Question:
Hey everybody,
I'm going to be buying an American Stratocastor pretty soon, and I need to get an amp also. The one I'm looking at is the Marshall MG30DFX30w...I want something that has a nice lead distortion to it and also something that is clean sounds..and possibly, do you think I could get any "crunch" out of it too? Or should I buy a different kind of guitar to get a crunch sound? Thank you for replying.
Taylor
PS - I am so confused when you people are talking about all tube and all these other differnent kinds of tubes...what do you mean? I probably sound very ignorant right now, but seriously, I have no clue.
Answer:
the mg series are solid state amps. they consist of circuits and transistors. your really wont get a nice warm overdrive from them but you can probobly get some good cleans, and you really cant go loud on the volume without your sound deteriorating.
tubes on the other hand have tubes in the preamp and the poweramp, these babies can give you nice overdrives even at high volumes with them, but they generally cost alot more and more TLC is requiered.
as far as my opinons goes, i havent tried the mg series.
Answer:
Thanks em0ticon, could you give me an example of an tube amp that is about in the 200-300 price range?
Answer:
A Fender Blues Jr. is about 250 used. So is a Peavey Classic 30. I think you might be able to find a Peavey Ultra around that price-range. Maybe a little more.
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There are actually quite a few good resources already available. For instance, the How to Buy an Amp thread is great.
Case
1331st post! Palindrome sucka!
Answer:
i know that peavey puts out some nice tube amps... its just a matter of finding them used to get them in that price range. peavey classic 30 would probably be a good choice.
another option you have are modelling amps. as said, there are solid state(SS) and tube amps, but IMO, modelling amps and some hybrid amps fall under their own catagory.
in short, modelling amps generally use different means - usually digital and sometimes tubes - to mimic or recreate the sounds that a tube amp usually makes. sometimes they are good- sometimes, not so much. it all depends on the brand/model. this technology has come a long, LONG way in the past couple years, and i'm sure it will keep going. vox has really put out some really nice stuff recently.
anyways, modelling amps are an option... they are generally very flexable, and while i'm pretty picky on my tone, they sound great and very tube-like... affordable too (@$240). the main problem i see with going with a modelling amp is that they will be outdated in a couple years; which simply means that their resale will go down. i bought my amp to use, and i don't foresee getting anything else in the next several years.
tube amps will keep their resale values as long as you take care of them (and many times, as they become old, their values go up). modelling amps offer flexablility and affordability; tube amps offer the great tone and long term value.
that said, it depends on preference from person to person. my vox offers so much flexablility, that i'll never use it to its full potential...
either way, tube or modelling would be much better than a solid state amp. people tend to outgrow solid state sounds pretty fast. also, if you go with a tube amp, look into getting an attentuator(major tom builds and sells them here)- this will let you push the amp harder and get better distortion while limiting how much of this power reaches the speaker (similar to a master volume).
and if your interested in modelling amps, just say so... i didn't want to rant on and on and on about it, but it looks like i did anyways.
btw, welcome to the boards!
Answer:
oh...ss sux, bye toob ampz ONLY!!!!!111!!!11111111 modelignmapz sux 2!!! don't b dum, by tueb ampz ONLY!!!111!!!
sorry...i wanted to post that before someone else did. :-D
the guitar you're getting should be versatile enough to handle all of your cleans and just about all of your distorted needs. so here's a question for you, how long have you been playing the guitar? what are you looking at doing with your amp (will it be for practicing, playing at church, etc)? the Marshall MG series amps aren't horrible...but they aren't amazing amps either. i've found (through a Marshall G80...which i understand is the same as hte MG80) that the gain channel is decent for a beginner using a ss amp, but it's not something that will cheap you happy for the long time...the cleans, like i said, are ok...but they weren't amazing. i was also playing with a full band (myself, one other guitar, drums and bass) so even at 80 watts, i was pushing the volume a bit.
so as a starter amp, the MG series is ok at best in my opinion. i'd look elsewhere before settling in though.
Answer:
I have been playing a year, but I can play Phil Keaggy songs like "County Down, The Wind and The Wheat". I can also play Dust In The Wind, Classical Gas...and so on. But yea, my amp is mostly going to be for my room because we have amps at the church.
Answer:
wow...sounds like you're learning fast. in this case you really do need to sit down and try a bunch of different amps and see which ones you like the most.
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A big consideration is what you'll be using it for. Where do you play guitar? Do (Will) you play any shows? Etc.
The Fender Blues Jr. is a great amp, and so are Peavey Classic 30's if you can find a good deal used.
Answer:
yeah... try as many of them out as you can... it will probably be a bit hard to find a new tube amp under $300, which is one reason why i brought up the modelling stuff...
pawn shops would be a good stuff to look too... i've heard of people getting some sweet deals on tube amps.
the problem with music stores and pawn shops is that, often, you can't crank the amp up into some serious overdrive. drive channels and such are good here, but most of that will be preamp distortion - power tube distortion occurs at higher volume levels. just something to keep in mind... tube amps shine at when they are pushed a bit harder.
and another thing - i've noticed that no matter where my guitar goes, my amp goes with me... when you find an amp that you love, its hard to leave it behind and settle on something... else... so, do you know what amps your church have that you would be using? if you can get a good enough amp, it'd about be a shame to leave it at home...
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Now tell me if this is true or not..I heard that tube amps are not very reliable..they break down.
A big consideration is what you'll be using it for. Where do you play guitar? Do (Will) you play any shows? Etc.
Um..I play my guitar in the youth room, I'm not sure what kind of amps they have, yamaha maybe..but yea, I don't need my own amp for jamming, they have a nice sound system there. Not big shows, lol, just on Wednesdays.
Answer:
Originally Posted by hardcorerocker Now tell me if this is true or not..I heard that tube amps are not very reliable..they break down.
False, for the most part. They stop working if the tubes die, but then it's just to replace those, and you'll be good to go. Tubes only die like once a year or maybe longer anyways. Some amps just suck, just like anything, but most tube amps are good quality.
A big consideration is what you'll be using it for. Where do you play guitar? Do (Will) you play any shows? Etc.
Um..I play my guitar in the youth room, I'm not sure what kind of amps they have, yamaha maybe..but yea, I don't need my own amp for jamming, they have a nice sound system there. Not big shows, lol, just on Wednesdays.
Then you'd probably work best with something like a Fender Blues Jr.
Answer:
Yikes, who told you that?
Totally, completely unfounded and false. Tubes go out , as Rainer said, about once a year, depending on how hard you drive the tubes, how often you use the amp. The point is, that tubes going out, it a perfectl natural occurence in tube amps.
I guess the simplest way to put it is a Guitar is to strings as a Tube Amp is to Tubes.
..only - longer.
Case
Answer:
i thought the mg series was ok, better than some, not as great as others, but if your just buying something for at home, that doesn't have to travel often a tube amp may be the way to go. it will have great tone, you dont' need it to have a ton of power, and the care and uptake are easier when your not draggin it around all the time.