Which amp is best for 80's Hair Metal?

[SkateAxis]

Re: Which amp is best for 80\'s Hair Metal?

Stay the **** away from line 6's

[chrisolson]

Re: Which amp is best for 80\'s Hair Metal?

Originally posted by Wow:
Stay the **** away from line 6's

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Why? Great reasoning - have you ever owned one? There's nothing wrong with them, it's just not everyone's cup of tea. Some people hate 'em, some people love 'em. I love 'em. I don't care alot for Marshall & Mesa's though, although those "models" are some of my favorites from the Flextone, - but I don't tell people not to buy them cuz they're fine for some (by the way - I've owned more than a few "real" amps - if having tubes is what makes an amp "real" - Jackson, Laney, 2 Marshalls, 2 Yamaha/Soldanos, Soldano, Kasha...and that doesn't include the solid-state stuff, so I know what I'm talking about). Flextones sound fine live if you know how to coax the sounds from them. Like any amp, you gotta spend time with them. I've spent ALOT of time with many other amps, but I keep coming back to Line 6, so they must be doing something right. I have a feeling they're selling as many amps as ANYONE right now - to beginners on through pros. If you're going to make a statement, at least make it reasonable and offer some real advice. That's what people are looking for.

[Foolius Maximus]

Re: Which amp is best for 80\'s Hair Metal?

80's rack rig:

Preamp: ADA MP1, Marshall JMP 1, Rocktron Chameleon(has effects)
Effects: Rocktron Intellifex
Power amp: Marshall 50/50, Mesa 50/50, Mosvalve, ADA

These are just a few suggestions- Neddi

[Dreamland_Rebel]

Re: Which amp is best for 80\'s Hair Metal?

"if you want the real sound, mashall jmc 800, 900, mesa T-recs, whatever... gain 10, bass 10. mid 10, treb 0 (zero!), presence 0 (zero!), volume loud as hell!!!!" - Paul Reed Smith -

you get the most bite, and not all the noise. the trick is: if you don't have enough highs with this setting, you're not playing loud enough!

the reason, your mids in all three of these metal monster amps have all the highs you ever need, you just have to turn them up to get the air moving through those speakers hard enough. also the 30 watt speaker cabs do beter, they wolf a lot harder and won't tear themselves as easily as a higher powered speaker would. (slayer used to rip out the 75 watters and replace them with 25's)

i prefer the 800 or the t-recs myslef.

but recording with the line 6 stuff will save you a headache, and an earache.

and the only effects you'll ever need are chorus, delay, flange, and reverb.

[ January 27, 2003, 03:03 PM: Message edited by: Dreamland_Rebel ]

[charvelguy]

Re: Which amp is best for 80\'s Hair Metal?

Well, the eighties hairband sound was so varied from guitarist to guitarist.. that's a pretty generic term.. cause to me, Michael Schenker has a way different tone than say, Randy Rhodes, or Yngwie, or Blackmore. Guys like CC Deville sounded different from Tracy Gunns, Steve Lynch, George Lynch (THE Tone guy!), Steve Stevens, Friedman, Becker, Vai and anyone else I may forget. Even the mainstay of the 80's rock sound...EVH, varied his from debut to 1984.
So, every idea of tone varies from person to person.. this is quest for some, and a long post for me ...so shop carefully. In your dollar amount, used is a good bet and solid state, digital is reliable.

I've been running a rack of the ADA MP-1 with a Peavey classic 60 (or 60/60 for stereo) tubed power amp, a lot of guys compliment it, the last band I jobbed for was critical of it and said it was "processed" but they played classic rock.
(The ADA MP2 has more features, I would prefer it over the MP1) this has been my main gig amp for awile, it's ok..if you want to mess with midi..get a midi buddy and preset 10 sounds and your started for like 300.00. (MP1 are 100.00-150.00, MP2 are 225.00+, then you have the power amp, 100.00-250.00 for a used solid state or tube amp.. 50.00 on a used mIdi Buddy, all u need is a cab)
The clean is a little difficult to dial to my liking and I run two different tubes in mine.. a long plate mullard style for one gain (A E83CC,ECC83 or you can run a 12AX7A or a Sovtek LP) The I run a lower gain tube for the other, like a JAN 7025 or a british made ECC82. The chorus is decent and obtaining gain isnt a problem in the ADA. It's in your budget means cause you'll probably spend 750.00 or so on the axe itself.

I also have a rack of an Oberheim Gm1000 with a Mosvalve power amp that I run in stereo, it has a ton of flexibility for dialing in amp sounds. I'd like to try a GM400 as well, pretty much the same thing in a single space) This is similar to a Boss GX700. They are both 24 bit processors, the Boss is actually a better buy nowadays, they go for around 200.00 on eBay.

The problem I have with processors, esp. non tubed ones is once the input signal level from your guitar drops to a certain level.. the sound dies, even if the volume is still on like 4 from your axe. If you have it on a grind sound, it'll clean up a little, but it'll still sound dirty... a good all tube amp is responsive as long as the guitar is giving signal at all volumes and will clean up more responsively.

Well for heads, I would say some guys like Laneys, some like Marshalls. I still like my '73-'74 JMP's. I never got into the JCM's, but I've heard some good and some bad.
I own a few old AOR's, 2 Laney AOR 100w (1 Jose gain mod) 1 50 watt AOR.. these are good solid amps, run it clean or slight edge with a OD-1 and a 482 BBE sonic maxie...they don't sound to bad. Get a graphic eq, it will sound better.
I'm starting to experiment with a Variac in the near future on my Marshalls and Laneys to try to get more from the output section at lower volumes.

The thing I'd demand from my next buy in an amp would be separate 4-5 band eq per channel. (at the very least a 3 knob eq in one channel and a 4-5 in the other) If you can find one, a Trace Elliot Trident is a good bet.. altho, some Traces have been known to have transformer problems and the Tridents are not cheap 800-950. A Hughes Kettner Triamp is well rated. I wouldn't pass up a Speed Twin Combo or a Mesa Road King, Trem o Verb, or Maverick.. your arms would get tired carrying all that rack stuff or a heavy 100w head and a 4x12 around.. not to mention, not very space efficient for a variety of clubs. So I'm switching to 4x10's or 2x12's.

I'd try a Flextone as well.. I've seen guys run them, they don't sound bad, the amp models are really decent nowadays, gettin better all the time [img]graemlins/band.gif[/img] (little Pat Travers there). You can't beat a flexible combo amp and Mesa has my vote for a tubed combo (but pricey) and a Marshall Valvestate Stereo Chorus (like a VS200 Bi-chorus for a solid state combo, w/ a BBE sonic maxie) Thats my ten dollars worth.. good luck on your search.

[ January 29, 2003, 04:52 PM: Message edited by: charvelguy ]

[SEAN RAF]

Re: Which amp is best for 80\'s Hair Metal?

A lot of that eighties metal tone is from the way you attack the strings with your pick, and also from the amount of vibrato you use. I can sound like Warren De Martini on an acoustic, so can you. Not forgetting palm muting etc. Yngwie would sound like Yngwie going through my toaster...

[Cleveland Metal]

Re: Which amp is best for 80\'s Hair Metal?

Not really... He'd sound like one of 30 neoclassical shredders playing through your toaster. Lotsa guys mimic his phrasing so much it's hard to tell who is who...

But, Malmsteens general root tone is very much a product of his amps...

[Firebird V]

Re: Which amp is best for 80\'s Hair Metal?

In the 80's I used an MP1 with a ADA Solid state b200s power amp ( still have the power amp ) and it does the trick nicely. The JCM was very and still is popular. the best case scenario would be for you to check some of these options out for yourself with your guitar and cabinet so you can draw your own opinion.

[charvelguy]

Re: Which amp is best for 80\'s Hair Metal?

If that is his first amp and he wants 80's.. I think the Flextone will get his needs met. I record my basic ideas with a Johnson J-station, it aint the real thing, but when I'm ready to do the real tracks in the creative process, then it's a head ran thru a Marshall SE100. I can't run live loud in a apartment, so I'm limited unless I take it all into rehearsal on my own time.

[ February 04, 2003, 08:07 PM: Message edited by: charvelguy ]

[tjwilson]

Re: Which amp is best for 80\'s Hair Metal?

Thanks
For all the replys, I just ran across a new Flextone II XL for a steal, so I think I'm going to get it for now. This will be my first amp and i will probably try some of the other ones suggested when I can play better.

Thanks

[JACKSONFREAK]

Re: Which amp is best for 80\'s Hair Metal?

The Flextones are killer. And the heads have the headroom to get loud without loosing tone. If you're considering tubes at all. Try a Laney G50R
I played thru one recently and it is killer for that Ratt tone and does alot of other tones too. But the clean channel is a little lacking. The G50R reproduces alot of the 80s tones just with the spin of the tone controls and the gain knobs. It's a no frills no reverb amp with great tone and tons of possabilities and they're cheap too about 300-400 bucks.
Gil

[jr73]

Re: Which amp is best for 80\'s Hair Metal?

randall rg100
great amp CHEAP
solid state but it does what it has to....
& i second all the JCMs & ADAs 80's all the way
boss OD or tubescreamer possible a proco rat.