Need a New Amp....

elvis said:
My problem with this is that you could argue the same thing for a JC120 or Mark I as well. But I think the more you modify the tone with the pedal, the less of the amp you hear and feel (not that a JC120 has anything you could call "feel" :p ).

Philosophically, how far from the native tone can you get before you lost the amp's magic qualities?
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These are good questions and worthy of discussion, but to be honest, I don't consider enough much of an expert on metal tones to be able to give a knowledgable answer. No doubt at some point you're hearing more pedal than amp.

If I was a metal player, I'd get an Archon. But I'm not, and Texas Minor Blues hasn't mentioned a need for metal tones, hence my recommendation of the HXDA.

The reason I posted the video link was because you asked if it could get a tight, gritty, gainy rock tone, and didn't specify more. To me, that's pretty tight and gainy. I'm sure tight-gritty-gains means a lot of different things to different folks, right?

What the amp's gain limits are, I honestly don't know - I haven't been there and done that. At some point, some client will no doubt make me find out though!

I very rarely listen to metal, it's not that I don't appreciate it, but I'm less familiar with it than other styles and tend more toward other music when playing.
 
Les brought a great strategy to the table. Find an amp that can meet most of your playing needs and add a pedal or two for the times when you need more gain or crunch. After a long search, I think I settled on an Engater 15 to give me basic tweed, British and American modes and maybe a pedal for more boost. For the basic stuff I do, I just do not need tat much power but like the sound shaping without going to a modeling amp. My " little " Blues Junior would then be used as a chorus effect when needed. Alex Lifeson, do not be afraid of my chops!
 
LSchefman said:
These are good questions and worthy of discussion, but to be honest, I don't consider enough much of an expert on metal tones to be able to give a knowledgable answer. No doubt at some point you're hearing more pedal than amp.
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Me either. Though I tend to hear a few specific generalities. Amps like Archon, Diezel, Rectifier, 5150-style, Mark and some Marshalls are pretty much the de facto choice for metal. I think that they have something in particular in common that is not inherent in other amps, and maybe not so reproducible with an amp that is really designed with something else in mind plus a pedal.

LSchefman said:
If I was a metal player, I'd get an Archon. But I'm not, and Texas Minor Blues hasn't mentioned a need for metal tones, hence my recommendation of the HXDA.
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Agreed. In my mind, that was the best answer, and now it's more about whether to keep the Shiva in addition to the HXDA or not.
 
Hard to argue with an HX/DA, but you might also consider the Marshall 2466. It really is a different sort of amp. It's a single channel amp, but has an extra gain stage that can be switched in. It goes from old-school bassman / JTM to very high and tight gain territory depending on how you set it up, and everything in between. And they are quite inexpensive (they stopped making them about 4 years ago, so you'll either need to find NOS or buy used...) A small fraction of the HX/DA cost. They weren't all that successful when they were released, but I think that's because lots of people thought that they were 2 channel amps and wondered why there was a volume increase when you switched to high gain mode.
 
There are ton's of choices out there...what are your considerations for price, size, weight, wattage, channels, FX loops, etc....??
 
I am leaning towards probably a single channel.

Price: 3,000
Size: Prefer Head + Cab
Weight: unsure
Wattage: comparable to the Shiva 90 watts
F/X Loop preferred
 
I'll just throw out there...some amp designs don't need an fx loop and some absolutely need one. The lack of one doesn't show weakness.

And I've had some 30w amps stomp the sonic snot out of other 100w amps, so don't go by numbers alone (I know you already know this stuff).
 
Somehow, I predict that a really bad derail is coming in the not-too-distant-future...
 
Texas_minor_blues said:
So have decided to part with my Bogner Shiva (not a for sale post yet). Looking for suggestions for it's replacement. Play mostly blues and rock (some metal). Not really interested in Kemper or Axe FX, looking mainly at tube amps, what do you recommend
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FWIW, those guys at Anderton's across the pond did a video recently (PRSh & The Captain I think) where they were playing a lot of blues jams, and I just happened to notice that they were playing through two Archon (combo?) amplifiers. They sounded fine. The Archon has a DEPTH knob which I would describe as a knob I would use to dial back on if I want a thinner Judas Priest style ripping Heavy Metal distortion. But then if I wanted something thicker and creamy in the distortion category, I would dial it up to 7 or 8. I can only imagine that the same results would apply if you were playing blues and that the Archon could be used to play blues.

I've got a number of amps and I'm still experimenting (at a snail's pace) with what Blues tones I like best. But, I've very impressed with the Archon and consider it to be PRS's flagship amp.
 
So, $3K is a horse of a different color. I love spending other people's money. Let's see, single channel, $3K, loop, loud for gigging, head / cab form factor, for the uses you describe. Marshall Astoria Custom. Really, try it. I agree with Boogie that you can get by without loops...but for some stuff, loops sure make things easier. It doesn't hit your 90W requirement, but this thing is LOUD. Having said that, I get by fine with the PRS amps I have that don't have a loop, but there are things I can't do with them because of it.
 
A $3K amp for me, would have to do one of two things. EVERYTHING very well, or a couple things so spectacularly well that it made me not miss the things it wouldn't do.

So either something like my Mark V, which can do about anything. Or an amp that perhaps had a spectacular clean and gain channels, but maybe the gain channel only went up to classic or 80s rock, and not high gain levels.
 
I've always found that effects loops are fussy noisemakers that cause problems, so I never use them. I have one on my Lone Star 100, but I haven't even bothered to try it out. Never used the loops on my Two-Rocks, either.

I'm a person who doesn't believe in a supernatural deity or being. However, I make a special, one-time exception in the case of amplifier loops.

Loops are the product of Mephistopheles' Gremlin and Ground Loop Department, and are designed by demons and the departed souls of the Princes of Darkness who worked for Lucas' British Sports Car Electrical Division.

They are an invitation to noise and other skullduggery.

Just say no to evil loops!

On the other hand, I really don't care if someone else uses them. More work for the Guitar Amp Exorcists, who in this day and age are under-employed.
 
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