What solution/amp do you recommend??

[KristianJ]

Hi, i just had a question in regards to what gear to use. 

 

I currently have a PRS standard and a Marshall valvestate 2000 (100W) that i use. I play mostly clean rhythm guitar, with a strong emphasis on bass tone, as there isn't a bass player in my band - a keyboardist instead. This combination gets a pretty good sound. But when i want to add just a tad bit of crunch/distortion to my sound the Overdrive channel on my Marshall is limited to say the least. I have read that the Marshall valvestate is a tube amp in clean, but not in overdrive state. Is this true? 

 

I'm debating whether to get a tube-driven distortion pedal (if there's such a thing) to kick in with my clean channel when i want the 'balls' to my sound - making it an easy addition to my setup

[weaselphartz]

First of all, you do not have an actual tube amp. You have a solid state amp with a 12ax7 preamp tube in it. those Fender amps you mentioned, especially that 80 lb twin, are essentially clean tube amps. I would start with a pedal for the Marshall, because you will need it anyway if you decide to go for those Fenders.

There are some tube driven overdrive pedals out there, although probably a little pricey.

 

 

[Krank'N]

That amps getting on in years so I would consider a new preamp tube if the old ones not sounding good. An EHX 12ax7 would add some nice crunchiness to that valvestate and its a pretty cheap upgrade. Consider a sovtek lps for a fuller sound.  Also get a footswitch to switch channels. Dialing it in is the key-heres a link to Marshall's reccomended settings.

[thom]

Depending on your budget and the amount of power you need, I'd say both the Deluxe Reverb and the Twin are excellent options if you mainly play 'clean rhythm'. 

The Deluxe reverb doesn't stay super clean at high volumes, the twin has a lot more clean headroom. But the DR might be enough for you, unless you start playing with a loud drummer and two other guys with halfstacks in the band:)

I'm not a big fan of the Valvestate series, and I'm being gentle with my choice of words there. Not exactly pristine cleans like those of a twin or DR, and sure not the same sort of onboard dirt as any jcm. The one I had, and the three other ones that my buddies played at the time, all had serious reliabilty issues. Sh*tty cheapish build quality as far as I could tell.

Even though I always thought of them as affordable low end practice/beginner's amps (at best), I know the Marshall VS amps have a pretty good reputation around here. So feel free to take my personal opinion/experience/taste with a grain of salt:) 

Anyway, if you go with one of those Fenders you mensioned, or any other decent all-tube amp, worry about the dirt pedal later. As far as tubes in dirt peds go: I'm no expert either, but the only one I ever had was a H&K Tube Factor. Sounded pretty amazing imo, should've never gotten rid of it. Can't say how much of the sound came from the tube though, and I know for a fact that there's a lot of killer sounding overdrive pedals out there that can do a similar thing. 

Guitar whise, based on those guitarists you mensioned, I guess it'd indeed make sense to try a strat.

I personally hate PRS though, so I guess you could say I'm biased:)