Sup all. So I'm very likely going to end up replacing my Fireball head with either an Ampeg VH140C or Peavey Ultra 2x12 combo for playing out/at home practice and a high gain pre for recording.

What are some good high gain pre's in that price range, tube or SS? I would prefer tube, because I want something that sounds very fat and saturated, with good tight and brutal bass and mids but a whole lot o clarity. Think Decapitated. Preferably not digital/modeling stuff like Line 6/Behringer...

I've thought about:

Engl E620 or 530. One quesion, since the 620 has 3 pre tubes, is it higher gain than the 530?

2nd hand Sansamp PSA 1.1 - awesome but I'm already buying the king of tight SS amps after I sell my Fireball, plus it also has a cab-emulated DI out, so it's a no-go.

Digitech 2101 - These are really more like just FX processors right? They're not meant to be a source of distortion?

Rocktron GAP/Pro Gap/Pirahna/Rockmaster tube pre - all cool but I'm looking for something higher end than these cheap pre's.

Rocktron Voodu Valve - Not sure it has all the gain I want.

Mesa Boogie Studio Preamp - Same as above, I really hear it's geared towards rock guitarists not death metal folks.

ADA MP1 - Not enough gain for me.

I think I will most likely hunt down an E620, only if it's higher gain than the 530 though? Is it? They're pretty cheap... How do they respond to overdrive pedals like an Ibanez tubescreamer or Maxon OD, if even necessary?? Keep in mind I'm going for the grindiest, clearest, modern hi gain sound I can afford. Also does anyone know any programs that work really well with cabinet emulation to add that extra lowend in a computer recording?

Are there any other worthwhile competitors in the price range?

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Peavey Rockmaster. Tons of gain, nice cleans, super nice EQ section on the high gain section.

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I mentioned it already. Thought it was a Rocktron product though. I know they're decent, they're like 150$ or something but I was looking for something with a bit more pizazz, there must be something better between that and 600$ right?

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i dont think more tubes mean more gain, it depends on what channel sues what tube.. liek 3 tubes on a 3 channel might mean 1 tube for each channel, or 1 tube for the clean and 2 tubes for the distorted chanels.. it kinda depends i think.

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But the E620 is a 2 channel pre, with no individual EQ knobs which leads me to believe that all tubes are used at once at a high gain setting?

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hmm i dno, doesnt def have a 620 preamp?? you could contact him, maybe he knows.

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Get a modded ADA MP-1... there are relatively cheap mods:
'3TM' - this mod (3 tube mod), adds another tube into the MP-1, and obviously, an extra tube gives you 2 more gain stages.
MOD 3.666 - another high gain mod
MK IV - again, high gain

One of the last two is likened to a Mesa kinda sound, and the other more of a 5150/hot rodded Marshall sound

And perhaps... there might be a mod sometime in the future to give an ENGL sound, one guy has already done one on his, and i might have a go if i can get my hands on another stock unit

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Cool stuff, I've heard of these mods, interesting. I'm not to keen on wiring/modding shit myself though, I'm an idiot with electronics. Maybe if I spot a used modded one on ebay but they're pretty hard to find.

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If I were you, I'd save up a little more ( or try to luck up on a great deal ) on a Rocktron Prophecy ( II ). That is the best sounding preamp I have ever heard or played through. And its super-easy to get a Decapitated-styled distortion out of it.

If you would'nt want to save up maybe 100$ more for that, then I'd recommend one of the modded ADA's from Voodoo. They're about 550$, last I checked.

The Modded ADA's are supposed to be pretty hot, and they are less than $600. Sometimes you can get lucky and find a Mesa Triaxis on ebay for less than a grand. Honestly I think you would be happy with the E530, the only gripes I had about it probably came from the fact that I was using it with an EL84 poweramp.

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jmp1 rocks my socks.

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Hi guys,

This is my 1st post here but I've been browsing the site on and off for a little while. I agree with Squol on this. The ADA 3TM is a beast. Its got more gain than you could need. I own 4 MP-1's (1 stock and 3 modded) and the 3TM owns them all!

Two friends of mine have put up their 3TM's againts some ENGL's and both time the ADA's ruled. One was tested againts an E530 using the rig (VHT cab and VHT 2/50/2 power amp) and the 3TM killed it in gain and tone. My other friend had his against the Powerball and tone wise the 3TM ruled it. Gain was close but the ADA sounded more natural. And going into the leads, the powerball sounded thin next to the 3TM.

This what what each mod kinda sounds like:

3TM: Think new Testament, Exodus, Nevermore etc...
The 3.666: kinda has the Mesa Dual Recto sound.
The MOD4: EVH's tone, Testament, Overkill etc...

Heres a couple of 3TM clips that was recorded with a home cam. The first two are done by the same guy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0KT...related&search=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmUW-HukrVs


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMkz4tMnOls


4x12

Well I don't like the tone of either 3 of those bands(Testament, Exodus, Nevermore), not really looking for a generic 5150 clone sound.

And uh... better than a Powerball? MY ASS. Eh, sorry mate, that's not happening. Still sounds good though. But thanks for the samples, I may take the Mp1's into consideration if I can find em 2nd hand but I think the E620 may be what I end up getting.

I liked the Symphony X cover's tone the most.

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