Please recommend a new high gain amp for me

  • Thread starter Thread starter amp maniac
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The general consensus has been that the Rectifier is more forgiving than a Mark.

Not sure an actual IIC+ with its liquid fire tone was factored in though. :giggle:
 
RaceU4her said:
My Hermansson is what I think a lot would call stiff and unforgiving, it’s so immediate in the attack and the gain is so tight and furious that it takes a few minutes to get used to after playing other amps, once I’m warmed up and ready though I find it easier to play cause I can lighten up on my grip and let the amp do the work instead of me having to lay into it to get it to sing. My 6505+ just feels soft and saggy and I just don’t really feel connected to it.
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Yes I would agree on the 5150 feeling on the soft and saggy side. Funny I went from the 5150 to an UL, talk about opposites. The Bogner XTC I had was way worse in the sag department, couldn’t handle it.
 
glpg80 said:
When I say unforgiving, I mean it to be choking in playing, sorta like there’s no smear. Not in the chug tight sense like VHTs or Wizards, more like the SLO thing (which makes sense being it’s based on a SLO)

Also it depends on how each person dials in the amp. I never boost my 5150II so straight in I personally find it to be overwhelming.
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Not sure what smear is. My 5150 I would use my sd-1 and plug in the normal gain input, really liked it that way.
 
Greazygeo said:
Not sure what smear is. My 5150 I would use my sd-1 and plug in the normal gain input, really liked it that way.
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Whether a fretted note rings clear in all octaves or whether the note smushes out or starts clear and begins to lose defining characteristics. It’s also a feel thing.
 
Greazygeo said:
Yes I would agree on the 5150 feeling on the soft and saggy side. Funny I went from the 5150 to an UL, talk about opposites. The Bogner XTC I had was way worse in the sag department, couldn’t handle it.
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I actually hate the red channel on my XTC. It’s undefined and saggy just as you say. But the blue channel boosted with an SD-1 is to die for. The amp wakes up and it’s just loads more of what is already there in the blue channel.
 
glpg80 said:
I actually hate the red channel on my XTC. It’s undefined and saggy just as you say. But the blue channel boosted with an SD-1 is to die for. The amp wakes up and it’s just loads more of what is already there in the blue channel.
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The Red channel was unuseable for me. Blue was best it had, but still too saggy. Just not a Bogner person.
 
Is there any 5150 with a decent clean channel, meaning only a little bit of clipping as you go up the volume knob? All the clips Ive heard have it distorting like a 10 o'clock on the dial besides the 100 EL34 model. People seem divided on the gain channels on that model though.
 
I got a KSR Juno when I was looking for exactly what you're describing. I'm very much a Mesa guy though, so I'm not overly critical on the Marshall/80's metal tones. I think it does them well, but a little more scooped and meaner sounding. You can always hear the metal-ness in it if that makes sense.

The ENGL Artist Edition is another good one that is more towards a Marshall sound than the Juno. Single EQ for both channels, but probably the best shared EQ I've ever used. Much less processed sounding than the typical ENGL, but it's still an ENGL so it's very easy to play. It is tight though.
 
Thanks for the recommendations so far!
As far as clips go, those are some tones I really enjoy:




 
amp maniac said:
Sold off my last amp a while ago and want something new. I had a lot of different amps from different brands over the years but my taste has also changed a lot so I feel I only know now what I want. One thing I never had was some sort of (modded) Marshall.

The amp should be very articulate and punchy even at low volumes. At least two channels, clean and lead. Should be able to do 80s shred to modern metal tones. If it can do chewy, organic crunch tones its a plus. Some sort of tightness and what people describe as "difficult to play" is also good as I want the amp to show my mistakes because it makes me play better. Buying used is fine to me.

What comes to mind?
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Mesa Stiletto deuce II with a good OD. 5150/EVH are nice but very compressed. By your description you are not looking for compressed
 
Now that ENGL has come up their lunchbox offerings are not only versatile as hell, both the cleans and leads are great.
 
glpg80 said:
I actually hate the red channel on my XTC. It’s undefined and saggy just as you say. But the blue channel boosted with an SD-1 is to die for. The amp wakes up and it’s just loads more of what is already there in the blue channel.
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Try using active EMG 81... I have an old Jap Jackson that came stock with actives EMG 81 .... In the xtc red am getting as tight as it can get... But with my second presence knob active at 1400.. it's good enough imo but it's compress as hell... Not a bad thing I could do legato all nite long
 
Greazygeo said:
A 5150 is unforgiving? Mine sure wasn’t…pretty easy amp to play on.
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Yep, easiest amps to play on for me have been the 5150 line…Peavey or EVH. They play themselves. Almost like a modeler in that sense.

The amps that made me work harder have been the VHT D60-120. To some degree the Wizards but by boosting them, that adds a little ‘grease’ and becomes easier to play. Naylor, Marks, Rectos, Marshalls and SLOs all are easy to play imo.
 
Racerxrated said:
Yep, easiest amps to play on for me have been the 5150 line…Peavey or EVH. They play themselves. Almost like a modeler in that sense.

The amps that made me work harder have been the VHT D60-120. To some degree the Wizards but by boosting them, that adds a little ‘grease’ and becomes easier to play. Naylor, Marks, Rectos, Marshalls and SLOs all are easy to play imo.
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Mark's are kinda unforgiving if set right. Just because they can get so clear sounding that all your mistakes are heard. If I'm having a bad playing day, that's when they have that unforgiving nature to them.
 
amp maniac said:
Sold off my last amp a while ago and want something new. I had a lot of different amps from different brands over the years but my taste has also changed a lot so I feel I only know now what I want. One thing I never had was some sort of (modded) Marshall.

The amp should be very articulate and punchy even at low volumes. At least two channels, clean and lead. Should be able to do 80s shred to modern metal tones. If it can do chewy, organic crunch tones its a plus. Some sort of tightness and what people describe as "difficult to play" is also good as I want the amp to show my mistakes because it makes me play better. Buying used is fine to me.

What comes to mind?
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Diezel VH4

Channel 1: Nice cleans/loves pedals
Channel 2: Great low overdrive ala AC/DC to hotrodded 80s tones with a SD1 in front. Definitely not lacking in the mids.
Channel 3: Roaring and tight. Can do huge rhythms to tight metal with ease. Crank the gain up further and it can do fuzz tones.
Channel 4: Either tight modern metal or smooth lead tones.
 
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