What do you think of this amp? I'd get a used halfstack quite cheap, has anyone played it? The store is not exactly near, so I'd like to have some kind of idea on it... I heard that Chuck used it? Not that it would matter, but still if Chuck used it, it probably won't be complete shit... Plus it's kinda hard to find nowadays, so I wouldn't just wanna miss the whole deal. Of course I'll go try it someday...

Basicly I'm looking for a amp with killer distortion with high gain. I'm not gonna buy any effect pedals, better to have a amp with a good distortion already. And a 100w will be just fine for a halfstack. Although it's solid-state, i've heard some good stuff about it. I really can't afford any Blue Voodoos or 5150s at this point, so please spare me.

Thanks anyway!

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Good enough for Chuck good enough for You. Seriously dude go for it, i don't know how it is in Finland but here in Sweden they're dirt cheap.

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hey dude i realy suggest that you go check the amp out. I got one of ebay for dirt cheap with a cab and i love it. The clean channel and od1 channels are just knd of normal ss, but when u kick on the od2 (the only channel which is connected to the single tube), this is when the fun begins, i can get a real kickass metal distortion and i further enhance it with some chorus, eq and noise suppresing from my gt6. Mind you, the amp aint in league with a good tube amp like an Engl Savage . But seemin that u dont have that kinda money , i d suggest u go check the 8100 out. I doubt u ll regret it, unless the amps falling apart.

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gee, thanks, i'll go check it out... The cost is about 400-500 €, but I can easily get it much lower, cause I know the guys who work there.

I had some prejudice on this one, because I was really disappointed with the new AVT crap (advanced valvestate 2000 or something...) They're total shit, at least the AVT50 head+cab. I hate the sound, the noise is really bitchy, and I'd like some more watts (not for volume, but for sound quality). But a good 'ol 8100 should work just fine. It's in a good condition, so no worries about falling apart...

THANKS!!

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Wonder if it would be hard to modify one so that all channels incorporate a tube.

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Maybe, maybe not, but I'm sure as hell not touching them... If it gives a kickass distortion, why should it be modified? Well, obviously it might sound better with some Groovetube or Sovtek in it

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probably more trouble than it's worth... not to mention the cost of such an operation would probably be more expensive than the head itself.

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yeah i think so too...

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not that it makes much a difference... the most audible tube sound comes from the poweramp anyways.. maybe if you could replace the whole poweramp section with a tube poweramp... but still probably more trouble and money than it's worth..

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I really want to check this head out. I'm lookin around for one.

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I found schematics for the valvestates, not too hard. Dunno how hard the pieces will be to find. You can get one in the US for as low as 150 I think. I wish I knew how Chuck got that good of a tone out of one though. I have an AVT50 and it's good for recording and practice but for unmic'ed loud playing, I'd rather be dead. Tone dies far too easy when I crank it. Seems that way with a lot of solid states/hybrids (lots of exceptions still though).

it's only 50w s.s. that's why... not enough headroom.

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Hey guys,

Just tried the thing today in the store, and I must say that what-a-fucking-great-amp for that cheap. Only thing that bothers me that the owner made me a cheap deal for the head... with a Behringer cab!!! WTF, Behringer?? Unbelievable, I can't imagine having a nice Marshall with some verycheap German low-quality cabinet... Common sense, I'd order some decent 4x12 Marshall...

But I'd strongly recommend this amp. If you can find one, that is...

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Glad that you like it anyways dont cheap out even more and buy that crappy behringer cab, you may aswell fork out for a marshall 1960a cab. The cab which came with my amp is the 8412 cab which originaly came with the head, some one before me modded it, so it now has the same speakers as the 1960a cab, which is cool.

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Well yeah, of course a 1960 cab would definately be more-than-neat, but it costs like hell. Here it's 800 € new, and you won't find used ones at least nearby. It costs like twice the head! Would for example an AVT cab be totally out of the question? After all, in theory the 8100 is like an old AVT, so I'd guess that they'd match somehow?

Though I would probably use the 1960 for the rest of my life, when someday (when I'm filthy rich) I'd get that 5150 or BV300...

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if you chea p out on the cab you're just going to want to resale it later and buy something better...

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I like my AVT cab. It lets me get a nice tight sound out of it without too much bass which is the last thing I need with my amps. Plus it is really light and compact and since I have to go upstairs to get out of my room, it's really nice. It all depends on your situation. My only complaint is that the speakers aren't that great. Oh yeah, and although I can't back this up well, I wouldn't see why a 100 (which I'm guessing the VS8100 is) would be much louder without losing tone. The volume difference is almost indistinguishable. If you know the theory behind it, I wouldn't mind hearing.

the tone doesnt die in my amp , in fact the more you push it , the better the od2 channel sounds

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i do know the "theory" behind it...
simply put
50w s.s. isnt quite as loud as 50w tube to the human ear... your amp is 50w s.s. so i'm condisdering all of this from s.s. compared to s.s.

100w is louder than 50w is all other variables are constant.

if you don't think so you need to research... about a 3db difference between a 50w s.s. amp and a 100w s.s. amp to be exact... might not seem like alot, but considering +10db is double the volume, +3db is definately noticable/audible.... that's just volume though.

what i'm reffering to is headroom... the amount of volume an amp can produce before the poweramp starts to distort.. with a s.s. amp you do not want poweramp distortion because often times it can make your sound very muddy and crappy.

so a 50w s.s. amp doesnt have very much headroom compared to most gigging amps.

when you try to have a 50w s.s. amp compete in a gigging situation with a loud band, it's probably not going to do very well. comared to say a 100w amp...

but not all amps are created equal.

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