Best New SS Amp under $600?

[aclarke]

Get a keyboard amp.

 

They're voiced to handle a significantly wider frequency range than guitar amps, and offer very transparent sound reproduction. Used with outboard effects, they're pretty tough to beat.

 

Check out the Roland KC 350 (120 watt, 1x12 plus tweeter) and the Hartke KM 200 (200 watts, 1x15 with tweeter). I've played through both at gigs recently - the Hartke on an acoustic gig (with a boss AD 5) and at another couple of electric gigs through the Roland (with a vox tonelab in the chain), I was very happy with the tone I was able to get out of both - especially the acoustic though. My 12 tuned to open D sounded utterly massive through the hartke.

[Spike Li]

So, it sounds like the consensus picks so far (as far as new gear goes) is: Tech 21 Trademark 60 Peavey Bandit A bass combo With honorable mention to Fender FM 212 and the Roland Cube 30, which are apparently worth putting up with their digital shenanigans. I think I'll have a look-see at all of those options over the next few months. There's no rush. I'm perfectly happy with my tube amp for local shows, and I'm not going on the road for a few months yet.

 

I own a JC-120, Bandit (Redstripe) and a Cube 30x.

 

All of them are great amps (hence why I own them).

Love the JC to death but as youve mentioned its downside is that its huge and heavy

I have to say tho, at the same, low (home) volume the cube and the jc sound pretty much identical, with the exception of the 10" in the cube not being able to handle lows as well as the 12s in the JC.

 

Roland used to make a cube 60, which was basically half of a JC120, which probably wouldve been perfect for you, but theyve since replaced them with the cube 80x, which for some reason is the exception to the rule, in that its terrible. I dont know why, but ive never been able to get a good tone out of one, regardless of what guitar ive plugged into it I think they must have put a bad speaker in it or something...

 

The Peavey also has excellent cleans, a touch warmer than the Rolands.

 

I tried out a Fender FM 212 a while ago and was very impressed with its cleans... however it handled distortion abysmally (bees in a tin can tone), so that might be something to keep in mind.

[HELSTRUME]

one of my friends had one of these and he used it instead of his dsl for smaller club gigs and it was a workhorse. he even used it at some bigger shows just for the easy set up good amp definatly and i have used the peavey transtube stuff alot. they are hard to beat ..........but the tech 21 stuff might do it

I would have gotten it, if I hadn't seen the red stripe Bandit.

[lowbrow]

Anyway, the picture I'm using for my avatar is an alien from recent years of the show called an "Ood." It amuses me that the way its holding that communications orb kind of makes it look like its enjoying an exotic cocktail through a straw.

 

For the longest time that's exactly what I thought it was. I was kinda disappointed to find out the truth:)

[RaVenCAD]

I'd get a Peavey Classic Chorus 212.. It's kind of big and kind of heavy, but it's a great sounding amp that can be had for ~$300 these days.. It was Peavey's answer to the JC-120 back in the day, and it was a great answer..

[Busk]

{censored}, Polytone MiniBrute is like $1100 now.

[Citizen Cain]

 

At $299, the Peavey Bandit seems like a solid amp to check out.

 

 

+A lot

[Assumer]

I am going with tech 21also.

[A-20]

 

For clean, the H&K edition blue 60. I just played one, and it sounded so nice.

 

 

This is exactly what I was about to say. I have the edition blue 30 dfx??? and the 15r The clean sound is really really good. I have gone through a lot of amps since I bought these, but these are keepers. I mainly use them on the clean channels (2 channel amps with foot-switch). The clean has a nice fattening and breakup as you turn the volume up. Also have a master volume so you can get things just right. Very light to transport and a no-brainer to operate.