Help me decide which head and cab to buy

[alexlsx7]

Hi all.

Apologies as i'm sure this gets posted 1000 times a day. I have spent the last month or so looking for an answer to my question, but unfortunately still havent got there yet and i dont really have the opportunity to play either amps in the current situation although have played through a 5150 years ago and quite liked it.

Long story short - I sold all my Guitars and amps a few years back but now want to start playing again. I am looking for a nice head that can be played loud and clear at practice and gigged with.

I play Brutal Death Metal/Grindcore/Deathcore but also like to play metal and want to learn some other stlyes too. I will be using a 7 string for the most part but will be getting a 6 string at some point too. I am looking for the most brutal sound possible, i love an extreme palm mute sound.

I have kind of narrowed my search within my price range to either;

Peavey 6505/6505+ - Obviously seems to be the goto for these genres
Randall RM100 - Apparently can get the same sound as the Peavey's and other amps too with different modules

I am stuck at which cabs to buy completely.

Also, are there any pedals that are recommended?

Appreciate any help

 

[StevenC]

Diezel front loaded K100

 

[cardinal]

I tend to recommend sticking to just the tried -and-true, industry standard stuff if you can afford it. "Diamond in the rough" gear is often just plain rough. And boutique stuff isn't always "better".

if you were just wanting high gain stuff, I'd say just get the 6505(+), a Maxon OD808, and a Marshall 1960 cab and melt faces. I also really like the newer 5150 III cabs and they're pretty easy to find.

For more versatility, sorry to go off your list, but I'd really recommend the Recto Multiwatt if within your budget (the Randall and all those modules aren't necessarily cheap). If the Multiwatt heads were $4.5k boutique amps everyone would be hyping them up. They can do it all and very well. If not the Recto, the 5150 III is cool too and the various versions are pretty easy to find across a range of budgets.

 

[Corporial Bodies]

Peavey jsx with 6l6's or vht pitbull and engl standard 4x12

 

[ATRguitar91]

The answer is always a 6505/6505+. If you don't like it, they're always easy to sell.

Any tubescreamer will do really. I'm partial to the Maxon OD808 with the 6505, but if it's in your budget the Airis Savage Drive hits the 6505 in all the right places.

Some people don't jive with v30s, but I think they gel well with a 6505. Any 412 or 212 with v30s will be a solid choice. I think the Mesa 412s deserve the type they get. I've played a 6505+ through a Marshall 1960 loaded with Swamp Thangs and it sounded righteous.

Oh, and get a noise suppressor if you'll be playing with people or live.

 

[Necky379]

Any 5150 model, 1960A or Recto cab, noise gate and a boost. Easy peasy.

 

[budda]

Just buy a 5150.

Any decent quality 412.

Boost optional.

 

[TheWarAgainstTime]

The entire 5150 family will work for you, including the EVH heads. As for a cab, a 2x12 or 4x12 Mesa Rectifier model is pretty much the gold standard for deathcore.

Pair up the stack with a good tuner, Maxon OD-808 and an ISP Decimator and you're golden. Anything else is just icing on the cake. Delay/reverb for leads, maybe?

 

[op1e]

As a guy who's had 2 RM100's zap and arc out on me and die multiple times, just no. Kartakou preamp is worth the wait from Russia. Add any cheap power amp, Rocktron Velocity, whatever and have great versatility. Also just get a 5150.

 

[broj15]

As someone who has owned a few different configurations of the 6505/5150 and didn't really care for any of them..... Get a 6505/5150 and any "green overdrive" as a boost. It's the industry standard for what you wanna accomplish and is affordable on a "working man's" salary.
When it's comes to cabs it gets a bit trickier. Some people swear by v30's, other people g12t75's, swamp thangs, governors, etc.

 

[Adieu]

Amps: 6505/5150 variants, get whatever you can get a good deal on. Or maybe a cheap used Recto.

Cabs: see what's locally available used to save $800-1000ish. Remove a handle and shine a flashlight in to verify speakers are as-advertised before comitting to a purchase.

 

[WarMachine]

5150/6505 + EVH 412

 

[budda]

I'm glad we're all on the same page

 

[jarledge]

6505 or the single rectos are great too imo especially the rect-o-verbs which have a better clean channel. the engl powerball is amazing. I love the Rivera stuff and the knucklehead k-tre is amazing. A boogie stiletto deuce if you like using boost and/or have a pedal board with distortion flavors you like mixing in.

the recto 2x12s are amazing, the evh 2x12s are great, the genz benz g-flex 2x12 cab is also pretty cool imo. i want one but i'd probably change out the speakers. I love the egnater tourmaster cabs, and they can be found cheap. the krank cabs are fucking rock solid too and can be found for a reasonable price. The carvin legacy cabs are rock solid too.

5150/6505s are great but you'll literally sound like everyone else. 6505 in to something with v-30s. it obviously works, but isn't going to be anything revolutionary because that is what a lot of metal bands are using.

 

[alexlsx7]

Thanks for all the replies guys.

Looks like I'll go with a 5150/6505 when one comes up for a good price.

There is a Peavey 6505 4x12 going for extremely cheap (£145) with the Sheffield 1200 speakers, are these any good?

 

[MASS DEFECT]

Thanks for all the replies guys.

Looks like I'll go with a 5150/6505 when one comes up for a good price.

There is a Peavey 6505 4x12 going for extremely cheap (£145) with the Sheffield 1200 speakers, are these any good?

Don't. You'd be better off buying those Harley Benton cabs with V30s.

Or go and buy it, and replace them with Eminence speakers.

 

[alexlsx7]

Don't. You'd be better off buying those Harley Benton cabs with V30s.

Or go and buy it, and replace them with Eminence speakers.

Ok thanks

 

[Beheroth]

£

You're in europe, so check out ENGL, the fireball 100 is recto-ish and quite cheap especially used (but only get the 100 watts, forget about the 60 watt version)

 

[USMarine75]

Thanks for all the replies guys.

Looks like I'll go with a 5150/6505 when one comes up for a good price.

There is a Peavey 6505 4x12 going for extremely cheap (£145) with the Sheffield 1200 speakers, are these any good?

Sheffield speakers are garbage. The paper cones are soaked with cat pee for extra hot garbage tones.

Signed,
Huge Peavey Fan

Tech at the old Peavey Custom Shop used to set up all my guitars back in the day and was my go-to guy. I asked him to ask their techs what mods or tweaks I could do to my 5150s and the first thing they said was change the stock speakers.

Speakers make more of a difference than almost any change you can make to your rig. You can dial in a just about any two high gain heads and get close in tone, but change the cab/speakers and it sounds VERY different.

 

[Adieu]

Thanks for all the replies guys.

Looks like I'll go with a 5150/6505 when one comes up for a good price.

There is a Peavey 6505 4x12 going for extremely cheap (£145) with the Sheffield 1200 speakers, are these any good?

Depends on the local pricing for 4x12's

They're NOT particularly desirable, but also aren't outright-bad like budget Celestion lines like the Rockets and 70-80's, or generic nonames