I need to upgrade my amp. Advice?

plesiosaurus · Post by **plesiosaurus** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 6:48 am

Hi

So I've traditionally played quieter music until I began playing in my most recent band which is extremely loud. We're two guitarists and a drummer.

The other guitarist runs his Les Paul through some pedals into some tube Fender amp and I run my 69RI Mustang straight into my Vox AC15cc (which I recently bought, and is really my first foray into . I am pretty satisfied with how the shrillness of the overdriven amp sounds with him. We play real loud crunchy music, sorta similar to My Bloody Valentine but a little more poppy.

So the problem is that the Vox is just fine during practice in our basement, but it's just not quite loud enough for shows since we're rarely mic'd.

I feel like it would make sense to upgrade to a AC30, but I am really pretty clueless.

Would I still be able to get a similar overdriven tube sound from a more powerful amp without overpowering the unmic'd drummer?
Should I get something much more powerful and just rely on pedals to get the tone I want?
And if so, should I get a combo or man up and get a head and cabinet?

Any model suggestions for me to look at would be great.

Thanks!

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 6:52 am

best advice is if you got the money go for the vox great cleans and total 60's vibe

marshalls are great too for overdriven tones and whatever else your doing

and fenders are a great option if you have money for different ones (not the FM Frontman ones)

and anything else vox ad 50 100 etc.

Will · Post by **Will** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 8:19 am

if yr looking for the same basic tone but louder, then the ac30 is the obvious choice.

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 3:49 pm

yeah cleans are way louder then you can distort them with pedals

babyslapmafro · Post by **babyslapmafro** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 11:58 pm

ya if you're looking for volume and tone the ac30 is definitely the way to go. i've got one, it sounds beautiful and on just the normal channel (dimed) it is loud as PHUCK! let alone with the top boost section enganged.

Will · Post by **Will** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 12:15 am

I think you'd be good volume-wise with an AC30. Definatly loud enough to gig with and probably won't overpower yr drummer unless you have it dimed and you have a very quiet drummer. You can always use a booster to get more OD at a lower volume.

Head/cab vs combo is up to you. The combo is big and around 70lbs. If you can heft it, no big deal. If yr concerned about weight, an AC30 head and modest 2x12 would cost you about the same as the combo and be easier to haul around.

BobArsecake · Post by **BobArsecake** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 12:34 am

You'll get overdriven valve sounds with any valve amp at any volume as long as there's separate volume and gain controls. My Orange AD30HTC still gets beautiful break up at very low levels, though I may be biased, and have no experience with Vox perhaps have a look into Orange **happy**. Also, if it's slightly overdriven you're after you won't overpower a drummer with a 30 watt amp, I've had to have mine slightly dirty when I ideally wanted clean when playing loudly with a drummer. However with gain past 12 and volume full it was enough to put him well in the background :E

TheAttackman · Post by **TheAttackman** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 4:21 am

if youre ok waiting a bit id recommed a ceriatone (www.ceriatone.com) they are amazing i just got a plexi 50 lead and i love it... but youd probably end up waiting a month or two... (if youre fine with that...) Nik will mod it two... a got a mastervolume and a bias knob... check it out... its worth it (and ive played a stadium gig (5000 kids at a highschool) and i turned it up half way... so its definately loud enough....

[youtube][/youtube]

^ if you care...

((hellyeah))

gaybear · Post by **gaybear** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 8:49 am

BANG FOR BUCK=PEAVEY CLASSIC 30 or 50
nearly as good as fender cleans, way better than Fender overdrive. hit it.

gaybear · Post by **gaybear** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 8:49 am

BANG FOR BUCK=PEAVEY CLASSIC 30 or 50
nearly as good as fender cleans, way better than Fender overdrive. hit it.

terronado · Post by **terronado** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 4:22 pm

gaybear wrote:BANG FOR BUCK=PEAVEY CLASSIC 30 or 50
nearly as good as fender cleans, way better than Fender overdrive. hit it.

that's a good point, those amps are so underrated.

personally, i wouldn't trade my ac30 for anything. i have the combo, and a AC30CC2 and a 2x12 cab, and they're comparable. the only thing i hate about the combo is that it is killer heavy, but it handles dirt a lot better IMO.

Zack · Post by **Zack** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 10:21 pm

TheAttackman wrote:if youre ok waiting a bit id recommed a ceriatone (www.ceriatone.com) they are amazing i just got a plexi 50 lead and i love it... but youd probably end up waiting a month or two... (if youre fine with that...) Nik will mod it two... a got a mastervolume and a bias knob... check it out... its worth it (and ive played a stadium gig (5000 kids at a highschool) and i turned it up half way... so its definately loud enough....

It looks like your amp is mic'd in the video, is it?

As for an amp, I've always been prone to old fender amps. Can the Vox have an extension cab? If it can, then it'll probably boost your sound.

terronado · Post by **terronado** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 10:46 pm

Goots. wrote:Can the Vox have an extension cab? If it can, then it'll probably boost your sound.

oh very much so. sounds even better that way. it's plenty loud w/o though, and my drummer is extremely bangy.

TheAttackman · Post by **TheAttackman** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 12:32 am

It looks like your amp is mic'd in the video, is it?

no the mixer wasnt working.... there is a mic tho... just its not doing any thing...