Skeptical about which amp....

[Endrik]

Same here, I love AC30's, they have a really nice sweet tone.
Sound to me C.C. that you want a vintage tube amp tone, good solid state amps such as Roland will give you a more hi-fi clean and that's totally different than what's on that music video you posted, and with distortion I'm not sure if you'd like that tone either.
I guess you'd like to use an effect processor for delay, reverb and modulation effects and the amp for the clean and overdriven tones? If that's the case you don't need a rack system or anything like that.
Just put your processor into the AC30 loop, for cleans roll the vol knob tone and for more kick use a pedal to boost the gain... AC30 is a very good amp to use all kinds of overdrive, distortion and fuzz boxes with. Just try it out before you buy it.

[Cleveland Metal]

I would also recommend a power amp. Whether it was tube or SS.

However, I will say at practices, our other guitarist uses a GT5 into a Randall RG-80 combo>4x12 cab and it sounds REALLY good for Priest, (not that I'd "really" strive for "that" tone otherwise) haha... At shows, he uses the GT5> Marshall SS power amp>4x12 cab. Not the best sound the guy's ever had I'll admit, but it works good for the Priest sound.

[emperor_black]

Roland JC60 or JC120

What the man said!

Opeth's main-man, uses a Boss GT-6 straight into Laney's clean channels. Joe Satriani uses a TON of pedals into the clean of his signature JSX. But the latter's tone is not the best, I agree. Yes, the thread-starter is right, lot of pro's use the "dirty into a clean channel" option as far as I know.

The advantages of going into the clean channel of a TUBE AMP is two fold
1) you have all the tube's clean tone when you're playing clean
2) You can make use of the amp's power amp section which gives you the power tube "sag". A solid state power amp will not do that.

The key is to balance the clean's tone and your distortion's tone. You'll basically end up with a bright and thin distortion if you like your cleans where the high's are boosted.

[Dreamland_Rebel]

Laney GH100L - this is what Opeth uses with the GT-8.

[Robert Burns]

If your not wanting stereo...what about a Roland 300 watt Keyboard
amp? One big ole 15" speaker, and its designed for loud..and crystal clean!

[Spivonious]

Laney GH100L - this is what Opeth uses with the GT-8.

Does Akerfeldt still use the GT-8? I thought after Blackwater Park they switched to going straight into the Laney. Whichever it is, he has some killer tones.

[toejam]

Does Akerfeldt still use the GT-8? I thought after Blackwater Park they switched to going straight into the Laney. Whichever it is, he has some killer tones.

Was the GT-8 around then? They used the GT-6. Not sure if they switched to the GT-8 or not.

[hippietim]

Are VOX good tubes amp?

So, basicallyyou guys are saying that effects don't go with tubes amps, then why do pros use that setup?:think:

Nobody is saying that at all.

If you use a unit that does amp modeling and you actually use the amp modeling, it will always sound better going into a power amp. When you run into the clean channel of an amp and turn on amp modeling in your processor you are effectively running one amp preamp into another. That is not a particularly good approach.

The GT will work in front of amp just fine if you are just using it as virtual stomp boxes.

The best way to run a unit like the GT is with an amp that has an effects loop using the 4 cable method. This allows you to use the preamp of your amp if you want or solely the GT for tone and your amp for power.

The hookup for this is:
1 - plug the guitar into the GT

2 - effects send from the GT goes to the guitar amp input (where you normally plugin the guitar)

3 - effects send from the amp goes to the GT effects return

4 - GT output goes to the amp effects return

So if you want to use your amp's preamp sound you turn on the effects loop for the patch on the GT. The GT units let you rearrange the order of stuff in your signal chain so you can put your amp's preamp where you want.

[hippietim]

You can make use of the amp's power amp section which gives you the power tube "sag". A solid state power amp will not do that.

You still have to be pushing the amp hard to get any sag. Just using a tube power amp at low volumes won't make much difference at all. You'll get better sag from the amp modeling in the GT-6 than a tube power amp at low volumes.

[hippietim]

If your not wanting stereo...what about a Roland 300 watt Keyboard
amp? One big ole 15" speaker, and its designed for loud..and crystal clean!

Umm...no. Those things sound terrible. I used play with a keyboard player that had one, it was horrible sounding. It farted out on the low end just horribly and the highs were shrill. They are seriously underpowered unless you're playing jazz in a lounge.

The Traynor K4 is a much better amp. I used one for a while with both a Roland modeler and an Axe-FX.

If you are going to go for the full range type speaker setup, the QSC HPR is very nice. We use them for our practice PA and I've used them with guitar modelers. They get loud as fuck and aren't too hard on the ears.

I've not had any personal experience but someone I highly respect recommends using a coaxial speaker design for full range guitar amplification. There is an Italian company FBT that makes some of the better ones: the FBT Verve 12ma (not the 12 or 12a). These can be had for under $800 (which is what a good new combo or amp and cab would run you).

[~Jmo]

I used to use a GT-6 into a Marshall AVT 50, using it only for the effects, I used the distortion and clean channels on the Marshall. I upgraded to a H&K Switchblade, which (when paired with some stompboxes) gives me the killa tone I have now. I kept the GT for a while and used it through a Rocktron Velocity. Once I got a Chameleon, tho, I sold the GT. My suggestion is if you have a local music store that will let you take it in and try some amps out, do that. Nothing worse than buying an amp on word of mouth only to find out it's not gonna do what you want it to!

[PowerTube]

Roland JC60 or JC120

My thoughts exactly. The JC's sound awesome "as is" when playing clean, and killer with modellers or pedals across them.

[Dreamland_Rebel]

Does Akerfeldt still use the GT-8? I thought after Blackwater Park they switched to going straight into the Laney. Whichever it is, he has some killer tones.

with the 4 cable mothod you can use both. it's rather brilliant. but does take some internal tweaking. not as easy as setting up your peadal board but more conveinent if you do know what you're doing.


and yes they switched over to the GT-8 when it first came out. (but still had their GT-6's on tour as backups)

[C.C._Devill119]

Nobody is saying that at all.

If you use a unit that does amp modeling and you actually use the amp modeling, it will always sound better going into a power amp. When you run into the clean channel of an amp and turn on amp modeling in your processor you are effectively running one amp preamp into another. That is not a particularly good approach.

The GT will work in front of amp just fine if you are just using it as virtual stomp boxes.

The best way to run a unit like the GT is with an amp that has an effects loop using the 4 cable method. This allows you to use the preamp of your amp if you want or solely the GT for tone and your amp for power.

The hookup for this is:
1 - plug the guitar into the GT

2 - effects send from the GT goes to the guitar amp input (where you normally plugin the guitar)

3 - effects send from the amp goes to the GT effects return

4 - GT output goes to the amp effects return

So if you want to use your amp's preamp sound you turn on the effects loop for the patch on the GT. The GT units let you rearrange the order of stuff in your signal chain so you can put your amp's preamp where you want.

That's exactly the answer I was looking for, thanks bro.