Any thoughts on a new amp?

[fuel0707]

I'd recommend that you also try some Riveras. The Chubster might be what you are looking for. But if you can find something like an M-60 1x12, I think you might really like that as it's incredibly versatile. Get the Rivera-suggested tone settings for your test drive and I think you'll find some great clean and dirty tones. (Hint: try the "Plexi" setting, dial up the gain just a bit and I think you'll have your '80's rock/metal tone.) A used M-60 1x12 should be well under your $1200 limit.

I've used my M-60 at a few different churches and it works very well with nice, tube clean tones and great overdrive tones, too. I use a Palmer or an old Cab-Tone D.I. box to go into the P.A. though the amp has plenty of power to fill the sanctuaries I've played at.

[fuel0707]

You play 80s metal in CHURCH???

Check out this guy: Brad

The guy is pastor in Pennsylvania and his love is '80's rock/metal. He's put out about half a dozen instrumental and vocal discs. Really good guy and player, too.

[Skully]

I'll give my 2 cents for the Mesa 5:50 Express, I was looking for the more subdubbed 80's distortion also. It has unreal reverb, and when switching to the 5 watt class A mode, clean is cleaner than clean can be clean! Shimmering!!!!! The burn channel is where I do most of my playing, sound great without being buzzy and fuzzy like the 'new' metal. It comes with a Vintage 30 in the 1x12 and I paid exactly 12 for it!

[AdRock]

Find one of the Johnson 150 combos. If I had the cash I'd be looking for one myself.

[z1n]

Carvin V3. It's 100/50 watt all tube head with midi. You can run a Pod or other effects via the FX loop (for your chorus/delay/reverb) and control the channels and loops with its midi. Works great, all tube, and the FX loops (2 of them) are serial and parallel. It's really a great deal @ $899 (head). I think the combo with 2x12s is $1200. Search youtube or checkout the carvin site for sound clips. oh and it does sound good at lower levels although not much difference between running 100 or 50 watts.

[hippietim]

Engl makes several combos you can get for $1200 or less.

A Randall RM50 combo would be very cool too.

[phill_up]

Grab a THD Univalve and an Avatar 212 cabinet. It sounds killer, you can experiment with a nearly infinite combination of tubes, it's reliable and it's a little off the beaten path.

The Avatar stuff is smokin!! great stuff at a great price.

[skorb]

Used Vetta?

+1

you'd get all you need and more with a Vetta, and you can get a used combo for like 800 on the Bay.

[axehunter]

JVM-210C would do the trick nicley.... It's a 100 Watt, 2 channel combo.... and it's a Marshall! Another one that I played through the other day was the Orange Tiny Terror.... It was somewhat limited, but it sounded good.

+1.....I just got my JVM 410H on Saturday, and it is the BOMB! It does everything from AC/DC to Metallica...that's my strong recommendation.

[horns666]

Alex, cool vid..is that a new Winger riff?

That sounds identical to to one of my riffs..almost verbatim!!!

I hated when that happends!!!

But ya sound good..

[horns666]

Try to score a nice Marshall JCM 800 2210..it doesn't require a stomp for 80's metal.

The closest thing in a rack is my Marshall 9200/JMP-1 set up.

[deflep]

Alex, cool vid..is that a new Winger riff?

That sounds identical to to one of my riffs..almost verbatim!!!

I hated when that happends!!!

But ya sound good..

Thanks!
Ya man ..thats the opening track to Winger IV

Its in the key of E Phrygian Dominant so I bet you are just hitting similar notes! lol