Finally going for a decent tube amp...

ICBM

darthed1981 said:

To be fair I've never had one in my home, only in guitar shops, but I found even a Vox AC4 needed to be far louder than felt social in the shop to sound decent.  It is possible Vox AC4s suck though!

Yes . Horrible shouty, boxy-sounding amp. To be fair, it's OK with low-powered single coils… but still not great.

The idea of using a low-powered valve amp to get an overdriven power stage sound at home volume doesn't work - even 5W is way, way too loud. Even 1W is pushing it unless the speaker is very inefficient. Worse, most low-powered amps have very limited tone controls so you can't dial them in as you need to at low volume.

You're far better off with a big amp with a good master volume (they do exist) and enough EQ to shape the sound without the power stage needing to be overdriven, at which point you lose control of it.

I am also not at all a fan of muddy-sounding amps, as you can probably guess - I don't like shrill sounds, but I hate amps with no clarity even more since it's usually harder to fix...

p90fool

Jet City 20w head of your choice plus 1x12 cab.

Spend the rest on a nice holiday. 

JerkMoans

Aaaargh

just snap up my Rivera already! Then I can snap up @jellybelly  ‘s TVL Yamaha, the planets can re-align and everybody can be about their business.

crunchman

As @ICBM says, overdriven power stage at home is not achievable - unless you use something like one of the Torpedo devices into studio monitors which kind of defeats the object.

Purely for home use, a lot of those options listed are way overpowered.  Even on clean sounds, you will be fiddling around at one on the volume control.

I'd look at a Princeton Reverb reissue with a MIAB (Marshall in a box) type pedal for drive.

If you do want something Marshall flavoured, then you will need a drive channel or pedals for home volumes anyway so make sure it has a drive channel you like, or has a good clean sound.

gubble

p90fool said:

Jet City 20w head of your choice plus 1x12 cab.

Spend the rest on a nice holiday. 

Exactly this.

For fantastic gain tones at home volume nothing beats the JCA22h in my opinion.

andyoz

Second hand Friedman Runt head perhaps (if there are any?).

If you want the Marshall tone and one of the best master volumes in the business they are hard to beat...just a bit pricey...

ESBlonde

Get an HRD II in good used condition, if you need one of those 'loop attenuaters' of the interweb for home practice, that makes a very usable, practical, financially astute buy.

JerkMoans

ESBlonde said:

Get an HRD II in good used condition, if you need one of those 'loop attenuaters' of the interweb for home practice, that makes a very usable, practical, financially astute buy.

Like this one, that I used to tame my HRD II? 


http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/117673/fs-carls-custom-guitars-volume-box#latest
 

Alnico

There was a 25w recto verb used for £1,199 at coda recently.
Check the used section on their website it might still be there.

Edit:.......It is !!!

https://www.coda-music.com/secondhand/mesa-boogie-rectoverb-25-112-combo-secondhand.html

Kalimna

If the badge on the Rivera said 'Mesa' or 'Fender' or 'Marshall' or 'trendy boutique-amp-of-the-day' instead, then it would have gone a long time ago.

Stunning amps. I would have gone for it had I not been waiting on a custom build (NAD tomorrow!) and had some spare cash.

Cheers,

Adam

randella

Kalimna said:

If the badge on the Rivera said 'Mesa' or 'Fender' or 'Marshall' or 'trendy boutique-amp-of-the-day' instead, then it would have gone a long time ago.

Stunning amps. I would have gone for it had I not been waiting on a custom build (NAD tomorrow!) and had some spare cash.

Cheers,

Adam

@Kalimna - plenty of truth in there. I guess Mesa, Marshall, and Fender (and Vox!) have signature tones so the familiarity helps shift them.

The thing I like about the Mesa is that it does a high-gain souped up Marshall thing without sounding like a Marshall or like a Mesa. Slip the red channel to 'modern' and it'll do the Dave Grohl Mesa signature chunk thing all day long, but I never use that mode. 

In 'vintage' mode, it sounds like what I thought an amp should sound like all these years without being a slavish impersonation of 'Slash on Appetite...' or any such. Blackstar's valve stuff comes near but not that last 10%. To be fair it's also a third of the price like for like so no criticism there . 

I always fancied a Rivera or a VHT for the same reason, I've heard both in use and they wail. The only reason I went for the Mesa instead is weight, pure and simple. If that Rivera was an 8kg lunchbox head I'd be all over it like a rash. 

KareemMonzer

Alright guys, I've pretty much narrowed it down to the Mesa Boogie Recto-verb 25 and the Marshall JVM215C. I tried the Mesa in a store yesterday and it sounded phenomenal, especially in the overdriven channel. However, I haven't gotten the chance to try the Marshall, any thoughts on how different it would be? I doubt it would beat the Mesa for the overdriven tones, but what about the clean tones?

Thanks a lot of all the help guys! 

Kalimna

I used to have a Rivera R55. Think i might have sold it to get  TSL122 combo. Oh the shame. 

Adam

Boromedic

KareemMonzer said:

Alright guys, I've pretty much narrowed it down to the Mesa Boogie Recto-verb 25 and the Marshall JVM215C. I tried the Mesa in a store yesterday and it sounded phenomenal, especially in the overdriven channel. However, I haven't gotten the chance to try the Marshall, any thoughts on how different it would be? I doubt it would beat the Mesa for the overdriven tones, but what about the clean tones?

Thanks a lot of all the help guys! 

Marshalls sound different to Mesas I think, the midrange sound is completely different. If you want a Marshall sound a Mesa isn't the way forward (great build quality etc., great amps, just not Marshall sounding). Can they do an approximation of a Marshall? Of course but its not the same tone. 

andyoz

Quoting your OP..."I mostly play Metallica, Iron Maiden and Guns N' Roses..."

I really think you'll have an itch that needs scratching until you own a (good) Marshall.

KareemMonzer

andyoz said:

Quoting your OP..."I mostly play Metallica, Iron Maiden and Guns N' Roses..."

I really think you'll have an itch that needs scratching until you own a (good) Marshall.

Hi there! what would you call and "good" Marshall?

57Deluxe

I thought you (OP) said going for  "a decent tube amp"??

KareemMonzer

57Deluxe said:

I thought you (OP) said going for  "a decent tube amp"??

are they not?

ICBM

Good Marshall - most vintage models (with some exceptions), JCM800, JCM900, Valvestate '80' and 'VS' series, JVM, DSL (new series, made in Vietnam), vintage reissues, Jubilees.

Bad Marshall - 30th Anniversary, JTM30/60, JCM600, DSL (old series, made in UK), TSL, Valvestate AVT series, Mode Four, Haze series, MA series, Class 5, Vintage Modern.

Yes, I know very well that some people will have used models in the second list with no trouble, but I would strongly recommend not buying one if you don't want potential problems. The sound is a different question, totally a matter of taste.

Boromedic

@KareemMonzer did you look at any of the suggestions in the thread. Did you not like the look of the Rivera that was suggested? It covers all the bases you asked for and is half your budget. Also its very well built and better value than any equivalent Marshall or Mesa. Plus its near you in London (I think!). 

Honestly and its not just me who has suggested it, you will be extremely hard pushed to do any better. I have no skin in the game, I don't know the seller. I just thought I'd offer a suggestion. Can't see why you haven't jumped on it to be fair!