Need opinions on amps

[ev_o]

So, earlier this year I decided to downsize my gear. I had a mesa boogie roadster 212 combo, which was my first tube amp, and hated how picky it was to eq. Sold that and made a horrible decision to get a spider iv.
The best sound I can get out of it are on the Insane setting which sounds so grainy and lacks presence. I'm thinking about giving tube amps another shot but I'm also intrigued by the pod hd.
I play seven strings in standard tuning but like to drop tune sometimes. I don't play in a band and spend most of my time playing guitar in my room. Another reason I hated the mesa was because it really needed to be cranked in order to sound nice and tight. The evh 5150 iii had caught my eye as well as the pod. If it's worth it I'd be willing to pay a little more for the evh.
I guess I'm just trying to see what you guys think would be a good option. I don't have much experience with different amps and I live in a part of Wisconsin where there aren't many guitar stores to try stuff out.

 

[Basti]

Most tube amps will sound much better at higher volumes. If you don't already record, something like the Pod would give you the possibility of joining online projects and of making your own music from your bedroom. At the same time you could potentially use it live. I'm no expert but I know what it's like to have a good amp and never getting to unleash its full potential

 

[ev_o]

Actually I don't even have a computer right now lol. The possibilities of the pod make more sense to me but it really looks like line 6 won't be doing many updates to it. If my budget were much higher I wouldn't even be considering a tube amp; I would go straight for a kemper or fractal. I'm just so tired of hating guitar because every time I sit and play all I get is a shitty sound. It's discouraging.

 

[decreebass]

You could always go the route of the blackstar HT series. Their 5-watt amps are phenomenal. I have a pretty thorough review of the HT-5RS on the Blackstar Owners' Club thread).

But I'm with you - I cringe when I think of Line-6 tone; well, anything before thier HD and M-series sounds, that is. The HD500/X is great but I rececntly moved to the Boss GT-100 (FAR superior to the HD500 IMHO).

What is your budget and what is your setup? That might help us help you better.

 

[ev_o]

I really don't want to go over $900. My two sevens are an rgd2127z w/Blackhawks and a 1527 with a crunch lab and tone zone. I'm hesitant to say I'm committed to a certain style of music, however, I do find myself mostly playing metal. One of my guitars is tuned down to Bb and the other is standard B. The line 6 is really the only amp I have.

 

[Necris]

I'd reccomend either looking in to getting a Pod or looking around for solid state heads or combos, there are enough of them out there used for $350 or less that sound great that I'd consider them a viable option.

 

[mnemonic]

While I haven't played a 5150iii yet, there were some clips posted on ultimatemetal I think, recorded with the master at 0.4 out of 10, and they sounded goddamn awesome. Apparently it sounds great at bedroom levels.

Found the thread: EVH 5150 III 50Wrecorded at 0.4 (yes, less than 1) on Master Volume. - Ultimate Metal Forum

Honestly though, if you're just playing at home and not with a band (and not with a band for the forseeable future, I would aim for something like the axe fx or kemper. Pod could be cool too, but in my experience they require alot (alot) of tweaking before I am happy with my sound (and it sounds like you're not a fan of that based on what you said about the roadking).


Regarding updates to the pod hd; I wouldn't expect anything more at this point. Look at the podXT, we got, what, two major updates total during its 5ish year life? I don't think the X3 got any updates that yielded new models if memory serves (same tech as podXT's anyway).

 

[mgh]

why not go for a valve/model combo? I have the Line 6 spider valve mark ii, it's pretty damn good, no it's not a Mesa but it's very good. practically discontinued so is cheap too

 

[Basti]

On second thoughts, wait til after NAMM!!

 

[ev_o]

On second thoughts, wait til after NAMM!!

Haha I was just thinking that! Hoping for price drops or maybe something better. From what I've read, the roadsters are pretty hard to dial in if you aren't used to them. I hated that amp not because it sucked, but because it was a stupid impulse buy that I did little research for.

 

[Loganator259]

I own a 5150 III 50 watt, It sounds great at low volumes and high volumes, and it's really versatile, I have no problems playing at a low volume with it (even though I generally use my Kemper for practicing). I've used a pod hd, and they do sound really good for the money, if you aren't recording and don't need the effects, the 5150 is a great option. Also a used Axe Fx Ultra or Standard could be had for a little more.

 

[Mordacain]

So, earlier this year I decided to downsize my gear. I had a mesa boogie roadster 212 combo, which was my first tube amp, and hated how picky it was to eq. Sold that and made a horrible decision to get a spider iv.
The best sound I can get out of it are on the Insane setting which sounds so grainy and lacks presence. I'm thinking about giving tube amps another shot but I'm also intrigued by the pod hd.
I play seven strings in standard tuning but like to drop tune sometimes. I don't play in a band and spend most of my time playing guitar in my room. Another reason I hated the mesa was because it really needed to be cranked in order to sound nice and tight. The evh 5150 iii had caught my eye as well as the pod. If it's worth it I'd be willing to pay a little more for the evh.
I guess I'm just trying to see what you guys think would be a good option. I don't have much experience with different amps and I live in a part of Wisconsin where there aren't many guitar stores to try stuff out.

Mesa's aren't really necessarily "picky" to EQ, but they do require that you read the manual and understand how the tonestack works. They definitely are not like Peavey or Marshall designs where you can throw everything on 5 and it sound the way the designer intended it to.

Tube amps do typically need to have a little volume at least, but there are lots of good options out there, both with power scaling features and also attenuation.

Personally, I really liked my Blackstar HT5 for home volume practice. Out of the multitude of low wattage amps I've played, it had at low volume the sound most like a high power tube amp at stage volume. They have a Metal variation now that is revoiced with more gain and ballsier lowend.

However, if you need something to play at home and have the option of playing live, you might want to look at other options.

The Mesa Royal Atlantic has built-in attenuation as well as a 50w/100watt switch. The Express series and Mini Rectos have lower wattage modes as well as their stage volume settings. Those models are easy to dial-in as well.

 

[ev_o]

Well something a little unexpected happened today. I got a slight raise at work. Not much, but it means I'll have a little more money to save each month. I'm thinking if I can be patient(good lord that'll be hard) I could save for an axe fx or a kemper. I'm leaning towards the axe fx since I like the idea of being able to tweak everything.

Haha and I thought today was going to suck!

 

[Given To Fly]

I have a Roadster 2x12 Combo and I have very irrationally strong opinions about it that I will unyieldingly defend. However, I'm tired so I'll do the defending later.

The Roadster, or most Mesa Boogies for that matter, are not the best "first" tube amps. I learned how to dial in tones by reading and re-reading the manual and by copying John Petrucci's Road King settings. That was what really helped me learn how to use this amp; same with the Mark IV, I copied his settings verbatim. I know people say "Use your ears!" but I think "using your eyes" at the beginning enables you to "use your ears" later on.

As for amp suggestions, I do agree with Mordacain about the Mini Recto being easier to dial in. The new Rectoverb 25 is also really straightforward and sounds great. I really like the Orange Terror Series of amps but you may get bored fairly soon with those; they are rather simple, but fun too. Perhaps the Carvin Legacy 3, that seems to be a good middle ground.

 

[ev_o]

I was by no means saying the roadster was a bad amp. It just wasn't a great amp for someone like me who had no prior experience with tube amps. Other people have proven time and again that the roadster sounds amazing, but I didn't know how to make use of it at the time I owned it.

 

[Carvinkook]

I'd suggest getting an old school mesa DC series or studio caliber .22, I've got a mesa F50 1x12 combo I've gigged with in clubs and sounds good at low volumes plus has a speaker mute/ line out-headphone jack. You can't go wrong with thoSe.

 

[Given To Fly]

I was by no means saying the roadster was a bad amp. It just wasn't a great amp for someone like me who had no prior experience with tube amps. Other people have proven time and again that the roadster sounds amazing, but I didn't know how to make use of it at the time I owned it.

I know, I'm just giving you a hard time. :wavy: I would suggest taking a trip to a reputable guitar store, take your guitar, and play on as many amps as you can. We can (and we will) make endless suggestions of random amps which can be counterproductive, especially if you aren't familiar with them. Having said that, if you need something to hold you over, the Tech 21 Trademark 10 is pretty much the most useful small amp I've ever come across. I have 2, built 10 years apart. If you buy one, you'll hang on to it after you get your main amp, they are that useful. They were pretty expensive new ($330 or so) but if you look on eBay you'll find them super cheap. In fact, I'm kind of tempted by some of the auctions at the moment...

 

[Katash]

If you really only play for yourself at home: Get something not too big, not to expensive. The Tech21 Trademark stuff is perfect for this, sounds decent. Pod HD is fine too but you need something to amplify it (or you have to play over headphones all the time). An Axe or Kemper is overkill IMHO if you have to think twice about the money.

If you plan to do serious recording / playing with a band / live THEN get a Kemper or an Axe-FX - if you need the variety. If you need just 1 or 2 sounds - get an amp that will deliver these without endless tweaking (complete tweakability can be a blessing AND A CURSE believe me I'm playing only the Axe now for almost 2 years).

If you don't need to worry about money - get an Axe + head + 4x12 cab + 2x12 cab

 

[Andless]

Well something a little unexpected happened today. I got a slight raise at work. Not much, but it means I'll have a little more money to save each month. I'm thinking if I can be patient(good lord that'll be hard) I could save for an axe fx or a kemper. I'm leaning towards the axe fx since I like the idea of being able to tweak everything.

Haha and I thought today was going to suck!

Buy a kemper. Seriously. If you can justify the expense.

If you want to tweak everything then the other alternatives will suit you better, but IMHO, all other stuff I've tried just drains your time away from actuall playing with endless tweaking.

Sure... you end up profile searching instead, but that is much less time-consuming than endless fiddling with model parameters...

YMMV

 

[stevexc]

I jammed on the Blackstar ID:260TVP last night and I gotta say everything I played through it sounded pretty tasty (AW-7, Eclipse-I, MIM Satin Tele, Pro X 2 Mockingbird) - While I can't speak to the accuracy of the tube emulation, I can say t hat they sounded good to my ears.