Laney GH50L or Framus Dragon?

[pagemalicious]

hey guys, i would want to get a new amp in the near future and im stuck between these two amps. Which one sounds better for death metal and 'old school' shred (Racer X etc)?

[El_Kabong]

Re: Laney GH50L or Framus Dragon?

I am not sure why you comparing a single channel, 50 watt entry level tube amp against a 3 channel, hand wired, 100 watt tube amp that costs 3 times as much. All the Laneys I have seen to date have circuit mounted tubes. If you have the funds for the Framus, there are many high end amps that fit the bill. Myself, I would go for a Splawn in your case.

[GodOfRhythm]

Re: Laney GH50L or Framus Dragon?

Diezel VH4

[Mordor]

Re: Laney GH50L or Framus Dragon?

Dragon of course

[pagemalicious]

Re: Laney GH50L or Framus Dragon?

[ QUOTE ]
I am not sure why you comparing a single channel, 50 watt entry level tube amp against a 3 channel, hand wired, 100 watt tube amp that costs 3 times as much. All the Laneys I have seen to date have circuit mounted tubes. If you have the funds for the Framus, there are many high end amps that fit the bill. Myself, I would go for a Splawn in your case.

[/ QUOTE ]

Because i've heard really good things about Laney and i've not heard much about Framus

[Fragle]

Re: Laney GH50L or Framus Dragon?

well, i don't have any first hand experience with the dragon (other than seeing a band that used one as well as a rectifier i think....through the PA the dragon seemed to be similar to the recto, but cleaner (=more articulate) and slightly less brutal), but i used to own a gh50L

it's definitely doing a great job for stuff like racer X etc...paul gilbert uses the gh100L, so go figure.
all in all, they are similar to older marshalls (with el34 tubes, of course), with more bottom end, gain, and less mids. i guess more brutal is a fitting term. i thought the highs weren't as pleasing and full as the marshall's.
for death metal, look elsewhere, though. imho the dragon would be more suited for this stuff.
furthermore, the dragon KILLS the laney in terms of versality. the laney has basically one sound, that's it. while it appears to be a 1 1/2 channel amp, in reality to get the gain that's needed for metal one has to set the rhythm channel gain high, like 7, which turns the "clean" into a crunch sound. you could experiment with setting the rhythm channel clean, cranking the gain boost to 10, and adding an overdrive, though....didn't work for me, as i already used an overdrive for leads.
what i DID like about it was the amount of usable gain...with both gains cranked to 10 you are in 5150 territory...imagine setting the gain on a 5150 to like 7 or even 8. the laney is much more articulate and less mushy than the 5150 when the gain is set this high.
however, it's also quite noisy, similar to a 5150.

so, in short words:
laney: brutalized marshall jcm800, one trick pony, similar to a 5150 in terms of gain and noise, although more articulate.
framus:sounded great in a gig situation, kills the laney in terms of versality, can likely get more brutal than the laney, and is at least 4 times as expensive [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

laney gh series = best low budget tube amp IMHO

[jgcable]

Re: Laney GH50L or Framus Dragon?

Hmm.... I'll choose the Dragon. That was tough. While your at it I have another poll for you.
Which car would you choose to go fast in:
427 Shelby Cobra
Hyundai Excel

Get the point??

[DTP]

Re: Laney GH50L or Framus Dragon?

I've never played either one, but I said GH50L. If you want the Paul Gilbert sound he plays the GH100L and I've heard you can get pretty much the same sound out of the 50.

Jason

[cobhc]

Re: Laney GH50L or Framus Dragon?

the excel!! woohoo gotta love japwagons

[horns666]

Re: Laney GH50L or Framus Dragon?

I haven't heard either..therfore can NOT vote.

[Rupe]

Re: Laney GH50L or Framus Dragon?

[ QUOTE ]
I haven't heard either..therfore can NOT vote.

[/ QUOTE ]
+1

If you haven't heard much about the Framus and haven't played through one, why the hell have you limited yourself to those two "completely in different leagues" amps? You need to get out and play this stuff and not rely on others to decide what sounds good to you. Look at the thread on best metal amps and you'll see a wide variety of opinions. I dig lower gain amps that retain more touch dynamics but sound extremely heavy when pushed hard, whereas a lot of people like a very compressed, searing high gain tone with almost no dynamics. Both tones are very "metal" but completely different. You need to discover what works for you and then you'll be ready to make a choice that you're much more likely to be happy with.

[nonamemx]

Re: Laney GH50L or Framus Dragon?

[ QUOTE ]
I am not sure why you comparing a single channel, 50 watt entry level tube amp against a 3 channel, hand wired, 100 watt tube amp that costs 3 times as much. All the Laneys I have seen to date have circuit mounted tubes. If you have the funds for the Framus, there are many high end amps that fit the bill. Myself, I would go for a Splawn in your case.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not my AOR [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Chassis mounted! [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]