Halfstack, or rack stuff?

[The Magic Hoof]

Ok, here's the deal.

I'm in the market for a Boogie, and I'm not sure what to go for. I'm definitely not going to be playing live, and my new gear will be all for practicing and recording. In my position, would it be better to just go for some rack gear instead of getting a boogie halfstack?

If getting a preamp, poweramp, etc is the choice, then my other question is about what to go for.

I've always heard of the Triaxis and I've wanted to try one, but my options are completely open to anything else as well. There's the Triaxis, the Quad, the studio pre, and probably something else that I don't know about.


I need you guys to help me narrow this down, because I'm about to shell out a buttload of cash for all of this.

I'm mainly a lead player, and getting that amazing screaming, and piercing lead tone is what I'm after. It wouldn't hurt to have nice cleans as well =). For recording, I'm thinking recording it with a mic would be better than running direct... not 100% certain on that, but that's what I'm thinking.


So... I'm thinking that I'll need a preamp, a poweramp, perhaps a rack FX unit to go along with it (not sure if I will or not), and the other thing that I'll need is a cab to go along with it.

My options are completely open, and I've got cash to burn.

Let's go!

 

[Tubes Rock!]

Dude, if you got the cash, just go for it.

If you're after tone. Mark IV head, get a 4x12 (or two) cab with Vintage 30's... Hey, grab a Mark IIc+ head for leads.

Since you have more cash, might as well get either a Road King V2, and use the clean channel.. Or, just grab a Lonestar for the best cleans in the world. From my understanding the RKII and Lonestar clean is the same channel these days...

As for recording/Rack stuff. Might as well pick up a Triaxis, and a Simul Class 2:90. If you're more into just the nitty gritty analog grind, grab a Quad, and/or Studio Pre, w/ a Simul 295 or 50/50 poweramp.. As for the cleans, a Mesa Formula Pre would be your best bet.. All Rack. This set up would be fine for live action as well if need be...

What you are looking to spend is the key. If you have a limit, maybe we can help narrow a few things down.

Good luck man.

Edit: oh, yeah.. before anything. you might wanna check out Revalver for the direct recording stuff. They have really great stuff.. (nothing branded as Mesa, but there are amps that have Mesa quality gear.)
Check out the demo, you won't be disappointed in their amps available...
http://www.peavey.com/products/revalver/

 

[myqqy]

For whatever it's worth, i just finished recording a cd with the rectifier recording preamp- it was great for cleans, leads, and everything in between. I used a 50/50 power amp with it, and have since picked up a 2:100 rectifier power amp, as that is the natural companion power amp for this pre. I used a 1x12 mesa half open cabinet for a majority of the stuff, while the rest of the time my engineer used closed back marshall and mesa 4x12 cabs. I pulled in my old mesa studio preamp for one song, but thought that it paled in comparison to the rectifier recording preamp.
My thing is that i'm starting a collection of mesa gear, so that i have lots of options for recording. Good luck with your choices..

 

[The Magic Hoof]

Tubes... That's a bit much, man

I really wouldn't want to go anywhere over $2500 or so. $3000 is my absolute LIMIT.

There are so many options that I'm not quite sure where to start and what to go with. I wouldn't mind having a halfstack, but I'm thinking studio rack gear would be more logical because of what I plan to do with it.

The Triaxis, Quad, and studio pres... I have no idea what the difference is between all of them, but I'm thinking that the the quad and/or studio pre is preferred over a triaxis. From what I've read, I'm thinking a Quad would be the way to go.

I'm not opposed to getting a mark iv head and a cab either..

 

[Tubes Rock!]

If you are looking to do mainly recording and with a budget, then you might want to stick with the Triaxis since it has a recording out. The Studio Pre and Quad have output for either a power amp and another for a line out mixer. The Studio Pre's are really nice units. They are obtainable pretty easily these days. For the price, the Triaxis vs the Studio pre is dramatic. $1200 or more (triaxis), versus $400-$500 (studio pre). You might be able to land some new triaxis if your lucky. You won't be able to find any Studio pre or Quad new.. As for the Quad, you might have more difficulty obtaining one, but they're out there. There is a rectifier recording preamp too.. just throwing that idea your way also.

A Mark IV head you can still get new for about the cost of a triaxis. Keep in mind with that option that you will need a cab, so your looking around $2000 for a stack, if you go with the rack, then a power amp is necessary, again this stuff would be used if you are sticking with Mesa. a 2:90 would be great with the Triaxis, or even a 2:100. The 50/50 would be great for either the Studio or Quad.

With a ceiling of $3000, you should not have any trouble getting your gear, its pretty much what you prefer at this point. But thinking that the primary focus is for 'just recording' then I would go with the Triaxis and Simul Class 2:90. Get some additional rack gear too, such as an EQ, noisegate, compressor and additional critical components for direct recording.

I am not certain if the Mark IV or Road King have recording outs, so those owners should have to confirm that. I wanna say that they do have line outs for a direct mixer like the preamps.. But there is nothing like a mic'd 4x12 Celestion Vintage 30s for the true grit.

 

[The Magic Hoof]

I think I've actually decided against a Triaxis. From what I've read, a Quad is a bit better than a Triaxis because of tone. I think I've also written off a Studio pre because of the versatility (a Quad can do much better).

I'm going to have to find a Quad used, but I'm sure that won't be much of a problem. Getting a power amp though... I have no idea what the differences are between all of them, but I'd like to get the most 'standard' one I guess. 50/50 it is then?

The direct recording thing is only an additional option that I wanted, because I think I'd rather mic up my cab instead of recording direct all the time. I can probably just use software compression and other audio stuff instead of buying more rack gear.

...and a bit off topic, but I've always read that the more stuff you have in your chain, the more tone you lose when recording. I'd want to avoid that =)

 

[lionel69]

go with the quad i promise you [/img]

 

[lionel69]

50/50 is the amp not 2:50