Buying New Amp

I wouldn't go with a Marshall. I havent had any experiance with thembut I heard that they sound bad and are unreliable. I have a beringher 60 watt that I got for 150 at musiciansfriend last christmas time. I doesn't sound that good, but it has a tube in it so it must sound better than a regular one. I wouldn't recommened (for once) a tube amplifier because although they sound a heck of alot better than a solid state one, the tubes crap out, and then youll have to replace them. Belive it or not, I would reccomened a Ibanez tone blaster. Here: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/fg=42/g=guitar/s=amps/search/detail/base_pid/480129/

I tried out a 25 watt model, and through a strat, it sounded very good.

I'm going to be different and recommend an all tube amp. Some folks don't realize that a 15 watt all tube amp run at it's saturation point is loud, put a Mic in front of it, add a extra speaker cabinet, you'd better have your ear plugs in. If your drummer is to loud then ask him nicely to volume down some. At full volume through a song doesn't leave any room for dynamics.

Guitar amps are insturments too. If you take care of them with regular maintance they will last you a life time. I have a few tube amps that are 40 years old and still have there original tubes in them, they've been around the world and I still use them today. I have a early 60's Gibson falcon 12 watts running flat out combined with four other amps in the rig I use right here. She holds her own thats for sure and the sound she puts out is beyond amazing.

It's running side by side with a Mesa Boogie, two Marshalls, an Epiphone galaxie 10". With them all dialed in and moving a wall of sound. I would say if possible go try a few amps out both solid state and tube, don't be afraid to turn them up and get them to sing. You'll find one that says I'm the one take me home when you go.

Joe

Huh... I heard that amp tubes go out over time. :(

BTW forrok... hows that galaxie? I seems cheap for a tube amp.

well im goign to my guitar center tomorrow. Im sure that will be the deciding factor.

Have fun trying out the different amps. You may want to ask the sales people if they have a back room to test the amps. Tell them what you'd like to do and listen for. Don't be afraid to put the amps through the moves. You'll hear and feel the difference between solid-state and all tube amps.

I picked up the galaxie 10" for my 9 year old daughters birthday, well she wanted one of dad's old Marshall's. (whats a dad to do). Anyway the galaxie 10" sounds pretty good on it own, I did a couple mod's to it, have the ability to connect an attenuator. They can be picked up for around $100.00 Good investment for that price. I've been running it pretty hard for the last 6 months and considering its turned on for 60 to 80 hours a week. Yes, my equipment gets hot I installed fans on the rack case's and circulate air around the guitar amps.

Joe

Yes... theres no doubt that tube amps sound better... I just thought they needed more maintanence than solid state.

Pignose makes a 1x10, 40W tube amp called the G40V, which I own. It costs about $200, it has never failed, and is always loud enough(40 tube watts is suprisingly loud). It doesn't have a lot of features, but since it's a tube amp, you don;'t really need a lot.

A few opinions and facts:

-Stay away from the entire Marshall MG and AVT lines. Way overpriced, no Marshall sound. (yeah, that's an opinion)
-Keep in mind that the 'superior tube sound' is starting to move more and more into the myth-area. All of the independend blind-hear tests I know ofconcluded that there was little to no objective difference between tube and the better solidstates (and yes, that is a fact). People tend to notice the superior tube sound only when they can SEE it is a tube amp. (which can sometimes result in hilarious reviews of concerts where the band uses dummy stacks and digital gear backstage)
-Just as many people will tell you it takes time to learn how to use a tube amp others can tell you the same for digital amps. So everytime you try a new amp, take your time with it.
-It's way easier to damage a tube amp.
-It's way easier to fix a damaged tube amp.
-Tubes will always get worse over time, that's just part of how they work. How often you'll have to replace them depends on how often you use it, how hard you drive them and how demanding you are of your sound.
-An unmodded Epi Galaxy is a very, very, basic amp with very little to offer over other amps.
-Try everything YOURSELF. Tube, digital, solid-state, hybrid, seperate pre-amps/poweramps, different speaker cabs. Don't let ANYONE, including me, tell you what is better. Trust your own ears.
-Make a list of demands (headphone output, CD-in, FX loop(s), channels, sound type, loudness, weight, ammount of speakers, line-outs etc etc)
-Go on the net and make a list of all amps that seem to fullfill your demands. Then try them all out. Take your time.
-Go back home, rest, and go again next week and try them ALL again. Now decide which one to take. Try the amps at both very soft and very loud volumes, if you are interested in headphones, listen through a set of headphones as well.
-Forget everything you've ever read about brands. Go with quality, not brandname. If that means a Fender, get the Fender. If it means Gorilla, get the Gorilla. :lol:

I deciding on going with a Crate 120 watt with 2-12 inch speakers. I had many recommendations from friends and havent had any problems with the crate that we use in my band. Hopefully it will be just as good.

I recently bought a Crate amp. One of the discontinued models. I got a good deal. MX65r for 149.00. It is really loud. I had a 74 model super reverb. It got real noisy. Since I don't play professionally, I opted for a new amp instead of a costly amp repair. I played everything at the Atlanta GC. I was looking for an acoustic amp, but when I found this one, and couldn't tell the difference between it and the 30 watt crate acoustic, well it was no contest. I love it.

You just have to find one you can be satisfied with at any cost.