretty well. They do a head version I believe, though like the Trace the footswitch adds a lot to the budget, even if you get the cheaper plasticky one.

Another thought... If your current amp can support a high input and does a good clean tone, the Hughes and Kettner Warp FX pedal is pretty interesting, it's a bit fizzy on full gain IMO but it's got a very powerful metal tone. And only about £50 now. I think they were a bit of a sales disaster, but I still use mine from time to time.
 
Ashdown don't make FA guitar heads anymore. Their sister company do now. But they're Solid State.
 
Yep, I was assuming buying used or old stock. The Trace Elliots have been out of production since the Gibson carpetbagging too. I think the Huges and Kettner is probably out of production since it was such a blatant nu-metal cash-in, but it was better than it had any right to be I think.
 
I do know i'm deffinatly after an all valve amp, the line 6 amp is intresting but it does need to be good at louder volumes (IE stage level)


my local store generally stock lots of marshall and little else - trying amps is a pain, hence this thread

also - any had any experience with the engl screamer 50?
 
Walked into a pub last week and the guitarist had the Peavey 5150.
He should have been hung because it was one of the worst sounds I'd heard.
He decided it would be better to put the amp on a clean sound and use all the distortions through his multi-fx pedal.
What a waste.
He also thought it was clever to do a harmonic every other note.
 
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