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Time for an upgrade. Blackstar or DT25 or ??

1K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  79 
#1 ·
Hey guys I'm lookin for some opinions here to figure out which amp I should go with.
I've been playing for a couple years now and am mostly a bedroom player with the occasional jam session with another guitarist. At this point I don't plan on gigging and am really just playing covers and working on my technique.
I've had a small Line6 Spider for awhile which I liked for many reasons but now the tone is starting to sound horrible to me. I am hoping that my ear is getting better and not because of my age!

So I'm looking for an upgrade with similar capabilities and better tone. I really only have two requirements..Needs to sound good at low volumes..I spend most of my playing time in a small den room. Also, I would like to have quick easy presets to work with either as my tone to play, or as a starting base. The thing I liked most about the Spider series being a beginner is that I could go online and find a tone for what I wanted to play and insert it into my amp. I could then tweak it from there to my liking but it was a very fast process to get close to the sound of the song I was playing. I'm not really interested in the heavy editing and tone generation that's becoming a thing with all the modeling software out there.

That said, I was looking at a Blackstar 260TVP, and also at the Line6 PodHD500x & DT25 combo. Also have considered an old Line6 Flextone III. I know the PODHD series gets pretty heavy into the editing so I don't know if the tone is worth the money just to download patches.

Simple and fast cover tones is really my priority..What do you guys think?
 
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#2 ·
Drop a little more info. Budget? You want something with effects? Covers like, classic rock? Combo, or a head and a cab setup?

Honestly, presets in an amp won't really do you much good. You can easily go from clean -> crunch -> high gain on a channel switching amp with a little help from the volume knob on the same settings.

Those Blackstars are cool though, I have a buddy who runs one in a ridiculous three amp setup with a Mark V:25 and one of those hipster musicman vintage things the shoegazers love. It's a bit hefty at $600 though, for that you could start chipping away at a rig that would give you a lot of use over the years.

If I were you though, I would be on the lookout for a Mesa combo. The DCs and the Mark IIIs aren't that much more than the Blackstar, and those can hang with another guitarist (1x12 isn't going to hang with a metal drummer though).
 
#4 ·
Drop a little more info. Budget? You want something with effects? Covers like, classic rock? Combo, or a head and a cab setup?

Honestly, presets in an amp won't really do you much good. You can easily go from clean -> crunch -> high gain on a channel switching amp with a little help from the volume knob on the same settings.

Those Blackstars are cool though, I have a buddy who runs one in a ridiculous three amp setup with a Mark V:25 and one of those hipster musicman vintage things the shoegazers love. It's a bit hefty at $600 though, for that you could start chipping away at a rig that would give you a lot of use over the years.

If I were you though, I would be on the lookout for a Mesa combo. The DCs and the Mark IIIs aren't that much more than the Blackstar, and those can hang with another guitarist (1x12 isn't going to hang with a metal drummer though).
Hmm, budget isn't a big deal..I mean I don't need pro level gear but I'm not opposed to spending $800-1000 for the right setup. I'm not a big effects guy and don't have a pedal board so some basic reverb / delay effects are fine. I'm not trying to get a 100% exact tone match here being that I'm just playing in my bedroom. I'd just like to be close enough that's all.
Combo or head/cab doesn't matter either way since the equipment rarely leaves my room.
And lets see, I into everything from original Sabbath, to 80's Metallica, 90's Tool & Slipknot, and new stuff like Periphery.

At this point I'm not really concerned about a drummer since I don't have that intention or the time to so. I was debating between the mini 6505 head and the mini mesa rectifier head but what draws me to the Blackstar and Line6 setup is the ease and availability of downloading patches that are already setup. I suppose ease of switching tones is a big factor for me. I'd rather just hit a preset when i want to play a different song instead of changing every knob on the amp. I'm lazy lol
 
#5 ·
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