legendary high gain amps

[Pearce117]

I wanna know what you guys list as the top 10 legendary high gain amps... And what amp sits at #1?

 

[ryjan]

10. Peavey Ultra Plus

9. Rivera Knuckle Head Tre

8. Engle Fireball

7. Peavey 5150

6. Dual Recto (2 channel)

5. Soldano SLO

4. JCM 800

3. Splawn Nitro

2. Mark IV

1. Diezel VH4

 

[gonzo]

Bogner Ectascy

 

[ryjan]

Bogner Ectascy

Hey no fair! I listed all 10. :lol:

 

[gonzo]

ACTUALLY,

i really dig the sound and feel of the VH4


but i've played several amps thru the years, that surprised me for their sound...

a Randall modular amp....

of course, i love my Mark2b, and i don't think anyone would consider that a 'high gain' amp, yet i never run it with the gain maxed out, too much for me..

a peavy 5150II.......

jeez, one of the most corpulent sounds i've ever heard, was someone running a Pignose battery powered amp as a preamp, into the front end of a Ampeg V4 stack!
LOL

 

[b0nkersx]

I wanna know what you guys list as the top 10 legendary high gain amps... And what amp sits at #1?

if you're talking legendary in terms of "most renowned" or "most recorded" then i cant think of 10 but here are a few that stand out the most to me, in no particular order:

Peavey 5150 (boosted and unboosted)
Mark IIC+
Dual/Triple Rectifiers (boosted and unboosted)
JCM800 (boosted mostly)
Modded Marshalls

in the realm of high gain 95% of musicians could get by (or have gotten by) with one of these amplifiers

if you're asking what amps we've heard that sound the best, that's a whole different can of worms
my personal favorites:

Peavey 5150
EVH 5150III
Framus Cobra
Mesa Road King II/Roadster
Mark V
JCM800/1959 SLP
ENGL Savage
Cornford MKII
Bogner Uberschall
Diezel VH4

out of these i would tie the road king, cobra, and 5150iii for first place. but if i had to choose a "desert island amplifier" i would get an axe-fx

 

[Pearce117]

I ask because I'm selling my TriAxis/2:90 rig and going smaller so I can be more mobile. I've never played on a
VH4,
Wizard modern classic,
IIC+,
MK IV,
or Krank Krankinstin+
Them things are just to high in price for where I live. I really fear a leap of faith on a $2,000 to $6,000 amp I've never played. I've herd guys that have the Mark IV, And the Mark V say the IV has more articulacy and has a better Eq and voice to it than the 5. The IIC+ is the killer for me. It seems so in your face but I use active pickups and all that so I don't know it that would make it sound less like the IIC+... I'm at a loss on what I want. I like tight in your face thick tone with tons of attack. I'm not a fan of high mid's or pointy treble. I guess I'm looking in the $2,500 range as my MAX. My wife would kill me if she even knew I wanted to go that high.. lol :shock:

 

[ryjan]

Judging by your avatar I would recommend a Mark IV, Uberschall, Dual Recto, or even a Mark III. All can be had for under your budget.
I love having an Axe-Fx. I get to (sort of) demo all these $2k and up amps and they all fit in a 2 rack space and weigh 20#. 8)

 

[Pearce117]

I had a Mark III and it didn't live with me for very long.. I did play on a 6505+ and it was nice.. I do play a lot of Metallica and I love that sound from Puppets, Justice and Black. I like Mudvayne and L.O.G as well as Amon amarth.

 

[YellowJacket]

I ask because I'm selling my TriAxis/2:90 rig and going smaller so I can be more mobile. I've never played on a
VH4,
Wizard modern classic,
IIC+,
MK IV,
or Krank Krankinstin+
Them things are just to high in price for where I live. I really fear a leap of faith on a $2,000 to $6,000 amp I've never played. I've herd guys that have the Mark IV, And the Mark V say the IV has more articulacy and has a better Eq and voice to it than the 5. The IIC+ is the killer for me. It seems so in your face but I use active pickups and all that so I don't know it that would make it sound less like the IIC+... I'm at a loss on what I want. I like tight in your face thick tone with tons of attack. I'm not a fan of high mid's or pointy treble. I guess I'm looking in the $2,500 range as my MAX. My wife would kill me if she even knew I wanted to go that high.. lol :shock:

OK, so you're asking us which amp we say you should buy. If you asked me which High Gain head was the most legendary and then you asked me which one I would recommend for you, I'd give you a different answer for each question.

I'd take 'legendary' to mean that the amp is iconic in some way. There is something that distinguishes it to be somehow more worthy of recognition. It is very hard to say which is the BEST amp because that really depends on what a player wants. In my opinion, Legendary amps are ones that inspire and enable musicians. Basically, the first company to come up with high gain tone revolutionized how guitar was played and simultaneously ushered in new styles of music. THAT is legendary. Also, if an amp is heard on tonnes of records, THAT is ALSO legendary. Yes Peavey and Soldano beat Mesa to the modern tone bandwagon but it was ultimately the Dual Rectifier which is basically THE sound of the 90s and the beginning of the millenium.

If you want to know what high gain heads sound the heaviest, this is a totally different discussion. Personally, I think the player is what makes the amp sound heavy! Guitars, pickups and speakers / speaker cabs also both have a huge impact on tone in addition to having a sick amplifier.

There are many more high gain heads than I can even possibly list, and these all are great. I guess the trick is to find what you like. When I was checking out ENGLs, for instance, I found them to sound dull, woofy, and growly. The Dual Rectifiers just had more mids and 'soul' to the tone, not to mention great cleans as well. But ya, there are those out there who totally disagree with me.

I personally would opine that the Mark IVB / Mark V are possibly the best metal amps out there. Both have a phenomenal lead tone, and a crisp and devastating rhythm tone. I FINALLY played a Mark V and I could not get over the lightning fast response. The amp sounds wide and it sounds good at practically any volume. Not only that, but there is plenty of bite and rich definition to the highs, not to mention the percussive, controlled thump. Is it my thing? Not really. I prefer a much more modern tone to that. BUT, the amp is still jaw droppingly good. Oh, did I mention that the cleans are great? Many high gain heads have ear bleeding clean tones. *coughENGLPEAVEYSOLDANOETCcough*

My bad advice is this: You gotta try to see what works for you. Dual Rectifiers are awesome but the feel is somewhat saggy or sloppy. They can also get muddy if they aren't EQ'd properly. For metal, I STRONGLY recommend a Mills Acoustics 4 x 12. (No matter what head you put through it, actually) You might like an ENGL better but I heard a band with three guitars once. Two guys had ENGLs and the one guy had a Dual Rectifier. The Dual seriously cut through everything! I hear people here talk a lot about Peavey 5150s or even the 6505. Both would be worth checking out, IMO. It depends how much brutality you demand from your gear.

 

[Pearce117]

Yeah I guess I'm looking at whats known to be epic amps just to brake down a sea of bad *** amps into a more manageable list.. I wish I could find a video of a Krank in E440 same with the VHT.. So many guys drop them down to D, C, or B, and I play in E, Eb.. I also have a Avatar 4x12 with 2 greenbacks and 2 V30's that I love. Now that thing is tight!

I love thick, tight, focused, crunchy, rich, notes with percussive attack that's like a 10 gauge to the chest. I love the scooped sound but not all the mid's Just a little bit hear and there. I hate that sound you get when it sounds like your playing in a cone I guess is the way to say it.. I really do wanna try all the amp's I can to find my sound.. I just can't afford to buy them and hope to sell and make my money back.. Hell I was thinking selling my TA and 2:90 was going to be a walk in the park but man was I wrong..

 

[ryjan]

The grass aint always greener. The Triaxis/2:90 rig is a formidable combo. What is it that you are finding the Tri lacking?

 

[Pearce117]

Its not that it's lacking its just heavy and bulky as all hell.. I love LD2 its a beast I don't even run it in deep or Mod.. I just want a smaller amp. So I was thinking I was boxing my self in buy thinking of only the Mark IIC+, IV, or V..

 

[zodiac272]

Hey,

I went through the same thing... I still have my 2:90 with a digitech gsp 2101. I wanted to simplify, so I found a IIC cheap, upgraded from mike b. and now it's awesome. I use EMG's, and it's tight, responsive, way high gain, articulate and reliable. Need more gain, get a boost pedal... BB or AC or RC. I have found that I can footswitch between fanboy chorus clean and super distorted rhythm chunk. If not for the IIC+ i might get a mark IVa then mark V then Diezel VH4 just because price. good thing is, if you get one and don't like, you can always flip it easy without losing your shirt.

where are you located?

10.peavy 5150
9 bogner uberschall
8 Sovtek MIG 100
7. Soldano SLO
6. VHT Pitbull
5. ENGL savage/powerball
4.JCM 800
3. Plexi
2. VH4
1. IIC+ and Dual Recto


this is the boogie board right?


scott

 

[Pearce117]

I'm in Good old flint MI. The butt hole of the us lol... I would love to land a C or a C+ but I wanna jam on one before dropping $2,000 I did play on a 6505 and it was sweet. I've never even seen a VH4 in person... So much $$$$

 

[fishyfishfish]

Ever thought of getting a smaller power amp and making a "B" rig?