Metalcore/Deathcore Amp Head

[lingo4300]

for metalcore i use a esp ec-1000 with 81/85 emg pickups and boomer strings .12-.52. i usually play drop c or drop c# in styles of of mice & men or horizons. the amp i use is a soldano decatone with 4x12 celestion 70's gets great tone and for pedals all i use is my ts9 deluxe overdrive and dl4 delay pedals. estimation on the price of all this gear together would be upwards to $5,500 though. but like i said i get beautiful tone for those bottom string mute/open chugs great for rhythm playing indeed.

 

[juice_74]

6505/5150 with a Maxon OD808 out the front, cannot go wrong!

 

[Eric Christian]

I refuse Peavey 6505's...

You need to rethink that. 6505+ has the tone you're looking for you just need a Decimator G-String and some type of overdrive/tube screamer box. You won't find anything better to nail that tone for your price point of a grand.

 

[artmachine]

Well 5150's are pretty much "the sound", but what you're hearing is someone else playing. If you can't get down with a 5150 then there's no point in getting one. Still, bear in mind that at low volumes a 5150 will sound like sandpaper, and it's easy to go overboard with the EQ settings/gain. You only really need the gain at noon or even a bit under and leaving the rest of the knobs at 6 works pretty well, maybe set the treble a bit lower and keep the presence down or else it will fizz like crazy and not provide the chunk you need. But it appears you've exhausted the EQ possibilities and just don't like the 5150, which is fair enough.

Maybe look around for a Triple XXX or a 3120, or an Ultra. The general "Peavey" tone fits deathcore well; their amps seem to have a certain roughness that lends itself well.

The Randall V2 is another high gain head I'll recommend to anybody, regardless of whether or not they even play guitar. Any metal tone you want is lurking in there, including old school 80's tones right up to goregrind.

All of this is so true. Moderate settings on pretty much any amp, unless you're going for a very "unique" or extreme tone, are generally going to get you a better sound. I think your biggest problem though is trying it in guitar center. 5150s/6505s sound veryyyy bad at low volumes. Most tube amps need to be pushed a little to sound nice, but the 5150/6505 in particular sounds like a very different amp at low volumes. You need to get it to at least 1 or 2 on the post volume to get any feel for what it actually sounds like. You'll never really be able to experience what an amp like this sounds like in a store. They really don't let you crank amps at all. There are a ton of great amps out there and if you know how to dial in a tone and you like tweaking then your options are endless, but the 5150/6505 is pretty idiot proof for heavy stuff. It's aggressive as fuck and is definitely the industry standard for any of those modern "core" genres.

Also, BUY USED. Honestly, unless you really get duped, when you buy used you're getting an amp that you know made it out of the box in working order. There's just as much, if not more, of a chance that a brand new amp you buy from musicians friend that needs to be shipped through 10 states will have issues out of the box than an amp that someone has been jamming on for a few months. I've literally never had an issue with used anything and the best part is that you usually get to demo the gear in a more realistic way/setting then you would be able to in a store(plus you're getting it for like half of the retail price).

 

[mightywarlock]

Tell you what.

When you have some time and we can schedule it,
take a drive to my place (when I can kick the wife and baby out) Up in the Valley...

I have a 5150, a very old Dual Recto, a new Mesa Roadster, a Framus Cobra, Diezel VH4, ENGL SE EL34, Marshall JCM800KK, Bogner Uberschall Twin Jet, Randall v2 Archetype (Fear Factory), Marshall Modded Friedman amp, and an AxeFX II, Mesa Cab, Bogner cab, Marshall Cab, Randall Cab.

You can bring me lunch.

And I'm thinking of selling my Roadster 2x12 Combo, (it is a Dual Rectifier)...and the Bogner (though it is out of your price range)...so if you be'n wantin' to buy those....

My guess, you will like the 5150, the Cobra, the ENGL, the Mesa's, Diezel, and the Marshall's for sure. The Randall will blow you away, but is a different thing altogether. It's all about how you dial it in and make the walls shake cranking these things up.
In Store volume is not a test of anything.

Oh, and if you keep hearing the V3 is good, it must be for sale, or you're listening to closely to Carvin advertising. They blow. badly. Horrible buzzy mess live.

 

[Wookieslayer]

LOL holy necro bump BATMAN!

 

[broj15]

LOL holy necro bump BATMAN!

My thoughts exactly. Especially since the OP hasn't logged in 3 months and when he does come back I doubt it will be to look at a thread he made almost 2 years ago

 

[mightywarlock]

oh well.

 

[Rick]

for metalcore i use a esp ec-1000 with 81/85 emg pickups and boomer strings .12-.52. i usually play drop c or drop c# in styles of of mice & men or horizons. the amp i use is a soldano decatone with 4x12 celestion 70's gets great tone and for pedals all i use is my ts9 deluxe overdrive and dl4 delay pedals. estimation on the price of all this gear together would be upwards to $5,500 though. but like i said i get beautiful tone for those bottom string mute/open chugs great for rhythm playing indeed.

First off, this was a pointless thread bump. Secondly, he said he couldn't spend more than $1100 so detailing your $5000 rig was also quite pointless.

 

[Mr_Nugglet]

I don't suggest plugging your tube head into pc speakers, not unless you want to let the smoke out.
I also wouldn't buy a peavey valveking or classic 30 and expect good metalcore tone ymmv

I surprisingly got a pretty good Deathcore/metalcore tone out of my valveking. With a ts9 of course and a lot of tweaking. In the end the settings are pretty much best at noonish and with the gain around 3 and the basic tube screamer settings.

 

[Josh_Conlee]

This is where I get confused. EVERYONE recommends 6505/5150. I haven't tried a 5150 but I played the 6505 and had the guy at guitar center (who uses one) EQ it for me, and it just sounded horrid. I tried another one and still no dice. I just don't see what I did wrong if that many people suggest it.

There's your problem. You've only played one at guitar center. Get the post up past 3-4 and they sound amazing. Throw a boost in front and a noise gate in the front and loop and you're golden.
Also the 5150 and 6505 are the same amp.

 

[groph]

This is where I get confused. EVERYONE recommends 6505/5150. I haven't tried a 5150 but I played the 6505 and had the guy at guitar center (who uses one) EQ it for me, and it just sounded horrid. I tried another one and still no dice. I just don't see what I did wrong if that many people suggest it.

Well, don't outright REFUSE them. You probably should have EQ'ed the amp yourself and even then, any amp is going to take some messing with to really get the hang of. Although, 5150s aren't that complicated. Mind you they need a bit of volume to start sounding better. At low volumes they can sound a bit harsh really easily. They're a bit moody with high treble/presence settings but that's easy enough to fix, turn the knobs down! Ideally, try to find a 5150 where you can turn it up a bit, maybe at a friend's jam or something to that effect. Stores should let you lease amps as well so you can sacrifice a bit of cash to stretch it's legs out at home or at a show.

5150's are a great basic tone, especially for metalcore, but especially especially for deathcore. Their biggest problem as far as I see it with most people is having their 5150s sounding way too harsh. Vintage 30s have a lot of upper mid and while that adds an absolutely brutal "snarl" to the tone, they can also sound really grating if you don't know what you're doing. Celestion G12T-75s are warmer sounding and they might balance the tone out a bit better. The custom Eminence Legend speakers in Vader cabs produced the best results with a 5150 I've ever heard. Cleaned up a lot of the fizz inherent in the amps but left the rawness and the growl the amps have.

5150s are also grainy sounding; it's just the way they sound. They all have a "buzz" to the tone and that's usually how you can tell you're listening to a 5150. Mesa Rectifiers have a signature sag to the attack as well as a certain blistering sear to the top end - 5150's have an aggressive sounding buzz. If you really really don't like that then the 5150 isn't for you, but don't write them off too soon; they're the amps used on a LOT of metal albums, they're an industry standard, they work, that's why people recommend them. As far as tube amps go, they're the tightest that I've ever played and they respond a bit like a solid state amp so they're very "precise" which I like for metal.

Your odds of finding one at a decent price are also pretty good since the amps are a dime a dozen. You won't win any points for originality but you really can't go wrong with one. The Triple XXX is another good one from Peavey, they're kind of Peavey's take on a Mesa Rectifier.

 

[TheEntheogenEgoKiller]

If you can't get a good tone from a 5150/6505 then...





Well, you have no hope

 

[Metal Guitarist]

I refuse Peavey 6505's QUOTE]



I think the 6505+ is the tone your looking for. Just get a Maxon OD808 and an ISP Decimator with it and you won't be disappointed. Jb from August Burns Red uses the 6505+ with a tubescreamer (Ibanez TS9 I think) and I love his tone.

 

[AfterTheBurial8]

Save up your pennies and get an ENGL Powerball/Savage/Invader/SE hooked up to an Orange cab.

 

[Mega-Mads]

Dont ever trust an amp in a guitar center. What amps need, is to be played LOUD. Very few guitar centers allows you to turn up an amp to its breaking point

 

[no_dice]

Holy necrobump!

 

[Sepultorture]

your recommendations are a couple years behind lads

 

[col]

your recommendations are a couple years behind lads

Yeah, op already has a 6505+ in his signature.

 

[Dawn of the Shred]

Yeah, op already has a 6505+ in his signature.