best solid state amp?

[jairic]

Line 6 Spider series amps are awesome, you can get a wide range of sounds from them, and even better they are reasonably priced.

[themisfit138]

Is there such a thing as a good solid state amp? :ROTF:

[åron]

Is there such a thing as a good solid state amp? :ROTF:

Hah. the original 5150.... Marshall 5150 that is. 150 watt 2 channel solid state head with reverb. My first head. Whenever that ringing in my ears starts acting up, I think of that amp. When I was 14, me and my friend took turns riding down the street to see how far away you could hear it dimed out.

Sounded warmer than all the other solid states at the time, but not as lively as a tube amp. Well hell.. it looked cool. I wish I still had that thing to use as a stage monitor for band effects.

[clifffclaven]

I had (still have) a GK250ML. That thing kicked ass for 80s stuff.

[Frigo89]

as far as new amps i'd say Crate, Carvin, and Fender. they each have an SS amp for hard rock / metal. and they all sound pretty damn good

Crate Flexwave

Fender Metal Head

Carvin SX series

I have a Carvin SX, and I cant get a good distorted sound out of it to save my soul! I got better tone with a 30 watt Fender Champion!

The SX always leaves me with a "Slide It In" esque tone

[yabba]

I have a SS150 and it was a nice amp with some nice thick distortion. Bought the 1/2 stack for $300 back in 1991/2? Strange that it cuts out after a while probably a cold solder joint. I should open it up as I don't want to throw money into it since I haven't used it in years.

before throwing any money into it, try 'jumpering' the effects loop (put a guitar cable between the effects out and effects in) and see if that helps. those amps are fairly notorious for having problems with the switching jacks on the effects loop.

[beachjammer]

I was deciding between the Crate Flexwave and Vox Valvetronix. I ended up getting the Vox but if for some reason I don't like it after a while then I'm gonna try the Crate. The Line 6 Spyder stuff sound too woofy to me. I wanted something that sounded and acted more like a real amp.

[jtr]

Hey Beach! Than buy a real tube amp !

[beachjammer]

Hey Beach! Than buy a real tube amp !

Well, I've been playing Mesa's for the past several years and had quite a collection of little Class A tube amps... but thanks to today's politic woes, which we won't get in to here, my electronics job I've had for over 13 years is moving to Mexico.... So I've had to sell off all my "real" amps, including my beloved Mesa's, and look for a cheaper alternative so I can put food on the table while trying to live off measly unemployment..

[jtr]

I feel for you I to went through a bad time lost a job I had for 17 years. There seem no real good choices if you're use to a good amp.

[beachjammer]

Nope, all you can do is choose one and hope for the best. The Valvetronix though was the one that fit the bill for what I needed in an amp , had money for and as close to the feel as a real tube amp like what I was used to. There are alternative cheaper tube amps but then you're back in the rut of needing pedals to do certain things and all that jazz. As much as I love all that stuff I can't afford it right now. So I think the modeling amps are the best deal for people like me that are on a tight budget. Vox seems to have done their homework on the Valvetronix IMO.

[jwoods986]

I really like the Valvetronix amps, I think you'll be happy with it.

[JZ06]

for a LONG time,i've followed fellow axeman Rohn Lawrence(from CT) gig to gig. He usually plays R+B, Jazz stuff, but is definitely a shredder(some of you might know him here). Man, the dude's tone is always incredible! He uses all 80's boss effects, a custom guitar(fender str*t look alike) and a roland jc 77 amp.

I liked his tone so much, right after I bought my silver jubilee marshall, I bought a jc-77. The thing is INCREDIBLE!!! never heard an amp with chorus like this. With the gt-6 in front of it(no loop) it sounds amazing! I played it more than my marshall last night(which turned in to a full stack!).

IMO, the jc-77 is a little pocket rocket!

[dg]

The JC-120 was the first thing that popped into my head when I read the thread title, but this is mostly a high gain crowd here. Nothing else sounds like it, and I may be wrong, but I think it might be the only solid state amp that gets modeled by Line6, etc.

[442w30]

The JC-120 was the first thing that popped into my head when I read the thread title, but this is mostly a high gain crowd here. Nothing else sounds like it, and I may be wrong, but I think it might be the only solid state amp that gets modeled by Line6, etc.

I was thinking of the JC-120 as well for the perfect clean channel. For distortion, I'd choose a nasty, nasally Marshall.

I've liked the Randall RG-80ES, Roland JC-120, and a Fender Roc-Pro (though it has a preamp tube). Also had good luck with a Marshall Valvestate VS-100.

I'd lean toward having the Roc-Pro if I had to pick one, but that VS-100 was awesome.

The Valvestate AVT-50 was great sounding to medium volumes for classic rock, but seemed to fall apart cranked. Not a metal amp, but great marshall tone without going deaf.