Hey everyone, I'm new here and thought I'd get your opinions on what amp I should purchase.

I recently bought an ESP M-1000 Limited Deluxe along with a Boss GT-6 processor. Since I'll be using the GT-6 for all my effects needs, I don't need an amp with a lot of bells and whistles. I play metal and love the Fear Factory sound. Also, even though I love metal I do appreciate a good, crisp clean sound as well. Keeping in mind the GT-6, what should be my priorities when looking for an amp? Since I'm not a professional musician, I'm leaning towards buying a combo amp and not a stack.

I would appreciate your suggestions, thanks in advance!

PS. I would like to stay in the $500 - $600 price range.

my peavey 5150 212 combo owns for metal tone, got it for $550. go used for sure! the clean tone sucks, im not sure how much your effect pedal can do.

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wash your mouth out boy... i think 5150's actually have pretty nice cleans, less pre gain and more post gain(act's like a volume) for a real smooth clean. our max out the post gain and push the crunch and bright switch to get some powertube saturation on the rythem section.
5150 II's have even better cleans because they have their own eq so you don't have to sacrifice one for the other. and i like the distortion tone on the 5150 II better aswell. both come stock with crap preamp tubes though.
they arent bad amps for the money and with the addition of accessories and light modifications they'll totally rival more expensive high gain amps like the rectos and jcm 2000's.
my guitarist got his used 5150 head for $475 shipped which is like a total steal.
it came here i was like "holy shit somethings up" cosmetically it was pretty perfect. but i found the problem.. it had a bad fuse.. a trip to radio shack and $2 for a pack of the right fuses and the problem was solved. and i have spare fuses for future emergencies but it's been fine so i'm not to worried.
about $100 in new tubes for everything and $40 for a bias mod.... $60 for a used sonic maximizer, $50 for a used graphic eq, ect...
it sounds pretty sweet now. and didn't cost too much in the end. they sound good stock, but imo the accessories and mods are worth the money.

but everybody and their mom uses 5150's in the hardcore/power/metalcore world these days.
i think another great amp for the price is(yeh i'll say it again) the crate blue voodoo... the origional older ones are what i prefer non of this bv3000000000 crap, what the hell is the average joe to do with a 300w tube head like that? i guess the headroom is nice if you don't mind depending on total preamp gain.
but the bv120h is where it's at.. totally different amp and a more clippable poweramp section but 120w of tube power is plenty for most people and still has quite a bit of headroom to it. they also made quite a few other versions like the bv60h bv112 bv212(all 60w),and bv50(50w short chassis head).
and the crate label on them just makes them resale for that much cheaper. which is great if you like the way they sound.

other than that, most tube amps in that price range are a joke for "high gain". so you'd be better off looking into s.s. and hybrid stuff.

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peavey classics have a great clean tone, and really shitty distortion, but thats what you got the gt-6 for, i got a used one, an older model as well, for about 200 bucks. the laney GH100L & GH50L have great clean sounds, also have great distorted sounds.

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Thanks for the replies guys. Although I haven't yet played it (I'll be spending some quality time at Sam Ash next week ), I've been hearing good things about the Peavey XXL 212 Combo. Any thoughts?

the xxl's are probably my some of my favorite s.s. peaveys.... decent distortion so you wont have to rely on the gt-6.

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How's the clean channel?

If its like the supreme XL I have, its good.

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It's this one:

http://www.peavey.com/products/shop...tcode/7/xxl.cfm

Well, sorry to post twice in a row but is it worth the $600+ for that amp just for a good clean channel since I have the GT-6?

the XL head is a step down from the XXL (i think hehe) anyways my clean tone on it is damn good.

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And yet sorry again for posting a third time but I've also heard wonderful things about Fender amps and their clean channel. Any thoughts?

Thanks for your input bud. Any thoughts on Fender amps? Please keep in mind that I'll be using the Boss GT-6 for effects.

if you want an amp with a great clean channel for pedals. the roland jc-120 is it. 120w s.s. with two vintage 30's. it's loud and has a really nice chorus, unusable gain(not just non metal like fender's and peavey classics), and the cleanest clean channel, period.
it's so clean because it barely colors your sound at all. you actually hear your pedal's sound not your pedal pumped and colored through a preamp sound. which depending on your pedal you might or might not want.

fender tube combos have a different type of clean to them, you have alot of tube color that sounds really rich and warm that usually helps pedals sound better.
it's like passive pickups vs. active pickups.
81's sound great in that tight,active,high output,cold/"sterile" way... while a passive pickup like a dimarzio x2n has a great high output sound but a warmer natural sound with lots of overtones and imperfections(not necissarily bad, with a decent guitar it's very good).
it just depends on the tone you want.

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Not to get off topic but what do you all think of the ESP M-1000 LTD Deluxe as a metal axe?

The 5150 combo has a great clean channel, think of the 5150 combo as a 5150 head with the bias mod... because it pretty much is that. For some reason on the combo's the have the bias set at 42mA which is what my MODDED 5150 is set at.

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He is right about that roland amp, i tried it out a local music store and it blew me away, im thinking of getting one and hooking it up to my 4x12 cab, now that would kill everyone

Thanks Necro, I will definitely try it out!

they also have jc-120 heads. if you want to just use it with a 4x12.
but the 2x12 combos go for like $700 new, but i've seen them used but in "like new" condition for about half that. great amps. i might own one someday for a clean amp to run a huge analog/valve pedalboard through.

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Shit man, the guy who was working at the music store told me they didnt have heads for that amp

where can i find just the head?
and how much?

Wow, so no crossover distortion on the combos? And I wouldnt have to get it bias set higher? And they go cheaper than the heads on ebay. Wow I'm thinking about this... Cool.
I could just use the combo and hook it into my cab and it would be all happy and stuff.
COOL!

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yeh, dont know why they decided to have the bias set at 42mA on the combos but whatever. Remember though the combo is 60w not 120w. It has a set bias of 42mA meaning your stuck with it.. which isent really a bad thing. I dontreally like set bias' because even if the tubes are matched they wont be perfectly biased.

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Cool, I'll be looking for a 5150 combo at a store so I can try it out first. If I really like it I will sell my amp head I have now and buy a used combo on ebay. The other thing I might be planning on doing is getting a real floyd rose for my washburn. So its either a bridge or an amp.

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Ummm theirs no way a floyd would cost as much as a amp.

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Let me clarify,
I have enough money for an original floyd rose right now.
But if I see that I like the 5150 combo then I'll sell my amp head and with the money I have, I'll buy the combo.
Make scence now?

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yes, get a new amp

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you might also just look into buying a nice tube power amp and use your gt-6 as a preamp. until you can afford a nicer preamp, then just use the gt-6 for effects.


they don't make the head version anymore i think, but you could pick one up on ebay or something for a fair price.

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