Hi,

Let me say firstly nice forum.

I have been looking for a guitar amp, I was going to go with the Marshall AVT150 but then I found the Lin6 Flextone III tried it out and thought, that's pretty cool. Anyway I got the Flextone but I'm still not convinced that I'll be happiest with this amp.(I can still take it back if i want to)

I've heard alot of bad things about the Marshall valvestate amps but no two people seem to say the same thing about them.

Here's basically what I'm after;

I'm after something that sounds good at low volume, for practicing and recording as well as being loud enough to play over a drum kit played pretty hard for rehearsing. And being loud enough for small gigs would be good too.

The type of music I play ranges from rock, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin etc. to blackmetal, Satyricon, Darkthrone etc. and in between, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden etc.

So I want something fairly versatile.

I think the Flextone combo is only 60W by itself but 120W with an ext. cabnet. The Marshall is 100W by itself but 150W with an ext. cabnet. I have no idea which is louder, although I would like to, I can say the Flextone is a loud 60W.

On one hand I like the AVT's sound, on the other the Flextone has a wide range of sounds.

Oh and the most annoying thing about the Flextone is that it doesn't come with a footswitch.

Well any helpful advice or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

And before someone suggests buying something better, I can't afford it.

Thanks,

John.

welcome to metaltabs man.

so how much do you have to spend approximatly? I bet we can come up with some better alternatives if you'de like to hear them.

I don't get your logic or saying 'it's a 60 watt combo but 120 with external cab' because an amp has a certain ammount of watts, putting more speakers on it doesn't increase the amps' wattage, it only increases the speaker wattage, doesn't make it loud per sé. it gives you a bigger speaker surface though -> thus pushing more air and a difference response to your amp.

for me, 60w solid state won't be enough to do gigs or practise, 60 w tubes hacks it with a 4x12...

I'm not a fan of marshall valvestate amps, one of the many I guess. the older SS stuff they used to make was not bad, like the marshall 8080 and the likes. the AVT/MG's are pretty horrible, but I'm a spoiled guy when it comes to tone.

If you want something versatile for home practise and stuff, I'de say the line6's aren't bad for that. I wouldn't want to use a line 6 combo on stage but for at home well, they do have a lot of versatility and they don't sound too bad on low volumes.
it's based on the Vetta for a bit, I think it was 75 watts though. I'de pick it over the marshall for home practise.


If you want something bigger like a top/cab setup and you don't have much to spend, I'de say those Randall's are pretty neat for a low price.

Hi,

Thanks for the reply,

Approximately I have $1300 AUD to spend, that's what the lin6 cost on special, the Marshall AVT is $1200. I think a randall head and cab would cost me about $1500 a bit too expensive. I know I could probably buy a better second hand amp but I'm always cautious about buying second hand stuff.

I'm not entirely sure on the power of the line6 but i read that it's 60Watt and also that it's 120Watt.

With the Marshall it's 100Watt with 1 8Ohm speaker when you connect a second 8Ohm it drops the impedence to 4Ohm bringing the output power to 150Watt. At least they say 150Watt, I'm not sure how loud it is.

I agree that the Marshall MG's are a bit rough but I thought the valvestates weren't too bad. Yea, it seems alot of people don't like 'em.

Thanks,

John.

your welcome.

it depends on which flextone it is I think, theres a plus version of it too, that one has a stereo poweramp. an amp's wattage is allways the same, it doesn't change if you connect other cabs, the speakers output wattage will differ, but thats something else.

Sure the AVT will be louder anyway but its not that versatile compare to the line 6

http://www.randallamplifiers.com/pr...mps/rh100g2.asp

thats the randall head I meant, its not expensive but it sounds great for a solid state, a friend of mine has one, they go for about 500 USD.

if you can get a cab for a good price, you're set and it'll be a really loud set with way better tone then the avt IMO! ofcourse, buying a cabinet used won't be much of a problem, theres nothing that can be really broken, the speakers have to be ok but you can test that.. ofcourse most cabs have some rock'n'roll spots, but if you get a good one, lets say the standard marshall 1960, you can find them used for about 350-450 USD. let's say the set'll cost you around 1000 USD if you get a brand new cab with it, that's about 1300 australian dollar, maybe a bit more depending on the cab.

Now, that's a stack we're talking about, it beats the crap out of the marshall and its more brutal then the flextone, though it does have the signature Randall sound which you either like or don't! I would give them a change if you see them!

Ofcourse, if you really want a combo and a LOT of versatility the line 6 would be the better choise, but by your style mentioned above, I think the Randall will suit your needs just fine and do a better job at the metal side then the line 6 will.

It's just the standard flextone III not the plus or xl.

The guy at the store said it was 120W but I've read elsewhere that it's 60W and the manual doesn't say.

I can't say that I'm a big fan of Randall but your opinion is welcome.

I think that the idea of a head and stack is a bit expensive $1300 is really pushing the budget as it is. If I was convinced that it would be alot better I might wait and save. The line6 is usually about $1700 and the AVT150 is about $1400 so I couldn't afford them usually. The idea of buying a combo was more due to what I could afford.

Perhaps I should be forced to accept that the AVT's aren't that good and be happy with the line6.

Thanks,

John.

Well, its just a matter of which amps suits you best, if you don't really need a stack, don't bother getting one, they're a bitch to transport.

did you try both combo's next to each other?

there's a whole world of combo's out there in your price range, I don't know how good the stores in australia are though... just try everything in your range and see which you like best!

No, I haven't tried the AVT150, only the 50Watt version, no-one has a 150 around here, I'd have to order it. Which is pretty much why I'm not convinced that I like this better.

If I'm only gonna use it as a practice amp then I don't think I would need something as loud or expensive. Probably anything is better than the 15W pactice amp I have.

There's not that good of a range around but it's fair; Fender, Marshall, Crate, Randall, Line6, Behringer, Ashton, Ibanez...maybe a few other's I can't think of.

Thanks for your help,

John.

the avt 50 and the avt 150 are pretty similar in tone... the avt 150 has more options and more watts.

i'd take the flextone over the avt anyday...
you say you guys have crate? check out the blue voodoo... you could probably afford a used bv60 combo.

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i really dont like the new avts or the flextones. I have/did have, an old marshall valvestate 8100 head which was real good. Way better than the new avts, the od2 channel rocks whilst the od1 channel is exactly the same as the clean channel lol makes sense anywas go with wat xdx said,, the blue voodoo, or pickup a second hand 8100

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i have the avt-275.2x12 75 to each.i think its not really a bad amp.4 channels,acctually way to many effects(specially reverb)most of them arn't that good.well they're ok.i took me a long time to tweak it to get it where i like it but now i like it quite abit.could be loud enough to gig with.well,my opinion is different than most with this amp since i got it for 280$ where normally its 900$U.S.

Ok, I have the Flextone III Plus because it has the XLR outputs (buggered if i'd know how to use 'em). So it's 75Watt amp(s)?.

Flextone III Plus features:
32 Vetta-based amp models
12 Effects based on our award-winning stomp box modelers
16 Mix 'n' Match Speaker Cab options
Award-winning Point-to-Point modeling technology
1x12 touring quality cabinet
Powerful 75-watt stereo power amps
4 programmable amp channel memories
Stereo XLR direct outputs
MIDI compatibility allowing access to deep editing and the CustomTone.com library

It seems that there a very few people who would recomend an AVT. Logically one would assume there is a good reason for this.
I wish I was a logical person.

I haven't seen a valvestate 8100 for sale.

There is this on ebay (AU $1200 New)
MARSHALL AVT150 GUITAR AMPLIFIER LIKE BRAND NEW
AU $700.00 which is US $530

What is the OD2 channel like, how heavy can you get the distortion?

Some people say you can get metal sounds out of it some say you can't. Then some people say it's loud some say it's not. Then some people say it's reliable some say it isn't.

Thanks,

John.

i think the overall sound of the avt's is a bit geared for nu metal... very scoopish... it can do heavy..
to me they can be loud as shit, but they don't cut through the mix.... there is a local band around here, prety good band, cool guys, but i don't think they know about the mid knob. i can never really hear the guitars.

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Well I'm not really a fan of nu-metal I suppose you don't have to scoop it or does it still sound bad?

Is loud as shit a good thing? I'm not sure how loud shit can get...

Can you get distortion from an avt anything like from a Boss DS-1 pedal?

Would using that pedal sound alright with one or would you be better off with the od channels?

And how does it hold up with high gain settings?

Thanks,

John.

What's your opinion on buying a second hand amp like the one on ebay?, it is currently 500 cheaper than a new one on special.

Anyone?

If the Flextone's better at $1300 than the AVT at $1200 then what about the AVT at $700 or so, even though it is second hand (3 months old).

I would appreciate anyones opinion on this.

Thanks,

John.

they can get pretty damn loud... but it wont matter if you scoop the mids...

yes, buy your gear used... it's the smart thing to do.

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the avt has a scoop button and 2 separate eq's,one for od channels, one for clean channels.imo, if u dont push the scoop button and dime the mids its almost too much.i turn them down a bit(not much).
also imo, its loud enough(it depends where you stand), but 2x12 s dont push much air.i take my emulated line out and run it to a power amp that drives my cabinets.6x12 is enough for me at the time.i like the acoustic channel.when i coil tap it souds pretty good.not loud at all though.i also recommend diming channel volumes and contolling actuall output with master.

i think the acoustic channel with a boss blues driver pedal, a neck humbucker and the tone knob down is one of the coolest lead sounds i've ever heard.

i was just thinking of that.

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Well, i missed out on the avt150 it went for $851.

Are either of these comparable?

Marshall Valvestate VS100 Combo 1x12"
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI...3759463358&rd=1

MARSHALL 8240 VALVESTATE VS80 COMBO!!
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI...3760351722&rd=1

MARSHALL AVT 100 VALVESTATE 2000
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI...3759588260&rd=1

Thanks,

John.

i'm not a huge fan of any hybrid marshall amps.... except the mode 4, but even that isnt worth what they ask.

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have u tried a 8100 ,xdx? u might like that, but if ure used to good old tube saturation in an amp, u might not

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the mode four was hybrid?!

yeh the mode four is hybrid... way expensive hybrid... i played it and thought it was good theni looked at the price tag and realized that amp is for suckers. $1,200.. you could buy a much better amp for that much.... hell, even cheaper.

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And i bet it has tubes too

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the 5150, 5150 II, crate bv(not the 300w one), marshall dsl, mesa f series, ect... just to name a few awesome tube amps that are as much or cheaper, yet just as good if not better in overall sound..

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i diddnt think the mode four was anything special...

i thought it was pretty good... pretty much a glorified avt for the most part imo... the price tag is the main thing i dislike about it. marshall just doesnt do s.s. power very well imo.

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