I was looking yesterday at some amps, and then I found some H&K amps. I looked manly at Trilogy, Switchblade and WarpX. Does anybody have any experince with these amps? And also, I'm currently saving up for a new tube amp, and these are the best that I've found:
Marshall DSL50
MarshallTSL60
Peavey 6505
H&K Trilogy
H&K WarpX
H&K Swithblade
Randall RH50T
Now I mainly want my sound to be pretty bassy, medium mids and clear highs and I want it to be pretty gain saturated. Would any of these amps be good for that kinda tone?

Amon Amarth used an H&K on their last record, sounded pretty good.

Judging by the sound you want, you want an Engl Fireball/Powerball. Massive lowend but incredible definition with any good cab, and gobs and gobs of saturated gain.

I would avoid JCM2000's altogether due to the poor build quality and reliability issues the new runs of the amps have, but 900's are a good choice just not super brutal low end amps.

I'm selling my Fireball perhaps you're interested.

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i'd go for a marshall dsl50, i ve got the 100 watt version, and i fucking love it. Wicked for metal and rock. I dont understand all these people saying there unreliable, . Mines never let me down and i bought it second hand. You can get some really sick tones ranging from nile to van halen. All wiith just some messing around with the eq

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The newer 2000's have been build with cheaper components that don't last as long. The amps seem to be breaking down more often than others these days. Before I bought my Fireball I was really considering a DSL50 myself but got so turned off due to the bad reviews concerning reliability that I decided to go with Engl(for the same price, actually I think it was less!). I have absolutely nothing against Marshall but I've heard too many horror stories with JCM2000's that I'm no longer so thrilled by the Marshall name outside of the JCM900 amps...

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fair enough, for me its a different story , as in england you can get marshalls far more cheaper than engls, mesa's etc as they an english company. I got my dsl 100 head for £300. Mega cheap

I know a lot of people with dsl's and all theres are still working just fine. Like any tube amp, its just a case of taking care of it. Very weird that they seem to have a bad rep as far as reliablility, they've probably tryed using cheaper components on the newer ones like you said.

Personaly i'm not a big fan of the 900's, not as much gain as the 2000's and not as much definition as the 800's. A friend has a slx 50 which is ok, but sounds bollocks for clean and only slighlty good with distortion compared to the dsl.

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300 bones is less than 600$USD, damn that's a hella deal! But is that the price for a new or used one? Over here(via online stores naturally) a Fireball costs a bit less than a DSL50.

I have nothing against the sound of the JCM2000's, in fact I actually really liked the TSL100 I tried once, and the DSL100's I've witnessed live and heard on so many records. But I preferred to go with the massive lowend, tons of gain and reputation that Engl provides these days. 8)

I've also played the Marshall 3203 Artist head(SS preamp, tube phase inverter, and EL34 tube 30W poweramp) and I really liked it!

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Maybe an Orange Thunderverb?

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Dude stop telling people to buy the amp YOU wanna buy so you can hear they're opinion after they buy it.

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I wasn't saying that! I was suggesting he look into an Orange Thunderverb because it's ment to handle a lot of low end, it's clear and has a lot of power. I thought it might give him the sound he was looking for. I wasn't trying to push anything.

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Orange Thunderverb ehh....I've heard of those....I'll have to check it out.

EDIT: Maybe I should have told you this earlier, but whatever. I would really want a amp with 3 channels, or a 2 channel w/booster function on the overdrive channel.

Then get a POWERBALL if you can afford it(1500 euros from Thomann, less 2nd hand). 4-channels and gobs of versatility. I don't think you can find a more versatile amp that can get as brutal as the Powerball.

I would take the Powerball over the Thunderverb because it's far cheaper, you'll never use even 20% of the Thunderverb's headroom, and Engl's are really geared towards metal players so you won't be disappointed if you buy it without trying(that Orange claims to do heavy sounds too but I'm not exactly sure it'll pull off super brutal grinding distortion, just high gain british hard rock sounds probably).

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For me, Marhsall's are just too skanky-toned, although they process distortion from pedals well. Go for Engl or Randall. H&K, well if you are willing to give up with that sort of green-for-power AND the the tube costs. Those things have more glass than a skyscraper in them. I have no complaint against Peavey, the few Peavey's I've played were good amp's.

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Well, the problem is that it's even more expensive here (about 1900 euros) and I can't find anything seond hand....arghh...anymore suggenstions?

Ouch. Then try some Peaveys. XXX for example... can't say anything about it's clean channel though. With the 5150/6505 forget about cleans. But check Thomann.de they sell their shit for cheap, and with taxes and shipping you'll rarely go over their advertised price for their stuff.

If you want a XXX but don't want a new one, hunt down a 2nd hand Peavey Ultra or Triumph for a slightly more oldschool sound. They're both the predecessors to the XXX.

Oh yeah of course look into the Blue voodoo, great cleans and awesome high gain distortion(I posted a really long sample a few days ago, look for that thread). Those can be found in Europe for a reasonable price, or buy them from a USA ebay auction for pretty cheap(shipping is like 150 for an amp head though).

I can't say anything about the Randall RH. But I guarrentee you that the Warhead and Cyclone are two of the most brutal SS amp heads you can find these days, apart from the legendary VH-140C.

Some other random suggestions:
Marshall 3203 Artist head.
Ampeg VL series(Lee Jackson designed, highgain-Marshally sound with more balls, built in attenuator and tons of saturation. Cheap on ebay.).

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i really want to track down one of those marshall 3203's, i ve heard they sound wicked

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if you pay me, i will run down the street right now and grab it from a pawn shop i saw it in. it even works. hahaha.

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If you want a nice low end chunk, a Recto might be your choice. I had a 5150, I just sold it yesterday, it's nice. It's got more of a grindy midrange though.

Recto's are wicked expensive in Europe, Silent. Moreso than Engl's...

The 3203 is an amp Erik Rutan used on HE's first 2 albums. It takes boosts really well too apparently but I've played it dry and damn was very impressed, the tone just screams Morbid Angel, it sounds authentically Marshall-y high gain. Best bang for the buck tubehead I've ever seen. And 30W tube is fucking loud into any 4x12 or 4x10" cab, it'll do any gig.

They sell for 200-300$ apparently.

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Hey I checked out the 120 head Blue Voodoo it seems kinda nice, but since it only has two channels, will I be able to boost it with let's say, a Boss SD-1 without it sounding like shit?

Definately. It takes boosts really well I hear, though you really don't need them for high gain metal, it has tons of gain as it is. I can't speak for the Boss SD but I'm sure it would help, as well as any other common overdrive like the Digitech Bad Monkey, Maxon OD, Ibanez TS, etc.

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You dont need to boost it. It has fuckloads of gain by itself.

though, if you like the sound of the BV, i'd reccommend going with the 150, it has 3 channels and way more tonal variation, topped off with buckets and buckets of gain. Honestly, i tried a BV in a store, and it makes my marshall sound like the gain is set to 1.

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+1 the more modern black-tolex 150 has 3 channels. I hear the modern black-tolex BV's are more reliable than the old blue ones, but that the blue ones sound a bit better? Can anyone confirm this?

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150 tube watts? Isn't that gonna blow my fuckin head off? Not that I don't want the power, but I'm going to play it at home too (not so much, but anyway) does just jump to super volume or can you adjust a little bit?
And btw, about the pedal I was talking about something that could boost my solos a bit.

That much tube wattage inside a house is overkill.

dude, use the 2nd channel for rhythm, and 3rd for lead. A booster pedal will make the BV completely overwhelming. And yes, it will have the ability to blow your head off, but the beauty about BV's is that they have so much fucking gain that it even sounds brutal on low volumes. Test it at a store, its glorious.

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Oh well then, it seems like a dream amp for me and if I need more lower volumes, a powerbreak would work, right? Not that it's totally necessery, I just wanna know.

yup, the marshall powerbreak is supposed to be a really good attenuator, but its FUCKING EXPENSIVE. soeru mentioned an attenuator earlier which is supposed to sound more natural because it uses a speaker motor, and its only like 300$ vs a 500-800$ powerbreak.

edit: added
fuck the powerbreak. I just read a bunch of reviews, everybody hates it. It doesnt attenuate enough, and it sucks tone. Some of the reviews even reccommend the Weber Mass (the speaker motor one) which is way cheaper by the way.

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I can vouch for most Engl's, owning an SE, Savage and Powerball myself.

But the H&K Triamp MK1/MK2 might be worth checking out if you can find one used, I don't know if they're around in your area but you might get lucky on one of these. They're not very populair but (IMO) very much underrated and just as much of a boutique amp as Engl/Bogner/VHT/Soldano/etc.

Oh well, It doesn't matter. I don't think my parents will mind unless I play at 01.00 am Thanks for the help.

That's right bleeding, the Marshall is priced absurdly, probably just because of the Marshall name on it, unless they used fuckin gold on the knobs or inner electronics or something.

Yeah definately the weber mass is one of the most transparent if not the most transparent attenuators around, it won't modify your tone unlike the THD Hotplate or Powerbreak will at high attenuation levels because there's an actual speaker cone inside, so the interaction between the amp and speaker is realistic, not forced down into capacitors like in other attenuators which have an impact on tone(you can actually feel the thing vibrate at high attenuation levels because of the speaker moter inside!). Someone here owns the Dr. Z and says it's nifty, but the Weber Mass and Koch LB120(powersoak+DI box+cab and mic emulation outs for recording/live) are far more cost-efficient.

The Koch is 330 euros new, but you can pick up a 2nd hand Weber Mass for like 160-250 euros if you buy from the US. If you plan to use it as a dummy load(using it with no speaker) for silent recording you will need a DI box with cabinet simulation for that btw(ie: Behringer GI100, Palmer PDI-09, or Hughes & Kettner Red Box).

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fuck powerbreaks and all that crap.

fuck your neighbours as well!!!!



if you can't play it at high volumes then you're playing in the wrong place and should buy a smaller amp

or buy a good attenuator. They're actually more useful than just to get the famous cranked sound. They're handy in recording or live situation when cab micing is not possible or will not sound as good. Wire up your amp head to a loadbox and put a DI with cab simulation in between, feed the output of the DI into a mixer or pre and voila, a magic studio quality path.

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why spend money on a stack and attenuator then?

if you're just going to sit in your room and fuck about with your guitar, a stack doesn't make much sense.
instead of an attenuator you're better of getting a low-wattage tube combo, for gigs and practise you can use the real shit.

and since when is cab mic'ing not possible? only when playing in shitholes, if that's the case you'll just turn up the goddamn volume. same goes for recording, been there, done that. ripped the soundguy a new asshole. it's all good if it sounds good

I fucking hate DI boxes by the way, get them away from me and give me an sm-57 anyday.

Exactly. Please don't buy a half stack or a high watt tube amp, if you do not have the option of being able to blast it up.

Haha: http://www.marksguitars.com/images/...opy2%20copy.JPG

I agree though. Halfstacks aren't for the at-home guitarists like me. That's pretty much why I'm selling my Engl Fireball and Mode 4 cab. I just can't warrant having the thing if I'm not turning the thing past 9 o clock at home, and because I don't play in a band(nor do I have much of an intention of doing so atm, because I can't find a decent drummer, or any drummer for that matter). Possibly trading the Fireball for an Engl E620 for direct recording with a Palmer PDI + Firewire recording thinger/preamp. Def, you own the 620 right? How is the thing for death metal? Does it take OD/boosts well?

They make attenuators for a reason, it's for people who need a silent/quieter recording solution or that can't acheive powertube saturation when playing in small venues. About DI'ing, if I sent you a sample recorded with a Palmer PDI-09, you would not know it's not being mic'ed period, the cab simulation it has is the tits. I've heard a couple on the web and honestly would've never though it's going direct. DI boxes only suck if they don't have a (decent) cab simulation to shape the sound. Not everyone's house has good sound characteristics to record an amp with a mic because of phase issues/bad acoustics.

And fuck recording studio's. DIY for life.

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Hey Iron90 btw:
http://cgi.ebay.com/CRATE-Blue-Vood...1QQcmdZViewItem

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DIY is for poor bastards and amateurs

I know you can do a good recording with a DI but that's not my point. I hate it live and I refuse to ever DI my guitar amp... For recording it has it's purpose but I like to do it the oldschool way.

I also know what attenuators are good for but to most people here they don't make much sense, most are better of buying an amp that suits them.

About the 620, I have sold it quite a while ago. I used it with a peavey 50/50 and later with an Engl 2x50. I never boosted it because I loved the natural tone and it has shitloads of gain on it's own. Especially if you're using Sovtek AX7LPS's in it!
It's a cheap but good preamp but I'de probably dish out a bit more for a 530 or higher if you're going to do recording stuff.