Need a good gigging amp

[grungeiceman]

OK, heres my problem the current amp i have is a 80 watt solid state amp, and frankly its not loud enough to play with the band Im playing with. What would be my best bet on a louder amp? I was thinking some kind half stack, or maybe a fender hotrod. Im currently playing with a metal band but that not the style i usally play so il need an amp that can be pretty versatile any help? I also am working with a limited budget, I would say $600 maybe alittle more.

[Tone2TheBone]

The Fender Hot Rod Deluxes are nice and they're not too expensive. Put a good distortion pedal on it for your metal and turn it off for your own Fender type stuff. They are plenty plenty LOUD.

[Rocket]

The Fender Hot Rod Deluxes are nice and they're not too expensive. Put a good distortion pedal on it for your metal and turn it off for your own Fender type stuff. They are plenty plenty LOUD.
I'll second the Hot Rod series. I use my Hot Rod DeVille almost exclusively... couldn't be more satisfied with it.
Marshall knows HOW to amplify... Fender knows amplification!

[Tone2TheBone]

I'll second the Hot Rod series. I use my Hot Rod DeVille almost exclusively... couldn't be more satisfied with it.
Marshall knows HOW to amplify... Fender knows amplification!

:spank: Sheepishly returning to say I MEANT the Hot Rod Deville in my recommendation :messedup: but yes even the Deluxes are great too. I'd much rather have the 60 watts of the Deville though.

[Algonquin]

Have you considered running an external speaker from the Amp you're currently using? 80 watts is a decent amount of power.

Hook up to an external cab with another 12" speaker of your choice and you are basically going to move twice the volume of air.

This would give you the versatility of practising with just the single 12", and gigging with two 12"s... just a thought.

Duhvoodooman posted a nice looking cabinet not too long ago. I'm sure he'd be more than willing to give you some feedback.

http://www.thefret.net/showthread.php?t=4242

Cheers, :beer:

David

[t_ross33]

Have you considered running an external speaker from the Amp you're currently using? 80 watts is a decent amount of power.

Hook up to an external cab with another 12" speaker of your choice and you are basically going to move twice the volume of air.

This would give you the versatility of practising with just the single 12", and gigging with two 12"s... just a thought.

Duhvoodooman posted a nice looking cabinet not too long ago. I'm sure he'd be more than willing to give you some feedback.

http://www.thefret.net/showthread.php?t=4242

Cheers, :beer:

David

80W should be lots loud, depending on the type of music and the venue. A buddy of mine has rented his PA rig for some "Punk" rock shows (high school bands mostly) and they were freakin' loud. Or I'm too old... one or the other :D

From what I've heard the Fender Hot Rods are good and loud (I think you can get it in a 4x10 version? like a half stack in a combo). Have you considered mic'ing your amp thru the PA? Word to the wise: control your stage volume and crank 'er out the front. It'll save your hearing in the long run.

Question: does adding a speaker cabinet make your amp "louder"? Your power output remains the same doesn't it? Wouldn't you just be dividing the power out by the number of speakers? I can see how it would "fill" your sound, just don't understand how it would (could?) make it "louder".

Trev

[Algonquin]

grungeiceman's amp lists 80w output at 8 ohms, and 100w output at 4 ohms which lends itself nicely to an external speaker.

I'm afraid I don't exact numbers, but doubling the wattage of an amp doesn't double the volume level. It will make it a cleaner amp I believe.

This is just a lower cost solution that might fit the bill, but maybe only a 4x12 is going to do it.

Then again, maybe I just over did it today with the cough syrup... :messedup:

Regards,

David

[t_ross33]

Now that I look at grunge's sig I see he has a Bandit, as do I. Mine is of early 90's vintage tho, before the "transtube" ones came out. No speaker/cab out on mine.

It's still a decent enough amp, but I can see how it would be underpowered for a live situation in anything larger than a medium sized watering hole. If you're playing on stages in school gyms, auditoriums (is that a word - should it be auditorii :whatever: ) etc. it just won't be pushing enough air. If you are relying on the amp alone for getting your sound "out there", old school style, then you're looking at a half or full stack. Just remember to wear ear plugs!!! Pete, Eric, Jimmy all those ol' rock and rollers that spent hours in front of huge walls of shear Marshall thunder are paying for it now :messedup:

[Spudman]

If you have the Transtube Bandit just get a 4x12. You'll be pretty impressed with that amph moving more air. Also be sure to get the large add-on girlfriend that will carry it around for you too.:rolleyes:

[Katastrophe]

For around $600.00, there are a lot of choices, all of which will fit the bill nicely. For a cheap stack, check out the new Crate stack at $499.00. 120 watts of power, and onboard DSP effects. I played one recently and was favorably impressed. B52 makes two really good sounding half stacks with plenty of volume in your price range. Vox makes a 100 watt combo (the valvetronix line) that's plenty loud and sounds great, and is completely in your price range. The 150 watt Line 6 Spider III head / cab sounds amazing. That set up was designed for a 4x12 cab. The 2x12 combo version sounds really good, too, and is $499.00, although I like the sound of the Vox better in the combo, IMHO. I've played on each of these. They are all solid state.

Trust the other Fretters' opinions on tube amphs. They know of what they speak.:D

Now for the fun part. Go try out a bunch of these amphs and let us know what you found out!:AOK:

[Algonquin]

Just remember to wear ear plugs!!! Pete, Eric, Jimmy all those ol' rock and rollers that spent hours in front of huge walls of shear Marshall thunder are paying for it now :messedup:


Good advise for all Fretters out there jamming with drummers who insist on going full tilt through every freaking song!

:Dude:

[TS808]

If you're considering an amp for metal, here's what I'd suggest, based on reviews I've seen, plus they are pretty affordable:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Randall-RG75G3-G3-Series-Guitar-Combo-Amp-?sku=480334

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Randall-RG100G3-G3-Series-Guitar-Combo-Amp-?sku=480336

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/B52-100W-4x12-Half-Stack?sku=481301

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Marshall-MG100HDFXMG412-Slant-Cab-Half-Stack-Package?sku=482807

Granted, these aren't tube or "boo-teek" but I think they'll give you plenty of volume at reasonable prices.

[Rocket]

...all those ol' rock and rollers that spent hours in front of huge walls of shear Marshall thunder are paying for it now
Huh?

[t_ross33]

Huh?

I SAID... oh nevermind :rotflmao:

[Brian Krashpad]

Randall has a pretty good reputation for it's metal-oriented solid state amps, though I have no direct experience with them (and don't play metal).

If I wanted a good all-around amp that was gig-loud, I think I'd be looking for one of the Peavey Classic tube amp series. You should be able to get one used, within your budget, and though I haven't had direct experience with these either, I have gigged with friends who have them (specifically a 2x12 combo version, they come in all sorts of combo speaker variations, and possibly heads too), and the reports I've seen from people who I know (and sometimes have even met in real life) are fairly universally good.

If you can't find used, I tried one of the Peavey Valve Kings (2x12 combo version) last summer in a store and it seemed like a cool amp. Neither the used Classic Series Peaveys nor the new Valve Kings will probably be capable of getting a metal distortion from just the onboard tubes, but with a brootal enough pedal in front of them they should be fine even for metal.

[LagrangeCalvert]

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Peavey-Windsor-HalfStack?sku=485059

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/MXR-ZW44-Wylde-Overdrive-Pedal?sku=151118

little more than your wanting to spend, but there was a band we played a gig with at our last show and he had this setup with a paul and WOW....talk about metal/hard rock tone...and thats why its my next choice on my gear list.

You cannot get great clean tones unless you roll back the vol on your guitar..then its still got a little dirt in the clean.....The windsor has been called the JCM800 with more flexibility and 1300 less than what the Marshall costs.