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In the market for a new amp setup, looking for advice

3K views 39 replies 12 participants last post by  Josh 
#1 ·
Hey guys so I'm in the market for a new tube amp/cab setup. I use an axe fx2, which I fucking love, but I wanted some nice pure tube tones in my setup as well.

I play stuff like goth metal/rock (like amorphis, swallow the sun, HIM, rasmus, etc.) and Nu and pop rock/metal type stuff like tool, marilyn manson, korn etc. where I still want a
nice heavy tone, with crisp highs and nice low end, not overly scooped, and nice chord voicings. for slower tempos.

I was looking at the peavey 6505+/6535, Engl powerball 2, and laney vh100r. Also recommend me any pedals that would improve my arsenal. I hear tubescreamers are good?

I want a good clean sound but I figured I could just use my Axe fx2 for the clean sounds and effects. Would I be able to hook my axe fx 2 up to the same cab as my amp head is in?

Any help would be appreciated
 
#2 ·
Price range?

Personally I love my Mark V. Can do all sorts of tones including really great american cleans, british low and high gain sounds, and tones from the Mark I, IIC+, and IV. It also has a great reverb. While it is expensive I find it to be the best bang for your buck out there. The mark tone isn't for everyone though and if it's not for you go for something else.
 
#6 ·
Then i'd suggest trying it out then (the powerball), i'm sure there is probably somewhere in Chicago with one in stock, and if not buy it online and return it if it doesn't work out. Powerballs and SEs are the Engls i've tried which just don't quite work for me. Quality amplifiers and sound pretty good, just doesn't work as well as the Invader or Savage series for me, doesn't mean that's the case for you.

Hell, if I could afford to increase my amp collection by a few heads, I'd probably own an invader.
 
#12 ·
I love my 6505+, I just wish it had better cleans. If you have reverb/delay/chorus your cleans will be alright. It really is such a fucking brutal amp, and I'd imagine it could do just about anything an engl could, for cheaper than the engl. go to guitar center Halsted, they have a mark, and a 6505. GC is dumping Mesa, though :scratch:
 
#16 ·
Damn guys thanks for all the help.

Is it possible to use my axe fx 2 in the same cabinet my amp head is in? I figured i could use the axe fx 2 for clean tones.

How would an orange cab sound paired with a 6505 or ENGL?

I want an awesome modern metal tone but would still like a hint of that vintage flavor. How would you compare the tones of the powerball 2 to a 6505?
 
#17 ·
Damn guys thanks for all the help.

Is it possible to use my axe fx 2 in the same cabinet my amp head is in? I figured i could use the axe fx 2 for clean tones.
Yes. (I have an Axe-II, and while I'm mainly FRFR I've run it 4CM with my Mark and the 6505). All you need to do is run it the 4 cable method (4CM) and not only can you use it for just the cleans, you can set it up so that your main source of tone is the Fractal models OR your actual head, whichever you go with, all through the same cabinet.

You can have one bank that's all fractal models, another that's all the head, mix and match, etc, etc. The Axe-II is super flexible and has routing options galore. It's one of the big perks of owning it. :yesway:
 
#20 ·
It'll do "vintage." You just need to put it on the Rhythm Channel and not put the gain on 10 :lol:
 
#34 ·
Go ahead and A/B a 6505 against any old Marshall and tell me if the Peavey sounds vintage to you. :lol:

I mean, it's not liked I owned one for two years and you didn't. Oh, wait, it's exactly like that. :lol: Besides, you owned a Tiny Terror. Your opinion on tone is forfeit.
 
#21 ·
if you're not bothered about the extra cost i would go with the powerball over the peavey because its much more flexible (imo), that said if you are planning on using the axe fx for cleans and the like and just want brutal rhythm and lead tone you cant beat the 6505 for value, especially in the US.
 
#23 ·
My choices are now between The bogner uberschall, Engl Savage or Invader, and the power ball

and If I find for a good price, a diezel vh4, a SLO, or shiva/XTC.


Could anyone give me a rundown on the tone differences? Like could someone describe the sonic qualities of these amps in words?
 
#25 ·
My choices are now between The bogner uberschall, Engl Savage or Invader, and the power ball

and If I find for a good price, a diezel vh4, a SLO, or shiva/XTC.

Could anyone give me a rundown on the tone differences? Like could someone describe the sonic qualities of these amps in words?
Seriously man just look on Youtube. There are plenty of videos of all of those.

"The bogner is creamy, while the Engl is brutal, and the SLO is tubier" isn't going to be very helpful.
 
#24 ·
Wirelessly posted :)yesway:)

O731 said:
My choices are now between The bogner uberschall, Engl Savage or Invader, and the power ball

and If I find for a good price, a diezel vh4, a SLO, or shiva/XTC.

Could anyone give me a rundown on the tone differences? Like could someone describe the sonic qualities of these amps in words?
You have an Axe fx. That will work 100000 times better than subjective words.
 
#26 ·
Also once you have it narrowed down to a few, if you live in Chicago or atleast near by. Look up dealers that are in the area, call them up and see which amp is in stock where and take a couple days to try them out. Living in a major city you should be able to find most of them to try. Personally how amps respond dynamically is the biggest thing for me, with the right microphone and some time learning eqing and compression, it's pretty easy to get an amp to sound pretty different than it does in the room. But you can't really change how it responds to your playing.

Also most companies put out there own demos which are professionally done. I usually find these more helpful than going thru random youtube vids. Also Ola on here makes really good demos.

I took a minute to find a couple for you and to link you to an ola video so you can search his page


 
#28 ·
I'm trying my best to get a good Diezel for a good price...So far my priority list is...

Diezel Vh4
Diezel Herbert
Bogner Uberschall/XTC
Engl's


Has anyone used T75 speakers in their cabs btw? I'm looking at the orange cab which has v30's, and an uberkab that has 2 v30's and 2 T75's, it seems like an interesting combo
 
#37 ·
I'm trying my best to get a good Diezel for a good price...So far my priority list is...

Diezel Vh4
Diezel Herbert
Bogner Uberschall/XTC
Engl's

Has anyone used T75 speakers in their cabs btw? I'm looking at the orange cab which has v30's, and an uberkab that has 2 v30's and 2 T75's, it seems like an interesting combo
Never go for T75s over V30s, unless you're playing a Marshall Plexi in a classic rock cover band.
 
#32 ·
The Mark I and the crunch channel both have plenty of gain on tap for leads. They may not be ideal for a lot of guys but they can definitely get the job done. Another solid trick is to use the make the graphic eq footswitchable to go back and forth between a lead and rhythm tone. While I certainly agree how they spaced the pres wasn't ideal, it definitely wasn't a deal breaker for me, considering the features of the amp. While in the future I will probably pick up some other preamps for different tones when recording, I won't be using anything other than the Mark V live.
 
#35 ·
Funny how that's a setup absolutely no one recommended in a thread that you were asking for recommendations for. :lol:

Hey, your money to burn. Myself, I'd go play a couple of the usual suspects named in this thread before looking at a setup likely to set you back $5k, to supplement your $2k modeling preamp.
 
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