Advice on buying a new amp

[zegoose]

Hi

i am looking for some degree of versatility (i.e lots of tweak-ability ) in an amp (without using any pedals) - hoping to get a decent blues sound and a good sound for '85-'95 era death metal. Please tell me which amp I should select between Vox VT20+, Roland Cube 20XL and Fender Mustang 1.

Also, if anyone has tried/owns all 3 amps as well, please let me know what you think of them regarding reliability, quality of build etc.


Thanks!

[soundguruman]

none of the above, try a bues jr, pro jr, for tweakablity, and a more professional (sort of) layout that you can work with.

[big_teee]

none of the above, try a bues jr, pro jr, for tweakablity, and a more professional (sort of) layout that you can work with.

Don't think your going to meet the Blues/Death Metal Criteria with a Blues Jr.
Build a Marshall Clone.
That would get pretty close.
Good Luck,
B_T

[zegoose]

alrighty folks...i have asked for the vox vt20+

i will go with big_teee on that one...i really dont have the time to build an amp tho! i was considering getting a marshall, but i am not a big fan of that 'muffled'/'choked' sound that you get on their cheaper amps...

yes, cost was a consideration - i didnt want to sell the shirt off my back hehe..i was just looking for a relatively inexpensive practice amp with some amount of built-in effects..


thanks anyway..i will let you know how good the vt20+ is in a later post!

p.s.: pro jr? that has a one volume, one tone setting dude!

[big_teee]

alrighty folks...i have asked for the vox vt20+

i will go with big_teee on that one...i really dont have the time to build an amp tho! i was considering getting a marshall, but i am not a big fan of that 'muffled'/'choked' sound that you get on their cheaper amps...

yes, cost was a consideration - i didnt want to sell the shirt off my back hehe..i was just looking for a relatively inexpensive practice amp with some amount of built-in effects..


thanks anyway..i will let you know how good the vt20+ is in a later post!

p.s.: pro jr? that has a one volume, one tone setting dude!

This is basically a Amp builders forum.
I belong to another forum that would be more in line of what your looking for.
Try this link.
Amps and Effects - The FrugalGuitarist.com Forum
It is for budget minded amp and guitar buyers.
Not too much BooTique Amp talk there.
Good Luck,
Terry

[zegoose]

the frugal guitarist..i like that lol

yep neway i came on this site coz i believe the folks here will know better than others regarding the performance of the amps..!

ah well..as i said, i have requested a vox vt20+ ..it sounded pretty good to me..will post again after checking it out..thanks again B_T

[jrfrond]

Assuming you don't need excessive volume (only because all of the amps you mentioned were low-wattage ones), I'd recommend a Fender Hot Rod Deville and the metal pedal of your choice for the "scooped grind" tone you need for death metal/metalcore stuff. On it's own, the HRD is a great rock & roll/blues amp that is pretty reliable, and the circuit can be tweaked.

[Ronsonic]

A lot of "classic" blues, and by classic I'm guessing you mean Allman Bro's and not T Bone Walker, and a lot of early Death Metal all came out of classic Marshall amps. The only death metal guy I work with up close and personal is Trey with Morbid Angel and he's running the clean channel on a Marshall with nothing more than a Rat and an EQ in front.

None of which has anything to do with your problem, since you seem not to be interested in or able to afford the real deal gear. The thing I see every day is a guy trying to nail some classic sound using stuff that never existed then and wondering why he isn't getting close.

My only real advice is to start looking into what was used to record the sounds you want and start working your way toward it. If budget or logistics say you can't have the big rig, find the smaller, cheaper version. Get the used amp with the ripped tolex and ignore the shiny thing with 359 preprogrammed FX that didn't exist when the sounds you want were created.

Learn to work the gear you can afford.

The amps you list will be landfill.

[cminor9]

p.s.: pro jr? that has a one volume, one tone setting dude!

My only real advice is to start looking into what was used to record the sounds you want and start working your way toward it. If budget or logistics say you can't have the big rig, find the smaller, cheaper version. Get the used amp with the ripped tolex and ignore the shiny thing with 359 preprogrammed FX that didn't exist when the sounds you want were created.

Learn to work the gear you can afford.

The amps you list will be landfill.

I hope zegoose listens to you, but some things can only being learned by experience. If you were to tell my 18 year old self to buy an amp with just a volume and tone knob, I would have said the same thing.

It wasn't until I got a little older that I realized that its not about knobs, effects, or excessive volume.

The advice about the Fender deville/deluxe is good though. That's an amp that'll take a pedal and go to town with distortion if you want, it's loud, but also has a bit of real fender tone for blues. I bought mine back in 1997 and am trying to sell mine now, but it took me 10 years and discovering a real amp (one with three knobs) to outgrow it. Nobody took the time to tell me (and the internet was in its infancy) how to pick a real amp. Zegoose, this is your chance.