Bah I've tried a lot of amps and I still can't decide what one to get. I am looking for something with an old school sound. Like that has that Thrash attack of Anthrax and Suicidal Tendencies but can also handle extreeme stuff like Autopsy, Nasum, and Napalm Death.

Here are my choices.

Marshall VavleState,
Peavey ValveKing,
Crate Blue Voodoo,

Or is there another amp that would suite these needs?

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i choose the Crate Blue Voodoo i heard its pretty sick.

Never played the valveking, but fuck for 450$ you get 100W of all tube power it might be worth picking up used, and if it's not brutal enough for you throw a mild boost like Seymour Duncan pickup booster, Maxon/MXR OD, or something else in front of it.

The Blue Voodoos are the shit, I personally haven't played one but they're great high gain amps for the buck. Try to see if you can find one to try it, but buy them used as they come hella cheap.

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Well I haven't tried the ValveKing but I've tried the Blood Voodoo. I like it a lot I just want to try out the other two before I make any decisions.

Is the Marshall worth getting? I know Chuck Schuldiner used one so I was wondering if anyone else thinks they are good for what I'm looking for.

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marshall valvestate will cover your sound in poop! go crate BV, very nice and versatile, and cheap too. Its probably your best bet.

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bv all the way
the marshall sucks, chuck used a x2n to make it sound decent
heard some bad things about the valve king.
bv120 is where its at

Hmm yeah so Marshall is out. What did you hear about the VavleKing?

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I haven't heard the ValveKing specifically, but Peavey is always good about delivering a strong crunchy rhythm sound.

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Chuck also used a Boss DS-1 in front of his Marshall.

Valvestate is not automatically gobshite. I recently played a Marshall 3203 Artist which has a SS preamp, tube "dephaser" or some shit after the preamp to give it a more natural sound, and a 30W 2xEL84 tube power amp and it sounds incredible. They're mini-heads like the Engl Thunder but don't be fooled by the smaller size, it kicks serious amounts of ass, even without a boost it can do Morbid Angel sounds. The head can be had for like 200-300$. Don't know if it qualifies as Valvestate but it kicks ass.

The 3203 was Erik Rutan's first head and he still uses one in the studio(he records tracks with a JCM800, JCM900, JCM2000, powerball and this thing modded). Go watch the new HE DVD where he shows off all his gear.

But if you're just looking for head with more headroom then you should probably get a Blue Voodoo BV-100 or 120, but don't buy it new because I've seen guitar center trying to sell the head for what it used to sell for new ages ago, used it can be had for a lot less.

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Hmm that Marshall sounds good. Are they still avalible or do I have to ebay for it. Also what is the full Model Number name of it. I looked on the Marshall site and a lot of distributers and they don't have it.

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the peavey valveking sucks balls, it sounds really really crap. Horrid gain, no definition at all. I played it with the guitar shop owner and even he said that it sounded shit.

Anyways as for the marshall 3203, i heard there pretty wicked. SS pre and tube power amp.I think they were discontinued in the late 80's though.

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Get the most Old-school one.

The 3203 came out in like 85 and was discontinued in 91. They're not hard to find. I found a 3203 mini stack(with the 4x10" smaller cab) for 500$ on ebay, so the head alone probably goes for 250-300. You can probably find them used at any big guitar store, if not ebay is a sure find.

Don't worry about the headroom, you can get the PA modded to take louder tubes and get more lowend and gain(this is what Rutan did to his, made it into a 50W head).

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Hmm I might look into it. Hopfully some store has one. Cause I am still kind of iffy about an amp from ebay.

Also is there a clean channel on it? And if so how does that sound?

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BV

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I'd go with the Blue Voodoo. Can't go wrong. I find that the blue voodoo owners often recommend this amp. I have 2 of them and i'm still extremely impressed. I bought a crate matching cab for it, and the tone now is just amazing.

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Then I might just get it because I don't like getting things off ebay. Would a Marshall cab be good with a BV head?

I was also thinking of a Messa Triple Rec but I don't know if that would go well for what I am looking for. Like I am trying to get that really crunchy Morbid Angel sound with the dirtiness of Autopsy and also that classic Anthrax style thrash sound. Is there an amp that can give me what I want or am I just dreaming? Like can the BV or the Triple Rec do all these tones I want? Like I am playing in B so I need an amp that wont turn my tone into mush.

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If you want to cover a wide range of tones like you desire, I'd suggest looking into Line 6 stuff... but I can tell you I played a Crate Blue Voodoo and I was definetly pleased. The matching Crate cab adds alot to the tone like TMFreak said - it just ain't the same with any other cab.

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Nah I think Line 6 shit is garbage. I don't think the tones are that far apart from each other I just want an amp with an old school sound. Very similar to Autopsy's.

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I'm not going to pretend i know alot about cabs because honestly i don't, cause i haven't spent alot of time comparing or anything like that.

You can basically assume nearly anything with decient celestion speakers in a 412 setup is going to match the quality you will be needing. I mean honestly, i know there is big differences, but come on seriously.

Here is just a good rule of thumb, if EVERY .. and i mean EVERY fucking club or show place EVER uses 1960a cabs, ?? i mean.... come on. So in otherwords if you are planning on getting a 1960a marshall cab sure. I won't quote the other ones though.

Just keep in mind, and i still think this holds true seriously: You get what you pay for, if you go cheap then you get cheap, if you pay for quality equipment, thats what you get.

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Well I am not very worried about spending money. I am more after tone not name. I just want an amp that can cover what I want. I've tried the Messa Boogie today and didn't think much of it it was far to bassy for my taste. And I tried a Marshall JCM 2000 head which I didn't like too much. I want a clear sound but with a good chunky distortion sound (like Massacre, Autopsy, Morbid Angel, ect) and also has a decent clean channel. Like I said it's the old school sound I am after.

I'll think about the Marshall 3203. I don't really like getting things used or off ebay because of bad experiences but i'll think about it.

So yeah I guess bassically what amp would give a good old school Death Metal sound?

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Well i know what you mean ,but what i meant by the post was more along hte lines that.. as long as you are paying for decient gear its going to be of at least some quality tone, which is workable. i.e. not getting a marshall cab beacuse it says marshall but because its a marshall 1960 cab with celestion v30s or maybe even the blue voodoo cab that goes with the head... i stil want that cab i know phillkilla has it.... *shakes fist * phill killaaaaaaaaaa!!

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Triple Recs are just way too much wattage. You would be way better off with a Single Rec than anything else. I mean its 150 watts tube and you'll probably never use any more than 40-50 of it.

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Well how about Dual Recs or Stilleto's? BV's also come in 150 and 120W. Mesas are very expensive though so I wouldn't dish out that much cash for one without thoroughly trying it beforehand.

Well if you wan't oldschool death metal get yourself a JCM800 or JCM900 and either stick in some higher gain preamp and poweramp tubes or throw in a good ol fashioned boost in front of it like a Maxon OD, some Boss OD/DS, SD Pickup Booster, Pro Co Rat, Big Muff or something like that if you want a fat, colorful, and raw chunky sound.

No. 1 Rule: Any good head into a good cab will sound great. 1960 cabs are good and they're very affordable BUT don't give you super tight bass response like many other "geared for metal" cabs do. But hell so many bands use 1960 cabs(MA, Deicide, Amon Amarth, Hate Eternal, you name it) it's not even funny, so I wouldn't worry about it.

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Yeah I was thinking about the JCM 800 and JCM900. What exactly is the difference between them?

I didn't really want to use a pedal personally but if you think it will help I might look into the Rat.

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