Help me pick out a cheap head.

[zeegler]

I have a small amount of extra cash that's burning a hole in my pocket. I am in the process of building a new 4 x 12 cab, and I'm thinking of spending the money on a head so I can have one at the rehearsal space, and one at home. I have approx $225 to spend (maybe a bit more if I have to), and I have seen the following heads on Ebay dirt cheap:

Kustom Quad 100 - Looks like a great deal for a brand new amp.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...EBWA%3AIT&rd=1

Randall RGT100ES - Dirt cheap, and it's all tube.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...EBWA%3AIT&rd=1

Peavey Supreme 100 - I've had one of these before they were Transtube, any difference?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...EBWA%3AIT&rd=1

Peavey VTM60 - Again all tube.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...EBWA%3AIT&rd=1

Peavey Classic 50 - All tube. Never tried one.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...EBWA%3AIT&rd=1

Carvin X60B - How much do you think this one will go for?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...EBWA%3AIT&rd=1

The Kustom and Randall are both ending soon. Let's hear some opinions.

[Dreamland_Rebel]

Re: Help me pick out a cheap head.

fender ROC PRO 1000

best head for around $200.00 bucks!

[toejam]

Re: Help me pick out a cheap head.

I won't pay for head, no matter how cheap it is! [img]graemlins/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[Lordofgain]

Re: Help me pick out a cheap head.

My vote is for the rock pro also.

[zeegler]

Re: Help me pick out a cheap head.

Is the ROC PRO a tube amp?

It doesn't really matter anyway, cus I already won one on Ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...EBWN%3AIT&rd=1

Did I fuck up?

[etaeniura]

Re: Help me pick out a cheap head.

THe ROC PRO used to be the "performer" series, I believe. THey are a solid state power amp with a tube preamp. THey were out in the early nineties IIRC and were the competition for the Marshall Valvestate line. THey are really good sounding amps in my opinion, and the combo that my friend had was loud as hell. The distortion is not as "crunchy" as a marshall, but I am more of a Fender amp guy myself. Hope that helps you out a little.

[Lordofgain]

Re: Help me pick out a cheap head.

I played through one in a used shop and thought it was pretty darn crunchy for a Fender!

[zeegler]

Re: Help me pick out a cheap head.

Hey!!! Someone form an opinion! I don't care how silly it is, I just want some input. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[Black Mariah]

Re: Help me pick out a cheap head.

I have an older Peavey Supreme. Good amp for the money. If it busted, I'd replace it and I'm usually the first one to try new shit for no particular reason.

[zeegler]

Re: Help me pick out a cheap head.

Well, I've read the reviews on Harmony Central, which all say pretty much that the Randall has a lot of gain, and sounds great. However, that's Harmony Central. Most of the reviews on there are written by semi-retarded 12-year-olds anyway. I realize an all-tube Randall is somewhat rare, but one of you guys must have some idea what they sound like. When I get it, I'll fix the reverb tank, and retube it. Plus, I will have some Tolex left over from my new cabinet, so I'm gonna rip off that carpet shit, and recover it.

Paul

[zeegler]

Re: Help me pick out a cheap head.

Originally posted by Black Mariah:
I have an older Peavey Supreme. Good amp for the money. If it busted, I'd replace it and I'm usually the first one to try new shit for no particular reason.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Hey BM, I used to have one when they first came out. It was great for playing by myself, but at rehearsal, it didn't cut it. I was in a Megadeth tribute band at the time, and both guitar players had Peavey Supreme 160s. It sounded like a swarm of hornets. [img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[jgcable]

Re: Help me pick out a cheap head.

The Randall amp you won is nice but when you add in how much retubing and re-biasing it will be it seems kind of pricey to me. Usually when somebody advertises a tube amp that needs retubing and a basic overhaul it indicates expensive problems. I am another fan of the Fender Roc Pro 1000.
Other great inexpensive heads are:
Ampeg SS70or SS140
Randall RG100ES
Marshall VS100
Carvin MTS3200
Anything from Crate (there SS amp heads get GREAT high gain metal tones)

[zeegler]

Re: Help me pick out a cheap head.

I had a Valvestate VS100, and although it was a great amp, it just didn't do it for me. Don't get me wrong, I'm by no means a tube elitest. I have owned many solid state amps, but I really just prefer the overtones of a tube amp. Solid state amps literally give me a headache. I read somewhere that they cause fatigue because the frequencies are less random than a tube amp.

As far as re-tubing, and biasing, I can get tubes pretty cheap, and I'll be biasing it myself, so it really won't make a big difference to what I paid.

I almost went for the Kustom, but I've never heard one before, and I've never heard any testimonials, good or bad. It's too bad really, because that's super cheap for a brand new amp.

[jgcable]

Re: Help me pick out a cheap head.

In that case, you are better off with the Randall.

[zeegler]

Re: Help me pick out a cheap head.

Originally posted by jgcable:
In that case, you are better off with the Randall.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">But you think I overpaid? [img]images/icons/frown.gif[/img]