Author Topic: Jumped over from the muso forum, recommend a metal amp please?  (Read 1742 times)

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Offline kiwiclapton

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Jumped over from the muso forum, recommend a metal amp please?
« on: February 08, 2014, 11:53:58 PM »
Hi Guys, long time no chat.

Anyway, I really need a heads up on an amp for playing DT style music.

I'm a bedroom player, at the moment I've got a Fender blues junior and a Vox ac15 both 15 watts and more than enough for my blues/rock styles .

I play a Stratocaster (I've seriously got an eye on a Sterling jp100d john petrucci), if that helps with your recommendations.

I don't want to spend a lot, the Vox and Fender amps here in NZ were about $1000/1100.00 so that kind of price would be ok max NZ would be $1200.00

Thanks,

Offline Rodni Demental

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Re: Jumped over from the muso forum, recommend a metal amp please?
« Reply #1 on: February 09, 2014, 02:51:00 AM »
Get something to connect your guitar to your computer with any kind of external USB sound input (such as a 'guitar link', 'stealth plug' or an 'InPort', any of those would do the trick, you can find stuff like that on trademe no problem  :tup). Then use software like Guitar Pro or Fruity Loops (the latter will require custom sound packs) and baam, you can produce literally ANY guitar tone you could possibly imagine. You'll probably need decent computer speakers though, although you can get multipurpose amps that can link up to your computer as well as plug the guitar in directly.

Sorry as I realise this doesn't answer your question exactly, but it's an alternative to buying an expensive amp that only has a few tones and effects. A big amp with a decent soundbank can be great for performance purposes but if you just want to mess around in your room, you'll be able to mess around with a LOT more if you use a computer. I started off with a 60w amp and eventually got a 100w, which was great, and loud, but kinda limited with it's presets until I realised I could use it as an output from my computer and a whole new world opened up. You can actually find sound packs of Dream Theater guitar tones and presets on the internet to import to guitar pro or whatever software you're using. I don't have anything to recommend but most modern 60w amps would do the trick (new ones are a lot better than they were 10 years ago although make sure to check their frequency input because if it's designed only for guitars then it's not a good idea to plug your pc into it just in case you output sounds that are too low or high for your amp. Anyone who's plugged a guitar into a bass amp for example, will tell you that it doesn't end well). Or, consider upgrading your pc speakers, it's worth it.  ;) Honestly, this method can be just as effective as a fancy expensive amp and will probably be a lot cheaper.

Offline Kotowboy

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Re: Jumped over from the muso forum, recommend a metal amp please?
« Reply #2 on: February 10, 2014, 09:32:24 AM »
I have a Blackstar HT 100 - which is about £350 for the head and it has an excellent Emulated output so you can record directly to the PC / Mac without that horrible brittle sound you can sometimes get.

Or maybe a cheaper Blackstar combo - they're all pretty hefty sounding and most of them have that same Emulated Speaker Output. :)

Offline Marion Crane

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Re: Jumped over from the muso forum, recommend a metal amp please?
« Reply #3 on: February 11, 2014, 08:35:51 AM »
The EVH 5150 III 50w head is easily the best and most affordable amp in the industry right now

Offline Sir GuitarCozmo

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Re: Jumped over from the muso forum, recommend a metal amp please?
« Reply #4 on: February 11, 2014, 11:01:34 AM »
Jr. is learning guitar and doesn't like my amp (an OLD Fender M-80) so we got him one of his own for Christmas.

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/amplifiers-effects/peavey-vypyr-vip-1-20w-1x8-guitar-modeling-combo-amp

This is amp is small and has decent onboard effects and amp models.  I was taken aback at how good it sounded.  There's a video in the link that shows you some of the features and tones.  It sounds as good in person.  Also, it has a USB/data/Midi out on it, so it can be plugged into the computer for recording.  Pretty cool and cheap.  Obviously you're looking for something a little mor eheavy duty, but I WILL say, I was pleasantly surprised with how this thing sounded.  Peavey also has the VIP2 and 3 as well, more features and such.  For Jr. this was a perfect starte amp, obviously not something a pro is gonna lug around to gigs or anything.

Offline kiwiclapton

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Re: Jumped over from the muso forum, recommend a metal amp please?
« Reply #5 on: February 14, 2014, 07:08:20 PM »
Hey, thanks for the 4 comments regarding a metal amp, I'm not sure really what I'm gonna do there.
I'm gonna try a Jackhammer pedal thru my fender and see how that works.

Offline TheLordOfTheStrings

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Re: Jumped over from the muso forum, recommend a metal amp please?
« Reply #6 on: February 26, 2014, 12:34:28 AM »
Either the EVH 5150 III or the Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier.
Check out my various music projects - I’ve got concept albums, singer/songwriter, rock, metal, prog, and more coming soon:

https://linktr.ee/STARCOMMANDStudios

Offline kiwiclapton

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Re: Jumped over from the muso forum, recommend a metal amp please?
« Reply #7 on: February 28, 2014, 01:54:17 AM »
The Mesa MARK V combo , looks really cool.

I'll see the bank for a loan.

Offline TheLordOfTheStrings

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Re: Jumped over from the muso forum, recommend a metal amp please?
« Reply #8 on: February 28, 2014, 02:05:17 AM »
I've found the Dual and the Triple Rectifiers to be a bit punchier than the Mark V. Here's a good comparison of the two. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j34U7k6mWzI

The guy even throws in some DT and if I remember correctly, some LTE licks.
Check out my various music projects - I’ve got concept albums, singer/songwriter, rock, metal, prog, and more coming soon:

https://linktr.ee/STARCOMMANDStudios

Offline kirksnosehair

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Re: Jumped over from the muso forum, recommend a metal amp please?
« Reply #9 on: February 28, 2014, 01:44:33 PM »
I'll tell you what, if you're gonna go with a combo give Carvin a look.  You can achieve a very, very similar tone with some of the mid- to high-end Carvin combos and spend half the money.


If you're going with a full head/amp setup I don't think you can touch the Mark V