Buying a new amp head

[shinenz]

Am sure the shop will let you choose from there array of distortion pedals to check out the sound then? I think for great crunch, JCM all the way, or Mesa. You tried any of those two? Killer amps

[rocklander]

Surely Bugera wouldn't be that bad knowing you had a warranty to fall back onto?

Tommy: Let's think about this for a sec, Ted, why would somebody put a guarantee on a box? Hmmm, very interesting.
Ted Nelson, Customer: Go on, I'm listening.
Tommy: Here's the way I see it, Ted. Guy puts a fancy guarantee on a box 'cause he wants you to fell all warm and toasty inside.
Ted Nelson, Customer: Yeah, makes a man feel good.
Tommy: 'Course it does. Why shouldn't it? Ya figure you put that little box under your pillow at night, the Guarantee Fairy might come by and leave a quarter, am I right, Ted?
[chuckles until he sees that Ted is not laughing too]
Ted Nelson, Customer: [impatiently] What's your point?
Tommy: The point is, how do you know the fairy isn't a crazy glue sniffer? "Building model airplanes" says the little fairy; well, we're not buying it. He sneaks into your house once, that's all it takes. The next thing you know, there's money missing off the dresser, and your daughter's knocked up. I seen it a hundred times.
Ted Nelson, Customer: But why do they put a guarantee on the box?
Tommy: Because they know all they sold ya was a guaranteed piece of shit. That's all it is, isn't it? Hey, if you want me to take a dump in a box and mark it guaranteed, I will. I got spare time. But for now, for your customer's sake, for your daughter's sake, ya might wanna think about buying a quality product from me.

[danrawkz]

Am sure the shop will let you choose from there array of distortion pedals to check out the sound then? I think for great crunch, JCM all the way, or Mesa. You tried any of those two? Killer amps

Yeah, I'll probably go back into the shop and give the VK another go using some good OD's/distortion pedals before I rule it out.
There was a single rectifier on trademe a few weeks back I was interested in, kinda gutted I missed it!

How is the JCM 900 for heavier stuff? There are a few on trademe atm

[RobRoyMcCoy]

EEeeeeeeeeewwww

Those pots are nasty

This is what we use

2 watt military spec sealed unit. Made in Canada. They can take a great beating and are very low noise. They do make a difference but they are like $25 a pop.

[shinenz]

Like I say to most my mates, we all have diff brand amps, and after a few years it comes down to the tone and sound we each prefer individually. I love JCM's, we used one regular with previous band for two years solid, very reliable, great versatility, for the limited amount of heavy stuff we did play (motorhead, metallica) I was happy. I use my mates Mesa Nomad every week for the practices we do, and I just ohh soo love that crunch!! They are made to be loud

[shinenz]

$25 a pop.

+1 worth it I say

[danrawkz]

Surely Bugera wouldn't be that bad knowing you had a warranty to fall back onto?

Tommy: Let's think about this for a sec, Ted, why would somebody put a guarantee on a box? Hmmm, very interesting.
Ted Nelson, Customer: Go on, I'm listening.
Tommy: Here's the way I see it, Ted. Guy puts a fancy guarantee on a box 'cause he wants you to fell all warm and toasty inside.
Ted Nelson, Customer: Yeah, makes a man feel good.
Tommy: 'Course it does. Why shouldn't it? Ya figure you put that little box under your pillow at night, the Guarantee Fairy might come by and leave a quarter, am I right, Ted?
[chuckles until he sees that Ted is not laughing too]
Ted Nelson, Customer: [impatiently] What's your point?
Tommy: The point is, how do you know the fairy isn't a crazy glue sniffer? "Building model airplanes" says the little fairy; well, we're not buying it. He sneaks into your house once, that's all it takes. The next thing you know, there's money missing off the dresser, and your daughter's knocked up. I seen it a hundred times.
Ted Nelson, Customer: But why do they put a guarantee on the box?
Tommy: Because they know all they sold ya was a guaranteed piece of shit. That's all it is, isn't it? Hey, if you want me to take a dump in a box and mark it guaranteed, I will. I got spare time. But for now, for your customer's sake, for your daughter's sake, ya might wanna think about buying a quality product from me.

I still think you're a bit wrong about the quality side of things. They're really not as bad as you're making them out to be I don't think. And they're cheap and sound great.

[rocklander]

I still think you're a bit wrong about the quality side of things. They're really not as bad as you're making them out to be I don't think. And they're cheap and sound great.

seems your mind is made up.... go spend the dosh then.

[Ironbird13]

they're made by Behringer aren't they? i've seen some shocking Behringers, mate had a head that all the jacks f'd out on and a couple of the pots within 18mths

[danrawkz]

I still think you're a bit wrong about the quality side of things. They're really not as bad as you're making them out to be I don't think. And they're cheap and sound great.

seems your mind is made up.... go spend the dosh then.

My mind is half made up. But seriously, if you're pricing $1200 on a great sounding 120W tube amp, you're going to have to cut corners in some places. I don't think they're amazing amps by any stretch of the imagination, but I doubt they're as terrible as you think they are.
I just haven't found many other tube amps that have the sound I'm looking for in my price range.

IIRC they're only distributed by Behringer, not built.

[Ironbird13]

find a nice old Gunn/Holden/Jansen for a quarter the cost a chuck a Metal Muff in front

[rocklander]

find a nice old Gunn/Holden/Jansen for a quarter the cost a chuck a Metal Muff in front

what? without a guarantee??? what it if fails mid bedroom practice?

[danrawkz]

find a nice old Gunn/Holden/Jansen for a quarter the cost a chuck a Metal Muff in front

Yeah maybe, I'm still not convinced the Metal muff has the tone I'm searching for though.

[Hot_Grits]

I don't like the look of those Bugera guts. The Valve Kings are also pretty cheaply built. I suggest waiting until a bargain 5150 pops up on TM. It's the sound you want anyway.

I haven't played one of these, but they may be worth a look:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Music-instrume ... 593096.htm

-The new Kustoms are designed by James Brown (bald white dude, not GFOS), who was the designer for the 5150 series. Like I said, I have no time on this amp but it's in your price range and could be worth a look. Here's Guitar Player's review:

"The sounds pouring forth from the Lead channel were very aggressive—much like those of other amps Brown has designed, such as the Peavey JSX and 5150 models—with decidedly American distortion characteristics. The lows were wonderfully tight and chunky, with considerably more oomph than those produced by the Coupe combos—primarily due, of course, to the Celestion Vintage 30 speakers and the closed-back 4x12 cab. The mids were generally smooth with just the right touch of edginess, and the highs cut through without being overly harsh. The Lead channel seemed particularly well matched to the Les Paul and other humbucker-equipped models, which really brought out the buttery texture of the low mids. Individual note clarity within chords was relatively good, and the distortion cleaned up remarkably well when rolling back the guitar volume—even on extreme distortion settings."

http://www.guitarplayer.com/article/kus ... b-08/33515

-One more point: whether your new amp will sound good is very dependent on your speaker cab, both it's construction and speaker complement. It's always cool to demo amps in stores with their matching cabs, but you'll need to hear the amp with your cab to be sure you like the sound (or can live with it until you can get a better or different cab). Hint: 5150-style amps and derivatives thereof love Vintage 30s.

[danrawkz]

Yep. I actually was the person to leave a comment on that auction for the Kustom. If it's near the sound of the 5150/JSX then it's probably right up my alley. Anyway, I think I'm going to go for a guitar shop roam this weekend.