any experience with b-52????

[bjoyce27205]

ok, its almost time for another half stack. my line 6 is ok, but just doesn't fill in what i once had with a half stack. ive been looking at the b-52 at-100 or st100, because some people say they are similar to a mesa. i find that hard to believe. my friend has a dual rectifier and i play it all the time. i love it, but i cant spend that much money on a mesa right now. so if any of you have heard or played a b-52, please fill me in, or if you can recommend anything under a grand for a half stack, let me know.

thanks in advance.

oh, and i know that guitar center has b-52, but gc is the devil and i dont want to step foot in that store. thanks.

[ESPVIPERCAMO]

i played a b52 cab loaded with vintage 30's , sounded amazing

[ESPVIPERCAMO]

and the only thing close to mesa is the cab i just spoke of

[johnnyblaze36]

I own a b-52 at-100.its a very mid heavy amp.I had to replace the preamp and power tubes just to make the amp sound decent.it sounded far better with a solid mahogany guitar with a dimebucker.keep in mind I don't mesa boogies like.also the amp gets pretty hot over awhile.

[tonyjh3]

i played a b52 cab loaded with vintage 30's , sounded amazing

I can't say much about the actual amps, but I have one of their Baltic Birch
Vintage 30 loaded cabs and they do sound really good. I also have a Mesa
4x12, but I use the B52 for lugging around so I don't have to tear up my
Mesa cab. Great tone considering I paid less than $400.00 for it. I needed
A cheap cab, but it had to have Vintage 30's in it, and the B52 worked out
well. I may actually get rid of it soon though, a friend of mine offered to sell
me his Bogner 4x12 cab for $600.00, and it actually sounds better than my
Mesa.

[ESPVIPERCAMO]

there reg cabs suck ,there heads are medicorce for price but they are not high gain amps with alof of distortion and they still require a pedal of some sort overdrive or distortion

[bjoyce27205]

oh ok, thats what i needed to know, i see some blue voodoos and xxxs on ebay for pretty cheap, any input???? or any of your recommendations. thanks ahead.

[tonyjh3]

Not A big fan of the Voodoo series, just not my thing, but I love my Triple
XXX. With the right cab, tubes, and bias adjustment they can sound really
good. I had a Mesa Triple Rectifier before the Triple XXX, and I actually
like the Peavey better. Better cleans and a less fuzzy/buzzy distortion IMO.
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff233/tonyjh3/999003.jpg
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff233/tonyjh3/999111.jpg

[Robotsatemygrandma]

Ahhhh good ole B-52. They're decent amps for the money if you can find one used. When my Marshall died I picked up a ST-60 combo with a Vintage 30 in it... dumped a bunch of new tubes in it and ran it till I picked up my ENGL (2 weeks later). The cleans were just awesome but the overdrive was paper thin and very buzzy. A friend of mine has a AT-100 and I love the tone he gets with it. Very thick and chunky... but the reliability is almost non-existent.

I recommend the XXX over the Blue Voodoo, but they are both great amps for the money. My experience with the XXX is that it's a very versatile amp, offering great tones in all channels. For the longest time I was debating on trading my ENGL for one... until I re-tubed it. :p

[LordCliffton]

ya, peavey triple XXX heads can be had for about $600-ish all day on the bay..

get a used(read 'broken in') 4x12 5150 cab & you're in under the $1k mark you've set. You most likely will not be disappointed at all.;)

[CaptainFantastik]

I have a B52 AT-212 combo, the same amp as the AT100 but in a combo form. I'm very happy with it for the most part. My only complaints are that it runs hot (it's an older model that didn't come with an internal fan), and that the reverb dial is weak. other than that it's capable of really good tone. I get plenty of gain out of it. You can get some really nice gain out of the #2 Overdrive channel, and you can modify the sound nicely using the Contour dial and the tri-mode rectifier on the back of the amp. If you're considering B52, the AT series is the only way to go.

[nivek41]

5150 cabs used or new are not that good in my opinion.

By a new Avatar cab w/ Vintage 30's for about 400 bucks.

Carvin also has reasonably priced cabs.

https://www.carvinguitars.com/products/single.php?product=412VT

Carvin also has a head that Is reasonably priced for under 900 called a V3.

https://www.carvinguitars.com/products/single.php?product=V3

It was just reviwed in Guitar World last month and got a very good review.

[bjoyce27205]

cool thanks for all the replies, ill just have to go around and check out these amps. ill just have to hit up the shops in the area and see what they got laying around. thanks again.

[bjoyce27205]

i almost convinced on the xxx, a friend of mine has one and im goin to check it out. might pair it up with a b-52 cab, or a carvin, depends of the funds at that present time. thanks for the recommendations.

[Gravy Tank]

Might be just a little late, but the guitarist for a local psychobilly band called the F-Holes uses a B-52 AT-100. Sounds alright for what they use it for.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=76762430

[nivek41]

The JSX is good too if you are going to go with Peavey.