High Gain Amp Head Suggestions Please...

[Howieizme]

Hello all,

I am in search of a high gain amp to compliment my Germino Club 40 amp with the Germino 2x12 cabinet. I am very, very, very happy with the Germino tone for my clean to my overdriven sounds of ZZ Top and AC/DC.

I'm now ready to take the plunge and buy a nice high gain head. I have a Marshall 1/2 stack with the vintage 30's just wating for some power. When I say high gain, in terms of tone, I prefer a heavier, thicker distortion as opposed to a Steve Vai or Joe Satriani type of distortion. I grew up listening to Slayer, Anthrax, Metallica (Ride the lightning, Master of Puppets) and love those tones. I am not a fan of at all of the Nordic Death Metal/whatever you wanna call it (Scoop all the mids out) distortion either. I do however like alot of the newer heavy music coming out as of late with bands like Atreyu and Killswitch Engage. The well produced high gain sounds as of late all sound great. I hope I'm making some sense here and not sounding to much like an idiot. I also hope there are some folks here that are familiar with the music I'm refering to. If anyone has a solid suggestion that might cover the tonal colors of the bands that I like above it would be appriciated. I've heard rumors that the Budda Superdrive 80 head is a great amp. I don't need 10 channels either. Again, suggestions and advise appriciated.

[Howieizme]

Bump....anyone?

[mikymike]

Road King II will do the trick .....and cover just about every other tone to boot!!!

[gigantorbuzz]

check out the CAE OD-100 SE+

http://suhrguitars.com/OD100.aspx#SE

[lwr]

i quite like the Bogner Uberschall. I tracked some guitars with Funeral For A Friend who use Bogner and it was awesome. I borrowed it once for a project too and it does a great beefy heavy sound....nothing else though !

[rockstar_josh]

Bogner amps are great.... thick as hell!

[keiffer]

*5150
*Carvin Legacy
*Mako Dorado
*Mesa Mark-III
*Elmwood Modena M90
*Mesa Mark-III
*Mesa DR Solo 3Ch
5150-II
5150-III
Uber
Mako Makoplex
**Framus Cobra
Mesa Mark-IV
Mesa Rectos - Various models
Cameron

* - I own
** Just sold

Clips in Sig...

[Mitch Deason]

Nice clips, sonixx. You record them yourself?

[DeathMonkey]

I'll +1 the Uberschall, great amp.

I'm personally a huge VHT fan. I have a Deliverance 120 that is by far the most recorded amp I own - and I have most of the mainstream boutique high gainers. It doesn't have a ton of saturation, but it's thick and aggressive, and extremely versatile. Certainly try before you buy, as they aren't for everyone, but the people that do like em, swear by em.

Also maybe look into a Framus Dragon. A bit more "vintage" sounding than the Cobra, I believe KSE used them in the studio on both EOTH and the new one.

[keiffer]

Originally Posted by Mitch Deason

Nice clips, sonixx. You record them yourself?

thanks. yes, most except for the backing tracks. View Song Information gives some details

[underworld]

i'm a big fan of the bogner amps for this purpose. lotsa gain with nice clarity and open-ness.

[vernier]

Heard a multi-rectifier Boogie that sounded swell ..either dual or triple.

[el cochino]

A boosted JCM 800 2203 = Slayer sound

Also great are:
Diezel Herbert
Engl Powerball or Fireball
Randall RM 100M with XTC and 1086 preamp modules

[BLueROom]

Mesa Stiletto stage II

here's a clip with all the guitar tracks recorded through the Stiletto:

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Unusual

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

[Absolute]

There is only 1 choice for the music you mentioned

5150 2 (not the new ones)

Why? Because its middle of the road distortion. Bogners and Dual Rectifiers are too far to one side of the spectrum. If your only getting 1 HG amp you need to stay in the middle and out of the extremes

You cant beat the price either

[Howieizme]

thanks to all for the advise!

BOGNER: I considered the Bogner but decided against it because: I heard the warrenty is 90 days long? I also heard the customer service is bad from these guys. Not that I buy an amp for the attitudes of the company rank and file, but, it gave me pause for whatever reason. Also, the price was a little high.

DIEZEL: I also considered the Diezel but decided against it because: I really don't need 3 channels. I have my clean and slight break up amp. So, why spend $4000 for an amp that has at least one channel that I don't need.

VHT: I considered the VHT but decided against it because: There is no effects loop. The amp was a contender though. It looks nice and the two channels look good.

SPLAWN: I considered a Splawn but decided against it because: The sound clips on their website sound like shit. Nuff said.

MESA/BOOGIE: I decided against a Mesa because: I fear the mass production of the brand has possibly degraded their sound over the years. The company, for me is just to big. As is Marshall and Fender, again for me.

Sooooooooo....even though it's not considerd a true "high gain" head. I decided on the Budda Superdrive 45 II head. All the reviews pro and amature alike are very strong. I don't need 100 Watts of power. If I ever play a gig that large I will mic the amp and run it through the desk for goodness sake. The Budda just seemed to be a perfect fit for me. Plus, I was able to pick one up new for $1500 shipped. Again, I know some folks might scoff at the idea of this amp being a true high gain, but from what I've heard, this amp has teeth and can growl up some rad tones.

Thanks to all who tossed their 2 cents in.

Mike

PS

Did I mention that I love my Germino Club 40?

[BLueROom]

Have I mentioned that Mesa's customer service and warranty are top notch? I wouldn't say the sound has degraded over the years, I'd say it's evolved.

Good luck with your new amp regardless!

[Howieizme]

Originally Posted by BLueROom

Have I mentioned that Mesa's customer service and warranty are top notch? I wouldn't say the sound has degraded over the years, I'd say it's evolved.

Good luck with your new amp regardless!

Thanks! Good to know! I will check Mesa out next time.

[Markus Stock]

Another +1 for the Peavey 5150. If you want less "fizzy" distortion though and one hell of an versatile High Gain Amp you might check out Laboga's Mr. Hector. I love that thing to death!

[Sean Sullivan]

I think, given its very reasonable price, the 5150 is the best suggestion. They can be had super cheap...if you check the ebay completed auctions there is a 2x12 combo with a road case that sold for $395, and bunch of others for under $500.

[keiffer]

Originally Posted by upinflames

I think, given its very reasonable price, the 5150 is the best suggestion. They can be had super cheap...if you check the ebay completed auctions there is a 2x12 combo with a road case that sold for $395, and bunch of others for under $500.

I paid $450 for my 5150 head, although I had to put it on the bench for quite a bit of TLC...

[dobz]

Originally Posted by LongWave

i quite like the Bogner Uberschall. I tracked some guitars with Funeral For A Friend who use Bogner and it was awesome. I borrowed it once for a project too and it does a great beefy heavy sound....nothing else though !

Wow you did the Guitars for FFAF? is that there newest album? There guitar tones are always amazing!

I watched the video they put on the net showing all the amps they were using and i nearly wet myself!

Luck Buggers!

[blackcom]

Tubescramer (Ibanez, Maxon) into any of these would do the trick;

-5150/6501 (not mkII/+ versions)
-Mesa Dual/Triple Rectifier (this one sounds even better with the TC Booster+Distortion over a Tubescreamer)
-Engl Savage 120
-Marshall JCM800

All these amps I've tried and as high-gain they all work very usable. Combining two amps if you can might even get you more of a good sound.

[Mitch Deason]

Originally Posted by sonixx

thanks. yes, most except for the backing tracks. View Song Information gives some details

What cab did you record most of the 5150 clips with?
I know you listed the speaker as a 12T75, but was it a 4 x 12 closed back config or something?

And the 57 was right up on the speaker, I guess?

Think I'm gonna buy a 5150. Is there a major diff between the revisions?

Thanks!

[84K]

Modded JCM 800
Bogner XTC


everything else is just everything else.

[vernier]

All these amps with pre-amp diode clipping, I can't tell the end product from a fuzz pedal. HEE!

[84K]

Originally Posted by vernier

All these amps with pre-amp diode clipping, I can't tell the end product from a fuzz pedal. HEE!

you would if you heard my JCM 800's modded by a few select amp wizards.

Next time you're in NYC let me know.

[pinklesson]

If you live in Australia buy a Woogie! Hand made by a guy in Adelaide!
Good price too. To say it's a mix between a Marshall and Mesa would only be half describing it. That doesn't explain it very well actually... but awesome amp. I'd love to buy another one just incase he was never able to make any more. I'd seriously cry if something happened to mine.

[George Necola]

Laboga Mr. Hector kills

[keiffer]

Originally Posted by Mitch Deason

What cab did you record most of the 5150 clips with?
I know you listed the speaker as a 12T75, but was it a 4 x 12 closed back config or something?

And the 57 was right up on the speaker, I guess?

Think I'm gonna buy a 5150. Is there a major diff between the revisions?

Thanks!

I have three cabs, all closed backs, each with multiple speaker types:

Ampeg V4 4x12 (V30-3, V12-1)
Cobra 4x12 (GB-2, G12T75-1, V30-1)
Mesa 2x12 (GS1275-1, V30-1)

The song details should indicate the cab and speaker, if not detailed I'm not sure.

GS1275 for sure is the Mesa cab. I have a V30 in each cab but usually record the V4 or Mesa. The V4 cab V30 is darker than the Mesa cab V30. Note I have a G12T75 and GS1275. The 12T75 is Celestion and the GS1275 is Carvin. These two are worlds apart.

There's three 5150 models

5150/6505 (Peavey) - Two channel with shared EQ. I prefer this to the 5150-II for recording

5150-II/6505+ (Peavey) - Three channel with two EQs. Clean and Crunch share an EQ. Had one but prefer voicing on 5150. 5150-II doesn't seem as growly or mean as the 5150.

5150-III (Fender) - Another version by Fender. I haven't played one but like what I've heard.