Richard39 Posted August 18, 2020 Share Posted August 18, 2020 Okay got a £330-£350 budget on an amp, and not sure from the 4 I should get, the choices I have gone with are. The type of music I will be practising to play would be more metal from likes of metallica, sepultura, pantera, Guns and roses etc Line 6 spider V MK2 Peavy vypyr VIP 3 Marshall MG102GFX Fender Champion 100 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted August 18, 2020 Share Posted August 18, 2020 If at all possible, get out and try them, sounds obvious but one might have just the tone you're looking for, which is difficult to judge remotely (but not impossible with YouTube, etc). Purely from an aesthetic perspective, the Marshall looks ace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leftybassman392 Posted August 18, 2020 Share Posted August 18, 2020 If you're as new to this as you seem to be (no offence intended of course), spending this sort of money on an amp sight unseen can be a bit risky. That said, of the ones you've chosen the Line6 probably has the best chance of giving the sort of sound you seem to be after IMHO. It is a modelling amp so it has a whole bunch of other stuff in the box as well if you ever decide to play in a different style. As @ezbass said though, try before you buy if at all possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 Lucky the question wasn't 'Which would you buy..?', as only the Fender would stand a chance with me, but, then again, I'm old. For the genre you want to get stuck into, I'd say that the Marshall needs trying out. Just be aware that, for programming it (for channel switches, tone changes'n'all...) the extra pedal is extra. Might be worth bargaining for in a shop, though. You'd save half the money buying second-hand, of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leftybassman392 Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 A further point that might be worth making: don’t be seduced by power ratings. Metal is all about big power, but in a domestic environment 100 watts is way, way, way over the top whatever your playing style. Solid state amps don’t give you as much watt for watt as a good valve amp, but if you try to run a 100 watt amp anywhere remotely close to its rated power, you will give yourself and anyone else in the house permanent hearing damage, and stand a good chance of shattering ornaments and windows, not to mention incurring the wrath of your neighbours. No, really. Even if you plan to go gigging at some point in the future, you won’t need anywhere near that sort of power. If you buy a Marshall, you will get a Marshall sound; if you buy a Fender (my current amp of choice as it happens), you will get a Fender sound; if you buy a Peavey, you will get a Peavey sound; if you buy the Line6, you can have all of them plus quite a few others (including a pretty good selection of dedicated metal amps). On the downside, the Line6 is a modelling amp, so the sounds are simulations of the named amps rather than authentic sounds. That said, modern modelling amps are very good at what they do, and most people won’t know the difference in a blind listening test. just a thought... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 Just a correction: the Peavey Vypyr is also a modelling amp. Just sayin'. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leftybassman392 Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 17 minutes ago, Dad3353 said: Just a correction: the Peavey Vypyr is also a modelling amp. Just sayin'. Duly noted with thanks. Unfortunately I have no specific experience with that model, but if it can do what the Line6 can do then the same basic considerations apply. The OP is making a choice between a name on the one hand, and greatly enhanced functionality sufficient to cover any needs he might have now or in the future on the other. In the interest of having the OP fully informed, Line6 has been in the amp modelling business from day one. Not a reason not to buy the Peavey of course, but all the same... Power considerations apply as before. My advice is still not to buy based on power rating as a major consideration. If your chosen amp happens to have 100w output then fine; just don't expect to be able to use much of it in a domestic environment is all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 +1 ^^. As for wattage, the Peavey has a built-in 'power soak', to be able to have the same sound from 1w as from 100w. (I'd still go for the Fender, myself..! ) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leftybassman392 Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 2 hours ago, Dad3353 said: +1 ^^. As for wattage, the Peavey has a built-in 'power soak', to be able to have the same sound from 1w as from 100w. (I'd still go for the Fender, myself..! ) Not a fan of powersoaks personally: I haven't yet found one that preserves the original sound intact (even on some very pricey kit from the likes of Cornell). That's just me being geeky though: whether it'll make any diff to the OP is an entirely different question. I'd still go for one of the modelling amps... While I'm here, my Blues Junior IV is a fantastic little amp: 15 watts of valve loveliness. Not a heavy metal amp though - not without a bunch of pedals anyway! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 (edited) 7 hours ago, leftybassman392 said: Not a fan of powersoaks personally... S'not really a powersoak such as those used for valve amps (hence the inverted commas...); it's just that it can be 'tamed' to not belt out 100w or whatever all the time, yet still sound... Well, whatever it sounds like. Useful, maybe, for finding a 'sound' at home, and replicating it in rehearsal without too much faff. In my day (yes, all those years ago...), our 'system' was to have the amp at full blast, but to lay the cab face down on carpet, and record that. With the Hiwatt amps we were using, it wasn't safe for one's bone structure to stay in the same room, otherwise. Edited August 19, 2020 by Dad3353 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
