Which guitar amp

riddlermarc

riddlermarc

riddlermarc

Man of Honour
Joined
15 Nov 2005
Posts
2,124
Location
Basingstoke, UK
Okay, so I'm looking at spending £300-500 and initially I was going to go for the AVT150 combo.. but after reading the reviews over at Harmony Central I'm not so sure. It seems you can only get a decent sound (and volume) if you add the 4x12 cab which pushes the price up somewhat.

Alternative options are (didn't put up links, wasn't sure it was allowed?):
  • Marshall AVT150-X head (150w) and AVT412A-X cab at ~£500
  • Behringer V-Ampire LX1200H (120w) head and BG412H cab at £352 deal price
  • Line 6 Spider II HD head (150w) and Spider II 412 cab at £440
I have a Boss GT-6 so I'm not entirely depending on the sound I get from the amp, although in an ideal world I'd like to use the distortion from the amp. I'm looking for a decent metal sound, although I play other styles this is the primary desire.

Anyone have any experience of any of these or can suggest an alternative? After thinking about it and reading the reviews on Harmony Central I'm not really looking to buy a combo - I want the 4x12 cab to give me a fuller sound. I'll be playing a Jackson DXMG (w/EMG-HZ4's) and a Les Paul Custom fitted with EMG 81s through it :)
 
dmpoole said:
Out of those three its definitely the Marshall.
Line 6 are wonderful amps but don't hit the back of the wall when you're playing a gig.
If you can afford a proper Marshall valve then go for that.
Ditch the GT-6.
Guitar > amp > speakers <no toys>

Just my preference.
Click to expand...
Pretty much what I thought too, I read the Line 6 doesn't cut it in a battle situation. I want to just use the GT-6 for some minor compression/noise gate as and when needed - there are certain things you do need above and beyond what the amp can give you.

I can't afford a valve Marshall, even on ebay so it's best endeavours I'm afraid. Will the DSL401 be loud enough to do some decent gigging, I have my doubts? And the 1960A/B's on ebay are shockingly expensive, in some cases more so than brand new ones :(

I totally appreciate what you guys are saying and I agree, but I have a strict budget (although I got a £4k bonus this year it's mostly going on leather sofas, furniture etc for the house
icon13.gif
)..
 
Hmm, I cunningly trawled the "completed listings" listing on ebay and found a few cabs and head/cab auctions that went uncompleted so have fired off some emails to see if I can get something a fair bit cheaper than shop price..
 
Cheers for all the advice guys, oh and can I have thirds on that Ibanez jazz mag 'cause my RG-550 is getting a little old now :p

Ideally, if I can get a 4x12 cab from ebay for a decent price (might mean travelling 50-100 miles but not a problem) then I'll probably plump for the AVT150 combo as well - as you say, means I can take the amp to practise and leave the 4x12 for times when it's needed.

Price wise, this seems to be my best option - for a TSL602 you're looking at over £650 and that's without the cab that I will need to get to play some of the larger local venues.

FWIW I have been using a MG100DFX up to now with distortion from my GT-6 in front and have had numerous other guitarists comment on my "nice tone, man.. " and compare it loosely to dimebag's sound.. so I'm hoping with the addition of a larger/better amp plus the cab it's going to really expand it more :) Yes I know the MG100DFX is a carp amp, it really struggles to hold it's own at full volume even at practise.. definitely an amp to forget ;)

God, reading my posts on this make me sound a real n00b.. you wouldn't believe I'm 33 and been playing for eighteen years!
 
Okay, just saw this on ebay:

MARSHALL JCM2000 DSL50 HEAD AND 1936 2X12 CAB

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MARSHALL-JCM2...401047462QQcategoryZ10171QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Current price £200 and a B.I.N od £425, is it worth it? I'd have to add on nearly forty quid in petrol to go pick it up but it still seems a bargain seeing as the DSL50 head is >£500 on it's own?

Oh, and what are the differences/benefits of TSL over DSL?
 
Oh dear, just got a little trigger happy and ordered a Marshall Mode Four half stack, £920 including delivery :eek:

MarshallMode4stack.jpg


.. and added a new guitar to my collection too, don't tell the missus it cost £800 :p

dv8r_blk.jpg
 
Well, had my Mode Four delivered this morning.. had to rush home at lunchtime and have a quick play :D



Very pleased with it, not a light rig though :eek: The above picture also shows my DXMG, just waiting for my ESP DV8-R to be delivered tomorrow and I'll be as happy as a pig in shi.. er, really chuffed ;)
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom