JCM800 vs. Vetta - Trade or not? (sort of long)

[petedz]

The GC here seems to follow the 80/20 rule; 80 percent of buyers want 20 percent of the available gear, according to the bean counters.

I would actually rather order it from Musician's Friend, but I just can't see paying that much for an amp I haven't tried out firsthand.

Over at the line6 forum, there are some guys raising a stink because GC/MF no longer carries the Vetta. The upshot is that those guys claim that the Vetta has been stealth discontinued.

Get a used one!

[Fragle]

ok, i didn't read the whole tread, i just thought i should add a few points:

first and foremost, volume DOES make a HUGE difference when playing the 2210, contrary to what you guys said above. the 2210 sounds like shit at low volumes - forget bedroom volumes, it's impossible - and really starts to shine with the master past noon. been there, done that. it's heaven.
but then again, you should ask yourself: do i regulary play stages large enough to get the volume up that high without fucking up the front mix?

2nd, as for that thread of mine, i eventually sold the 2210 and got a hd147 (plus some money of course), and i'm a happy camper. sure, the marshall sounds better, so does the framus cobra, but on the other hand the hd147 sounds pretty good (not stellar mind you), at any volume short of 3 a.m. "pod through stereo" volume if you know what i'm saying.
in fact, it sounds so good that i'm considering to upgrade to a vetta.

[PowerTube]

the 2210 sounds like shit at low volumes - forget bedroom volumes, it's impossible - and really starts to shine with the master past noon. been there, done that. it's heaven.

Mine sounds as good as anything I've ever heard at bedroom volumes, but I'm using a Metal Muff and a GE-7 EQ inline. Of course it won't sound good at low volumes "naturally," but that doesn't bother me.

I love the Marshall. I really do. But the sound it has is the ONLY sound it's capable of. I would also like a decent clean and some other flavors of distortion now and then.

[thebisch]

So I'm thinking the same thing; cranked will only make a minimal of difference.

I have a 2205. I run it through a Marshall 4x12 with greenbacks. I will tell you this...it sounds dreadful at low bedroom volume. It does, however, sound glorious at gig volume.

[Spivonious]

If you're a tweaker, then get the Vetta. You won't be disappointed. Especially since you say you already like the POD. The Vetta easily sounds 1000x better.

The downside of the Vetta: billions of settings. I'm the kind of guy who likes to plug in and play. I bought a Vetta from GC and returned it after 2 weeks. After that time I had gotten one sound that I sort of liked. 89 amp models is 85 too many.

[PowerTube]

I somewhat disagree with you guys who are saying that the Marshall sounds horrible at bedroom volumes. Yes, it does "naturally," but not with pedals. I love the sound of mine, but I'm tired of all the tweaking between the amp and the pedals to get that great sound.

[Fragle]

still, i stand by my opinion, a 2210 cranked without any pedals whatsoever CRUSHES the sound you can get with the help of pedals at bedroom volumes....moreover, you got to keep in mind that by using pedals with a cranked 2210 you can get even better results, so to me it's like apples and oranges really.
the 2210 cranked with a tube screamer rivals or surpasses 99% of all the so called high gain amps for anything up to thrash metal as far as i am concerned. the thing with those high gainers is that they can sound crushing without being cranked to ear splitting volumes. that's why i love the 5150, it sounds great at any volume.

[PowerTube]

still, i stand by my opinion, a 2210 cranked without any pedals whatsoever CRUSHES the sound you can get with the help of pedals at bedroom volumes....moreover, you got to keep in mind that by using pedals with a cranked 2210 you can get even better results, so to me it's like apples and oranges really.
the 2210 cranked with a tube screamer rivals or surpasses 99% of all the so called high gain amps for anything up to thrash metal as far as i am concerned. the thing with those high gainers is that they can sound crushing without being cranked to ear splitting volumes. that's why i love the 5150, it sounds great at any volume.

That's why I love the Line6 stuff so much; my sound at any volume.

I'm going to crank the Marshall someday. Seriously. I'll pick a time when my little boys are at the grandparents' house and the neighbors are gone and let 'er rip.

I really don't want to get rid of the Marshall and I already know I'll regret it if I do, so the Marshall is definitely staying unless I somehow get a Vetta (I won't buy without trying) and just totally fall in love with it and the Marshall sits idle.

[thebisch]

"Seriously. I'll pick a time when my little boys are at the grandparents' house and the neighbors are gone and let 'er rip."

It's not necissarily about playing it loud for it to sound good, its that once at band volume the thing really shines IN A BAND MIX.

[Fragle]

one word of warning, though: while i can't speak for the vetta owners around here, i know for fact that the marshall models on the hd147 suck. actually, imho (or, for my playing style) like 50% of the models do so. the only models worth anything for heavy rhythm/lead playing are the herbert, triple recto, big bottom, spinal puppet, and most of all the 5150. that's not a whole lot considering a total of 32 models, but on the other hand, these few models sound REALLY good.

[PowerTube]

one word of warning, though: while i can't speak for the vetta owners around here, i know for fact that the marshall models on the hd147 suck. actually, imho (or, for my playing style) like 50% of the models do so. the only models worth anything for heavy rhythm/lead playing are the herbert, triple recto, big bottom, spinal puppet, and most of all the 5150. that's not a whole lot considering a total of 32 models, but on the other hand, these few models sound REALLY good.

I've tried the HD147 and the Flextone III and I tend to agree with this. To my ears, none of the overdrive sounds are as good as the POD 2.0 series and the Flextone and Flextone II. I'm also not that fond of the POD XT. I can't speak for the Vetta.

My favorite model is the Modern Hi-Gain. I've never played on a real Soldano so I can't compare the two, but I love the Modern Hi-Gain setting.

[PowerTube]

Update: I got sniped (sort of) on E-Bay for a Flextone II XL with floorboard. It got a little too close to $400.00 for me. Not saying it's not worth it, but I had decided to stay at $350.00 tops on a Flextone.

So..... what is the going price on a used Vetta II these days? There seems to be a lot of price variation on E-Bay.

[thebisch]

Looks like about $550...

http://www.daddys.com/search/gear.php?query=vetta

[lerxstcat]

So Knoxville GC doesn't carry the Vetta; how about a day trip to Nashville? I'm sure SOMEBODY there would carry them, if not GC. Just a thought if you want to try it first.

Also, the GT-8 into your 2210's effects return might be pretty damn cool. I understand it does the dual amps like the Vetta and word is that's it's much nicer than the POD XTLive. I'm going on Jgcable's and Pete's reviews, haven't tried either myself but I trust their word on it.

[mhalsey]

Looks like about $550...

http://www.daddys.com/search/gear.php?query=vetta

Pls excuse the sidebar, but lemme get this straight....... it takes Daddy's a frikkin' week to ship your purchase?!! Even something as small as an effects pedal?!! WTF??