Head Advice

[Mr White]

Alright people.

Im going to have to get a head for gigging with (cant fit the combo in the car etc) and this summer Ive got some decent sized gigs lined up.
My bands melodic death/thrash and I want a shitload of gain etc.

Ive been advised a number of different directions to take.

One guy (a professional sound engineer) has told me to buy a vintage valve head, with a lower wattage so itll always be driven like a bastard, and use my current distortion pedal (Line 6 Uber Metal) which Im perfectly happy with. However, Im not that desperate to get a valve amp, and this guy isnt really into metal, he mainly records sparse indie singer songwriter stuff.

Another guy has recommended a Line 6 rack unit and a decent poweramp. This guy listens to all the same bands as me, but Im hesitant to get a 'pretend amp'. And also Id be having to buy two things there and I cant be arsed.

If money wasnt an issue, Id get an ENGL. However, I only have about £200-£250 to spend ($350-$450) to spend, but please bear in mind the sheer expensiveness of second hand gear in the UK.

Any thoughts anyone?

Thanks in advance

James

[jgcable]

If you can't fit a combo in your car, how are you gonna fit a head and a cabinet?

[GodOfRhythm]

I'd say peavey 5150 fits your bill perfectly, but even that's over budget.

I'm guessing a line 6 rack unit or a pod driven through some poweramp would yield good results.

[Mr White]

Thanks GOR, although thats not the answer I wanted

JGCable - I was summarising. To explain it fully: I practice in my bass player's garage, about 30 miles from where I live (in the city centre) which is also where 90% of our gigs are. The combo lives at his house and I usually borrow/rent a head or combo to play with. Cabs are 99% always provided by the gig organisers.

James

[Fragle]

"I'd say peavey 5150 fits your bill perfectly, but even that's over budget.

I'm guessing a line 6 rack unit or a pod driven through some poweramp would yield good results."
that's exactly what i was thinking, too. mr white, you might now want to hear it, but with 450$ you are pretty much limited to either low budget solid state amps or modelers. i strongly recommend you stay away from solid state amps, they're fine for the chugga chugga stuff but not for thrash metal - been there done that.
the only tube amp that would fit in your price range would be the peavey valve king, but i haven't played it yet so i can't tell you what it sounds like.

[horns666]

"head"..

[pott]

I PMed you with a solution amongst a sea of others dude, I don't know if you got it. But if you really NEED a head, then you could find a Laney AOR head which is a JCM800 almost identical copy. They take pedal well and they have a decent clean tone with good headroom. They also have quite a lot of gain.

[pagemalicious]

How about looking on ebay for a Laney Pro Tube head? they go pretty cheap on ebay.

[El_Kabong]

Ada MP-1 w/ matching power amp. You would have tones of cool tones and it would be easy to transport. It is also in your budget.

[jgcable]

Thanks GOR, although thats not the answer I wanted

JGCable - I was summarising. To explain it fully: I practice in my bass player's garage, about 30 miles from where I live (in the city centre) which is also where 90% of our gigs are. The combo lives at his house and I usually borrow/rent a head or combo to play with. Cabs are 99% always provided by the gig organisers.

James

Ok.. I get it. What amp brands are available to you?

[mjtripper]

If you are going to use the pedal for your distortion I would also look at the older carvin x series heads, x100b or x60b. They have an insanely loud clean channel that doesn't break up and takes pedals quite well. The dirty channel is great but it's more of a rock sound like a jcm800 then probably the metal sound you want. They can easily be had for less then $450. One just sold local here for $260 a week or two ago. Very reliable heads with a VERY flexable active eq which could also help you shape the tones coming out of your pedals. I use a mt2 with my x100b for my metal sound.

[Mr White]

Im thinking of getting a Laney AOR head as they seem cheap enough. Cant find any Carvins over here, dont think many reached these shores.

Cheers tho lads!!!

James

[Mr White]

Im thinking of getting a Laney AOR head as they seem cheap enough. Cant find any Carvins over here, dont think many reached these shores.

Cheers tho lads!!!

James

[pott]

Duuuuude did you get my darn PMs?

[Mr White]

I did mate and I replied

Although Ive seen a cheap half stack near me (in England) so it looks like Ill be getting that hopefully!

Thanks though

James