Uprgrading to a new head

[fallenzero]

Right now, I have a Peavey 5150 Head and 5150 Straight Cab.

I am looking to get a better head. I play metal, specifically in a band that is melodic, mixed with technical death metal. Something along the lines of Arsis, All Shall Perish, The Faceless...

I am pretty happy with the 5150 head, but I am itching for a new tone, more features, and such...I'm just a bit frustrated with the no seperate eq control for each channel, and no real clean channel.

What i'm looking for, is to have a huge sound. Huge bottom end for palm mutes, thick distortion, and a non harsh high end. I need something for chugging away, and for soloing. I am looking for a dark tone, with loads of gain. I play lead guitar, and would like my tone to cut through the whole mix, especially when soloing. Our rhythm guitarist is playing an ENGL Powerball.

And if it helps any, the guitars i am using are an LTD H-1000, with dual emg85, and a Jackson KE-3 with a Dimarzio Tone Zone in the bridge, and a Breed in the Neck.

I'm looking to spend up to $1600-ish.

These are the heads i've been looking at. I'm asking for opinions, because many of these, i cannot try out within any reasonable distance from me. So i'd just have to buckle down and order:


1. Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier Solo - The other guitar player in my old band used a dual rec through a 1960a cab. I loved the tone he got. Huge huge low end, and nice liquid solos. And the solo function is great. Fixed Bias is a plus for me. The only downside i see is no reverb. that would be great.

2. Randall RM100 - Looks real interesting to me. Seems to have great features, and i'm hoping these moduels actually sound like the amps they are modeled after.

3. Krank Revolution - I've seen lots of bad things said about these on the internet. I'd like to try one, but the problem is that there are no dealers around me. I've seen Michael Amott and Jeff Loomis use these live,with great tone. I wonder what you all think about these.

4. Rivera Knucklehead - I've just heard it is a great amp. Haven't Heard it in person.

5. Mesa Boogie Mark IV - I've seen a local guy use this head a lot, and it sounds great. I'm just wondering if it can get more sustain and smoothness than i've heard. I'm just worried because i've heard from people that it is more vintage than modern.

6. Hughes & Kettner Switchblade - Very curious about these. Seems to have great features. I wonder if it can get as brutal as I would like it to.


Please feel free to discuss, and to throw in other options as well.

[guitarsjb]

If you are willing to try out a Krank..give a Crate Blue Voodoo a try. 2 channels, awesome clean, separate EQ's.
I can't say enough about them. Better than any Krank I've heard yet. But..way different than a 5150. Keep an open mind and investigate.

[fallenzero]

If you are willing to try out a Krank..give a Crate Blue Voodoo a try. 2 channels, awesome clean, separate EQ's.
I can't say enough about them. Better than any Krank I've heard yet. But..way different than a 5150. Keep an open mind and investigate.

i guess that might be a negative towards the krank. i've played through older and newer blue voodoos, and i haven't liked the tone i've gotten. every time i've played, the tone was brittle and harsh, and even with more tweaking, not as thick as i would like.

[guitarsjb]

That's cool. I just figured you'd never tried them..good luck in your search. Please try a Krank before you buy it..I've heard/seen guys that "use" them on stage only to have "old faithful" backstage hooked up instead. I have never played a Krank..so I am not going to give an opinion.

[jgcable]

Forget the Dual Rectifier. Your rhythm guitarist's Powerball will bury it in the mix and you won't be heard.

[siggy14]

Where do you live, that might help us a little, $1600 in one country is alot different then $1600 in another.

I would say either go for a dual rec if you liked the way it sounded, or get a peavey 5150-II which has seperate EQ's for each channel which would solve your problem.

Personaly i wasnt to impressed with the randalls and everyone i know that got one has sold it already after a few months.

Mesa Mark IV's are great, but i do not think it would be the tone you are looking for and takes alot of tweaking.

The only other amp i would suggest is try to find a bogner uber, i know you can sometimes get the older revisions for around 1600, but that is very rare, they usuallly go for about $1900 to $2000

Right now, I have a Peavey 5150 Head and 5150 Straight Cab.

I am looking to get a better head. I play metal, specifically in a band that is melodic, mixed with technical death metal. Something along the lines of Arsis, All Shall Perish, The Faceless...

I am pretty happy with the 5150 head, but I am itching for a new tone, more features, and such...I'm just a bit frustrated with the no seperate eq control for each channel, and no real clean channel.

What i'm looking for, is to have a huge sound. Huge bottom end for palm mutes, thick distortion, and a non harsh high end. I need something for chugging away, and for soloing. I am looking for a dark tone, with loads of gain. I play lead guitar, and would like my tone to cut through the whole mix, especially when soloing. Our rhythm guitarist is playing an ENGL Powerball.

And if it helps any, the guitars i am using are an LTD H-1000, with dual emg85, and a Jackson KE-3 with a Dimarzio Tone Zone in the bridge, and a Breed in the Neck.

I'm looking to spend up to $1600-ish.

These are the heads i've been looking at. I'm asking for opinions, because many of these, i cannot try out within any reasonable distance from me. So i'd just have to buckle down and order:


1. Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier Solo - The other guitar player in my old band used a dual rec through a 1960a cab. I loved the tone he got. Huge huge low end, and nice liquid solos. And the solo function is great. Fixed Bias is a plus for me. The only downside i see is no reverb. that would be great.

2. Randall RM100 - Looks real interesting to me. Seems to have great features, and i'm hoping these moduels actually sound like the amps they are modeled after.

3. Krank Revolution - I've seen lots of bad things said about these on the internet. I'd like to try one, but the problem is that there are no dealers around me. I've seen Michael Amott and Jeff Loomis use these live,with great tone. I wonder what you all think about these.

4. Rivera Knucklehead - I've just heard it is a great amp. Haven't Heard it in person.

5. Mesa Boogie Mark IV - I've seen a local guy use this head a lot, and it sounds great. I'm just wondering if it can get more sustain and smoothness than i've heard. I'm just worried because i've heard from people that it is more vintage than modern.

6. Hughes & Kettner Switchblade - Very curious about these. Seems to have great features. I wonder if it can get as brutal as I would like it to.


Please feel free to discuss, and to throw in other options as well.

[siggy14]

I dont agree with that, all depends on how you EQ it, yes if you do the scooped mids then yes, but if he keeps his mid's around 1 or 2 oclock he will keep up with the power ball.

Forget the Dual Rectifier. Your rhythm guitarist's Powerball will bury it in the mix and you won't be heard.

[Inazone]

I've tried the Rivera and Krank heads, and they just didn't work for the melodic death/thrash that my band plays. The Randall sounds good with the right modules, but if you don't have a chance to try them out in advance, you might end up disappointed. I will say that the Randall's Rectifier-style module sounded much better to me than an actual Mesa, but the other high-gain modules did nothing for me.

The "biggest" tone I've heard was a guy playing a Jackson Y2KV through a Koch PowerTone. I've heard Engls, Bogners, Mesas, and many others that failed to live up to the hype, but the PowerTone was amazing. Unfortunately, there are no dealers around here, so I have no way to try one for myself. The next closest thing has been a Framus Cobra.

Have you experimented with some sort of additional EQ unit for your 5150? That could make a world of difference.

[Twisteramps]

Forget the Dual Rectifier. Your rhythm guitarist's Powerball will bury it in the mix and you won't be heard.

*cough* depends on how the mids are set *cough*

I'd pick a dual recto over a powerball as long as I wasn't using effects, I hate the loops on rectos.

Pete

[zeegler]

The Blue Voodoo requires the right speakers. It doesn't work with everything, that's for sure. My cab has Celestion G12K85s, and it sounds awesome, definitely not harsh or brittle.

I played a Krank, and that really was the epitome of harsh and brittle. It sounded downright horrible no matter how I tweaked the knobs.

From what I hear, the Rivera Knucklehead is NOT a high gain amp.

[shredmonster]

Framus Cobra. Biased to 32mA. EH In V1 and 9th generation chinese tubes in the rest of the preamp slots V2-V4. EL 34's in power amp. (This is how the amp needs to be set up to max its sound).
Midi controllable, 2 masters, volume, treble, bass and mids for each channel.
Clean channel is the best you will hear on a high gain amp and crunch is to die for.
3 Channels. Parallel effects loop. Deep control that adds so much bass it sounds like a Recto when the mids are scooped - a mid scoop switch on all 3 channels including the clean channel.
4, 8 and 16 ohm switch on back.
You can pick these up for $1500 used.
These are as tight and agressive yet articulate amps as you will find bar none.

[Fragle]

the powerball doesn't have a lot of mids, even with cranked mids. i'm willing to bet that a rectifier would rip the powerball a new one - although the powerball DOES have the tighter low end, which doesn't seem to be what he's looking for though...

HOWEVER....if a rectifier rips the powerball a new one, a properly dialed in cobra would DESTROY it like a hydrogen bomb would....i know it, a dude i often play with has one, and it just doesn't cut through at all...and no, he doesn't play with some crazy ass settings. everybody who has ever heared us play together thought my cobra sounded just plain wicked and aggressive, whereas the powerball sounds thin and can't be heared unless it's CRANKED....

yes, i love my cobra...although i wish it had higher voiced mids....

[jgcable]

I have never had success with a Dual Rectifier in a 2 guitar band unless both guitarists were using them.

[jgcable]

I would think a fantastic amp choice to go with the Powerball would be a Mesa Boogie Stiletto or Trident.
I am surprised the 5150 doesn't do it for you. I would think that would be another great choice. The 5150II or a 6505+ might be worth considering.
I would stay away from a Rectifier. To my ears, both the Powerball and the Rectifier occupy alot of the same frequencies. The Rectifier has more bottom end but the Powerball bottom end it tighter. That little difference won't be noticed live because you shouldn't be playing with that much bottom end anyway if you have a good bass player.

[Boxcar Willie 84]

I have never had success with a Dual Rectifier in a 2 guitar band unless both guitarists were using them.

Dude I really hate to disagree with you, but I've used mine in 3 different bands and the other guitar players were definitely not using a Dual Rectifier....one was mine mixed with a Marshall DSL50 and Blue Voodoo head, one was me on my Dual Rec and the other guitarist with a Marshall TSL122 and a Fender Hot Rod Deville, and the other is me and a guy with a Marshall JCM900...I think a Dual Rec works especially well if you mix it with a Marshall amp or something that really compliments it.