The ultimate high gain head for my needs?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Achilles
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Achilles

Achilles

Active member
Hi there,

Lately I'm in the hunt for the ultimate rock and high gain-channel switching 100W head for my needs.
I have a Mesa Mark V and a Recto MW but I want to get away from the Mesa sound.
I also had a Hughes & Kettner Triamp 2 but didn't like it.

What I'm aiming for is:

Right balance of tightness and looseness. Crunchy (mid?) heavy sounds but organic and not overly processed and compressed. Just enough to enjoy the amp.
Note definition especially on the lower strings but with the right amount of compression.
Not overly stiff and dry like a VHT but with a nice saturation. I don't wanna fight the amp but I hate when its loose like a recto and loose definition with alternate picking on the lower strings.
Not congested and boxy sounding.
A sound with great growl and kerrang. The right balance of low mids and high mids.
Just the right amount of everything and at the same time inspiring to play.

A 3 - 4 channel amp with EL-34s or KT-77s would be fine.

-Clean is usually a miss on channel switchers except from Boogie, VHT etc. I mean a strat straight into the amp for authentic fender reverb or authentic Plexi cleans. I would probably have to buy a separate amp for this. But if it exists in the amp, awesome.

- Crunch should be like a heavy, modded and modern JCM 800 type of sound. I'm thinking Zakk Wylde, Down, AIC etc. Heavy alternative sound. Very dynamic channel that cleans perfectly with the guitar's volume for those in between crunchy sounds. Quality.

- Heavy Rythm. That's everything. See the description above. I play melodic death metal and Gothenburg-style swedish thrash/death.

- I don't need a separate channel for lead/solos. I can boost the 3rd ch. I suppose. But if it's there it doesn't hurt either. I'll use it.

I'm thinking:
Marshall JVM, EVH EL34 Stealth, Diezel VH-4 or Hagen, Revv Generator 100P. No Engl amps. All 100W heads.
I live in Europe and it's easy to have access to those manufacturers rather than a Friedman or KSR or Wizard etc.
It's obvious that the price difference will reflect the build quality but I'm more interested in the sonic differences/qualities.
What do you guys think?
Thanks 👍🏻
 
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Mezzabarba is the first that comes to mind for me and probably even more attainable in Europe than here in the US. If you wanna avoid processed or compressed I'd stay away from the JVM's, Revv and Hagen. If you can find a Wizard or KSR I honestly think they could satisfy your criteria quite well, although you might possibly find the Wizards stiff or dry depending on what you're used to. No amp that I've tried will do all these tones you're asking for better than 7/10. It tends to be a trade off with these things. The Demeter is also quite good for what you're saying but rare
 
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Habe a look on the Synergy/Randall MTS line. You can basically build up your own channelswitcher with different preamps.
 
What’s your budget? I’d go modded Marshall from one of the euro guys. While it’s not 3-4 channels it would be two perfect channels tailored to your taste. Or let’s say your budgets 3k, get something like a studio preamp for cleans, jmp-1 for the dirty, and a power amp with the remaining $1500.
 
Orange Rockerverb.

The best clean channel I've ever heard on a high gain amp and the distortion is very organic.

Otherwise if money is no object a Wizard is what I want for the bucket list.
 
Thank you for your help and your suggestions so far.
Everything Bogner is too soft for my needs. I play melodic death metal and Gothenburg-style swedish thrash/death.
The whole rack thing is out of the question. Been there done that. It doesn't deliver.
I'm not searching for vintage tones except for the cleans and semi overdriven tones. Buying a vintage marshall and have it modified I don't see to be a choice, especially for my modern distortion sounds.
Wizards, Friedmans, KSR etc are out of my reach and out of my budget. I'm not even sure I'd like the wizard sound if it's anywhere near the Fryette feel. I like some compression and saturation on my distortion sounds. It just has to be in the right amount in order to have note definition on the lower strings. The right balance between sag and tightness.
It also has to sound and feel organic and not artificial like the Engls for example. The thing with Mesa/Boogie is that they have the quality and the right amount of money.
I don't care about cutting through the mix either cause I'll use it home. 100 w is a must though cause I need the headroom for lower tunings.
 
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