While frequenting the Pig Destroyer forums, I found a quote from Scott Hull, who made a few posts under the handle of "Hullhammer" ( witty, eh? ). This is an excerpt from a post concerning his guitar rig in general :

"I only really recently discovered the wonderment of the old Ampeg solid state guitar heads (ss-150, vh-140c) that bands like Suffocation, Assuck, Eyehategod, Dying Fetus, Death, Misery Index, etc etc have built their sound on and have scoured Ebay picking these things up. Sparky from MI told me he had tracked down some folks at St. Louis Music (the parent company for Crate, Ampeg) who told him they put the same circuitry into a new Crate head. Low and behold, I finally tracked down the only man that should be awarded a nobel prize (of metal) for creating an amp, Thom Kieffer, who told me he put the guts of his VH/SS series ampeg amps into the new Crate GTX3500H head (a 350 watt mother fucker). Steve and Matt sent two right over and I only just used them for our first gigs last weekend. They not only sounded WAY more amazing than anything I'd ever used (I've had Triple Rec, Mesa MKIII, Marshall TSL 100, Sunns), but they were even louder than the 1000 watt GK/Mesa Triaxis configuration I have been using since PD started!"

The Crate GT3500h is apparently a VH140 with a Crate logo. Which must explain why they sound so damned similiar. And all this time the GT3500h was generally seen as a nu-metal amp gimmick.

Discuss.

I use it, so it must be awesome!

I totally believe that this amp is the vh-140. I can get Dying Fetus tones no problem. Suffocation as well.

http://www.digitalsoundplanet.com/M...0_000029602.mp3 me using it. You tell me how it sounds.

__________________

When I get a microphone I'll post a clip of my GT3500h ... I'm starting to like it more and more as I use it. And yes, the Dying Fetus-resemblance is uncanny.

suffocation like guitar tones?

now i have an excuse for trying out these things.

__________________

If thats the shockwave thats a decent amp for being SS , and really affordable.
Crate puts out a decent affordable amp.

Ian tells me the amp is very nice. I was looking at one. *cough*

__________________

I think it sucks. It's weird, like the first time I tried it out, I thought it sounded decent, but I tried it a coupla times in the last several weeks and I just don't like the dist. sounds on it.

Yeh apparently its similar.. far from the same though.

__________________

True, you can't seem to re-make and mass produce an old piece of equipment without altering the characteristics somehow, especially if its over 10 years old. Engineers are just bound to change something ... after working with this amp extensively, I believe I've found 'my sound' in it.

Perhaps. My doubt is, on the Crate website they say it has a Flexwave 5 preamp, and I dont know if the Vh-140 had that.

Needless to say it sounds good though.

__________________

I AGREE> THERS NO TUBE, SO THE TONE THER4 SUCKS.
I LIKE TUBULAR TONES INSTED OF SOLID STAT.

__________________

Hmm that is odd.

__________________

no, its GX 130c=ampeg VH 140c


recently ive been getting a pretty good tone out of my GX 130c, even when i do get a boutique amp id still like to keep it.

__________________

I have'nt been able to find any information on the GX-130c, now my curiosity is piqued.

Cannibal corpse used it for a few albums


when you play this amp you can tell the voicing is similar to alot of their early/mid albums

recently ive been putting the gain between 6-8(instead of 10) and that makes a world of difference when you are jamming with a drummer

__________________

That's something odd about my GT3500h ... you can keep the gain dimed at any volume level and its still articulate and full of attack. Granted there's a bit of noise, but once I get my ISP there will be none of that.

probably is similar, who knows, it could be the exact same amp, but we're talking about the GT3500h, which is supposedly a VH-140 with 350 watts and a Crate logo.

__________________

I said it, so it must be true.

i'd give that it is similar, but by no means would i say the shockwave is a vh-140 with a different look.. even the gx-130c isnt the "same" thing.

the shockwave sounds a little darker to me and has more low end (higher wattage/headroom tends to do this). as well as cleaner cleans.

not exactly my type of tone. too tight(never thought i'd say that) and crispy... i'm used to the round tube tone with some sag and gobby breakup.

then again the overly tight and super usuable/crisp gain is what makes these amps so praised for metal..

and in comparison to the other big wattage boys, it beats the shit out of the mode four imo.

__________________

Try putting the gain between 6-8 thats what ive been doing lately, trust me, when your jamming with a drummer you definatly wont feel a lack of brutallity.

makes it alot less fuzzy

__________________