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georgeguitars · 11-26-2008, 05:00 PM

hi i need help. i have about 400-5000 to spend on a nice valve amp to play punk with. i know people say punk is punk n it dont matter what equipment you use, but if you listen to punk nowadays i think the amp choice is very important. any suggestions so i can go n try sum out/?

mattbanshee · 11-26-2008, 05:04 PM

Well, the traditional punk sound would be a Marshall valve. Fish about and see if you can pick up a second-hand Marshall head and cab for that money.

Failing that, look at something like a Peavey Valveking or a Laney of some description...

georgeguitars · 11-26-2008, 05:14 PM

not a fender hot rod deleux?? they have the extra gain. but i dont know

peacock1987 · 11-26-2008, 05:18 PM

Nah nowhere near enough gain really. Laney is a good shout. I am not a big fan of the valveking. the lc50 is a nice amp n has good amount of gain.

Dave_Mc · 11-26-2008, 06:32 PM

do you mean modern punk or older punk? could you list a few bands whose tones you'd like to get closeish to?

i'm assuming you mean £400-£500...

georgeguitars · 11-27-2008, 12:20 AM

yes sorry 400-500. i like nofx really but they use Mesa Boogie’s which are way too much money 4 me. i heard a fender hotrod is good for ska punk. n im thinking maybe with a boss pedeal for extra gain. any suggestions. i never really use fxs.

theflailingarm · 11-27-2008, 02:08 AM

you're gonna need to take your guitar into the shop with you when looking for the right amp. I could not possibly remember the amount of different amps i've seen used by different ska bands. They dont often use massive amounts of gain, frantic right hand action can create the agressive tones. The only thing I've seen used by more than 1 band is a JCM 2000 but there's generally pedals providing the extra drive.

It's probably best to find an amp with a clean you really get on with, then look at either adding an OD pedal to it's driven sound, or a full on distortion pedal to suit what you're looking for.

Dave_Mc · 11-27-2008, 05:48 PM

ok... bear in mind this is my opinion, so others (or you!) may disagree.

If you ask me, the hot rod is only really much good if you need great cleans to the exclusion of everything else. it does, granted, have better cleans than anything else at its price (that I'm aware of), but that's coupled with two of the worst drive channels I've ever heard. I'm biased because I prefer overdrive to cleans (i'd rather have mediocre cleans and great overdrive than vice-versa), but i've never tried a pedal which sounds as good as an amp which is aimed at overdrive/distortion (I'm don't mean boost/od pedals used to boost existing overdrive on the amp, i mean using a pedal solely to get overdrive/distortion through a clean amp). That's not to say you won't find a pedal which sounds excellent with the HRD, but you might be looking a while, and you may end up buying 2 or 3 pedals before you get the right one (unless you get really lucky)- and a lot of the nicest overdrive or distortion pedals can get pretty pricey.

at the end of the day, which is more important? if cleans are more important, then by all means go for the hot rod (or maybe the blues deluxe- its overdrive channel isn't as bad as those on the HRD, from what i can remember, and possibly has nicer cleans too)- but if you need a good overdrive/distortion more (which it sounds to me like you do, considering you mentioned NOFX and Mesas), I'd get an amp which is more aimed at distortion, but which still has good/decent cleans.

Does that £500 budget include a budget for a dirt pedal? if not, you wouldn't be a million miles away from something like an engl screamer or laney tt50 combo (i know guitar guitar was blowing out ex-demo laney tts for under £500 a while back, if they still have any left, and dolphin had one for a similar price which i assume was ex-demo too), both of which still have pretty nice cleans, but which will both annihilate the HRD in the overdrive/distortion stakes, if you ask me. The Laney sounds a bit more hot-rod marshallish in its distortion, while the engl sounds a bit more american/modern (but is a lot tighter and brighter than a mesa)- both are very versatile, though.

As i said, that's my opinion- the final decision is of course yours.

EDIT: to add to what theflailingarm said about bringing your guitar, which is a good idea (unless the shop has guitars identical, or at least very similar, to your own), if you decide to go the HRD + boost pedal route, make sure you try the pedals with the HRD, and some amps take pedals a lot better than others.

thereformant · 11-27-2008, 05:57 PM

Theres not that much modern, hi-gain valve at the price. I know from having to look recently, ended up with a JVM which is slightly beyond your price range. Close contender is the peavey XXX / JSX again above your price range and then theres another big hole til you get to boutique / mesa territory.

I'd prob go for a marshall DSL / TSL or something and a pedal, or save up for the peavey / JVM.

Dave_Mc · 11-27-2008, 05:59 PM

i don't think there's a big hole, there are things (which I've already mentioned) like engl, koch, kustom coupe, laney, brunetti (not sure if their cheaper amps are high gain) etc under £700 or so. whether or not you actually like them is another thing.

though of course I'd agree that the choice widens out a lot if you can get over £1000.

Are you going to be gigging, georgeguitars?

11-26-2008, 05:00 PM	#1
georgeguitars Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 314	amps hi i need help. i have about 400-5000 to spend on a nice valve amp to play punk with. i know people say punk is punk n it dont matter what equipment you use, but if you listen to punk nowadays i think the amp choice is very important. any suggestions so i can go n try sum out/?

11-27-2008, 02:08 AM	#7
theflailingarm Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Hi Ho Wolverhampton Posts: 769	you're gonna need to take your guitar into the shop with you when looking for the right amp. I could not possibly remember the amount of different amps i've seen used by different ska bands. They dont often use massive amounts of gain, frantic right hand action can create the agressive tones. The only thing I've seen used by more than 1 band is a JCM 2000 but there's generally pedals providing the extra drive. It's probably best to find an amp with a clean you really get on with, then look at either adding an OD pedal to it's driven sound, or a full on distortion pedal to suit what you're looking for. __________________ www.myspace.com/theflailingarm Silence is golden, Duct tape is silver

11-27-2008, 05:48 PM	#8
Dave_Mc Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Northern Ireland Posts: 1,085	ok... bear in mind this is my opinion, so others (or you!) may disagree. If you ask me, the hot rod is only really much good if you need great cleans to the exclusion of everything else. it does, granted, have better cleans than anything else at its price (that I'm aware of), but that's coupled with two of the worst drive channels I've ever heard. I'm biased because I prefer overdrive to cleans (i'd rather have mediocre cleans and great overdrive than vice-versa), but i've never tried a pedal which sounds as good as an amp which is aimed at overdrive/distortion (I'm don't mean boost/od pedals used to boost existing overdrive on the amp, i mean using a pedal solely to get overdrive/distortion through a clean amp). That's not to say you won't find a pedal which sounds excellent with the HRD, but you might be looking a while, and you may end up buying 2 or 3 pedals before you get the right one (unless you get really lucky)- and a lot of the nicest overdrive or distortion pedals can get pretty pricey. at the end of the day, which is more important? if cleans are more important, then by all means go for the hot rod (or maybe the blues deluxe- its overdrive channel isn't as bad as those on the HRD, from what i can remember, and possibly has nicer cleans too)- but if you need a good overdrive/distortion more (which it sounds to me like you do, considering you mentioned NOFX and Mesas), I'd get an amp which is more aimed at distortion, but which still has good/decent cleans. Does that £500 budget include a budget for a dirt pedal? if not, you wouldn't be a million miles away from something like an engl screamer or laney tt50 combo (i know guitar guitar was blowing out ex-demo laney tts for under £500 a while back, if they still have any left, and dolphin had one for a similar price which i assume was ex-demo too), both of which still have pretty nice cleans, but which will both annihilate the HRD in the overdrive/distortion stakes, if you ask me. The Laney sounds a bit more hot-rod marshallish in its distortion, while the engl sounds a bit more american/modern (but is a lot tighter and brighter than a mesa)- both are very versatile, though. As i said, that's my opinion- the final decision is of course yours. EDIT: to add to what theflailingarm said about bringing your guitar, which is a good idea (unless the shop has guitars identical, or at least very similar, to your own), if you decide to go the HRD + boost pedal route, make sure you try the pedals with the HRD, and some amps take pedals a lot better than others. Last edited by Dave_Mc : 11-27-2008 at 05:51 PM.

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11-26-2008, 05:14 PM	#3
georgeguitars Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 314	not a fender hot rod deleux?? they have the extra gain. but i dont know

11-26-2008, 05:18 PM	#4
peacock1987 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 271	Nah nowhere near enough gain really. Laney is a good shout. I am not a big fan of the valveking. the lc50 is a nice amp n has good amount of gain.

11-26-2008, 06:32 PM	#5
Dave_Mc Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Northern Ireland Posts: 1,085	do you mean modern punk or older punk? could you list a few bands whose tones you'd like to get closeish to? i'm assuming you mean £400-£500...

11-27-2008, 12:20 AM	#6
georgeguitars Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 314	yes sorry 400-500. i like nofx really but they use Mesa Boogie’s which are way too much money 4 me. i heard a fender hotrod is good for ska punk. n im thinking maybe with a boss pedeal for extra gain. any suggestions. i never really use fxs.

11-27-2008, 05:57 PM	#9
thereformant Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: The (IV) Millenia Posts: 4,484	Theres not that much modern, hi-gain valve at the price. I know from having to look recently, ended up with a JVM which is slightly beyond your price range. Close contender is the peavey XXX / JSX again above your price range and then theres another big hole til you get to boutique / mesa territory. I'd prob go for a marshall DSL / TSL or something and a pedal, or save up for the peavey / JVM.

11-27-2008, 05:59 PM	#10
Dave_Mc Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Northern Ireland Posts: 1,085	i don't think there's a big hole, there are things (which I've already mentioned) like engl, koch, kustom coupe, laney, brunetti (not sure if their cheaper amps are high gain) etc under £700 or so. whether or not you actually like them is another thing. though of course I'd agree that the choice widens out a lot if you can get over £1000. Are you going to be gigging, georgeguitars?