Express 5-25 Plus for Metal/Hardcore?

[noah76]

Looking to check this amp out but was wondering if its good for metal/hardcore?
Right now I'm looking for a kickass small easy to travel rig.

Thanks

 

[BoogieMan_SC]

I own one and with an overdrive you can do some metal, but tons of low end hardcore...no way
I previously owned a Road King II and that's more of the breed (rectifier)

 

[DWAKO]

I wish it could, that's what I was hoping to get out of the burn channel. Even with the graphic I found it difficult to get some competitive high gain tones out of it. It's not a very tight amp like a mark series, it has a pretty flubby low end with an upper mid range voicing that doesn't really suit hardcore/metal. If you got a pedal like a Suhr Riot with a TS-like pedal going into it clean (or slightly overdriven) you could get there. Others may have had a better experience, I tried for a long time trying to achieve a satisfying heavy tone, and never could get there. Then I turned to the right and plugged into a Mark V and a Stiletto Stage II and had that "ahhh" feeling you get when an amp reacts like you want it. Don't get me wrong, the cleans on the express blew me away, it has a very distinct voice that sounds incredible, but tight, heavy gain isn't it's thing. The Mesa videos of the "metal" settings are accurate, that's about as good as they get, sadly. I wanted to get one for this purpose as well, I want a small, light head that can get those tight, aggressive tones, and as much as I like rectos, the mini rec isn't the voicing I'm looking for, I want a Mark V extreme mode in a tiny box... But I guess that's too much to ask.

 

[noah76]

Played it a few days ago. The clean was very nice. Very good for hard rock but not what I was looking for. Nice amp anyway.

 

[rectified.mafia]

LOL

I always laugh when I see posts like this. YES this amp can do Metal/Hardcore no worries. You just need to know how to use it.

I play Death Metal on my Express 5:50, Cannibal Corpse style riffs and It sounds Brutal. You WILL need to have an overdrive or a clean boost running before the amp to push it harder, EQ in the FX loop to compensate for the lack of responsive onboard EQ and you will also need to dime the gain. It might sound like a lot if you just want to plug in and play, but this honestly works really well for me and doesn't sound like your average run of the mill high gain JCM/Rectifier/powerball sound. It's a little more rich harmoncally, and is voiced totaly different. These settings may not be for you but like I said I can play the heaviest of music with my Express, and it sounds rad

 

[noah76]

LOL

I always laugh when I see posts like this. ^^^^^


1) If I'm going to buy a $1000+tube amp I'm not going to put a $25 SS pedal in front . I don't get it never have never will. Whats the point of a tube amp then? I can buy a Line 6 for a few dollars at that point.

I have a Splawn Competition and I get my metal/hardcore tone with no SS pedal. I was looking to down size and to me (and just me) its not the amp for me. If I need to slap pedals in front of my amp to get it to the sound I'm looking for its not the amp for me. Again this is just my way of thinking since I started playing back in 87.

 

[rectified.mafia]

Noah,

I was not mocking your thread by saying I laugh when I see a post like this. To be honest I like telling people what this amp can do. I mearly laughed only because this question has been asked plenty.

I understand your thinking in regards to the overdrive pedal. I thought that myself at first. After playing with one in front of my amp for the first time, I was hooked. I have used one with every amp I have owned. A lot of people such as yourself like the sound of the amp alone, thats cool, but it all comes down to prefference. I only use it to enhance the sound of the amp already. In fact I love the tonal character and voicing on this amp so much that I use a clean boost, so it doesn't colour the voicing. I only ever use the EQ in the loop to fine tune stuff if i'm not getting what I want out of a particular sound. To each their own i say. It's what makes guitar interesting. Not everyone likes the same thing. Good luck in your quest for a smaller rig, hope you find what you're looking for soon

 

[noah76]

Cool no prob.

 

[ifailedshapes]

LOL

I always laugh when I see posts like this. ^^^^^


1) If I'm going to buy a $1000+tube amp I'm not going to put a $25 SS pedal in front . I don't get it never have never will. Whats the point of a tube amp then? I can buy a Line 6 for a few dollars at that point.

I have a Splawn Competition and I get my metal/hardcore tone with no SS pedal. I was looking to down size and to me (and just me) its not the amp for me. If I need to slap pedals in front of my amp to get it to the sound I'm looking for its not the amp for me. Again this is just my way of thinking since I started playing back in 87.

I used to think like this. Then I grew up.

Seriously though, most pros use stomp boxes in front of their amps. It's ludicrous to compare a high-quality pedal to a budget-friendly Line 6 amp. For many hard core guys, a clean boost or Tube Screamer kicking their tubes in the junk is what creates their tone. Check out the Rectifier forum. Most of those guys boost their amps with a pedal.

 

[Newysurfer]

LOL

I always laugh when I see posts like this. YES this amp can do Metal/Hardcore no worries. You just need to know how to use it.

I play Death Metal on my Express 5:50, Cannibal Corpse style riffs and It sounds Brutal. You WILL need to have an overdrive or a clean boost running before the amp to push it harder, EQ in the FX loop to compensate for the lack of responsive onboard EQ and you will also need to dime the gain. It might sound like a lot if you just want to plug in and play, but this honestly works really well for me and doesn't sound like your average run of the mill high gain JCM/Rectifier/powerball sound. It's a little more rich harmoncally, and is voiced totaly different. These settings may not be for you but like I said I can play the heaviest of music with my Express, and it sounds rad

Totally agree.
I do the same with an EQ pedal and a tubescreamer.

And no hehehehe - I don't use Line 6 $25 pieces of poo or similar.
Only fools ruin their tube amps like this imo.
I use an Analogman mod'ed Maxon TS-9 and a MXR EQ pedal.
Another method is to run a high gain Crunchbox into the amps clean channel and mid scoop with an MXR EQ.

But unassisted the Express amps were never designed to do brutal metal.
A great thing that is too.
Mesa make other amps for that and I much prefer it's versatile voicings that cover almost every style.
Have no interest in sacrificing it's clean and low gain tones for brutal metal tones I rarely use

 

[edward]

Not a "metal player" and have nothing meaningful to add on that note. But as an old guy steeped in gear long gone (and lots of trial/error and foolishness), I just wanted to add that pedals are like amps: there are really good ones, truly bad ones, and no one "magic" ones. Pedal or amp: these are tonal tools to help get you what you want. And if you don't get what you want, move on until you do.

Edward