amp for modern rock

[ThunderShepherd]

what does "modern rock" mean?

[Insomniaclown]

Recto's do have to be stupid loud to get a fizz free tone. I have a rectoverb 50 combo, and I cannot play it without ear protection. Mesa Express and Transatlantic amps may be a better choice for less aggressive/lower volume tones. Stiletto's do the british thing. Lower gain than a recto, tighter bottom. I have wanted one for a while.

Wouldn't a Fender amp be really great for different tones? A Fender Twin or even a Fender princeton recording amp? A friend of mine has a Hotrod that he drives with a tubescreamer. Very cool sound.

Traynor makes some really great amps as well believe it or not. I have had the pleasure of using the YCV 40 amps and they sound really nice. The custom special head may be worth a look. Switchable wattage on the back and what not. They are cheaper than the Mesa/Marshall amps.

[mojojojo]

Originally Posted by ThunderShepherd

what does "modern rock" mean?

really?

[Bill@WelcomeHome]

Originally Posted by Insomniaclown

Wouldn't a Fender amp be really great for different tones? A Fender Twin or even a Fender princeton recording amp? A friend of mine has a Hotrod that he drives with a tubescreamer. Very cool sound.

Traynor makes some really great amps as well believe it or not. I have had the pleasure of using the YCV 40 amps and they sound really nice. The custom special head may be worth a look. Switchable wattage on the back and what not. They are cheaper than the Mesa/Marshall amps.

I pretty much felt that way, and as a result I collected a fine pile of small vintage amps for recording... Gibsons, Ampegs, Voxes, Silvertones from valco and Danelectro and a bunch of Fenders, Marshalls, and some neat conversions like an old Bogen tube PA amp...and they all sounded cool in their own way and were very useful in t he studio.

Then I tried a boutique amp, and another one, and another one, and I really think that these various manufacturers have advanced the art way past what the larger more commercially available companies have done. Much as the boutique acoustic guitar companies like Santa Cruz, Collings, Olson, Breedlove, Goodall etc have pushed the sound of the acoustic beyond anything offered by Martin, Gibson, or Guild, etc.

[Silent Sound]

Originally Posted by mojojojo

well I'm looking for studio really!

just wanna be able to dial in good pop and punk tones from this amp!

big decisions! I doubt I'll go boutique

anyone else got any preferences?

what do you all use your jcm900 for?

The JCM 900 is great for pop/punk. A lot of people hate it because it doesn't have the super deep bass of say a DSL or the other modern Marshalls. I think this amp is misused often. Use the "clean" channel with the gain cranked for most everything and it should work pretty well. The "distortion" channel is really only good for the occasional solo, it thins out on chords. It's not a metal amp by any means. I'd go with a JCM 800 or one of the modern Marshalls/Mesas for that. But if you really like the JCM 900, then get it. It's a great value, because everybody that usually buys Marshalls these days, are wanting super heavy bass sounds or vintage plexi sounds from their guitars, and this amp won't do that. I love my JCM 900, but it really is just a one trick pony (90's alt rock sound).

[Caj]

+1 for the Express. Nice little thang going on there. And I've seen it push a 4x12 orange. Now it's not gonna be earthshaking but it's a solid little amp. And comes in a combo!

[dragunov308]

i think that the Fender Supersonic is worth a look too. They have a head version and it has a nice clean sound as well. I own a Plexi and a few 800s everytime I'm at a Guitar Center and try that amp, it sounds nice. Marshalls suck for clean. I think the Mesa Dual Rec is highly overrated. Every guitar sounds the same out of it. Honestly, try it for yourself. Also the old Peavey Classic series sound great on a budget and respond well to pedals.

[jitterybit]

Check out the salvation modded modules here
Music page of SALVATION MODS - MP3 music page on SoundClick

jaded faith mods here:
Jaded Faith Modding

I belive the last God Forbid album was done with a rm100.

[Matthew Hulsey]

stay away from the dual rec, you said your trying to record pop punk.
the heads you have are already great for the style.
its pricey but check out bad cat amps
or verellen

honestly though, you have two really solid heads, i would either focus on the cabs or get the jcm

[andyfreeman]

I really like the old two-channel Dual Rec. The new ones with three channels have been re-voiced by Mesa, and no matter what you do, the fuzz makes you sound like Hawthorne Heights. The old two-channel Duals are great, though.

I was really impressed with the Marshall JVM, but not so much the DSL/TSL amps. They have a weird phasey thing going on for me around 700Hz. It's strange, but I get it every time with all sorts of different mics.

We just got an Orange Rockerverb 50 with a 4x12 (V30's), and it KILLS.

-A

[mmahan40]

Originally Posted by mojojojo

hey guys - I really want a decent amp that will cover my grounds for the typical "modern pop/punk" sound.

I have a 5150 that i can use with hardcore bands it's the original too !

i also have an orange rockerverb50

I'm wanting a decent amp that will be a solid performer across those genres

I am a guitar player and it'll also be added to my rig.

i've used jcm900's before and I quite like it...

would you reccomend a jcm900 for something of this likes?

i'm not a fan of the dual rectifier...but maybe that was because i didnt have that much time with it?

help a stranger out !

You should check out the MARK IV, super versatile amp.

I also happen to be selling one (shameless plug)

[BurnStudios]

Mesa Single Rec with a 2x12 cab loaded with Eminence Texas Heats.. Is very versatile combination, some people say ohh those are only good for metal..
rubish! I can coax everything from country twang / creamy blues to all out high gain metal. You just gota know the amp.

To get rid of some of the fizz at lower volumes turn down the presence.

[shatz]

Splawn quick rod 2. Will not find another amp in it's league under 2k. If u got the cash, a soldano sl-100 is the beast. then again I can't stand Mesa. And I'm not a guitar player, just an engineer who loves recording great tones.

[musicjohnny]

IMHO for modern rock tones you're best going with a nice boutique amp like some other people have said. A few of the amps that I've owned and really like have been from Bad Cat, Matchless, Dr. Z and Goodsell. You can't really go wrong with any of those, but you do want to make sure that you get one that fits they style you're going for (for example you probably don't want the Brad Paisley signature Dr. Z) so just play a few and see what you think.

My thoughts on some of the advice that you go with a Marshall or Mesa....I'd say don't. The new Marshall amps like the DSL, TSL, and JVM don't really capture that kind of tone very well in my view. They tend to lack the balls and in-your-face-ness that the old ones had. If you like the Marshall tone then save up and grab a good condition JCM800 and I guarantee you'll like it for that classic Marshall tone, but it still might not be as versatile or responsive as a great boutique amp. As far as Mesa's go, I really feel like the dual rectifier is a one trick pony. Yeah, they sound good if you're playing really heavy stuff but they come out sounding pretty weak if you try to clean them up of get a more moderate tone out of them. To my ears they sound flabby and bass heavy and not the tight controlled sound that you'd get from a Bad Cat or Matchless.

Also especially in modern rock you want to make sure that you don't go down the "more gain always sounds heavier" path. It doesn't. Your tone doesn't have to be really gain-y to sound full and heavy. Just look at some of the new records that are coming out right now from even some of the really heavy hardcore bands, they're not crazy distorted, but because of the arrangement and recording style they sound HUGE! So bottom line, don't think you've gotta have a really high powered amp with a ton of gain, go for an amp that really great tonal response and presence, and above all...listen for the one that sounds best to you!

[ThunderShepherd]

Originally Posted by mojojojo

really?

yeah man, modern rock could mean anything. Usually when someone says modern rock I assume they're talking about radio buttrock like Nickelback.

if he's asking about pop rock or pop punk, he wouldn't need the heaviness a more metal or grungy band would need.

but my opinion is an Ampeg V4 or 2203 JCM 800 or JMP. Something that can be clean or dirty but has some balls.