HD147 vs. Zenamp

[Fragle]

hi

even though i'm a big fan of all-tube amps, i need to be versatile. unfortunately, i absolutely can not afford to buy lets say a JC120, a C+, a AC30 and several vintage marshalls [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] so i'm looking for some digital stuff.
lets face it, i even cannot afford a vetta, so i choosed a hd147 for this comparison.
once i played the zenamp for about 10 minutes (i had to hurry up) but what i heard was pretty cool - in comparison to the zentera it was GREAT. i tweaked the zentera for about 2 hours and was not able to get a halfway decent tone out of it (which is nice, because it is way out of my price range [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] )
so, i want you to tell me which amp you would prefer. basically, i'm looking for the typical jazz chorus clean tone, a (hard)rock marshall tone and -most important- a metal tone which i'm able to tweak so that it sounds like the typical black metal no-bass sound as well as the master of puppets kickass tone.

it would be a great thing if someone can name an all tube amp with those sounds but that would be like fender marshall and mesa in one amp [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

greets
fragle

ps:my limit is about 1400€ because i have to buy a cabinet as well which is about 400-600€ so lets say head+1 4*12 cab for MAX. 2000€

[jgcable]

Re: HD147 vs. Zenamp

HD147 or the Flextone 2 HD are my choices.
The Vetta 2 has more features but it is fairly pricey.
I play a 1st gen Flextone HD and I can easily get all the tones you are after. I paid $600.00 for mine with the longboard used. It is 300 watts, 150w per side stereo and it ROCKS. The only downside is a slight delay in channel switching from different models. I solve that problem by using the same models and varying the parameters. The newer Flextone 2 HD, the Vetta and the HD147 all have addressed the issue.

[Matt Crooks]

Re: HD147 vs. Zenamp

Originally posted by Fragle:

it would be a great thing if someone can name an all tube amp with those sounds but that would be like fender marshall and mesa in one amp [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Mesa Boogie Road King. It's just out of your price range by about $1,000.

[Fragle]

Re: HD147 vs. Zenamp

1000$ ? not in europe [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] the road king head is about 4500€ here in germany ^^ a mesa cab is about 1000€, so the half stack is ~2500€ above my limit [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

jgcable: how does the flextone sound when cranked? most of this solid state poweramps start to sound bad to terrible at about 8. (i have a little peavey combo somewhere around here which sounds terrible when turned past 5. at about 8 it starts to distort when played clean...uuuuuuuuuuuaaaaaaahhhhhh [img]graemlins/puke.gif[/img] ). thats what i like about tubes....far superior [img]graemlins/headbang.gif[/img]

back to the topic: does the flextone model a mark2 c+ ?


greets
fragle

ps: maybe i should wait a little longer and save up for some ENGL stuff? it says that the powerball has a great clean channel and awesome distortion too. and it's much cheaper than the c+ which i would buy in a heartbeat if i had the money [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Fragle]

Re: HD147 vs. Zenamp

maybe it was A LITTLE exaggerating to compare a shitty SS peavy to a 300watt monster [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
well, i do not think i will ever have the opportunity to crank a 300 watt amp. i can compare it to some 50watt tube amps which i never had past 5, and i estimate that 50 tube watt should be as loud as 300 SS watt, maybe the 300 is even louder. i enver played a digital amp live so i cannot confirm it, but i've heard that the digital stuff has problems with cutting through the mix, but after reading your post i dont think i will ever have trouble ^^

well, i'll try to A/B the zenamp and the HD (and a flextone, if possible). maybe i'll try the pod (xt) pro with a tube poweramp, too. but i dont think i will have the opportunity to do that :/

fragle

[jgcable]

Re: HD147 vs. Zenamp

I would compare my 300watt Flextone to a 50- 100watt tube amp when I am using 4 ohm cabinets in regards to volume.

[jgcable]

Re: HD147 vs. Zenamp

Tell me where you would ever need to turn a Flextone HD 300 watt head up to 8!! To answer your question... yes, it does a great Mesa Dual Rectifier that can be tweaked to almost sound like a Mark IIC. To answer your other question regarding how it sounds on 8. I couldn't tell you bro. I have never had it past 6. I can tell you that on 5-6 it is ear bleeding loud and sounds fantastic. I can't imagine ever needing to be louder than that. Do you know how loud 8 on a 300watt amp is?? I'll tell you. It is fukkin sick crazy "band-a-way" loud where the only person in the group that you will hear will be yourself.