Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

Sign In with Google

Become a Subscriber!

Subscribe to our Patreon, and get image uploads with no ads on the site!

Read more...

Mid/high gain amp with useable cleans.

What's Hot
13

Comments

  • TTBZTTBZ Frets: 2873
    edited January 2019
    Getting a bit old now but the JVM might be worth a look. Not as compact or flash as some of the other offerings but for the kinda tones you mention in the OP it's ideal - the overdrive orange channels are awesome. Can probably be had for dirt cheap 2nd hand too.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • octatonic said:
    Check out the Suhr PT.
    This!
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • TTBZ said:
    Getting a bit old now but the JVM might be worth a look. Not as compact or flash as some of the other offerings but for the kinda tones you mention in the OP it's ideal - the overdrive orange channels are awesome. Can probably be had for dirt cheap 2nd hand too.
    I have a VH4 and a JVM...the VH4 as you would expect pretty clearly out performs the JVM.

     I did use a JVM as my main ampt for about 8 years though so it cant be all bad...what I would say is that the cleans are marshall cleans rather than fendery. The crunch si obvisouly the standout tone, the high gain tones are good but the channels are pretty noisy with the gain ramped up. Also when you change channels theres a tiny dropout in the signal...most people dont notice it (in fact back on MR there was a huge thread where various owners said that the gap didnt exist on there JVM...but I since contacted the amp designer and confirmed it is intentional)....however it is one thing that irked me about the amp the whole time.

    Depending on what else you have though...I actually am currently using my other backup amp (VH4 needs to visit germans for a midi chip replacement) , a jet city JCA50h, this is a 2 channel amp that has a great distortion tone...however it doesnt really do cleans, at gig volume the clean channel always has a bit of crunch on it. However...if you ahve a modeller you can set it up in 4CM so you can effectively switch out the preamp stage for clean tones. I've done this with both my boss-gt10 and my helix so I can use the JCA50h crunch and distortion tonesa but use a vox or fender model for the cleans...it works really well and the JCA's are soooooo cheap.

    TTBZ is about right on the price though, I still have mine because I jsut can bear to take the depreciation hit on it after buying it full price new 

    :)
    ဈǝᴉʇsɐoʇǝsǝǝɥɔဪቌ
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • Or just buy a VH4 cos they're basically the best amp.
    ဈǝᴉʇsɐoʇǝsǝǝɥɔဪቌ
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • Clarky said:

    ch3 is mid gain to the low end of hi gain [and is jaw dropping cos it's a mid gain tone with a hi gain feel]

    Thats a really good way of putting it. Channel 3 is just basically straight up voodoo.

    You can back the gain way off compared to toher hamps and still get squealy pinch harmonics and the low end of the VH4 is so good that chugging also comes across as heavier and more aggresive than objectively higher gain sounds.

    It's like it has all the charactersitics that you try to get by adding gain...but they're highlighted by the voicing so you dont actually need as much gain..which has the benefit of additional clarity and less noise.
    ဈǝᴉʇsɐoʇǝsǝǝɥɔဪቌ
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • TTBZTTBZ Frets: 2873
    edited January 2019
    @PolarityMan - can't argue with that! I'd agree the JVM excels at the modded Marshall tones and crunches.

    I've always wanted to try a Diezel and that description of channel 3 sounds like my idea of heaven for the sort of music I play - "mid gain with a high gain feel" sounds exactly what I want. Unfortunately out of reach for my budget but there's always the VH4 pedal I guess, wonder how close it can get.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71951
    If anyone is interested, there's a second hand VH4 in Strung Out Guitars in Glasgow just now. £1699.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • BeexterBeexter Frets: 597
    Mesa Express 5.25+.
    Ridiculously versatile without being as complicated as the Mark series and plenty loud enough. Everything from rich cleans to high gain. The switchable EQ options are really useful and utterly brilliant. I've also got an AX8 and I don't find the Mesa lacking in the versatility department at all.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • WazmeisterWazmeister Frets: 9444
    Beexter said:
    Mesa Express 5.25+.
    Ridiculously versatile without being as complicated as the Mark series and plenty loud enough. Everything from rich cleans to high gain. The switchable EQ options are really useful and utterly brilliant. I've also got an AX8 and I don't find the Mesa lacking in the versatility department at all.
    Totally agree. Vastly underrated amps these...
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • ClarkyClarky Frets: 3261
    Clarky said:

    ch3 is mid gain to the low end of hi gain [and is jaw dropping cos it's a mid gain tone with a hi gain feel]

    Thats a really good way of putting it. Channel 3 is just basically straight up voodoo.

    You can back the gain way off compared to toher hamps and still get squealy pinch harmonics and the low end of the VH4 is so good that chugging also comes across as heavier and more aggresive than objectively higher gain sounds.

    It's like it has all the charactersitics that you try to get by adding gain...but they're highlighted by the voicing so you dont actually need as much gain..which has the benefit of additional clarity and less noise.
    absolutely it's voodoo... lol..
    I've never known any amp to get that ch3 type of tone with that type of feel
    it's nothing short of miraculous 
    play every note as if it were your first
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • Clarky said:
    ICBM said:

    Oddly I've never owned any version of 5150, thought I did have a SLO and I still have a dual recto 2 channel revision C which are all very close or so I'm told :)
    No, they’re not. Part of the Dual Rectifier preamp circuit is copied from the SLO, but only part - the rest of the amp is completely different - and the 5150 is not remotely similar to either of them, or any other of the amps which evolved from the 5F6-A Bassman via Marshall. The 5150 is actually quite unusual in amp history in that it appears to be more or less an original design, not directly copied or derived from anything else as far as I know.
    I don't know the history or technicals regarding the 5150 family
    but I have played through a real 5150 Block, 5153 and the Axe-FX modelled versions [which I use regular and know sound and feel pretty much the same as the real thing]..
    the 5150 Block seemed very single minded to me.. a very hi-gain amp.. does one thing brilliantly
    the 5153 has all the goodies of the 5150 plus very nice clean and mid-gain channels
    the unexpected surprise was the aggressive clean from the green channel..
    it's wonderful.. thick and full bodied with a nice edge in the highs

    if I were to ever switch from the Axe to a real amp, the contest would be between the VH4, Herbert and 5153
    it'd be a very tough choice but for flexibility I reckon the VH4 would win by a whisker
    Quick question? 

    The 5153 you are citing, is that by any chance the 50w that belonged to Drew and now resides in my sweaty mitts? 
    " Why does it smell of bum?" Mrs Professorben.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • @John_P ;I've just ordered a Victory Super Kraken, which by all accounts, sounds great in the demos and has some really nice cleans. The gain can go from mild crunch to massive high gain. So I'm really hopeful it fits the bill for my needs.
    Read my guitar/gear blog at medium.com/redchairriffs

    View my feedback at www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/comment/1201922
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • John_PJohn_P Frets: 2744
    @John_P ;I've just ordered a Victory Super Kraken, which by all accounts, sounds great in the demos and has some really nice cleans. The gain can go from mild crunch to massive high gain. So I'm really hopeful it fits the bill for my needs.
    Hope you enjoy it.    I’ve not been moved by the victory’s I’ve played so I ruled them out but plenty of other people seem to love them so hopefully It’ll be great.  

    I’m still very torn about what I want so I figured it’s best to pause until I see something that is right given I already have enough cracking amps I can use in the meantime.  

    A 3 channel Helios, an ecstacy and an slo are top of the tree if I could justify the outlay. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • bazxkrbazxkr Frets: 610
    Check out the Engl E650 100w head....great cleans, classic rock right up to brutal metal if you need it. The Z5 pedal really brings it alive. Very versatile, you would be surprised, not what I would normally expect from an Engl
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • @John_P ;I've just ordered a Victory Super Kraken, which by all accounts, sounds great in the demos and has some really nice cleans. The gain can go from mild crunch to massive high gain. So I'm really hopeful it fits the bill for my needs.
    @jonaththomas83 - tell us more when you get it, interesting in that amp :)
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • EpsilonEpsilon Frets: 600
    I recently got hold a Bogner Goldfinger 45 which would probably fit into the mid- gain amp category (think boosted JCM800 levels of gain, but much nice sounding). Running an OD into on 80s mode will give you all the gain you could possibly want. The clean channel is not simply usable but exceptional in its own right.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • Jonathanthomas83Jonathanthomas83 Frets: 3466
    edited January 2019
    @webrthomson I love it, great amp. I won't be keeping it though, not because it isn't great but because I can't pull myself away from my Kemper. As nice as it is owning a real amp, I am besotted with the Kemper and what it offers me. I have a profile of the old Kraken and it's not a million miles off what I'm hearing with this amp and a load box, so I don't really see any benefit...apart from the satisfaction of owning the real thing, and I'd like to think I'm past that now.

    No doubt in my mind, this is the amp for me though, high gain wise, sounds exactly like how I'd want it to sound...great! If I were to go back to amps, this would be in the arsenal!
    Read my guitar/gear blog at medium.com/redchairriffs

    View my feedback at www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/comment/1201922
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • @webrthomson I love it, great amp. I won't be keeping it though, not because it isn't great but because I can't pull myself away from my Kemper. As nice as it is owning a real amp, I am besotted with the Kemper and what it offers me. I have a profile of the old Kraken and it's not a million miles off what I'm hearing with this amp and a load box, so I don't really see any benefit...apart from the satisfaction of owning the real thing, and I'd like to think I'm past that now.

    No doubt in my mind, this is the amp for me though, high gain wise, sounds exactly like how I'd want it to sound...great! If I were to go back to amps, this would be in the arsenal!
    Good to know - I'll need to try one out :)

    Do you have a powered Kemper or run a power amp with it?
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • BowksBowks Frets: 413
    Marshall 6100LM.

    Crystal clean channel 1, channel 2 can offer crunch levels from the JTM45, 1959 and JCM800, then lots of gain on channel 3!

    It's what Satriani based the JSX on, but it's a Marshall, innit.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • Orange Rockerverb II or III. I've just decided to keep my II largely on the basis of the cleans
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
Sign In or Register to comment.