can anyone give me some advice on an amp to get. im going to drive to the nearest guitar store(3 hours away ) somtime this week to try some out. before i go i'd like an idea of what to try.
im looking for a combo amp under $500 that can keep up playing with a drummer and small gigs. i play mostly metallica and megadeath type stuff but also clean songs b/c the 2 kids i play with like that type if music and cant stand when we play metal lol. anyway i have an esp ltd viper 400 guitar. i was looking at the Line 6 Spider II 112 Combo or Marshall AVT50 Combo Amp. but im open to any suggestions. from what i read online, tube amps seem to be the way to go but they also look to be more expensive. also i am willing to get distortion pedals if need be. any suggestions would be appreciated.

Dont you fucking dare get a spider or avt!!!! Try getting your hand on a peavey 5150 combo or if you find one, a crate blue voodoo 212. Also dont get a distortion pedal for a shitty amp, get a good amp and use the amp's distortion.

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What's so bad about avt's? I've gotten a nice screaming tone from them in the past.

There's nothin wrong with an AVT combo as long as you use its effects loop ( )

Tube amps are the way to go imo for tone, but depending on the tube amp, its probably going to have to be pretty loud to get the "tubey" tone you love.

My Pod XT sounds pretty nice through my AVT's effects loop.

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Marshall JCM 2000/900 40w combo.Can be had used cheap.Great for Metallica and megadeth.Not too much headroom,so you can get a nice powertube saturation at pretty low volumes.Still sound fine quiet too.

For the price, a Roland CUBE 60 watt ..and you'll have $150 to spare. But while you're there, look for a used Peavey 5150 combo.

EDIT: nevermind the 5150 if you want cleans.. get the Cube, it has lots of amp simulations from clean to br00tal.