Best Guitar Amp for around $500

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TheNinja

Lifer
Jan 22, 2003
12,207
1
0
Probably around $500 tops I'm looking for a good guitar amp. It is actually for my church praise band so here are the qualifications.

1. Great clean tone, almost accoustic sounding.
2. A nice full distortion, semi-crunchy, bluesy....don't necessarily need metal distortion (although I would be required to test it out at home and see if it can in fact play metal:) ).
3. Doesn't need to be insanely loud b/c we keep the amps relatively low volumn and use a mic to put it through the house speakers.
4. Footswitch for channels
5. Built in effects (reverd, chorus, etc.) would be nice but not necessary

I'm thinking:
Marshall AVT50
or
Marshall AVT100 (may be overkill?)
or
Marshall VS65R
 
T

TheNinja

Lifer
Jan 22, 2003
12,207
1
0
I forgot to mention that a tube amp would be nice but I've heard you have to cramp it up loud to flood the tubes to get a really good sound. Therefore the Marshall's listed above actually have a tube preamp that gets flooded at lower volumns and uses a solid state power amp (more cost effective).
 
X

xyion

Senior member
Jan 20, 2001
706
0
0
the AVT 100 (and 150) are really really good sounding amps. I played through one at the guitar store and fell in love. However, it really depends on what exactly you want the amp to do. My advice is to hit up the local guitar place with your guitar and rock out until you find one you like. I have a Behringer Blue Devil that does exactly what I need it to do, so I'm happy.
 
M

mrCide

Diamond Member
Nov 27, 1999
6,187
0
76
I was thinking about getting a peavey ultra plus, but somehow i dont think thats suitable for you. :)
 
P

phantom309

Platinum Member
Jan 30, 2002
2,065
1
0
Originally posted by: Staley8


I'm thinking:
Marshall AVT50
or
Marshall AVT100 (may be overkill?)
or
Marshall VS65R
Click to expand...

For what I think you want, even 50 watts would be overkill. I really like the smaller Vox amps - I have a little 20w solid-state thing that sounds for all the world like a class A tube amp and cost $120. Through a 2x12 cabinet it's good enough that I hardly ever use the $1200 Marshall sitting next to it. Of course, the Marshall is a little louder.....

 
T

TheNinja

Lifer
Jan 22, 2003
12,207
1
0
Originally posted by: phantom309
Originally posted by: Staley8


I'm thinking:
Marshall AVT50
or
Marshall AVT100 (may be overkill?)
or
Marshall VS65R
Click to expand...

For what I think you want, even 50 watts would be overkill. I really like the smaller Vox amps - I have a little 20w solid-state thing that sounds for all the world like a class A tube amp and cost $120. Through a 2x12 cabinet it's good enough that I hardly ever use the $1200 Marshall sitting next to it. Of course, the Marshall is a little louder.....
Click to expand...


From my understanding though, the wattage isn't necessarily just for volume. The higher the Watt the better the sound as well. I have a 15W amp that can't get LOUD but it isn't a good loud. I atually own the VS65R amp, it gets VERY loud as well but also sounds much better at lower volumes. Maybe I can get a small tube amp 20W?
 
H

Howard

Lifer
Oct 14, 1999
47,982
10
81
Originally posted by: Staley8
Originally posted by: Howard
Originally posted by: Staley8
Originally posted by: Howard
You wanna DIY?
Click to expand...

Do It Yourself? I didn't even know they had them. I probably don't want one
Click to expand...
No, do you want to build one yourself?
Click to expand...

Well what is DYI then, I assumed do it yourself? I never heard of it?
Click to expand...
Yes, DIY means to "Do It Yourself".

What's so confusing?

The only problem I see is incorporating distortion... I believe that would have to be done on the line-level signal, before the (powered) amplifier itself.
 
C

CptObvious

Platinum Member
Mar 5, 2004
2,501
7
81
I agree with phantom309 that 50W is overkill. If you are using a tube amp and want to overdrive it, you will have to turn it up very loud. The smaller wattage amps have less clean headroom and will break up at lower volumes. Of course, you could always use a stompbox, but it won't give you as good a sound (IMO). That's why most recording studios use small amps (many of them under 15W).

For a bluesy tone I'd recommend either a Fender Blues Jr. or a Peavey Classic 30. Both are under $450 new and can be found for less if you look around.
 
T

thomsbrain

Lifer
Dec 4, 2001
18,148
1
0
if you can save your money a little longer, the amp you want is the Marshall DSL401. accept no substitutes. honestly, there's no point in buying a $500 amp. use a little $150 practice amp until you're ready (or rich enough) for a real amp, and then be prepared to spend $800-$1500 to get something nice. because you're going to want to make that jump eventually anyway, so why waste time and money with an intermediate amp?

It's a 40 watt, all tube combo amp, with two channels, reverb (i think), an effects loop, and external speaker outputs. The sound is light-years beyond any amp mentioned above, and it will get as loud as you could ever want. keep in mind that 40 watts in a tube amp is not the same as 40 watt in a solid state amp like the AVT's, simply because tube amps are measured conservatively (a 100 watt amp will put out closer to 120-140 watts), and solid state amps are measured liberally (a 100 watt amp is probably 100 max, through a bunch of speakers). proof in the pudding: the "40" watt DSL401 is as loud or louder than the "150" watt AVT combo. try them and see for yourself. Also, although CptObvious is right that tube amps sound best when cranked to 10, every tube Marshall since the late 70's has had separate preamp gain which allows you to get distortion at lower volumes, just like any other amp (and still sounding a lot better than solid-state amps, although not as good as cranking the tube amp to 10). This is a real professional amp, capable of gigging, recording, and practice, and unlike a Peavey, it will not get you laughed out of the first public place you try to bring it to (although I must mention that the Classic 30 is a good sounding amp).

Also, if $500 is really the limit, I highly suggest buying a used amp. You can get a used tube Marshall combo for that money and it will be a great amp that will last forever with proper care. Just like cars, the smart money in amps is always to buy used.
 
S

Spoooon

Lifer
Mar 3, 2000
11,563
203
106
My brother has that AVT-100. He got it refurbed with a 1 year warranty for something like $200.
 
aircooled

aircooled

Lifer
Oct 10, 2000
15,965
1
0
Originally posted by: flxnimprtmscl
Roland Cube 30. I'm probably going to pick up one of these in the next week or two. In my search I've heard nothing but praise for them. I'll see I guess :p
Click to expand...
I may pick up that Roland for playing around the house...

 
silverpig

silverpig

Lifer
Jul 29, 2001
27,703
12
81
Originally posted by: thomsbrain
if you can save your money a little longer, the amp you want is the Marshall DSL401. accept no substitutes. honestly, there's no point in buying a $500 amp. use a little $150 practice amp until you're ready (or rich enough) for a real amp, and then be prepared to spend $800-$1500 to get something nice. because you're going to want to make that jump eventually anyway, so why waste time and money with an intermediate amp?

It's a 40 watt, all tube combo amp, with two channels, reverb (i think), an effects loop, and external speaker outputs. The sound is light-years beyond any amp mentioned above, and it will get as loud as you could ever want. keep in mind that 40 watts in a tube amp is not the same as 40 watt in a solid state amp like the AVT's, simply because tube amps are measured conservatively (a 100 watt amp will put out closer to 120-140 watts), and solid state amps are measured liberally (a 100 watt amp is probably 100 max, through a bunch of speakers). proof in the pudding: the "40" watt DSL401 is as loud or louder than the "150" watt AVT combo. try them and see for yourself. Also, although CptObvious is right that tube amps sound best when cranked to 10, every tube Marshall since the late 70's has had separate preamp gain which allows you to get distortion at lower volumes, just like any other amp (and still sounding a lot better than solid-state amps, although not as good as cranking the tube amp to 10). This is a real professional amp, capable of gigging, recording, and practice, and unlike a Peavey, it will not get you laughed out of the first public place you try to bring it to (although I must mention that the Classic 30 is a good sounding amp).

Also, if $500 is really the limit, I highly suggest buying a used amp. You can get a used tube Marshall combo for that money and it will be a great amp that will last forever with proper care. Just like cars, the smart money in amps is always to buy used.
Click to expand...

I'd LOVE a DSL401 myself... Stuck with my MG15 RCD for a while though.
 
silverpig

silverpig

Lifer
Jul 29, 2001
27,703
12
81
Originally posted by: Howard
Originally posted by: Staley8
Originally posted by: Howard
Originally posted by: Staley8
Originally posted by: Howard
You wanna DIY?
Click to expand...

Do It Yourself? I didn't even know they had them. I probably don't want one
Click to expand...
No, do you want to build one yourself?
Click to expand...

Well what is DYI then, I assumed do it yourself? I never heard of it?
Click to expand...
Yes, DIY means to "Do It Yourself".

What's so confusing?

The only problem I see is incorporating distortion... I believe that would have to be done on the line-level signal, before the (powered) amplifier itself.
Click to expand...

AFAIK distortion is just heavy gain. You just put it through an amplifier and crank the amplification way out of the amp's range and it'll distort the signal. It's just an amp within the amp.
 
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