New amp help!!!

[laxlover_bill369]

Well today my son decided to turn the master vol all the way up on my line 6 75 spider and run the cable from the out put jack to the input jack. He turned it on and literally pee'd his diaper (and cried for a good 20 min). Well I need to down grade the watts, so I need a good amp that is price fairly reasonable but still can kick out the jams with out destroying small creatures. My thought were Orange Tinny terror, Krank Rev pro, Egnater Rebel 20 (the most expensive ones), marshall mg15 ms 2, marshall mg10, Epiphone Valve Junior, Black heart killer ant, Black heart Little giant, Fender champ 600, Fender vibrochamp, Raven RG20, or Vox VT xl 15/30 with power sponge? I want to play mainly metal, industrial, jazz/disney songs . Any help would be great.

[mathias]

My thought were Orange Tinny terror,

Heh, I'd call it 'Tinny' too. A wit has you.


Edit: I should qualify that. I found the Blackheart actually broke up a lot more organically than the harshness of the Tiny Terror, but it was a loud guitar store and I was borrowing a Gibson off the wall that could've been to blame. Who knows.

Edit edit; I think it was the 15 watt Blackheart not the sub-watt Killer Ant.

You could always get an attenuator.

[Ghost Hip]

Cross the Marshall MG's off you're list. I know its a typical response, but having owned one and played through others.... it's not worth it.

Tube amps are pretty loud reguardless though. Tiny Terror and Black Heart sound like good choices. My friend has a Valve Junior small stack, sounds pretty good, but a little too traditional sounding for me.... but if you want rock and roll.... the valve junior rocks.

[mathias]

I have a (working, stock) Epiphone valve jr combo, from the 3 or 4 I originally owned and modded, then sold or traded. I don't really play through it, it's too loud for my apartment here (grr. Need to just get a nice house in the woods, and be as loud as I want)

I prefer something with an effects loop and built-in reverb (and tremolo if you're going for that retro vibe), but unfortunately none of the tiny amps really offer this. The closest would be an Vox AC15, or a larger-than-the-Champ Fender combo, and then you're getting more watts, bigger speakers, and overall louder output. (It's good to remember that the whole watts-to-decibels thing is logarithmic, so 15 watts isn't 3 times as loud as a 5 watt amp; they're actually quite similar. But a 15 watt amp IS STILL LOUDER by some degree. The bigger speaker it is probably pushing will see to that)

If you want the tubes pushed into distortion sound, instead of using distortion pedals, then attenuation is one way to go. Another way might be a pedal with a tube in it, as a preamp, into a small solid state amp. But I'm not sure that either of these are going to get you the high-gain, 100-watt metal sound. And its probable that a small amp with an attenuator on it, turned all the way up, still won't have quite that high-gain sound? I think my Valve Jr sounds more like a classic Vox combo absolutely cranked, not a Marshall stack.. and definitely not a Bogner or Krank or what-have-you.

[laxlover_bill369]

Its just difficult, I want a clean and metal channel I have no problem getting a "metal" pedal but what amp is safe for young one ears. I might get a attenuation box but I want a safty net too. Right now I'm thinking a vox vtxl, krank rev, tinny terror, or killer ant. I would love to try them all but no one around here carries orange, krank, or black heart.

[Gunner Recall]

What kinda amp are you looking for? Mix of solid state / sorta hybrid / modeling/ tube amps on that list...keep in mind a 15w tube amp is wayyyy louder than a 15w solid state.

Not sure how quiet you want to get...some of the amps you listed can get really loud, at least in a practice/home setting.

Outside of an attenuator on a nicer amp, I really dig the fender champ 600 for bedroom stuff. You'll need some high gain pedals to get any metal tones though. The blackheart litle giant look tempting but I haven't had the chance to demo one.

[metalmariachi]

I've tried the Tinny Terror and the Little Giant.

The Terror will get loud enough to gig with through multiple speakers.

It does respond really well to pedals.

The little Giant has a very nice single ended sound, but different than a Champ or old Valco 6V6 amp. Gets more of a Brit blues tone vs American blues tone when cranked.

On their own, I think The Tinny Terror would be closer to a metal sound.

That being said, one of my favorite recording setups is an old Harmony 3 watt chassis plugged into a 1x15 or 2x12 cab. Sounds huge in the mix.

Of course if you go tubes, you'll never be satisfied with ss again.

MM
BTW; there are a couple of really nice Valcos up on the Bay right now.

[mathias]

What about a tube preamp with a headphone-out? It'd probably be less than an actual amp, and you can spend your savings on a nice pair of studio headphones.

(This is what I'm doing for RPM Challenge, after I found the ART TubeMP Studio preamp isn't just for vocals, it makes a nice DI box after a bunch of pedals, and it has a 12AX7 in it and XLR & 1/4" unbalanced IN and OUT. word.)

[hazelwould]

I'd get a Blackstar BH-5 stack.

I think the Tiny terror sounds good. The BH-5 blows it out of the water though. The stack has 2 1x10" cabs, a head with ton of flexability, and mojo for $499.

[laxlover_bill369]

I'd get a Blackstar BH-5 stack.

I think the Tiny terror sounds good. The BH-5 blows it out of the water though. The stack has 2 1x10" cabs, a head with ton of flexability, and mojo for $499.

HOLLY

[hazelwould]

Yea!

From what I understand... They're selling out everywhere. They stock 'em at GC though. I might actually have to break down and just buy one. I played around with a zvex sho, and the BH-5 and I was just blown away.

[masked elwood]

the Blackstar HT series looks to be well made and has more features than the Blackhearts and i would expect them to lean more towards metal-y, modern sounds. (going by specs....i've never actually played one). Blackstar seem to be going for Marshall JCM 800 sounds with their amps. nothing wrong with that.

i've been using the Blackheart stuff for over a year now and still very much dig them. both the Little Giant and the Killer Ant work great for me they would need help getting metal tones. they sound wonderful with pedals and mos def have that class A sound.

elwd

[hazelwould]

Sorry as a correction, I ment the HT-5, NOT BH-5.

The HT-5 is what's an awesome amp... Never tried the BH, though I hear good things.

[laxlover_bill369]

Yea!

From what I understand... They're selling out everywhere. They stock 'em at GC though. I might actually have to break down and just buy one. I played around with a zvex sho, and the BH-5 and I was just blown away.

From where?

[hazelwould]

Guitar center, in Dallas.