Members ToneChase Posted January 26, 2011 Members Share Posted January 26, 2011 So I'll be going off to to college next year, studying at Belmont in Nashville, and I'm looking to get a nice, versatile amp to replace my Valveking. I like to play a wide variety of genres and would need something that would be able to do a lot of tones very well, from jazz and to low gain sort of Brad Paisley type stuff, to Cake type lowish-medium gain stuff, on up to GNR and Van Halen type classic/hard rock. It'd be nice if it could also do some high gain stuff such as A Day to Remember or Attack Attack, but the jazz clean and classic rock gain are a priority. So far I've found the Engl Powerball. It sounds excellent to me, but it's pretty pricey, especially since I don't have any steady source of income other than the occasional musical guitar gig around town until summer. I'm willing to work and save up for the Powerball, but I was wondering if there was a less expensive option that would do what I wanted. Guitars would primarily be a Parker Nitefly, SG special, and Kramer Striker.... with the Artcore thrown in there occasionally. (all with stock pickups) Any input appreciated!Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaleH Posted January 26, 2011 Members Share Posted January 26, 2011 http://www.drzamps.com/amps/prescription_jr/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ToneChase Posted January 26, 2011 Author Members Share Posted January 26, 2011 http://www.drzamps.com/amps/prescription_jr/ I've been looking at the Dr. Z amps too, especially the Maz 38 and the Jaz 20/10, but was concerned about not having another channel. The boost on the Rx's might work. The only problem is that with these I'd be buying completely blind, I've never seen one of them here in Greensboro NC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members poolshark Posted January 26, 2011 Members Share Posted January 26, 2011 Not to be a downer, but what's wrong with the Valve King? I totally understand falling out of love with an amp, but I've heard some guys get a pretty wide variety of passable tones out of the VK. As for a recommendation, I like the Egnater Tweaker. Versatile, cheap and plenty loud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ToneChase Posted January 26, 2011 Author Members Share Posted January 26, 2011 Not to be a downer, but what's wrong with the Valve King? I totally understand falling out of love with an amp, but I've heard some guys get a pretty wide variety of passable tones out of the VK. I wouldn't say anything specifically is WRONG with it, just that it has sort of a fizzy gain sound. It does clean and low gain well, but also gets kind of harsh at higher levels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scott944 Posted January 26, 2011 Members Share Posted January 26, 2011 Congrats on getting into Belmont - we were on the campus last year and found it very nice. I'm with you on not buying blind. Run up to Charlotte (or whatever larger city is reasonably close) and try some stuff with your own ears. Are you making a campus visit this summer? Go shopping in Nashville - they'll have nearly everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ToneChase Posted January 26, 2011 Author Members Share Posted January 26, 2011 Congrats on getting into Belmont - we were on the campus last year and found it very nice. I'm with you on not buying blind. Run up to Charlotte (or whatever larger city is reasonably close) and try some stuff with your own ears. Are you making a campus visit this summer? Go shopping in Nashville - they'll have nearly everything. Thanks! I pretty much fell in love with the campus when I first saw it, and the guitar teachers seemed pretty chill but tough at the same time, which is exactly what I need. We have a GC in Greensboro, but honestly I've never checked out any of the music stores in Charlotte... and I really can't believe I haven't by now, thanks for reminding me! And yeah, definitely, the next trip to Nashville I make I'll be trying out any amps I can't find here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members warriorpoet Posted January 26, 2011 Members Share Posted January 26, 2011 Thanks! I pretty much fell in love with the campus when I first saw it, and the guitar teachers seemed pretty chill but tough at the same time, which is exactly what I need. We have a GC in Greensboro, but honestly I've never checked out any of the music stores in Charlotte... and I really can't believe I haven't by now, thanks for reminding me! And yeah, definitely, the next trip to Nashville I make I'll be trying out any amps I can't find here Congrats on the school. I have a young guy on our church praise team right now who's a monster player and is more than a bit nervous about the audition. You have any tips you can pass along? Back on topic, I really dig the pricier Fender stuff, but then I play mostly clean-ish. Be sure to play through a coupe 65 amps if you get the chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ToneChase Posted January 26, 2011 Author Members Share Posted January 26, 2011 Congrats on the school. I have a young guy on our church praise team right now who's a monster player and is more than a bit nervous about the audition. You have any tips you can pass along?I wouldn't be considered a monster player by anyone's standards, but being good at sight reading definitely helps. I played Autumn Leaves as my swing tune, and the solo wasn't anything fast or particularly complicated, but it was mostly based on arpeggios and scales for the current chord rather than the key. I'd say spend a good amount of time just writing a solo for the chosen swing song, and for comping, listen to the horns when they play background stuff, it can be a good inspiration... The classical piece is optional, but I think it definitely helps to play one, even something easy, just to show versatility. I picked mine out from this page: http://dirk.meineke.free.fr/Other than that, tell him to just have fun with it, play a song he really likes and can put some feeling into for the one he gets to pick, the teachers are all nice guys In terms of Fender amps, a few year ago I played a supersonic and loved it for its cleans, and remembered it having good gain tones, but when I went back this year and tried one out, they didn't really do it for me. I'm with you on the cleans though. At one of my auditions, some of the other guitarists my age were saying "oh no, we have to play though a twin," to which I said "Awesome!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted January 26, 2011 Members Share Posted January 26, 2011 Honestly, if you like Fender cleans, get a Fender amp with cleans that you like and add dirt via pedals. I can't speak for modern, high gain tones, but up to JCM800 tones, they are easily achievable through a Fender with the right speakers. I can't overstate that speakers are key. If you don't mind lugging a Twin, a Silverface Twin is an incredible value as are the Twin IIs. I like 6L6s to be used with gain and both 6L6s and 6V6s sound pretty spectacular clean. Whereabouts do you live? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members warriorpoet Posted January 26, 2011 Members Share Posted January 26, 2011 Honestly, if you like Fender cleans, get a Fender amp with cleans that you like and add dirt via pedals. I can't speak for modern, high gain tones, but up to JCM800 tones, they are easily achievable through a Fender with the right speakers. I can't overstate that speakers are key. If you don't mind lugging a Twin, a Silverface Twin is an incredible value as are the Twin IIs. I like 6L6s to be used with gain and both 6L6s and 6V6s sound pretty spectacular clean. Whereabouts do you live? Never heard anything like a good Fender clean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ToneChase Posted January 26, 2011 Author Members Share Posted January 26, 2011 I'm in Greensboro NC now, somewhere between Winston-Salem and Raleigh... What sort of pedals are you thinking? I don't have a whole lot of experience with dirt pedals other than an old Digitech RP50 with some decent distortions in it and a Fuzz Face I got off ebay, which doesn't work well with the Parker because the piezos change the output impedance to something the FF doesn't like... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted January 26, 2011 Members Share Posted January 26, 2011 It's not super cheap, but the Barber Direct Drive was MADE for gain through a Blackface Fender! Again, I'll say it again and again and again, the speakers make all the difference. I have a Twin that currently has two Jenson-ish Webers, but it used to have the big CTS square magnet speakers and it sounded GREAT with the Direct Drive or the Barber LTD SR. The Direct Drive covers a LOT of ground... from 18W Marshall tones through 70s Plexi Super Lead tones through JCM800 tones. Of course, most would prefer a Silverface Deluxe Reverb, but a fell could do a whole lot worse than a DRRI with a Direct Drive. I'd go for a ceramic Weber Michigan for the speaker, some Tung Sol new production power tubes and maybe pick up a couple NOS 12AX7s for V1 and V2 and a couple new PI tubes. Used DRRIs usually go for $600 or $650. Another $100 or so for the speaker, $100 for a used Direct Drive and maybe $40 in tubes... that would cover a HECK of a lot of ground as long as you don't need crazy volume capabilities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ToneChase Posted January 26, 2011 Author Members Share Posted January 26, 2011 I'll definitely take a look, there's a store in town that usually has some silverface fenders in the used section. I guess I should have mentioned that I already have a cab that I like, but if I sold that as well I could probably afford a nicer combo... I'll go by that shop and see what they have in stock, but does anyone have any heads in mind that would cover as much ground as I need? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members diceman1000 Posted January 26, 2011 Members Share Posted January 26, 2011 custom build from Ceriatone:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Special J Posted January 26, 2011 Members Share Posted January 26, 2011 If you're looking for versatile, I'd look into some Mesa/Boogies. I don't think they make them anymore, but the DC series amps were very versatile and great sounding combos. Very portable too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Orange Jackson Posted January 26, 2011 Members Share Posted January 26, 2011 Get the best clean sounding amp you can afford and put a dirt box in front of it. A simple setup that sounds great for this would be a Bugera V5 with a M-audio crunch box in front of it.Great cleans with built in reverb and great dirt at the press of a button. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MyNameIsMok... Posted January 26, 2011 Members Share Posted January 26, 2011 Goodsell Splawn That just about covers it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Special J Posted January 26, 2011 Members Share Posted January 26, 2011 Get the best clean sounding amp you can afford and put a dirt box in front of it.A simple setup that sounds great for this would be a Bugera V5 with a M-audio crunch box in front of it.Great cleans with built in reverb and great dirt at the press of a button. I think 5 watts might be a little shy of what he's looking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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