So! I've been playing around with my Fender Twin for a while now, and, after heaving the thing around and putting in $$'s trying to get it to work properly and going through a few pedals trying to find a good sound, I have decided that it's time to get a new amp, and I want to be able to use it with little or no help from pedals. I've been looking around for a while and have gotten it (mostly) down to two choices: A Marshall Valvestate (most likely a VS100) or a Fender Performer 1000.
I really like the "hybrid" style of these two amps, since I can get a good tube sound without spending a lot of money (I don't want to spend more than $400), and I like that I can get them in combo form. What I need help with right now is choosing which one to buy.
The other guitarist in my band bought a Valvestate not long ago (I don't know which model, but it's a 212, 100 Watt with Stereo Chorus), and I have been playing around with it non-stop, since he keeps it at my house/the practice space. I really like the sounds that it has, but I am wary of getting one myself, since I would like us to each have our own different sounds (I play mainly rhythm).
The Fender Performer 1000 caught my eye, but I don't know much about it. I know that Robroe has one, and I've watched a few of his videos on YouTube, as well as a few others, but the demos of it and its cousin the Roc Pro are very sparse, and filled with teh metulz. Also, there aren't any combos around me to be tried - just a few Roc Pro half-stacks, which are too big for me.
The bottom line here is that I know that the Valvestate is great, and I will love the sounds, but the Performer seems good as well, and would probably be able to sound a lot different than the Marshall. I am curious what Shortscale has to say, especially coming from people that have owned one or both of these amps. If someone with a Performer could do a quick demo of one, that would be extremely helpful, too.
Thanks, Shortscale!
EDIT:
If there are any other amps in this price range that anyone would like to suggest, please feel free!
Valvestate vs. Performer vs. ?
Moderated By: mods
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brambleperro
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i have had mine for 14 years now.
its not useful as a bedroom amp on its own without some sort of peddal to dial the volume back a little. but once you get over that hurdle its an awesome amp.
the clean channel is FUCKING LOUD on 2. past 2 it's the same volume and doesn't start breaking up until about 6. but like i said, you won't ever use it without something in your line to dial all that headroom back.
its got 2 gain channels. back in the day when all i would do in my dorm room was sit around and play along with bad religion and nofx you could get a very nice scooped sound out of both sides of the gain channels.
now days i play mainly all on the clean channel with the mid on 8 and treb/bass on like 3, running thru a Vamp2 emulation unit to change up the sondz. it does everything i need it to do without having a giant peddal board on the floor.
i did change the tube back around 1998 or so to a sovtek because i thought i blew the stock one. turns out that the amp just gets mega hot and the weakens solder joints at the point where the channel switching takes place. so the amp will randomly switch channels on you / or get stuck inbetween and buzzz.
this was my first "real" amp so i had no idea how to care for it. i would forget and leave it turned on for like 2 or 3 days in the basement at college....just stupid lame shit. stupid. i had no idea it would get fucked up, i figured it was like my computer or something...i leave that on non stop for months.
anyways its a sweet amp, you could probably buy one on ebay from some dude who thinks the amp is shot for 5 bucks, take it in to get serviced knowing what exactly is wrong with it and get it back a day later with a sweet amp.
its not useful as a bedroom amp on its own without some sort of peddal to dial the volume back a little. but once you get over that hurdle its an awesome amp.
the clean channel is FUCKING LOUD on 2. past 2 it's the same volume and doesn't start breaking up until about 6. but like i said, you won't ever use it without something in your line to dial all that headroom back.
its got 2 gain channels. back in the day when all i would do in my dorm room was sit around and play along with bad religion and nofx you could get a very nice scooped sound out of both sides of the gain channels.
now days i play mainly all on the clean channel with the mid on 8 and treb/bass on like 3, running thru a Vamp2 emulation unit to change up the sondz. it does everything i need it to do without having a giant peddal board on the floor.
i did change the tube back around 1998 or so to a sovtek because i thought i blew the stock one. turns out that the amp just gets mega hot and the weakens solder joints at the point where the channel switching takes place. so the amp will randomly switch channels on you / or get stuck inbetween and buzzz.
this was my first "real" amp so i had no idea how to care for it. i would forget and leave it turned on for like 2 or 3 days in the basement at college....just stupid lame shit. stupid. i had no idea it would get fucked up, i figured it was like my computer or something...i leave that on non stop for months.
anyways its a sweet amp, you could probably buy one on ebay from some dude who thinks the amp is shot for 5 bucks, take it in to get serviced knowing what exactly is wrong with it and get it back a day later with a sweet amp.
dots wrote:incesticide
i used to own a Valvestate VS100R 1x12 combo.
honestly it was great but i found it pretty harsh when turned up, and not in a nice way. that said, used to practise in a studio with a VS100 head, and it sounded better through a big cab. still harsh though.
you didn't say what sort of sound you want - there is a world of difference between Fender (beautiful jangly cleans) and Marshall (classic distortion). Give us a bit more info on what you do in the band, and whether you're after clean/distortion/high gain lead tones.
honestly it was great but i found it pretty harsh when turned up, and not in a nice way. that said, used to practise in a studio with a VS100 head, and it sounded better through a big cab. still harsh though.
you didn't say what sort of sound you want - there is a world of difference between Fender (beautiful jangly cleans) and Marshall (classic distortion). Give us a bit more info on what you do in the band, and whether you're after clean/distortion/high gain lead tones.
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brambleperro
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Thanks for the quick replies!
First off, I had a Valvetronix AD100VT last week, and I promptly returned it. I agree, it was incredibly harsh, and despite the billion sounds that could be had, I couldn't find one that I really liked. That was a disappointment...
As for my own sounds, hmm, I always have a hard time with this one. Lately I've been aching for some classic rock distortion, but at the same time I like a chunky low end sound like the Status Quo video that Rob posted a while back. Against Me!, Jawbreaker, None More Black, and Rage Against the Machine are probably my biggest tonal influences, but the intro to "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" gets me every time I hear it. I've always been a fan of Fender's clean more than Marshall's, but I could live without it.
I generally stick to a low gain most of the time, then use a dirt pedal when I need it. I'd really like to be able to just use a volume pedal (LPB-1, which I have, and love to use with my friend's) to get a better tube sound out of my amp. I primarily use my Univox w/ P-90's, but plan to buy a tele after getting an amp.
/long answer to a simple question.
Thanks for the info on the Performer, Rob. The volume shouldn't be a problem. You drop it by putting the Vamp in the effects loop, right? How strong is the EQ? I have noticed that my friend's Valvestate has a rather weak EQ, as did the Valvetronix that I had, and that was a big problem for me. I may just be spoiled, though, since my Fender Twin has such a strong one.
First off, I had a Valvetronix AD100VT last week, and I promptly returned it. I agree, it was incredibly harsh, and despite the billion sounds that could be had, I couldn't find one that I really liked. That was a disappointment...
As for my own sounds, hmm, I always have a hard time with this one. Lately I've been aching for some classic rock distortion, but at the same time I like a chunky low end sound like the Status Quo video that Rob posted a while back. Against Me!, Jawbreaker, None More Black, and Rage Against the Machine are probably my biggest tonal influences, but the intro to "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" gets me every time I hear it. I've always been a fan of Fender's clean more than Marshall's, but I could live without it.
I generally stick to a low gain most of the time, then use a dirt pedal when I need it. I'd really like to be able to just use a volume pedal (LPB-1, which I have, and love to use with my friend's) to get a better tube sound out of my amp. I primarily use my Univox w/ P-90's, but plan to buy a tele after getting an amp.
/long answer to a simple question.
Thanks for the info on the Performer, Rob. The volume shouldn't be a problem. You drop it by putting the Vamp in the effects loop, right? How strong is the EQ? I have noticed that my friend's Valvestate has a rather weak EQ, as did the Valvetronix that I had, and that was a big problem for me. I may just be spoiled, though, since my Fender Twin has such a strong one.
I had a Marshall Valvestate VS100R combo, not a Valvetronix -brambleperro wrote: First off, I had a Valvetronix AD100VT last week, and I promptly returned it. I agree, it was incredibly harsh, and despite the billion sounds that could be had, I couldn't find one that I really liked. That was a disappointment...
yea you can get cougar 1000's for like 150 bucks used. no one wants them because they think they are all broke.
my amp does have an effects loop in/outs with a master volume for the loop actually on the amp. but i don't use it. i just plug my guitar into the vamp and the vamp right into the main imput on the amp.
the only time i really ever use the loop is if i take the amp over to someone elses place and plug a second guitar into the back and use it like a 2nd clean channel
my amp does have an effects loop in/outs with a master volume for the loop actually on the amp. but i don't use it. i just plug my guitar into the vamp and the vamp right into the main imput on the amp.
the only time i really ever use the loop is if i take the amp over to someone elses place and plug a second guitar into the back and use it like a 2nd clean channel
dots wrote:incesticide
EQ on the amp is great.
like i said i used to scoop the shit out of it and play 10-0-10 all the time to play bad religion type stuff when i was younger but now that im old, i actually like to hear the notes i play so im at around 4-10-4. back then in the 90's playing with no mids was just an easy way for me to cover up all the mistakes i was making since i only was really interested in playing on the bottom 3 or 4 strings with octive chords.
like i said i used to scoop the shit out of it and play 10-0-10 all the time to play bad religion type stuff when i was younger but now that im old, i actually like to hear the notes i play so im at around 4-10-4. back then in the 90's playing with no mids was just an easy way for me to cover up all the mistakes i was making since i only was really interested in playing on the bottom 3 or 4 strings with octive chords.
dots wrote:incesticide
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brambleperro
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Ahh, sorry, I get the two names mixed up a lot when I am reading. I'll be sure to keep in mind the difference between the older and newer ones. From what I hear, the older Valvestates are a lot better.aphasiac wrote:I had a Marshall Valvestate VS100R combo, not a Valvetronix -brambleperro wrote: First off, I had a Valvetronix AD100VT last week, and I promptly returned it. I agree, it was incredibly harsh, and despite the billion sounds that could be had, I couldn't find one that I really liked. That was a disappointment...
The more I hear about the Performer, the more I like it. I'm going to keep an eye out for one that I can try out.
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brambleperro
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I just bought this.
I decided to go for the Valvestate, since I really wanted to be able to hear what I was getting before I bought it. I know what the VS series sounds like, and I enjoy the sound. I wanted to go for the 8000 series originally, but found that the models that I wanted (high wattage combo versions) were not equipped with speaker outs, which are important to me, since I want to eventually add another 212 cab and use it as a monitor for my drummer.
Anyways, I think I got a good deal at $180, shipping included. I was looking to go for a VS100R for $245 in my area, which is only a 112, and it didn't have the footswitch. If I don't end up happy with it, I am fairly certain that I can sell it for profit anyways. I don't think that will be a problem, though.
I decided to go for the Valvestate, since I really wanted to be able to hear what I was getting before I bought it. I know what the VS series sounds like, and I enjoy the sound. I wanted to go for the 8000 series originally, but found that the models that I wanted (high wattage combo versions) were not equipped with speaker outs, which are important to me, since I want to eventually add another 212 cab and use it as a monitor for my drummer.
Anyways, I think I got a good deal at $180, shipping included. I was looking to go for a VS100R for $245 in my area, which is only a 112, and it didn't have the footswitch. If I don't end up happy with it, I am fairly certain that I can sell it for profit anyways. I don't think that will be a problem, though.