Amps for Covers Band

Jetfire

So, after watching Chappers doing a review of the Laney IRT Studio, Capt Lee said that it wouldnt be an amp for covers bands etc. So, if we are talking a non tribute, general covers band (As we've all prob played in at some point) what would be the ideal amp for this? Of course, Axe FX etc would be great as it does everything etc. but what would be the best amp in your opinion? I mean, surely most amps would do it? (except maybe the 5150/6505 as that is a real metal amp.. )

Drew_TNBD

Line 6 Spider.

not_the_dj

I've used an Egnater Tweaker 40 for a few years in a general rock covers band. Covers the fender/vox/marshall base sounds well with it's voice toggle switch. But really I just set it to a fenderish clean then used pedals to give me the other sounds I needed.

Jetfire

Drew_fx said:

Line 6

Explain your hypothesis...

BigBearKris

Spider maybe not, but I always recommend line6 DT25 - they're wuality build and great sounding amps - will cover most genres with no problems - imho one of the best solutions for things like cover band. You should definitely try them out.

ToneControl

Ceriatone Bluesmaster HRM - Very clean - excellent clean sound, properly functional OD and boost

Excellent platform for pedals

Or the plain old HRM, less Mayer, more clean SRV

bertie

covers band = needs to be flexible, good switchable channels ie possibly cover fender cleans, marshall crunch and possibly boogie gain.

I'll offer up a Rivera -  Chubster and upwards -  a great  Fendery channel, and a good Marshally channel.  swtichable boost too

leerocker

Ironheart would be fine, i used one in my covers band and it covers a lot of ground! Im using my 5150 iii for covers band now and its absolutely fine! We do everything from rockabilly to foos ,pearl jam etc

p90fool

I only use clean, crunch and drive no matter what covers I'm playing. No modulation, no wah, no mess.

The only other thing I do use is a switchable master volume pedal. That means all the sounds I can get out of the guitar using its pots and playing technique are available at any volume. This last bit is crucial, so I can do loud clean solos, or wailing outro-style leads buried in the mix under the vocals.

I used to use a rack system with a special patch for every part of every song in the set, and I'll still do that for big gigs, but in pubs it's a fool's errand IME.

meltedbuzzbox

Punters do not notice or care.

the same goes for type of guitar used

John_P

meltedbuzzbox said:

Punters do not notice or care.

the same goes for type of guitar used

Maybe - most people won't notice if you're getting a good atmosphere and playing songs they like but if the gear your using helps you perform better - sounds you like etc then I think you should care.

For covers I either want a 3 channel amp so I can cover the basic in a simple to use way or loud clean amp that takes pedals.
I use an evh 5150 or a fender twin.

In pub gigs I'm not so worried about trying to get an exact sound - i used to spend ages getting my rack or floorboard set up for all the songs and changes but now I'm all for simple and easy so I can enjoy the show.

ICBM

Drew_fx said:

Line 6 Spider.

Not in a "real band" context - they aren't dynamic enough to cut through against live drums and bass - but perfect for live guitar and vocals over backing tracks. A friend of mine uses one for exactly that job, and it works far better than his valve Marshalls.

I would say:

Peavey Bandit. Cheap, reliable, loud, good-sounding, versatile and (despite what some people say!) lightweight.

I would take a small bet that more money has been earned in covers and function bands over the years with a Peavey Bandit than any other model of guitar amp. The only other real contenders would be the Fender Twin and maybe the Hotrod Deluxe.

hywelg

Good neutral clean amp, pedals for dirt. The world is your lobster.

As @ToneControl said, a D* style amp is particularly good because they stay clean up to very loud. Unless you use the OD of course. I dont, I just set the preamp volume just below breakup, pedals then hit it a bit harder which will give you a proper volume boost, have the pre too loud and a pedal will just mush it up. I doubt I've ever seen the Master up above 4. I have a Hotplate set to -8dB. If I need more I switch it to -4dB or 0. It means you ability to boost your level for solos isn't compromised no matter how the room changes.

I also use a DrZ EZG which is also great loud and a load of bass, but it does need to be loud unlike the D* clone which works better at lower volume.

stickyfiddle

Mesa Express and a pedal or 2. 

Bucket

My dad plays in a covers band and uses either an old USA-made Peavey Bandit or a Peavey Delta Blues, with a Line6 Pod Live floorboard. Seems a pretty convenient way of getting a lot of good tones out of a relatively simple set-up.

Were it me though, and if funds were unlimited, I'd probably do one of these two things:

Fender something-or-other (Deluxe Reverb or Super Reverb probably) with a biggish board containing drives, distortions, fuzz etc.

Mesa Express Plus or Mark V (or, in fact, my Blackstar) with fewer gain boxes on the pedalboard - just an overdrive and a fuzz.

johnnyurq

BigBearKris;181042" said:

Spider maybe not, but I always recommend line6 DT25 - they're wuality build and great sounding amps - will cover most genres with no problems - imho one of the best solutions for things like cover band. You should definitely try them out.

Line 6 DT-25 and all it's topologies etc lend itself well to this or if you have a bigger budget the DT-50.

After trying and using loads of amps and hybrid solutions like VG-99 and FRFR amps/Valve power amps and speakers I have settled on a POD HD500 (HD500X better if buying now) and a DT-25.

In terms of Electric tones there is nothing that cannot be gotten very close to with most guitars but I extended it to Acoustic, Reso and Dobro/Banjo/Resonator etc with my JTV-59 Variax.

With a wee bit of work you can nail most tones and get a really good approximation of the rest but if adding acoustic etc tones you need to send those patches to a FOH PA, FRFR amp or even both. 

thomasw88

Hughes kettner statesman is the best I've owned. Now own two as i think they're superb. I've owned/gigged a bunch of other amps but these are my favourite to date.

Jetfire

I did think it was a bit odd to say you cant use a particular amp for generic sounds....

JayGee

Mesa Express.

Flexible enough to "ballpark" most "mainstream" sounds, simple enough not to get in the way, compact enough to fit most "stages", loud enough to fill most venues.

Jetfire

Im using my Mesa Boogie Mark 4 at the moment and its doing a fine job, Ive used a JVM before that too..

dindude

The best covers bands I've seen have a guitarist with a little personality still who isn't obsessed with recreating the exact tones. 

Any good two channel amp with nice cleans and heavy gain channel will do it if you combine it with Tubescreamer type pedal on the clean channel for the in-between sounds. Add a delay and maybe a mod too and you're there. I gigged a covers band for years like this.