Guitar amp for pop rock

[NathanC]

I'm recording my own little pop rock project (together with a guitarist friend). Now it's almost time to start recording el gtr. But how??

Untill now I've always recorded guitarists who used their own amps. You plug the gtr in, choose a mic or more mics, place them and hit the red button. But now I have the luxury of choosing the amp myself. Hey, it's my own project! Since I'm not a guitarist myself, I'm having a hard time deciding which amp to use. I'm looking for a pop rock tone. Clean stuff and some light to medium overdriven stuff for mostly leads.

A friend of mine works for the Dutch distributor of Peavey and has offered me to use any one of their amps for recording. Which one of the current Peavey amps would be best for the job? Also, I know somebody who will lend me his Vox AC-30. Will that do? Are there any other must-use amps?

The problem is: I can't have all in my studio and try them since I don't own them. I need a starting point.

What would you, the gearslutz, use??

[tINY]

Lower power tube combos with open back cabinets are the ones to look at..

The Clasic 30/112, the JSX Mini Colossal, and Valve king Royal 8 all look promising.

There's a lot to like about an AC30 too.....



-tINY

[Blast9]

You really ought to try one of the Koch amps... I believe they are Dutch.

I heard a Class A Koch that was very nice:

http://www.koch-amps.com/products/in...TOKEN=22313407

This might be the one.

Also heard a Koch Twintone once... Very sparkly clean tones

[Andreas G]

For this stuff I like the "HUGHES&KETTNER EDITION TUBE 20TH ANNIVERSARY", this amp has a very creamy tone and is easy to record (no ugly razorsounds when distored) even at lower volumes. On the downside... it's out of production but they are still avaliable at thomann. They give you also 30 days money back guaranty.

Said that guitar amps are a very individual taste thing. For instance I never liked the Vox AC30. I owned one 20 years before, had a guitar-tech then.. we probably tuned it to death to get a useful sounds for me... but it never works for me until I realized it is just not my sound.

Good luck

Andreas

[superburtm]

ORANGE AD SERIES

[NathanC]

Thanks for the replies so far!

I'm familiar with Koch, and yes it is Dutch. I've recorded a Koch once for hard rock and it sounded great! I'll keep it in mind, although I'm not sure how to get one for just this project.

I'm narrowing down my question:

Which current Peavey amp/combo would you use to get a warm pop rock tone? (I am considering the other suggestions, but Peaveys are the easiest to get for me).

[Blast9]

What tINY said... I've heard the Classic 30. sounds very fat and smooth when fully cranked... Like a proper tbe amp! I'm certain you'll get the crunchy/glassy tones you're after as well.

Never heard the other 2 but the JSX is a versatile articulate amp, so hopefully the mini colossal should be in the same ballpark!

"The JSX™ Mini Colossal is a Class A monster in a nice, little box. It has what I always wished a small vintage amp would have: a pure, wide-open sound, classic tremolo, buffered effects loop, a unique power level attenuator, and a recording output that actually sounds like the the amp. Together with a specially voiced 8" speaker, the 5 watt Mini Colossal has a vintage tone that really rocks. It can run clean, crunchy, or down and dirty. It's unique design makes it easy to get a good tone fast, and its size makes it very practical. Whether practicing, recording, or even playing a small gig, this lively amp really sounds great." --- Joe Satriani

[Pasta4lnch]

cornford harlequin

the clean sound drew me in, the dist is sweet too!

[NathanC]

I talked to my friend who works for the dutch importer of Peavey, and he recommended the Classic 50/212 and has offered to bring it to the studio.

Any thoughts from people who have used this amp?

It would be a waste of time when he showed up with the amp, we tried it and it didn't work for our music...

[quietdrive]

Originally Posted by NathanC

It would be a waste of time when he showed up with the amp, we tried it and it didn't work for our music...

Why? You never know if anything will work unless you try it yourself... words have virtually no meaning. Some people will tell you the amp isnt good for Pop/Rock and that you should use a Marshall instead, and others will tell you to buy a Vox AC. I personally would take a good guitar player, drive to a big guitar store with him and have him play every every amp for me. And then buy the one I like the most.

[NathanC]

Originally Posted by quietdrive

Why? You never know if anything will work unless you try it yourself... words have virtually no meaning. Some people will tell you the amp isnt good for Pop/Rock and that you should use a Marshall instead, and others will tell you to buy a Vox AC. I personally would take a good guitar player, drive to a big guitar store with him and have him play every every amp for me. And then buy the one I like the most.

True.

I know what I don't like.
I don't like Marshalls (for what I'm doing). I don't like POD's, I don't like most solid state amps, I don't like Fender amps (for what I'm doing).

I'm not a guitarist, so it's hard for me to decide what amp to use. The guitarist I'm working with has a Marshall and a POD and that just doesn't work for me (tried it).

I might follow your advise and go to a big guitar store soon. Seems like a reasonable option.

[Jonboy79]

I use ac30's all the time for poppier music, they work beautifully but that also doesn't mean another amp won't work well.

[Third Story]

orange ad 30

[eweise]

I do pop sounding music and I bought a mesa lonestar special for its ability to get really nice clean sounds and also bump it down to 5watt mode so that I can overdrive it using the power amp tubes instead of the preamp tubes. It does doesn't do heavy metal but the light to medium distortion is really well.

[FFTT]

I would definitely take a look at the Divided by 13 offerings.

http://www.dividedby13.com/amplifiers.html

Class A/AB with half power settings make for a very versitile amp.

I'm also impressed with the specs on the hand wired Fender custom shop '57 twin.

If you can find a 90's Korg built Vox AC 30 that would be another option.

Brenda K, Fuchs and Corford also get lots of respect.

[Daedalus77]

Yeah, has has been said, you're going to have to get your guitarist to play a few and pick the one most appropriate to the song and arrangement.

That said, the previous suggestions have thrown up a lot of guitar dissimilar in tone and even more so in price. (The Peavey combos are relatively inexpensive; the Divided By 13 amps are—for really good reason—decidedly not.)

A couple thoughts:

1. I will go out on a limb here (and perhaps get flamed for it) and say that an AC30 (of whatever "era" or manufacturer, including the new CCs) is probably the most versatile amp for pop-rock ever made. You can have chime, grit, crunch, and smooth overdrive depending on how you drive it. It (or one of its boutique progeny—like a Matchless, Bad Cat, Savage, and so on) would be my advice.

2. One of my cardinal rules is that any gear with pointey-parts will invariably suck. This precept has saved me many a time. As such, no B.C. Rich and no Peavey. (I am told that Behringer stuff has pointy-parts on the inside.) Actually, I am kidding; the Classic 30 is a solid amp (not spectacular, but quality, in a modern Fender Blues Deville kinda way.)

Let the flames commence....

D.

[picksail]

I recently discovered just how versitale the Jule Brend-K amp really is.

Way cool amp.

[Screwdio]

Do you have a price range/limit...?

[NathanC]

I ended up using the Peavey Classic 50/212 and it was just perfect for our music

[Blast9]