Amp recommendations

Thanks I will try to do what you said about trying the amps with my pedals so i can see if it's a good pedal platform or not.

Use YOUR stuff and see if you can tweak everything to make your ears happy at volume levels you will realistically use day in day out.

You still did not mention more details like the purpose of the AMP , only at Home , or in a Band , both , on Gigs

Also it seems like you are not very clear about for what sound you wanna go for , even as pedalplattfrom your AMP will always define the main character of your sound. Befor buying an AMP most people do know what they wanna achieve, for exsample I did want to have the typical Fender clean sounds and Fender reverb , thats why I did choose a Fender , and the Hod Rod because it can be loud enough in a Band and small Gigs and because its a bit cheaper then a deluxe reverb, also when the hod rod is not a very good long lasting AMP , I am very happy with this AMP. But maybe you will find your Sound you wanna achieve, when you try out some AMPs.

Yes like I said the AC10 is in your budget , but not really a pedal plattform, cranked it might be too loud to use it at Home , depends on your volume barrier at home. The Katana is good at Home, it takes pedals but is also not really a pedalplattform, its sounds good, but still it sounds a bit digital and lifeless compared to tube AMPs, you will find out when testing AMPs, the Katana Artist (does cost a bit more then you budget I think) you get some extras where its easier to record music , then you do not need to mic up the AMP for recording.

And listen also to jimmarchi1 he got much more knowledge about AMPs then I do, specially technical. He is very right when saying Use YOUR stuff and see if you can tweak everything to make your ears happy at volume levels you will realistically use day in day out.

When you tryout Used AMPs with your pedals you might find a good AMP as pedalplattfrom, but also read about the risks we mentioned , when buying a used AMP, when its possible check the AMP inside, be careful of high voltage even unpluged do not touch inside an AMP - never.

I can not say something about EVH AMPs never saw and never had one in person, sorry.

For a really great pedalplattform I would save some more money, but maybe you will find an great AMP in your current budget when testing them, or you will see then you might wanna save some more money.

For a really great pedalplattform I would save some more money, but maybe you will find an great AMP in your current budget when testing them, or you will see then you might wanna save some more money.

Eh, if you have 'amp in a box' pedals I think you can get away with a modern solid state amp. That wouldn't make ME happy but it's an option.

Speaking of solid state amps, everyone should try a Quilter. It's hard to believe those tiny amps aren't tube amps or digital modelers, but they're just well designed to behave like a tube amp.

Edit: I bought a microblock pedal sized amp as a backup when they still made them and was really impressed. It sounds very very good even when producing it's own overdrive, which sounds better than most dirt boxes and responds to your playing almost as well as a tube amp. I've frequently touted Quilters on this and other forums. I have the cheapest, shittiest one and it's pretty darn good.

They currently make some phantom powered pedalboard amps which are a neat idea, but for those seeking a combo with classic fender coloration theres the Aviator Cub 1x12 which can be had for like 700 bucks new and around 500 on reverb. Theres a uk voiced version that doesn't sound as 'right' in the demos but doesnt sound bad. I've not tried a quilter combo, i never see them in person, but if my microblock45 and the demo is any indication, the fender voiced version of the Cub combo will work for a lot of folks who have been asking for amp suggestionsaround here. There are lots of expensive tube heads I like less than my $100 microblock.

https://www.quilterlabs.com/collections/guitar-amplifiers/products/aviator-cub-us

I've never seen an Aviator Cub combo in person so if someone knows of a store near them that carries Quilter amps, please try this thing or the channel switching version and report back. Or if someone has the balls to order one as their new amp let's see some youtube videos.

Thank you very much for giving me some more advice on trying to find a good amp. I will try to take good advice from you and jimmarchi1 on what amp sounds best and applies most to the sound that I wanna get. Also I'm trying to get an amp for bedroom/band playing.

I looked at quilters website and I saw the amp you were talking about and I'm sure it sounds awesome but I'm trying to get a tone for metal kinda like Pantera/Metallica

But you also said "pedal platform"... metal isn't that sort of genre, not that fx aren'tused these days but a lot if the tone cones from the amplifier, usually via a heavily voiced preamp section...

you referenced pantera and metallica, metallica is definitely not a pedal based tonal palette on guitar. Or not classic Metallica... and is there any post 90s Metallica worth emulating? They began as marshall 800 players, then became mesa mark3c+ guys... I think they used a jazz chorus for cleans in the studio before switching to ADA mp1 preamps fir clean and the built in chorus and then going a whole other direction clean and dirty with vintage Marshall's in the studio for the black album. After that I'm not sure. Last time I saw them live they had mesa mark heads of some sort into marshall tall vintage cabinets, hands down Marshall's best current production 4x12. Dime endorsed affordable solid state randall amps so maybe buy a 90s solid state randall.

I've also heard that Bill Kelliher has been touring with friedman and victory pedals and a helix into a Seymour Duncan power stage to drive his cabinets. So theres another, modern route to brutality.

My bad, I should've been more specific. When I said I want a pedal platform amp for metal, what I should've said was a pedal platform amp That is great for cleans with chorus and also good for metal.

Thank you for reminding me about solid state randalls though, especially because they are at pretty good prices and you can find them for even better prices on reverb so maybe I will think about buying good used randall with a good priced cabinet.

You're describing 2 different amps unless you want to spend a lot of money on a channel switching tube amp...and then the best gain bangers tend to be just okay for clean. A lot of those sort if amps don't come in combo format.

You could maybe look at a 2 channel jet city, chinese made soldano design. Or victory amps is making pedalboard versions of their channel switchers and people rave about them but once you buy a cabinet its probably over budget. They're not cheap for a little hybrid amp.

It's hard to do metal without a 4x12 unless you get a helix, fractal or Kemper and go all direct.

Thank you for reminding me about solid state randalls though, especially because they are at pretty good prices and you can find them for even better prices on reverb so maybe I will think about buying good used randall with a good priced cabinet.

Buy a well constructed cab and don't stress about the speakers it comes with. You can change them later. Or buy unloaded and go on warehouse's site and order some of their wallet friendly celestion clones. In a closed back cabinet you want legit Baltic birch plywood with finger jointed construction. Front or rear loading speakers both work for metal but front loading designs can be too tight for cast frame speakers so you'll be limited to pressed frames... it rules out EVs, JBLs and some Fanes.

You might want to find a tech who does classic solid state amps and budget to take an old randall in for preventative maintenance immediately. Odds are it'll have some ailing parts in the power supply. People don't take care of those amps and they're old enough to have kids and a mortgage now.

Edit: what country/state do you live in?

U.S.

If you're near DC check out Atomic Music in Beltsville MD, best all around budget friendly used gear dealer on the east coast... in the northeast the Daddy's Junky Music chain in New England is great. Obviously Nashville and Memphis are great towns to shop for an amp. Prices are a bit inflated in Tennessee but selection is great. On the west coast you have tons of options in LA, SanFran, Portland and Seattle... midwest I'm not sure outside of Chicago.

remember how you recommended me quilter amps

My bad, I should've been more specific. When I said I want a pedal platform amp for metal, what I should've said was a pedal platform amp That is great for cleans with chorus and also good for metal.

Then Fender, VoX .... can be ruled out , you are looking then more for AMPs like Revv , some EVH , Hughes & Kettner, some Victory, small Marshall, small Orange maybe , ... Engl or Soldano, Peavey , Laney , Diezel, Randall, Fortin these are mostly loud AMPs not so much you are looking for but would be great with a band, but they all do cost mostly more then your budget , maybe you get one Used or a bit more money for small wattage solution, AMPs like modern Revv, Hughes & Kettner, small Marshalls, small Orange, modern Victory, modern EVH you might get manged to play for home use or heavy sound then at home only from pedals. For Heavy Tone you might wanna also try how they sound with a Tubescreamer or a Heavy Overdrive Pedal on Top, like the Friedman OD.

More digital sounding and not so much for pedals but better for home use still the Katana, but only when you like the Sound of these AMPs and can be happy with that, or like emulated things like the Kemper, like was mentioned.

The range of volume is also now clear , you wanna go for an AMP at home and Band but not louder like Gigs, then some AMPs you can rule out because they are too loud and you got a good range now where you choose an AMP from. You looking more for small Tube AMPs Combos, or maybe a Mini Head, or modern AMPs got digital stuff build in to get them quiet and ready for Metal like a Revv G20, or an AMP will sound very great with a band louder but at home you just use pedal and its good mostly clean used and OK for practise but not that great with heavy sounds. Giant AMPs are not so much you budget and difficult at Home, but you might love the sound and find a good used one, like a bigger Marshall then you will focus the AMP more for the Band.

Yup. Cheap, lightweight, take pedals well but can produce classic overdrive and my microblock45 is the best sounding solid state amp I've used. Available in a combo for under $600 used. Seemed to fit the bill, but you weren't into it because the voicing isn't metal enough for you so we dropped that. Even so, if you can try one somewhere you should do it. See if it's for you. The clean tone will be but you'll want to see if you can get it brutal enough with a distortion out front. You should also try a fender bass breaker.

You should also try a fender bass breaker.

Yea , I said we can rule out Fender, but a fender bass breaker can go "Metal", with some help. When you try them out maybe also with a tupescreamer or an Friedman OD when you want even be more aggressive on AMPs, the cleans on a Bass Breaker are good too, in respect not so bright like all the other Fenders , it will combine nice to a chorus pedal and other modulation pedals.

Thank you recommending me quilter because I looked at Quilter aviator cub uk on their website and it said in the description for it that it's try to replicate the sound of the marshall jmp which has been used by people like Adrian Smith, Randy Rhoads, and James Hetfield. But it's also really good for cleans so it's probably very versatile and good to use with pedals because it's also trying to replicate the ac sound so it's on my list for amps to decide between buying.

The jmp amps (aka metalface, nothing yo do with the genre this refers to the gold anodized brushed aluminum control panels) are the 4 input non-master and early 2 input master volume amps that came between the plexiglass panel amps and the jcm series. JMP covers a range of marshalls whrre they were evolving from tweed fender based designs into modern British amps and I can't guess which one they mean. There's something to love about just about every marshall model until they tried to introduce channel switching in the mid 80s. I think Randy Rhodes used a non-master JMP superlead that he boosted with a distortion+, yngwie still does something similar with a overdrive250, they're what kiss used etc etc... these are basically the same circuit as the laney amps iommi used for the original sabbath records. Even Kerry King still uses a basically stock jcm800 2203 (is anyone actually heavier than Slayer?) and most amps favored by metal players are based on this design which started at the end of the JMP series although there's a small but dedicated following for the Mesa Mark amps that are totally different preamps.

I have owned MANY classic Marshall's and the plexi and JMP superleads are my favorite heavy Rock amps when I can dime the volume. Superleads, my favorite was a little modified, were the source of all my distortion on tour and that band could melt faces.

You should find a Cub UK to try, I suspect the fender inspired version will make a better pedal platform but who knows. The quilter I have can produce a pretty badass grind that sounds better than most pedals. I don't know why people think ac30s are good pedal platforms, they're picky about what you give them because the circuit is so unlike any other popular amp, very direct signal path and very high current on demand making it super fast and unforgiving. I really like them but when I'm trying to add fx or more distortion my options are limited because a lot of pedals compromise the raw tone which is so good to begin with...

For reference, the bulk of these diatorted guitars are marshall superleads driving marshall cabinets turned up to flamethrower levels apart from a few chord stabs that i think were a smaller vintage Marshall and solo which had a fuzz if I recall correctly:

https://on.soundcloud.com/6ZtXn

Pretty much all of the guitars on this song were blackface fender heads, even the distortion which were 80 watt showman heads turned to 10 with a gentle boost out front driving marshall cabinets, solo us a fuzz and cocked wah probably into another Marshall:

https://on.soundcloud.com/fGvbC

Just listening to the first minute or so will give you a good idea what the difference between 60s/70s marshall and fender really is when it comes to rock tones. Both are capable of great distortion that I don't think can be bettered for what you're into... I know this isn't metal but they're big, blown out heavy guitar tones generated by the amplifiers.