Best gear for prog metal?

[allisforthebest]

I've recently, like, today, made a band with a loud drummer who likes Prog Metal. My AC15 won't hold its own, and it's not even suitable for our style of music. Since this is going to be a long term commitment in which we're planning on gigging frequently, I need a change in gear.


Right now for the amp, I'm looking at the (don't laugh) Line 6 DT50. It's an all tube, 50 watt amp in 112 config, and right now it's going cheap for 999. I tried it, and personally I really like it. For guitars, I would like a PRS Custom 24. So you can see that I'm willing to spend 4000 or less for both guitar and amp, budget-wise.


But here's the thing: I know every amp is a bit icepicky at first because of the speaker break in time, but I need gear that's NOT icepicky. My AC15 and Strat are a bit spiky, and I have no idea how the DT50 sounds at gig/rehearsal volume because I tried it at a music store.

Is there any other gear that would fulfill my needs?

 

[gush]

I sure hope I dont offend anybody but I havent played a line 6 amp. I have done sound for several bands where guitar players use them. Im just not impressed with line 6 amps. Now there are lot of variables involved so maybe these guys have bad taste or they didn't know how to set them up. I only remember one guy with a strat that could make it sound decent.

Maybe take a buddy with you so he can play through it while you listen from different angles.

 

[Texas_minor_blues]

Honestly I would say look at prog guys you enjoy and see what they are playing.
Personally, It took me a long time to find the "right" amp. Once you find the guitar, take it with you to every shop you can and test out every amp you can and see which amps work well with the guitar.
For me my Bogner Shiva does everything I need it so for rock/metal

 

[Chris528]

I have tried many amps and have finally picked a winner with the Randall Diavlo series. I own a RD20 and it's super loud and love the distortion.

 

[gball]

I sure hope I dont offend anybody but I havent played a line 6 amp. I have done sound for several bands where guitar players use them. Im just not impressed with line 6 amps. Now there are lot of variables involved so maybe these guys have bad taste or they didn't know how to set them up. I only remember one guy with a strat that could make it sound decent.

Maybe take a buddy with you so he can play through it while you listen from different angles.

I've never heard one sound good live. Seems as though every time I go to a gig and the guitar player has terrible tone, sure enough there is a Line6 sitting behind him. And the couple of times that I plugged into one at a store convinced me pretty quickly to unplug from it and find something else to play through.

To the OP, I would keep away from Line6 gear for a live setting. Although those DT50 seem i "interesting" with the Bogner connection and all, I suspect you can do much better for the money. In fact, for that amount of cash you could put together a great Blackstar or Orange rig. I feel it is much better to have one great sound than a whole bunch of mediocre modeled ones, then flavor to taste with a few choice pedals.

 

[nosidamde]

I know there is a lot of hate brewing in this thread towards Line 6 products, but I have to throw a quick two cents in.

I never would have considered a Line 6 in the past till the SpiderValve series came to life and I felt for the money it sounded damn good. Apparently I wasn't wrong or the only one, I always received compliments from other players AND sound guys! :vroam:

In all honesty my Line 6 SpiderValve HD100 MKII saved me last weekend when I had a gig and my Archon was on its way to Maryland for warranty repairs... I'm glad I didn't find a new home for it yet and maybe I'll keep it now as a permanent back up.

 

[László]

My guess is that the DT50 amp is a bit different from most L6 products because of the interaction between analog and digital elements, though I'm not sure it's going to give you what a classic tube amp will give you exactly. That's up to you to decide, what works for you.

However, for prog metal I would want a 100 watt amp, especially for live use. You'll get a tighter, more solid low end. I'd go with an Archon 100, but YMMV. The Archon is an amp that an awful lot of players are in love with.

Yes, it's more expensive than the L6. But it also sounds better (to my ears). It doesn't try to be all things to all men/women. It does what it's designed to do, and that is very much what you're after for that style of music.

 

[gush]

I know there is a lot of hate brewing in this thread towards Line 6 products, but I have to throw a quick two cents in.

I never would have considered a Line 6 in the past till the SpiderValve series came to life and I felt for the money it sounded damn good. Apparently I wasn't wrong or the only one, I always received compliments from other players AND sound guys! :vroam:

In all honesty my Line 6 SpiderValve HD100 MKII saved me last weekend when I had a gig and my Archon was on its way to Maryland for warranty repairs... I'm glad I didn't find a new home for it yet and maybe I'll keep it now as a permanent back up.

It takes a lot more than a line 6 amp to make me hate! Its all good.

 

[allisforthebest]

I know there is a lot of hate brewing in this thread towards Line 6 products, but I have to throw a quick two cents in.

I never would have considered a Line 6 in the past till the SpiderValve series came to life and I felt for the money it sounded damn good. Apparently I wasn't wrong or the only one, I always received compliments from other players AND sound guys! :vroam:

In all honesty my Line 6 SpiderValve HD100 MKII saved me last weekend when I had a gig and my Archon was on its way to Maryland for warranty repairs... I'm glad I didn't find a new home for it yet and maybe I'll keep it now as a permanent back up.

I had a first generation Spider Valve. I thought the distortion was killer at low volumes, but I couldn't bond with it at gig volume. I won't go into specifics...but this DT50 looked like a winner.

And thanks, guys, for the tips. I'll look for things other than the DT50, and see what I like. But if the Line 6 is the best amp out of everything, then you know what I'm gonna get. I'll need something that'll last haha, this gig will last for about 4 years.

 

[solacematt]

Finding the right amp in general isn't easy really. If you're really going to go in their blind without trying some stuff out first I would say to hit youtube and look up demos of guys doing fairly good play throughs and not just sitting there solo'ing to get a fair gist of a bit of what an amp can offer. As always though, nothing really beats sitting down with an amp in person

 

[vchizzle]

I haven't found any clips of the Line 6 that I care for, but I'm not the one playing it, you are. I love some of the Line 6 fx, but the amps just don't do anything for me whether Mr. Bogner is involved or not. If you're dead set on a combo, a 5150 III can be had close to $1000 used. There's a few Mesa Tremoverbs on ebay in that ballpark. There's a PRS SE 50 head AND 2x12 cab on evilbay for $850+100 shipping....these sounds great! That's what I'd be looking at.

 

[Brad737]

FYI, I bought a 5150 III 50-watt head for $700 and a matching can for $300. That's a killer 3-channel amp with many great tones available. I can't imagine a Line 6 sounds better for the same money.

 

[jfb]

My guess is that the DT50 amp is a bit different from most L6 products because of the interaction between analog and digital elements, though I'm not sure it's going to give you what a classic tube amp will give you exactly. That's up to you to decide, what works for you.

However, for prog metal I would want a 100 watt amp, especially for live use. You'll get a tighter, more solid low end. I'd go with an Archon 100, but YMMV. The Archon is an amp that an awful lot of players are in love with.

Yes, it's more expensive than the L6. But it also sounds better (to my ears). It doesn't try to be all things to all men/women. It does what it's designed to do, and that is very much what you're after for that style of music.

As far as PRS amps are concerned this is where I would start and likely end up with your conditions in mind.

 

[tonaholic]

FYI while the line 6 is a very cool rig, I strongly recommend a tube amp in that range. Here's a great discussion about options in your price range: http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/ge...t-your-favorite-amp-metal-under-1000-a-2.html

I think a Custom 24 with \m/ pickups would get you the other half and maybe a few stomp boxes.

 

[CoreyT]

One of my faavorite groups use Line 6, and I dig the guitar tones both players get.
Lacuna Coil.

 

[Duffy]

I would agree that you need at least a 100 watt all tube amp. I would go with something that has an excellent reputation for being dependable. I would want something with a "lot" of gain and at least three good voices with at least one being an acceptable clean channel that is capable of producing "crunch" with a button or by turning up the gain. I would want one channel to be ultra high gain. I would also want a good 4 X 12 cabinet because these type bands are known to play "loud", and you don't want the drummer telling you to "get a real amp" after you just spent a lot of money on an under powered amp.

There are some good new Marshall heads available; the DSL100H has four voices and two channels and has good reviews. The Marshall JVM series is an even more serious high gain amp with a good clean/crunch channel and has six or more voices and up to four channels. One of these would rip, and you will see a lot of metal guys using these modern ultra high gain Marshalls. You get a good warranty with them as well. No one is likely to question a decent Marshall with 100 watts, but if you roll in there with a Line 6 modelling amp I can imagine that some eyes might roll, plus it's only 50 hybrid watts. I would get a strong Marshall or EVH 5150 III (super nice amp) head and a four twelve cabinet, and some select pedals for a different overdrive, etc.

If you get something strong and decent you won't regret it later, in most likelihood. And you will be taken more seriously by the other musicians, especially the drummer. I would want to be able to "drownd" out the drummer with power - that way he won't be able to tell you to get a real amp. I wouldn't purposely try to drownd him out, of course, but there might be times that he would have to wave me down, which would let me know that I had enough power to meet the needs of the situation.

A lot of them metal guitar players like to use JCM800's, which you can check out if you want, but I'd be ready to spend some money on a good one.

A good idea would be to discuss with the metal band what type of amp they would suggest that you get. They may have some ideas there that you could use.

Your choice of guitar sounds great, but for that type of music you are going to need a real strong, dependable, serious amp, and a strong speaker cabinet. Maybe you could go and see some metal bands of this type and see what type of gear they are using and maybe even talk to the guitar player and see what he suggests.

Good luck with your gear quest and I'd suggest not to go light.

 

[t-bone]

Ok, here's my humble opinion. Prog metal is more than just metal, and you need a versatile amp to be able to play a wide range of styles and sounds.

To begin with, you need a good, solid tube amp. I believe basic is best. Many metal guys have one sound and that is it; you need more veratility. Do you need 100 watts? Well, a 100 watt tube amp will melt your ears, and you really need a big venue in which to crank it up. You would be amazed how loud 50 w of tube power will give you.

I have a '67 Fender Bassman Blackface amp. 50 w, incredibly loud, volume, bass and treble knobs, that's it! Is it a metal amp? Not yet. But where these types of amps shine, is that they respond to stopboxes incredibly well. Get a Tubescreamer-type overdrive, a couple of other good overdrive pedals, a metal pedal, chorus, fuzz, etc...... You can get everything from country, jazz, blues, classic rock, hard rock and metal depending on what pedals you use.

A stock modern amp may give you one or two nice sounds, but they are limited by the circuitry they have and you may need some pedals anyway. With a basic tube amp head, you can use any speaker configuration you want, 4x12, 4x10, 2x12.... Old Fenders, Marshalls, Ampegs, older simple Mesa-Boogies....there are so many awesome, basic good tube amps out there that will accept YOUR choice of pedals, and therefore your unique sound.

I amaze guys all the time with my Bassman, 4x12 cabinet, and collection of good stompboxes. They can't believe it isn't a Marshall, Mesa-Boogie, etc. It sounds incredible!

Be adventurous and find your own sound.

 

[Snowman19]

The best guitar amp for metal should deliver crushing high-gain sounds with plenty of power to spare. But it should also have a unique tone and texture, one you can immediately distinguish live or on in a recording. My Peavey 6505 is such a monster, loving it so far

 

[gush]

The best guitar amp for metal should deliver crushing high-gain sounds with plenty of power to spare. But it should also have a unique tone and texture, one you can immediatelydistinguish live or on in a recording. My Peavey 6505 is such a monster, loving it so far

I have a 5150 head I bought bew in 1994. It kills I got away from Sheffield speakers and that has helped a bunch

 

[bayou]

dude as far as size, t-bone is correct. you really would need a big place to really crank a 100 watt tube amp. my amp of choice is a 60 watt laney ironheart. it sounds like 60 watts of pissed off! youd be really amazed with that and a 4x12 cab. for me it gives a nice full sound and has a built in attenuator. to each their own though. really would think that finding a great amp for a low price wouldnt be that hard. its not that they arent there, theres just so many of them. if a combo is what youre after, maybe find something that youre able to connect an extension cab to it. later if you want to expand, you can. you will be able to produce more of the tone you like. and another thing, if you cant find one that gives you the dirt or full out crunch youre after, theres always plenty of pedal candy out there. good luck with you tone quest.