Which stack is the best deal??

[Z mann R2]

I play modern rock mainly....love distortion, love beltin out solos too.....what would be the best buy in your opinion? I'll be playin an LTD EC-500

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Randall-Kirk-Hammett-Signature-Series-KH120RHS-120W-4x12-Guitar-Half-Stack-605491-i1394522.gc

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Marshall-MG100HDFX-MG412-Slant-Cab-Half-Stack-Package-482807-i1145908.gc

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Crate-FlexWave-Series-FW120HS-120W-4x12-Half-Stack-481416-i1320778.gc

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Line-6-HD150-Guitar-Amp-Head-with-Spider-III-4x12-Cabinet-485062-i1174724.gc

I'm really leaning towards the Randall Kirk Hammett signature series....has a vintage Hammett High Gain and Modern Hammett high gain.....bet she screams!

[Rex Rocker]

out of those, I like the Line 6 and the Randall the best


I'd much rather play a good combo than a cheap stack, tho...

[Z mann R2]

I'd much rather play a good combo than a cheap stack, tho...

oh ya? so would you consider those cheap?

[V]

5150 combo for that price

[DUKE]

out of those selections, i would go with the Line6 or the Randall. i'm really curious on how heavy the Kirk sig would sound, and i know the HD150 spider has a decent amount of gain in it.

i agree with PRP and rex on this one about the combos too. not to say that those stacks are cheap, but a good combo amp goes a long way.

if you are firm on a stack though, try keeping an eye on the used market. nowadays you can get good tube amp heads for a nice price and a decent cab to go with it. i've seen a marshall 1960A go for like $200 once (cab was pretty torn up though). match that with a good head like a used 5150 and you're set. excellent sound for a fairly decent price.

but if you're set on a NEW stack however, seeing as you are willing to spend coin for the $719 Kirk sig amp, save up probably ~$180 and get yourself a Peavey Valveking stack.

hope this helps.

[MyApocalypse]

Get a 5150/6505.

[Z mann R2]

I didn't think a combo could get you that big powerful sound that comes from a 4 speaker stack?

[MyApocalypse]

I didn't think a combo could get you that big powerful sound that comes from a 4 speaker stack?

:rolleyes: dude, 5150/6506 halfstack..

[Z mann R2]

:rolleyes: dude, 5150/6506 halfstack..

i have no idea what that is??? What brand?

edit: if you're talkin bout this, you're fukkin nuts I'm not spending that much:

http://www.guitarcenter.com/EVH-5150-III-HD-Guitar-Amp-Head-481477-i1274699.gc

[DUKE]

i have no idea what that is??? What brand?


the 5150/6505 models are amps made by Peavey. they come in combo versions or head/cab stack versions.

with that being said...

I didn't think a combo could get you that big powerful sound that comes from a 4 speaker stack?

more speakers =/= bigger, better sound.


and that link that you posted is for the 5150 III, you can get the original 5150 used for a great price. decent sound and everything.

[Matt Parsons]

I would not buy any of those. They are very big, very heavy, piles of junk.

The other guitarist in my first band a Marshall MG. It sounded terrible, and it stopped working after two years of owning it.

Crate amps ALL suck.

I'm not familiar with the Randall so I won't comment on it.

The Line 6 Spider II is the best choice of the ones you listed, but I would honestly recommend sitting back and thinking about what you need and why you're looking at cheap halfstacks.

Do you want to play concerts, or do you just want to jam with friends/by yourself? If you don't need to play concerts where a high wattage amp is necessary, you don't need a halfstack. A good 1x12 combo will be more than powerful enough to get over a loud drummer. You can score a used Mesa Boogie Mark III 1x12 combo on eBay or craigslist for only a little more money than you're looking at there. The Mark III is very closely related to the Mark IIC+, which was used to record the Master of Puppets album by Metallica. And, in all honesty, that will be fine for playing smaller shows, or shows where your amp will be miced up.

However, if you really need a good half stack, you're going to want to save your money. You can get VERY lucky and get a used Marshall 1960 cabinet for $3-400. After that, the cheapest "pro" amp is the Peavey 5150. They're discontinued, and can only be found on the used market, so you'll have to check ebay and Craigslist. 5150s can cost between $400 and $800 depending on the exact model, condition, tubes, mods, alignment of the stars, etc. So if you are VERY lucky you can get a good professional quality half stack for $700.

Even if you do decide to get one of the halfstacks you listed, I strongly recommend you only buy the head, and instead of the matching cabinet, buy a used one. The speakers in those cabinets are garbage.

[Joe_Bradburry]

I would not buy any of those. They are very big, very heavy, piles of junk.

The other guitarist in my first band a Marshall MG. It sounded terrible, and it stopped working after two years of owning it.

Crate amps ALL suck.

I'm not familiar with the Randall so I won't comment on it.

The Line 6 Spider II is the best choice of the ones you listed, but I would honestly recommend sitting back and thinking about what you need and why you're looking at cheap halfstacks.

Do you want to play concerts, or do you just want to jam with friends/by yourself? If you don't need to play concerts where a high wattage amp is necessary, you don't need a halfstack. A good 1x12 combo will be more than powerful enough to get over a loud drummer. You can score a used Mesa Boogie Mark III 1x12 combo on eBay or craigslist for only a little more money than you're looking at there. The Mark III is very closely related to the Mark IIC+, which was used to record the Master of Puppets album by Metallica. And, in all honesty, that will be fine for playing smaller shows, or shows where your amp will be miced up.

However, if you really need a good half stack, you're going to want to save your money. You can get VERY lucky and get a used Marshall 1960 cabinet for $3-400. After that, the cheapest "pro" amp is the Peavey 5150. They're discontinued, and can only be found on the used market, so you'll have to check ebay and Craigslist. 5150s can cost between $400 and $800 depending on the exact model, condition, tubes, mods, alignment of the stars, etc. So if you are VERY lucky you can get a good professional quality half stack for $700.

Even if you do decide to get one of the halfstacks you listed, I strongly recommend you only buy the head, and instead of the matching cabinet, buy a used one. The speakers in those cabinets are garbage.

/thread

[D-EJ915]

that randall looks like a rebadged RX model one which SUCK, get a used RH200 and some cab and it'll cost like nothing. Or a 5150 if you want a tube one lol.

[ZephMan13]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Peavey-5150-combo-2X-12-Eddie-Van-Halen_W0QQitemZ300224711170QQihZ020QQcategoryZ1017 1QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Buy it, now.

[esp_gaijin]

Matt, MOST of your post is spot-on!

a few little points i don't agree with, jmo though:

I would honestly recommend sitting back and thinking about what you need and why you're looking at cheap halfstacks.

definitely agree, OP - heed that.


Do you want to play concerts, or do you just want to jam with friends/by yourself?

that's really 3 different things imo,
playing concerts - you'll be mic'ed up and really any amp or a pod could theoretically function for such; not what i'd chose but it could function and there are some tweakheads like Fripp or such who may even play thru a laptop using amp software; imo they do that just for the "weird" factor, but jmo.

the other 2 entries are drastically different ime,
jamming by yourself you can be as quiet as a mouse if you want, or loud as The Who, it's all your choice,
but if you jam with friends, anyone who has an acoustic drumkit, then you instantly NEED a lot of volume.

A good 1x12 combo will be more than powerful enough to get over a loud drummer.

i totally disagree. i found i had to have a min. of 2x12 speaker config,
and a min. of 40 tube watts or 100 solid state, in order to just get up to match the level of a drummer.
Note: in your basic 4-sounds of a band, vocals, guitar, bass, drums,
all 4 are in no way supposed to be equal in volume.
the vocs need to be nearly 50% of the total "band" volume.
the guitar needs to be distinctly louder than the drums.
bass and drums are much more "background" than people think, once you start mixing a whole band and analyzing things, and comparing to recordings.

However, if you really need a good half stack, you're going to want to save your money. You can get VERY lucky and get a used Marshall 1960 cabinet for $3-400. After that, the cheapest "pro" amp is the Peavey 5150. They're discontinued, and can only be found on the used market, so you'll have to check ebay and Craigslist. 5150s can cost between $400 and $800 depending on the exact model, condition, tubes, mods, alignment of the stars, etc. So if you are VERY lucky you can get a good professional quality half stack for $700.

OP - heed this! it's all very true. i'd add that people have a bitch-hard time unloading the 5150 2x12 combo, because it lacks the "cool guy" factor of being a halfstack, and it's insanely heavy to lug around; you can often score a 5150 combo for the same price of a head alone;
and ime 2x12 speakers is enough for jamming with a drummer, especially so if your amp is the 5150.

I strongly recommend you only buy the head, and instead of the matching cabinet, buy a used one. The speakers in those cabinets are garbage.

OP - again totally true! all the crate, berhinger, marshall mg, and even Peavey sheffield, cabs out there SUCK in terms of their speakers.
but pepole trying to sell a 4x12 have a bitch-hard time unloading them at all, so you can often get used 4x12s of a quality model for HALF what they'd cost new. it took me 6 months on craigslist to sell a mesa cab with V30s, it was mint shape too, i got HALF what it cost me a year earlier to buy new.

i bought a mint used marshall cab for $500 and later traded it for a guitar worth $400.

deals like this exist.

the carvin Legacy cabinets are kickass and come with V30s, and new i got mine for only about $555; but when i sold it i couldn't get over $250!

:)

[Matt Parsons]

Matt, MOST of your post is spot-on!

Wasn't it you who made the "Good amps under $1k" because you hated seeing these crapstacks? This is your knowledge, I'm just recycling it!

a few little points i don't agree with, jmo though:

that's really 3 different things imo,
playing concerts - you'll be mic'ed up and really any amp or a pod could theoretically function for such; not what i'd chose but it could function and there are some tweakheads like Fripp or such who may even play thru a laptop using amp software; imo they do that just for the "weird" factor, but jmo.
I would wager that about 50% of the venues I played at I was unmiced. You can't rely on the venue to have a good PA.

the other 2 entries are drastically different ime,
jamming by yourself you can be as quiet as a mouse if you want, or loud as The Who, it's all your choice,
but if you jam with friends, anyone who has an acoustic drumkit, then you instantly NEED a lot of volume.

i totally disagree. i found i had to have a min. of 2x12 speaker config,
and a min. of 40 tube watts or 100 solid state, in order to just get up to match the level of a drummer.
Note: in your basic 4-sounds of a band, vocals, guitar, bass, drums,
all 4 are in no way supposed to be equal in volume.
the vocs need to be nearly 50% of the total "band" volume.
the guitar needs to be distinctly louder than the drums.
bass and drums are much more "background" than people think, once you start mixing a whole band and analyzing things, and comparing to recordings.

If you get a 112 up off the floor on a stand or angle it up so it points at everyones heads instead of their ankles, then, provided its a good amp with an efficient speaker, it will be audible over a loud drummer.

NOW, when I say that, that depends a lot on the drummer. If the drummer is playing absurdly huge cymbals and really poorly tuned drums, then he's going to be pushing a lot of midrange, that will wash over the guitar sound. If the cymbals and drums do what they're supposed to ( take up the treble/bass region, leave the mids largely untouched ), then a 112 will cut through just fine.

Hell, I've played with my Microcube and a drummer before. It wasn't for anything really heavy or loud, but it still worked.

the carvin Legacy cabinets are kickass and come with V30s, and new i got mine for only about $555; but when i sold it i couldn't get over $250!

:)

So, to the OP, our lesson is: The important thing is to buy amps and cabs used :lol

[hessian101]

Look at your local craigslist- find a used tube amp.

[DeathrollJM]

the 5150/6505 combo is teh secks if your not so loaded up on looking cool with a half stack...and the quality will be there further than anything under 1K. Used combos on ebay can go pretty low, you can find some luck there.

[the_emptier]

the randall, the marshall mg series is terrible IMO.wow i never knew how cheap the kh amps were

[LordCliffton]

the KH amps are not cheap-not the TUBE amps anyways...

I have to agree with most of the replies here, those amps are kind of shit. Go used & get your moneys worth. Typically, with tube amps if everything is in order a new set of tubes will make the amp perform like new. If its a set-bias, such as Peavey & Mesa do, then you're golden-plug in the new tubes, flip the power switch & proceed to rock. Whereas with SS, if there are issues at all its usually not worth it to spend the loot to have it repaired.
Speaker cabs are another thing... get em used & the speakers are already broken in(read as used & sounding good-not abused & broken) and ready to play.

Choose your state & then proceed from there to the nearest city: http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites.html


Lastly, ALL Crates do not suck. The Blue Voodoo series that are 150/300 watt amps(BVH150 & BVH300 respectively) are actually quite versatile, loud, musical, and just flat out awesome & did I mention loud? lol
But most stores still order the shite BVH120 series, which are quite shit to be brutally honest.

Go for the GREEN & stay far away from the RED should you decide on a CRATE, if at all.

GOOD LUCK!

[Z mann R2]

Thanks for the replies guys! To answer some questions I'm not in a band or anything I just jam out with buddies and mainly at my place. I have a lil Comboa Marshall amp, THIS ONE (http://www.guitarcenter.com/Marshall-MG15DFX-Combo-Amp-101702926-i1145937.gc) to be exact. And it just doesn't have the powerful punch and rumbling sound of my buddies marshall stack which is the marshall I listed above. I can always use my combo for travelin, but wanted a permanent amp for the house with more punch......I'll take the advice given in here and prolly look for a 5150 like the one posted above on ebay. I like the idea of going with a used tube amp. I'll start lookin....thanks again

[Matt Parsons]

If you do get the 5150, then your friend with the Marshall stack will shit his pants. If you think that Marshall has punch and rumbling ability... you're in for a nice surprise.

[ozzuk1]

IF you can pick up a 5150/6505 used for a decent price and a decent cab lots of people like the avatar stuff which in the states is well priced....

I've been more than happy with my Valveking (clips soon hopefully) and its a 100 watt valve 212 combo....

So I think Master Gaijin has things summed up best valve over 40 watts should be fine for drummers and most gigs Dont get a stack just because it's cool looking, I did and it's a hefty piece of gear to lump around both weight and size wise, not that most Valve combos are light by any means....

Perhaps if you give us a bit more info as to what styles you like and what you like in bands sounds, we might be able to reccomend gear that is best suited to you and possibly saves you cash in the long run...

We deffo need to get some of those guides back up again....

I should get my arse round to taking new pics for the floyd tutorial....

[Z mann R2]

man I can't find any 5150's for cheap enough....this one is $700 for the head alone =\

http://corpuschristi.craigslist.org/msg/670445999.html

[sirsloop]

I've seen people play bar gigs with like a 50w 12" marshall combo and it was pretty fucking loud. I see a lot of people these days with these huge amps and stacks in like a little room in their house and i'm scratchin my head wondering WTF they are doing with all that hardware. I have also seen people mic up their tiny little 1x8" combo, dump it through the PA, and it sounds awesome. Lol... thats the same show were they have like a huge wall of empty stacks... all of the sound comes through a little miced up speaker through the PA. To each his own I guess... I'm happy playing my Line6 75w spider III in my little apartment. I can get pretty decent tones and its loud enough to piss off all the locals...

[Rex Rocker]

whoops, nevermind

[Matt Parsons]

$700 isn't a bad price, but they can be had for $500. I bought mine for $375, but the owner thought it was broken and it was beat to shit.

[Joe_Bradburry]

Thanks for the replies guys! To answer some questions I'm not in a band or anything I just jam out with buddies and mainly at my place. I have a lil Comboa Marshall amp, THIS ONE (http://www.guitarcenter.com/Marshall-MG15DFX-Combo-Amp-101702926-i1145937.gc) to be exact. And it just doesn't have the powerful punch and rumbling sound of my buddies marshall stack which is the marshall I listed above. I can always use my combo for travelin, but wanted a permanent amp for the house with more punch......I'll take the advice given in here and prolly look for a 5150 like the one posted above on ebay. I like the idea of going with a used tube amp. I'll start lookin....thanks again

dude, if you're lookin for punch and rumbling bass, the 5150 is definately the way to go. the first time i played one of those amps i was severely blown away at the ammount of chest pounding punch and bass response it had. it will definately blow the shitty marshall MG stack out of the fuckin water!

btw, how are you paying for this? if you have a steady income, then i wouldnt worry about spending a little extra dough to get an amp that you'll be really pleased with.

[DeathrollJM]

btw, how are you paying for this? if you have a steady income, then i wouldnt worry about spending a little extra dough to get an amp that you'll be really pleased with.

+1

Moral of the story if you have the money don't be a cheap mother fucker, get something that you will want to never stop playing.

[chevy Z 302]

dont go breaking the bank, save up and get what you want though. No need to settle for less in this case.

[Joe_Bradburry]

dont go breaking the bank, save up and get what you want though. No need to settle for less in this case.

exactly!

[esp_gaijin]

dont go robbing a bank, instead pimp ho's - it's a skill that you can also use once in the prison population.

remember, there are no banks in prison,
but there will still be (tranny ) ho's,
you'll have more cigarettes and commode-made moonshine than any other inmate, if you arrive with life-skills you can use there.

+1



:p:D





*has seen too many episodes of gangland on the history channel* :o|I

[ESPKH4]

wait a sec am i reading this right...GC has the Hammett for 719.00 by me.....


:confused:

i thought they were alot more $$$$

[ESPKH4]

ahh nvm i relized now its the cheaper version its not the MTS RMKH100LTD head and cab

[Z mann R2]

yes ur right, its solid state not tube

[chevy Z 302]

+1



:p:D





*has seen too many episodes of gangland on the history channel* :o|I


thanks, when you gonna tell me you got that nitro so i can try it out?:rolleyes:


;) i actually just placed an order for more 'stuff' and i dont even have an amp:rollin but i'll hold out to bring that up too! should interest you i think

[ESPKH4]

yes ur right, its solid state not tube

thats like getting a ferrari without the engine

[esp_gaijin]

Chev, i never got another email from Derek last week, so i sent him one this week and he replied he'll find out what's up; so i'm still in holding pattern again :|

[chevy Z 302]

bummer

i checked on some more things, like a thin skin tele, seems like a good price he's giving me.

but dude, i just saw this!!!!:eek:

http://wildwoodguitars.com/electrics/fender/avts/55tele/index.php

oh crap man, i think im going to be hurtin in the wallet this summer. Im about to order one guitar and now i see they make a white blonde tele, thin skin, damn.:D

[Matt Parsons]

Chevy, I almost feel bad that I bought your amp and you haven't replaced it yet :lol

BTW, I had a lot of crap to do today. The NES goes out tomorrow. Sorry for taking so long!

[chevy Z 302]

no worries, i want to get what i want, unfortunatly i dont know what that is nor if i will know what that is. Now i find they make a white blond tele, thin skin nitro and im ready to pull the trigger. And i've got my last expensive guitar to order so im like fuck i need an amp, the one guitar and now i want a tele. And i really could use a decent acoustic.:lol


nintendo as long as it gets here safe and works, its all good. Theres 5 of us for the month of may (outside 4 full timers) and i've been busy as hell with work. Although i told my boss that it was shipping there and he was like 'sweet we can play duckhunt all night' :rollin

just know im marking off the days on the calendar in blood....




:p

[esp_gaijin]

i want to get what i want, unfortunatly i dont know what that is nor if i will know what that is.

you're like Sean/Marti/Ans/etc. but without al the money :p :D

[Z mann R2]

I ended up getting this head:

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Line-6-Spider-III-HD150-75Wx2-Guitar-Amp-Head-103944815-i1168993.gc

With the matching Cabinet containing 4x12 Celestion Speakers for a total of $700

I know I know, but damnit I played this bad boy in guitar center and just fell in love, SO POWERFUL with 400+ built in presets ranging from loads of different artist to specific songs from specific era's in time like back in black, cowboys from hell, nothing else matters etc....artists like 311 and killswitch engage and just so many presets right into the amp, tuner built in, I am just blown away, the sound is still excellent for a solid state amp, I compared to some tube amps and honestly I'm too much of a beginner to notice the difference........four programmable channels that you can control with the foot pedal switch.....I LOVE IT! Just read the reviews, it has a 5 star average customer rating, everyone loves it. The EC-500 sounds so amazing, finally my guitar sounds the way it was meant to sound.....thanks for the responses guys!

[sirsloop]

Its a nice setup... pretty much 4x as loud as my Spider III 75 with the same effects. KSE deepfriedriff is the hot setup ;) I think other setups are better for dialing in your tone...something very specific. Line 6 stuff is great to get easy access to tons and tons of different sounds.

[chevy Z 302]

thats the worst part, i have enough to go buy a new diezel, XTC, etc.

but i dont want to put all that coin in a new amp and i cant even freakin try them out to boot!

[Z mann R2]

I'm really digging 311: down for my all around great distortion setup and 311: mit lead for bustin out solos......311 dialed in some great stuff! I'll try that KSE deepfried

[Matt Parsons]

thats the worst part, i have enough to go buy a new diezel, XTC, etc.

but i dont want to put all that coin in a new amp and i cant even freakin try them out to boot!

Do the amp whore thing! Buy it used, try it out, if you don't like it sell it.

[Mr Pigwalk]

I ended up getting this head:

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Line-6-Spider-III-HD150-75Wx2-Guitar-Amp-Head-103944815-i1168993.gc

With the matching Cabinet containing 4x12 Celestion Speakers for a total of $700

Sweet man! My guitar player got one used for 400 bucks and now we're finally at the point where I don't have to turn my amp down!

[Z mann R2]

awesome, lol!