Choosing an Amp/Head

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Choosing an Amp/Head
Topic Started: Sep 1 2008, 03:30 PM (173 Views)
Homesick4Heaven	Sep 1 2008, 03:30 PM Post #1
Newbie Posts: 9 Group: Members Member #8,745 Joined: August 17, 2008	Hey guys! It's me again. The noob... Anway, I've recently been looking for a new Amp, as I need one to start playing venues with my band. I have a few questions, that more than likely sound stupid to you. First of all, If I buy just a head, will that be cool to play with until i buy a cab afterwards? And when i buy a cab, does it have to be a the same manufacturer as the head, to be compatible with it? I'm looking for an amp capable of metalcore/deathcore tones. The Line6 HD147 looks like it could be be perfect? I'm open to any reccomendations and would really appreciate them. As I don't know a great deal about amps and heads. Thankyou.



monwobobbo	Sep 1 2008, 04:08 PM Post #2
Posts: 600 Group: Moderator Member #8,625 Joined: June 23, 2008	first off you have to have a speaker cabinet in order for a head to work, the head is just the electronics and has no speaker of its own. you don't have to buy a cab form the same maker. you do have to make sure that the head and bottom are compatible. check to see how many ohms (some are switchable) your head is and find a cab that is compatible. i'm a little confused as to how you can be in a band and not seem to know amp basics. what are you using now? as for suggestions the line 6 would work however it may not be your best bet. it would be a solid state/modeling amp. for combos on the lower end i usually will champion solid state as being a viable option. if your going to get a head and bottom (4x12 i assume) then get a tube head, you'll regret it if you don't. any number of distortion pedals or overdrives can be used to get the sound you want. you'll also want a good tuner as those styles generally require you to tune way down.
	and now for something completely different


mynameisDavid	Sep 1 2008, 08:26 PM Post #3
Member Posts: 917 Group: Moderator Member #294 Joined: March 2, 2007	NO! LINE! SIX! They SUCK! Get anything but a line 6 And i mean ANYTHING Go for Peavey/Bugera/Orange Edited by mynameisDavid, Sep 1 2008, 08:28 PM.



Homesick4Heaven	Sep 5 2008, 06:07 AM Post #4
Newbie Posts: 9 Group: Members Member #8,745 Joined: August 17, 2008	Oh lol, well that certainly rains on my parade. Well I'm looking for something kinda mid-stage...like, able to gig with, but still able to play in my bedroom with. So it looks like I'm gonna have to buy a head AND a cab. Do they come with a connector lead or something? Or Would I have to buy that seperately? Again, Any specific reccomendations I can look into and dream of one day being able to afford? Is a Head/Amp combo my best choice? I'm unsure =[.



monwobobbo	Sep 5 2008, 11:31 AM Post #5
Posts: 600 Group: Moderator Member #8,625 Joined: June 23, 2008	an amp head/bottom is great for gigs but not exactly bedroom friendly. i'd say that for your needs (and age bracket) that a 100 watt 1x12 combo amp would be fine for where you're at now. you haven't said how much you have to spend, let us knosw and i'm sure we can make some recommendations. i know the head-4x12 looks cool and impressive but unless you have a practice room and gigs to play they aren't practical. alot of combo amps will have the ability to be used with a bottom so later all you'd have to get is the bottom and then use the combo as the head.
	and now for something completely different


mynameisDavid	Sep 5 2008, 11:41 AM Post #6
Member Posts: 917 Group: Moderator Member #294 Joined: March 2, 2007	monwobobbo Sep 5 2008, 11:31 AM an amp head/bottom is great for gigs but not exactly bedroom friendly. i'd say that for your needs (and age bracket) that a 100 watt 1x12 combo amp would be fine for where you're at now. you haven't said how much you have to spend, let us knosw and i'm sure we can make some recommendations. i know the head-4x12 looks cool and impressive but unless you have a practice room and gigs to play they aren't practical. alot of combo amps will have the ability to be used with a bottom so later all you'd have to get is the bottom and then use the combo as the head. I thought you could turn speakers off?



monwobobbo	Sep 5 2008, 01:26 PM Post #7
Posts: 600 Group: Moderator Member #8,625 Joined: June 23, 2008	mynameisDavid Sep 5 2008, 11:41 AM monwobobbo Sep 5 2008, 11:31 AM an amp head/bottom is great for gigs but not exactly bedroom friendly. i'd say that for your needs (and age bracket) that a 100 watt 1x12 combo amp would be fine for where you're at now. you haven't said how much you have to spend, let us knosw and i'm sure we can make some recommendations. i know the head-4x12 looks cool and impressive but unless you have a practice room and gigs to play they aren't practical. alot of combo amps will have the ability to be used with a bottom so later all you'd have to get is the bottom and then use the combo as the head. I thought you could turn speakers off? not sure what you mean. on a combo you can just run the electronics part and bypass the speaker to use it as a head. don't know if newer 4x12 will let you use less speakers (last time i had one was 20 years ago)
	and now for something completely different


Bullet	Sep 5 2008, 01:39 PM Post #8
Admin Posts: 1,834 Group: Admin Member #183 Joined: January 13, 2007	Ok.... firstly NO your can't use a head without a cab, it has no speakers. NO you don't need to buy a head and cab from the same manufacturer, just make sure the head and cab are the same ohms and the cab can handle the wattage from your head. YES you do need to buy the cable to connect the head and cab separately. It may look like a normal guitar jack to jack cable, but it isn't, it's a speaker cable. Make sure you buy one of those. A head and cab will work fine in a bedroom.... but I advise if you want something that is practical for both gigs and home use.... maybe get a head and a 2x12 cabinet.... and also preferably get a head with switchable wattage. I advise a Marshall JCM2000.... it's quite cheap, it will get the sound you want AND you can switch it between 100 watt and 25 watt for home use.



Homesick4Heaven	Sep 8 2008, 07:35 PM Post #9
Newbie Posts: 9 Group: Members Member #8,745 Joined: August 17, 2008	Right, I have about �600 to spend, and I'm looking for somethign that either will work for gigs too, or can be added onto to make it gig-worthy... I don't fancy spending that much money on something that will become obsolete. I'm a student so money is precious! lol. I'm open to ANY suggestions at all, you've all been really helpful so far, i feel liek i undersand things quite a bit better now. So I'm open to all suggestions =]. And also something that has always plagued me.... does more watts mean more volume? In general terms? I know it's the power, but some surround sound systems are like 600 watts, and I'm pretty sure a 100 watt amp could asily drown those out :\|... Thanks again,again.



monwobobbo	Sep 8 2008, 10:00 PM Post #10
Posts: 600 Group: Moderator Member #8,625 Joined: June 23, 2008	on the watts thing yes and no. it has to do with how much power can be used before distortion (the crappy kind not the good stuff) starts showing up. it takes like 8-10 the power (watts) to be twice as loud. in theory a 10 watt amp thru a 4x12 cab would be half as loud as a 100 watthead thru the same. it doesn't quite work like that of course but thats the theory/ there is something called head room the more watts the more headroom. thats why bass players tend to use higher watt set ups they don't want the distortion but want the volume. as for a recommendation check out the Peavey VYPR Tube 120. its 120 watts thru 2x12 with digital efx.
	and now for something completely different


+�Pantera_fan	Sep 12 2008, 04:24 PM Post #11
Retired Posts: 289 Group: Retired Member #745 Joined: July 3, 2007	If you can stretch your budget, the single nicest thing i have ever played to date was the marshall mode four amp and head. Gives me tinglies just thinking about it. That thing had some balls.
	15 years in the academy, he was like no cadet they had ever seen, a man so hard his veins bleed ice when he speaks he never says it twice the call him judge, last name Dredd so break the law and you'll wind up dead!!!


Metallon	Sep 23 2008, 08:54 PM Post #12
Member Posts: 50 Group: Members Member #8,784 Joined: August 30, 2008	I think it's something that, when you double the amount of watt, you add a few dB, not much else. Let's see... if I remember correctly, then 100W will mean you may have to crank the volume a bit louder to get the sound you want.... or it was the other way around. Fill me up on this. I do know that for a certain volume, if not all wattage has been used then you have headroom. More headroom means more dynamic playing. For instance, if you have quite a bit of headroom then hitting your strings really hard will make the amp use more watts, making it sound louder. It's really like how you can play a guitar and make it sound almost crystal clear, then you jam really hard and you get some nice distortion. Now... as for an amp... you like music that uses really high gain, and probably scooped mids (essentially, you equalize the tone to get very, very little mid-range frequencies and more bass/treble). A JCM2000 might be perfect for you, or it may be too much. The 2000 series comes in a few different versions. PM me if you want a bit more detailed info about the JCM2000 (or Marshall in general, I'm constantly learning more about these amps). I think you won't be able to afford anything from the JCM series (unless you get a combo - in this case, I can definitely recommend the DSL401). You might want to take a look at the Peavey ValveKing - VK112. It's a 50-watt combo. I haven't had much luck with it although I did consider buying it once, because I used my crappy Epiphone Les Paul Special-II and ran it through that amp with a T-Rex Bloody Mary over the amp's clean channel. I had a boost channel to give the Bloody Mary a little extra gain boost. It sounded good, but it wasn't really my thing (I was looking for more saturated gain and a warmer tone, but my friend who listens to some death metal and metalcore liked its sound). Apart from Peavyes, you could always check out the Marshall's MG series (the MG100HDFX is a fairly versatile head amp, although it's paired up with a poor cabinet). the ValveState series and AVT (which uses a pre-amp with tubes together with a solid state power amp) may also be good alternatives. Look for second-hand markets. You may just find something. What I have learned is, though, that most of the sweet hardcore metal tones come from pedals, so don't be alarmed if your amp isn't giving you the sound you want. PM me if you have any questions and I'll do my best to help. Good luck in your search and never stop rockin'!
	I express my emotions musically to impress people with music emotionally.


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