My everlasting Search for a Channel Switching 1x12 combo

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Drew
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I've been on a long unsuccessful search for a small, relatively inexpensive amp for a weird little weekly gig I have. I need a footswitchable clean channel and gain channel and the amp must have either an fx loop or on-board fx.

So far I've tried a Roland Cube 60, a Vox AD30VT, a Mesa F-30, a Line 6 Flextone III Plus, an H&K Edition Tube 20 and a Tech 21 TM60.

All of them have great clean sounds but only the Tech 21 has a gain sound that was even in the ballpark. That amp was just lacking a little sustain on the lead channel or else it would have been perfect. I tried boosting it with a pedal but that just added noise and compressed the signal.

Every other amp's lead sound was either fizzy, harsh, grainy or metallic sounding. How Rob Math can get a great lead sound out of the Vox AD30VT in that gearwire video is beyond me. He's MUST be a great player!

I asked this question on another forum a few months ago and Gainfreak suggested a Flextone II, but the Flextone III was so "hollow" sounding no matter what model I tried or how I tweaked it that I can't imagine the Flex II would get me where I want.

For the gig I'm currently using a POD 2.0 into a Marshall acoustic amp supplied by the venue and that works better than any of the amps listed above--but the lead sound still sounds "muffled" no matter how much treble I dial in.

I'm looking for a fat sustaining lead channel and a decent clean (think Neal Schon). I was hoping for a 1x12 combo as the set up time is very short and I don't have time for too much running of cables and plugging in a pedal board.

Anybody have ideas? I use an Anderson Classic SSH with a Floyd. My main gigging amp for my usual band is a 77 Marshall that Mark Cameron modded in to a 2 channel monster. But using that set-up is not an option.

I was hoping to stay under $600 and am not opposed to stepping on a pedal plugged in to a clean amp for a lead sound but that approach has never really worked for me in the past.

Thanks for any ideas. I never realized I was this particular.
 
Is it feasable for you to just get a 1X12 cab and run your Marshall?
 
I've tried this and it works great. However, I need the Marshall for other stuff during the week.

And, for the gig I'm looking for an amp for, I leave the amp at the venue as there is literally no time for load in and set up. My Marshall is particularly irreplaceble as it has an interesting history--so leaving it unattended for the week isn't an option.
 
Ah, ic. Well..lets see..

Have you tried the new Mesa Express combos? They might be what your looking for, but I'm not sure if they fit your price range.
 
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Drew":77e15 said:
I've been on a long unsuccessful search for a small, relatively inexpensive amp for a weird little weekly gig I have. I need a footswitchable clean channel and gain channel and the amp must have either an fx loop or on-board fx.

So far I've tried a Roland Cube 60, a Vox AD30VT, a Mesa F-30, a Line 6 Flextone III Plus, an H&K Edition Tube 20 and a Tech 21 TM60.

All of them have great clean sounds but only the Tech 21 has a gain sound that was even in the ballpark. That amp was just lacking a little sustain on the lead channel or else it would have been perfect. I tried boosting it with a pedal but that just added noise and compressed the signal.

Every other amp's lead sound was either fizzy, harsh, grainy or metallic sounding. How Rob Math can get a great lead sound out of the Vox AD30VT in that gearwire video is beyond me. He's MUST be a great player!

I asked this question on another forum a few months ago and Gainfreak suggested a Flextone II, but the Flextone III was so "hollow" sounding no matter what model I tried or how I tweaked it that I can't imagine the Flex II would get me where I want.

For the gig I'm currently using a POD 2.0 into a Marshall acoustic amp supplied by the venue and that works better than any of the amps listed above--but the lead sound still sounds "muffled" no matter how much treble I dial in.

I'm looking for a fat sustaining lead channel and a decent clean (think Neal Schon). I was hoping for a 1x12 combo as the set up time is very short and I don't have time for too much running of cables and plugging in a pedal board.

Anybody have ideas? I use an Anderson Classic SSH with a Floyd. My main gigging amp for my usual band is a 77 Marshall that Mark Cameron modded in to a 2 channel monster. But using that set-up is not an option.

I was hoping to stay under $600 and am not opposed to stepping on a pedal plugged in to a clean amp for a lead sound but that approach has never really worked for me in the past.

Thanks for any ideas. I never realized I was this particular.
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Drew!

The flextone II can sound a bit hollow but you can get it to sound decent by importing the sounds into your PC using the sound software and tweaking the sounds. That's how I did it when I used a Flextone. That said, now that you mentioned that you had a POD, My buddy Kage just got an atomic amp 1x12. Well... go here and read about it ha ha!! Too much for me to mention!!


http://www.atomicamps.com/
 
See if you can find a used Yamaha DG combo. I just sold the one I've had for years and I still think it's a great amp. Nice cleans, great lead tones, excellent albeit limited effects (just tremolo, chorus, delay and 3 types of reverb). The guy who bought mine had a Flextone II previously and said the DG kicked its ass in every way.
 
I really recommed the ENGL SCREAMER combo, 4 channels and 2 master volumes and footswitchable reverb, i used it for a similar gig to what your playing and it worked great, didnt even use any pedals jsut straight to amp with my strat and it sounded great.
 
I think a Boogie MKIV and The engls screamer are great solutions but Drew said that he wanted to stay in the $600 Range!
 
Thanks for the replies. A Boogie Mark IV is more than I want to spend on this. I want something relatively inexpensive and not so precious that I'll be really upset if something happens to it when I'm not there

From what I recall of testing a Yamaha DG 1x12 in a Guitar Center when they were in production, it would be an excellent choice--but they are hard to find these days. But I'm on the lookout again.

I'll have to do a little research on the Peavey Ultra.
 
If the Ultra combo sounds even close to the Head, then you should be suprised, I was actually impressed with the half stack a friend of mine has....
 
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Gainfreak":9d048 said:
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My buddy Kage just got an atomic amp 1x12. Well... go here and read about it ha ha!! Too much for me to mention!!

http://www.atomicamps.com/
Click to expand...

I've been eyeing these as well. Did Kage get the 50 or 18 watter? Can the Atomic add some presence to my POD 2.0? The lead sound I have dialed in is pretty cool except I keep reaching for the knob that removes the blanket over the speakers and I can't find it...
 
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Drew":b7498 said:
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I've been eyeing these as well. Did Kage get the 50 or 18 watter? Can the Atomic add some presence to my POD 2.0? The lead sound I have dialed in is pretty cool except I keep reaching for the knob that removes the blanket over the speakers and I can't find it...
Click to expand...

I think he got the 50 watter. I'll ask him to chime in. His computer is down at the moment. I will also get to check out the Atomic amp because I have to program some sounds for him soon!! I'll let you know what I think of it!
 
Oh shit! I forgot all about those Atomic Amps! +1 for the Atomic Amps, for sure!
 
Can't you just plug your POD into the PA (assuming there is one...)?
 
Mesa boogie studio .22+ combo

I had one for a while, 2 channel amp. If you boost it, the gain channel is pretty nice.

They show up once in awhile on eBay.
 
I have the 2x12 50watter and its AWESOME!!! Tubes really make the pod come alive and the more you open this thing up the better it sounds... They did an incredible job with the amp and the speaker section and the construction is top notch.

Setup and breakdown couldnt be any easier and Im absolutely loving the tone...

Tom King, the president of the company is an awesome guy who really stands behind his products and his customer service is the best that Ive ever come across..

Ill be doing a full blown review on mine soon but I cant recommend it strongly enough, its an amazing all in one live solution...

Kage
 
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