Category: Jam Session
Hi all,
I was a dumb ass and sold my peavey 6505+ head and cab, (worst mistake I've ever made...) So, I'm wanting to get a new half stack... Any suggestions? Tube would be really nice, but, if I had to go solid state, I guess I would.
Thanks
Chris
do you really need a half stack? why not a 2x12 combo? you aren't going to find anything decent in terms of a half stack pacakge for 300 bucks or less. but a decent second hand 1x12 or 2x12, that is more realistic. the combos from carvin, mesa, peavey, h and k, and trainer are quite good. I'd say spend your money on a better quality combo and then you can buy a better quality extension cabinet when you have the money. your objective should be finding something with good tone. It's not just about volume. most people that drag half stacks or full stacks to bars or clubs just cause problems. now if you're playing medium to large venues, then that is a totally different ball game. speaking of combos, I got to play the peavey 6505 combo and it's a monster. very impressed. If I were to go peavey, I'd probably go for either that, or the jsx combo.
I had the 6505 +, head, thing I'm wondering, do you have the clean channel on the regular 6505?
yes. you do. although, reviews of the clean channel on the combo aren't great. the drive channels freaking rip though by all accounts. you can look up the specs on a site like musicians friend etc and read reviews. also check out the harmony central site. keep us updated on what you end up going with.
Well, getting a job this summer, so hopefully gonna get maybe the bugera 6262. not sure yet though.
Look into the carvin v3 series too. They have a great fenderish clean channel and the drive channels get into mesa boogie full on metal crunch.
if you like the 6505+ then the bugera 6262 is the way to go definately. Under $300 i'd say try to find one of the Raven half stacks used, its solid state but sounds pretty good .. But yeah you'd be better off with a 2x12 and then adding another 2x12 or 4x12 as the money and need presents it self, especially if you go all tube.
yeah, that word "need" is very important here. if you live in a small house or apartment or dorm etc, then a one to ten watt 1x8, 1x10, or, 1x12 tube amp is more than enough. if you're in a band just doing rehearsals and bar/club gigs, then a 1x12 or 2x12 is fine but if it's 100w all tube, then that is overkill. remember that one point of dealing with a tube amp and it's related weak points, is so you want to push it so you get that sweet tube saturation. you don't get that by playing a 100w tube combo or half stack with the volume on one or two, or less. even if you do use a power soak. as far as solid state, roland have a newer cube combo that's eighty wats. the reviews have been really good, but, I haven't got the chance to try one out for myself yet. I still say try out the smaller mesa boogie combos like the express series and the f50 etc as well as all the other amps mentioned above in prior posts...
Well from a few things i have read and a few people i have talked to when you want to play some uber heavy stuff and tune down low as well the extra headroom of a 100 watt (or maybe even a 50 or 60 watt) tube amp can come in handy. Also you gotta remember taht alot of the modern high gain amps are designed to have the preamp section pushed for the tube tone and thus you don't have to krank them as much and can still get really good sounds with the master on 2 w which btw for a 100 watt all tube half stack is fucking loud especially in a quiet space like a home. So yeah i don't know that i would neccessarily reccomend 10 watt amp but you definate want to get a 1x12 or 2x12 combo, Unless of course you want the half stack for that cool look. lol. Though if you do get a 10 watt amp or so there is always the option of getting one of those all tube distortion pedals to run infront of the amp.I think a company out of canada called mack amps (www.mackamps.com) made a 10 watt gem amp that was supposed to pack everythign about a kranked 100 watt head into a more managable 10 watts . Also i don't know about you guys but being thatt personally i have to rely on public transportation to get to rehersals and gigs I have been trying out a few amp modeller/multi fx units and find that they are more than "good enough" for rehersals and live gigs and even recording as well.
I'd say for ease of use, yeah, go with a nice 1x10 or 1x12 and get a decent floor processor, like the digitech rp1000, boss gt8, Line 6 pod x3 or xt live, roland vg99, etc. (Note that i did not mention the boss gt 10. this is because it relies mostly on a touch screen interface.) or, a boutique overdrive pedal. I understand what you're saying about the need for more headroom for ultra high gain and downtuned playing, but I still think 100w all tube is overkill. you only really start needing a 100w tube guitar amp of any sort if the pa system you're using is pushing out 10,000w rms. also, kepe in mind that you can always mic up an amp. that's how it's usually done anyways in a concert setting. that, or a direct feed. speaking of amp sims and the like, I just picked up the digi eleven rack yesterday. looking forward to trying it out.
Yeah true I think i found around 60 watts to be sufficient enough , but unfortunately not all the amps come in variations all you can get is 100 watts or so.Oh and the zoom G9.2tt is another processor worthy of looking at as well. Looked into the Digi 11 rack but only 11 models and amps i wasn't really all that interested in playing through to begin with with one or two exceptions i figured it wasn't for me , but do let us know how u like it.
yeah, I'll post thoughts when I've spent more time with the unit. when I have a lot more money to play around with, I want to get the mesa boogie recto recording preamp too as well as a palmer speaker simulator for working with heads/combos.
Palmer speaker simulator .. never heard of it should check it out
yeah, it's an awesome bit of gear, but not cheap.
well i know its not a half stack put the reviews look good on this one .. Check out the zt lunchbox amp. it's 200watts with a 6.5 inch speaker. and appaearantly up for the task of being a loud 200 watt amp. small portable and loud enough plus u can hook it up to a 4x12 cab as well.
Yeah that looks neat. There seem to be some major weak points though in most of the reviews I've read. but, this is all subjective. I would like to try one out in any case. it would be a back saver.
what are some of these major weekpoints?
Now keep in mind that this is from what i've read. I haven't got to try one out yet. supposedly, the amp does not take effects pedals well and a clean tone breaks up pretty early on as you turn the volume up. Now, some may want that, but some may not. I haven't found a dealer that has one of these in stock yet but I do plan to try one out.
thats odd cuz i read the opposite in alot of the reviews i read that it does take to effects pedals nicely and if you are gonna be using a single channel amp u may want to have your own overdrive or distortion pedals driving it IMO. though i am sure most people don't know how to use a head that has both gain and volume knobs from what i ready on some reviews for gear i have owned/used.
yeah, some people don't know how to chain effects or how to set their channel volume, master volume, and gain/presence etc properly.
Hey all!
Gotta peavey 5150 combo, that's sixty wotts... I love it to freaking death!!! Great amp!!!
yeah, the 5150 rocks, too bad it doesn't have an on board noise gate. if I were going for a peavey 2x12 though, it would probably be the jsx.
i still prefer the 6505 over the JSX personally and i prefer the IST Technologies decimator over any other noise reduction unit as it doesn't kill your sustain or cut things off while keeping out all the noise. so i'd rather through one of thoe in the fx loop. Something taht may also interest us recording guitarist Gem City amplification as a 1x12 isolation cab it's a 1x12 cab in a sealed enclousre so you can krank it up and not be very loud and you plug a microphone xlr cable into the case and it transfers the sound on from the mic inside the enclouser to your daw that way. think you can open it and put whatever mic you want in ther as well. Also has a usb out so u can connect it directly to the pc and send the audio directly into your DAW that way.
Now that is a neat spin on an iso cab. I might check one of those out. Thanks for the heads up man.
no prob if you get one let us know how it works out for you.