Rabs Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Shocking I know :) After over 20 years playing Gibsons, I am finally going to get a tube amp.. How can I afford that I hear you ask.. Well im getting whats called a PPI refund (Payment protection insurance).. Now im not sure if you guys in the states know about this.. But for many years over here banks and mortgage companies and loan companies etc (anything to do with a money loan) have been charging us PPI in some cases without even telling us, it just got included in the re-payments.... So now ALL of the big companies have been doing this for years and they got found out a few years back and now everyone is claiming their PPI payments back.. Well I am getting £1700 back :o and well you know what that means :) Now im not a silly person (well mostly) and so I wont be spending the whole lot on an amp (that would be really stupid).. BUT I really want a tube amp to show off my guitars when I do videos... So I think its an important thing for me to get... So I have decided on one of the Slash SL5 models... Hmmmm and im sooooo frikken excited... I should get the payment within the month and just cant bloody wait. Even better they are going for £479 (£100 off).. The only thing I worry about is that they sell out before my money comes through.. http://www.pmtonline.co.uk/marshall-sl-5-slash-signature-guitar-amp-combo.html I just needed to share that with the only people I know who would even care. :) BUT the only thing I am concerned about is if being silly? As you guys know im a huge Slash fan so for me its a great amp as it will produce dirty sounds that I like but im wondering if maybe I should find another model which will give me better clean sounds to demo with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pin Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Go for it Rabs! But one little word of caution. I too received a PPI payout from the crooks and I expected it many weeks before I eventually got it. They do not hurry themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPguitarman Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Congrats in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share Posted July 25, 2014 Go for it Rabs! But one little word of caution. I too received a PPI payout from the crooks and I expected it many weeks before I eventually got it. They do not hurry themselves. Well this is directly with HSBC, none of those dodgy claim companies.. They have stated it WILL be in my account within 4 weeks of receiving my letter back which I sent today first class.. so fingers crossed :) How much did you get back? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyK Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Go for it, Rabs! I thought about getting one myself, but then I just turned up the gain on my JTM45, and I'm happy. You will love it, mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share Posted July 25, 2014 Go for it, Rabs! I thought about getting one myself, but then I just turned up the gain on my JTM45, and I'm happy. You will love it, mate. haha yeah... ive always had my little Marshall solid state amp... So this will be pure pleasure compared to that.. I just cant bloody wait... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan H Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Perhaps pick up a 57 and a little USB interface for yourself as well, so we can hear it better ;) -Ryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share Posted July 25, 2014 Perhaps pick up a 57 and a little USB interface for yourself as well, so we can hear it better ;) -Ryan Actually I intend to buy a nice mic and stand to go with it so I can record cleanly :) Whats a 57? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Scales Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 a nice mic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 I have a SL-5 and got it for a great price and while I like it a lot I am not sure that would be my main tube amp but then again if those are the sounds you like the most why not. After I bought my Mesa 5:25 5 years ago I have bought several other amps but my Mesa remains the amp I use the most, like 90% of the time because it does it all and it does it well. The SL-5 is a good amp, much better after breaking in the speaker, I went the easy route and played music through it at a reasonable level for extended periods of time and that did the trick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Actually I intend to buy a nice mic and stand to go with it so I can record cleanly :) Whats a 57? A Shure SM-57, best bang for the buck ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10K-DB Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Nice choice,,tubes amps are soo warm sounding,,post up some stuff when you get it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share Posted July 25, 2014 I have a SL-5 and got it for a great price and while I like it a lot I am not sure that would be my main tube amp but then again if those are the sounds you like the most why not. After I bought my Mesa 5:25 5 years ago I have bought several other amps but my Mesa remains the amp I use the most, like 90% of the time because it does it all and it does it well. The SL-5 is a good amp, much better after breaking in the speaker, I went the easy route and played music through it at a reasonable level for extended periods of time and that did the trick. Nice advice.. I know NOTHING about tube amps so this will be quite a learning curve for me. I was already wondering if I should change one of the tubes out to get a better clean sound? Then again ive heard mixed reviews about that.. Some say that the clean sound is useless and some say that the controls on the amp allow you to really control that sound.. I guess I will have to find out for myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Scales Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Always thought the 5 25 would be a beauty Riff - is it big enough for pubs and clubs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share Posted July 25, 2014 post up some stuff when you get it. You can be sure of that.. :) Maybe I should do some practicing too this time rather than just play random riffs that come to mind (which is what I usually end up doing ;)) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share Posted July 25, 2014 a nice mic Lol.. ok, makes sense :) And yes that was my second thought after the decision to get one (great minds think alike, but then so do stupid ones ;)) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Scales Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Rabs, you come across as a very genuine sort of bloke so it will be interesting to hear what think of tube vs SS once the initial novelty goes as its always the debate with a lot of intangibles (and maybe the odd bias...) - thats assuming you current Marshall SS is at all comparable (i.e not a 10 watt 8" bedroom blaster vs a stack...). hope it brings you much pleasure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share Posted July 25, 2014 Rabs, you come across as a very genuine sort of bloke so it will be interesting to hear what think of tube vs SS once the initial novelty goes as its always the debate with a lot of intangibles (and maybe the odd bias...) - thats assuming you current Marshall SS is at all comparable (i.e not a 10 watt 8" bedroom blaster vs a stack...). hope it brings you much pleasure Cheers man.. and yes I am a straight shooter... I already know the difference.... While I don't hate the sound of my amp, its not creamy and smooth its hard and digital... The same difference between listening to a Vinyl record or a CD.. You can see and hear my amp here (its a bit of a boring video, but the building I was playing in is an old church that used to belong to my family, I made this as it was being sold and was empty and I always wanted to know what that natural echo would sound like). Distorted sound at about 3:47... I don't think it sounds terrible for a £100 amp (which ive had for about 12 years now). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHTom Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Can't wait to get your take on that amp. I've watched the reviews, etc and it seems like a great little amp. I'm anxious to hear from someone who actually has one. NHTom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Nice advice.. I know NOTHING about tube amps so this will be quite a learning curve for me. I was already wondering if I should change one of the tubes out to get a better clean sound? Then again ive heard mixed reviews about that.. Some say that the clean sound is useless and some say that the controls on the amp allow you to really control that sound.. I guess I will have to find out for myself. I just changed a pre-amp tube in 2 of my Fender combos. I have a bag of old used valves and I dipped into that as I can't afford nice new ones. Still they work fine and have solved the problems. In a new amp you shouldn't have to change the tubes at all; people say all sorts of things about this and it can be difficult to get to the truth sometimes. One piece of 'received wisdom' is that Marshalls aren't really entirely clean, not like a Fender. I spend more time with a clean sound than any other and own 4 Fender combos. Even they are arguably not as 'clean' as a transistor amp like the Roland JC120 I used to have, but the sound is so much 'warmer'. I also have an old Park MV head with the 'trainwreck' modification (definitely NOT clean!!!). You will be amazed Rabs. There is nothing better for a guitar than a valve amp IMO. How electronically minded are you? And - if you have any pedal with a stereo out, link your new valve and your old transistor amps and go stereo. The ultimate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Scales Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 ...and it'l be cheaper and more convenient than buying another church and lugging it around with you! That sounded great by the way. A mate of mine has an old 80 watt 1x12 Marshall SS combo and on the high gain channel you can extract a big Marshall sound out of it - but its pretty much just that one sweet spot whereas I assume the tube amp will give you a lot of sweet sound options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Nice advice.. I know NOTHING about tube amps so this will be quite a learning curve for me. I was already wondering if I should change one of the tubes out to get a better clean sound? Then again ive heard mixed reviews about that.. Some say that the clean sound is useless and some say that the controls on the amp allow you to really control that sound.. I guess I will have to find out for myself. The clean sound is not great, or at least not versatile, think of the "My Michelle" intro, great sound for that song but does not work well for other stuff. This is one of the reasons this amp should have an effects loop, that clean sound needs a little modulation to make it sound good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Always thought the 5 25 would be a beauty Riff - is it big enough for pubs and clubs? I have the head version and use it with a 3/4 back Mesa cab with a Black Shadow, plenty of juice on the 30 watts setting. I love all 4 voicings on this amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share Posted July 25, 2014 ...and it'l be cheaper and more convenient than buying another church and lugging it around with you! That sounded great by the way. A mate of mine has an old 80 watt 1x12 Marshall SS combo and on the high gain channel you can extract a big Marshall sound out of it - but its pretty much just that one sweet spot whereas I assume the tube amp will give you a lot of sweet sound options. Haha cheers... and yeah, I loved that old building (it was over 150 years old).... That's the thing, I stopped playing in bands and live about like 17 years ago and when im at home I usually just plug straight into my digital 4 track so for me having a really nice amp was never a priority.. When I did use it, the sound was ok enough for me not to be bothered.... But since ive been on here and been making my own guitars, that's become a bit more important... For me ive never been into pedals (I have a wha wha and a looper and a big muff that I never use).. Ive always been a built in distortion type of guy. I don't worry so much about my tone and just get on with the playing :) But im REALLY looking forward to this experience Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan H Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Actually I intend to buy a nice mic and stand to go with it so I can record cleanly :) Whats a 57? As the others have answered, a Shure SM57. And I meant a USB Audio Interface (XLR in, USB out for computer recording). For a simple 1-mic setup, a Blue Icicle and an SM57 would be perfect, and would cost less than $200. Or you could go with a snazzier interface, with multiple inputs and all that jazz... -Ryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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