Need amp for Limited Edition Les Paul Studio Deluxe

[Cronie]

I'm a new player and dont really have a "style" per se, so I'm looking for some help trying to find the perfect beginners amp to suite my style of music.

 

First off. The Studio is exactly what I wanted especially this model. Real inlays, upgraded pickups, solid body, clean look all for $298 (got a great deal new)

 

Anyway, I'm looking to play rock and blues. Heavy metal, epics, classic rock stuff mainly but the Blues sound and style has always captivated me and I'll definitely want to get into it so this guitar really works for me.

 

I know the Pauls inherently have a warm sound to them so I'm looking for something that will give me range.

 

I appreciate quality and I appreciate mastering the basics, especially sound wise. I'd rather give up on a couple of features for a high quality beginners unit.

 

 

My criteria:

 

- Can't be over $200 (unless its close to it and its God's gift to man) I got the guitar as a gift from my fiance and I need a solid amp that will stand the test of time along with this guitar. I'm about to purchase our first home so money is REAL tight, I shouldnt even be doing this but I can't help it lol.

 

- Would like a built in tuner but its not neccessary, again, rather have solid basics then all the bells and whistles.

- Multiple channels, more the merrier.

 

Here are my choices, all widely researched and I like a little something about them all, just need help deciding which ( unless you feel this is something better not listed, although I have gone through other models not listed)

 

 

1. Line 6 Spider IV 15/30 - cheap company? This is feature rich but I'm weary about their lasting quality. I tried it and liked it. Priced right too.

 

2. Marshall MD15FX/30 - Its a Marshall, lots of documentation on the web, sounds great to me. Love the look. People says its plays a little warmer which I'm not sure would make well with a warm guitar.

 

3. Roland Cube 20X - All signs point to this amp being the best of the bunch. Seems like it does everything just right, but there isnt a lot of information on the web. I just know Roland is a high end company and what I've seen so far I liked.

 

4. VOX VT30 - Wild card. Not sure hot to properly take care of a Hybrid amp.

 

 

So as you can see I'm leaning heavily toward Solid State because of its ease of use and just how well they can sound. I searched for awhile on this site but couldn't find any direct answers or comparisons, so I would greatly appreciate your help. Thanks.

[matiac]

Well, personally I prefer an amp that turns on, and makes a pleasing noise when I strike the strings...seriously. I tend to shy away from OWNING a tube amp simply because they're so temperamental (in my experience), although they do sound nice, I get just as good a tone from pretty much any good solid state example. I had an old Yamaha Hundred 212 I had to sell that sounded pretty damn good with any guitar I played through it...solid state circuitry. Try a few, and decide from there. No one here can tell you what to get, we can merely suggest, the final choice is up to your ear.

[Hector Arcadius]

Welcome to the forum man!

 

 

If I was in your place and was choosing one amp from your list, I would go with the Vox. They are nicely built, lots of options / sounds in it and the tube in the pre-amp really warms things up. Since versatility straight from the amp is your thing, I would go with that one. And, as far as maintenance is concerned, taking it once a year in a local luthier / the dealer you bought it from, won't be a big issue (I assume that you live in the States).

 

 

If I was starting all over again, with your budget, I would go with a nice, small tube amp. You don't really need the effects / distortions / overdrives in the beginning and for a nice, warm bluesy sound, a small tube amp is perfect. I have ended up using the clean channel on my amp and my pedals for all my dirty sounds & effects.

 

Good luck with whatever you decide.

[Fantana]

I have a little 15w Marshall Combo that sounds awesome with any guitar playing through it (even the really cheap strat copies that my students have), it's the older model to this one here.....

 

http://www.coda-music.com/product_info.php?cPath=28_88&products_id=4841&oscsid=db85a633b07d23af373469ae8201b683

 

I suggest you take your LP down to the local music store and plug it in to a few different models

[colchar]

I have a Marshall MG15 and, although I like its clean channel, the overdrive channel leaves something to be desired (to my ears - others might like it) so I will be replacing it soon. I think I will buy one of the new Orange Crush PiX series (likely the 20 watt version) as soon as they are more readily available here. They only cost $159 so they are well within your budget and, honestly, they sound fantastic. Also, every from 20 watts on up has built in FX and a built in tuner which really fits your requirements.

 

The Hughes and Kettner Edition Blue 15 watt amp is also a great choice but, personally, I think the Orange has better sound than even the H&K (which sounds very good).

 

You mentioned the Marshal MD15 - avoid those. They are the old version of the Marshall MG series (MGD I believe they were called) and they are crap when compared to the newer MG series (15, 15FX, 30FX, etc.). If you go for the Marshall make sure it is the new MG series.

 

Finally, it would help to know where you are located so that we could make recommendations based on what is available there (ie. if you live somewhere where a particular brand isn't widely available it wouldn't make any sense for us to recommend that brand).

[Cronie]

Wow thanks for all the replies. I'm not sure why I wrote MD, definitely meant MG there. I will be going for the 30 watt version, I'm sort of committed to spending $199 at this point. I really want a 10" speaker.

 

Really not looking for anything featureless. I would like something other then tone to change. So I'm afraid Blues amps wouldnt be "ideal" although I'm sure there tones are remarkable.

 

At this point, really looking at Marshall MG30, Roland Cube 20X or Vox VT30. Still need to try them out. The one I have the best impression of is the Marshall due to their impressive demo movie on their website.

 

The Orange amp line is something I havent considered and I will look into it, thank you for that suggestion.

 

For all those who asked, I live in the USA. And again, thank you very much for the replies, looking forward to more.

[SlagJones]

Personally, I would probably go with the VOX. Their isn't much more to maintaning the hybrid than an SS amp. The single preamp tube should last a long long time before you need to replace it. By then you will probably have gotten other amps anyway. IMO, with the preamp tube that amp should sound better with pedals (should you get any in the future, which you probably will) better than any of the straight SS amps.

[snookelputz]

Try the Fender G-DEC Junior and the Fender Champion 600. Both smaller speaker size than you indicate, but nice amps within the price range you designate. Remember that the more "features" you add within a given price point, the cheaper the design and build to meet that price point. Sometimes it is best to give up some features to get a better sound.

[dougg330]

Here's a vote for the Vox AC-4TV. Yes, it will cost you more like $250... but it's worth it. Looks cool, sounds great - real Vox tube tone. And here's the bonus: you can select 4 watts, 1 watt, or 1/4 watt for low volume cranking.

I played my buddy's Epi Les Paul thru it and couldn't believe the sound - very heavy and thick.

I play a Casino and a Riviera through it and truly love the results.

Check it out.

Best of luck -

Dougg330

[brianh]

Fender Super Champ XD.

 

6V6/12AX7 tubes, built-in foot switchable effects, line out, and you can connect it to a larger cab.

 

$299 brand new shipped to your door and you can find clean examples on Craigslist for under $200 all day long.

 

 

[waterloocasino]

I'm a beginner too, and just bought a Casino as my starter guitar. After talking with staff at the store, they convinced me that a small tube amp was the way to go. I bought a Gretsch G5222 and have been quite happy with the sound. I'm pretty sure it's the same as a Fender Champion 600.

[AlanH]

Well I've just bought a Studio Deluxe myself and despite my other guits, I can't put it down. I use a Peavey Royal 8 Valve King and it sounds nice with the Deluxe 'as is', but I use my EQ pedal to take that muddy edge out of the Epi pickups; and my Bad Monkey pedal to give them some oooompff.

 

Are you just going to play at home? If so a Roland Microcube would be great, is nice and quiet and you'll probably always keep it. You can then get a valve amp later on, thus keeping yourself in the good books for now.

 

Here's my Studio Deluxe. Can we see yours (pics are obligatory here):

 

[Guest icantbuyafender]

Your genre meshes well with a Marshall.

 

Might I suggest the Marshall Haze amp... Blew me away, and if i wasnt knee deep in blackheart amps, I'd buy one.

 

Pure tube bliss.

 

also, I should take this moment to plug blackheart's amps since i mentioned them. Good stuff. You wont be dissapointed!

 

Go to the local shops and try out different amps. Its the best way to do it.

[7C]

Hi, I have a Vox VT30, good amp - lots of effects and different amp sounds. There is a 'Power Level' control on the back of it which is very handy if too much volume is an issue. Have a look at it first as the controls are a bit daunting initially and the optional footswitch is a must have so take that into account. Can do a really good impression of my AC30.

hope this helps.

7C

[dfarrell]

Get the Vox. Only one tube, and you won't need to replace it for a long time. It is much warmer than the Line 6. A few years back I was thinking of buying a Line 6. I tried the Vox out after playing through the Line 6, and the differance was huge! It is a much warmer and real sounding amp. Needless to say, I took the Vox home.

[antwhi2001]

Vox or Roland. The MG series are not "real" Marshalls, they are cheap Asian amps Marshall commission from subcontractors to address the cheap end of the market.

[Cronie]

Yes, I'm fully aware Ant, its just the nature of world economics.

 

As cool as it would be to have a Marshall I'm really liking what I'm reading and hearing from Vox and Roland right now.

 

7c, thanks for the input, I'm reallying starting to lean that way now.

 

And Alan, I will post pics and soon and I get it, its due to arrive today!

[EpiEric]

Are you just going to play at home? If so a Roland Microcube would be great' date=' is nice and quiet and you'll probably always keep it. You can then get a valve amp later on, thus keeping yourself in the good books for now.[/quote']

 

I love my Micro Cube. I think for the price the models are convincing and well chosen for a good range of sounds. You can pretty much set it up for any kind of music and the effects are good too.

 

Plus, they make excellent seats for your kids.

 

 

Micro Cube in the bedroom and Mesa/Boogie in the basement. The perfect combo

[Cronie]

Appreciate your reply but I'm looking for my "basement" amp. I've bumped up my budget by 50 bucks to $250 for a great sounding amp.

 

My guitar just arrived so I'll have pics up later today. I still have to call my local shop to see which of the amps I'm interested in they have in stock.

[Cronie]

Just picked up an Orange Crush PiX 35w amp and its pretty nice. Looks amazing great soul sound, cant seem to dial in highs well though.

 

Very little information is available on these amps, especially the new ones but supposedly they're bass-y and thick by nature.

 

Being a noob I'm not sure if there is a pedal to help give me screaming highs. And by that I mean the solo in Blackened by Metallica sound. I've found a few videos of kids who achieve that sound but not sure what they used.

 

I know amps take forever to dial in and I need A LOT more time but I'm wondering if I'd be better off going Fender with a distortion pedal rather then trying to put better highs/cleans on this one.

 

Really love the amp and how its built but want all the sounds I desire.

[AlanH]

Just picked up an Orange Crush PiX 35w amp and its pretty nice. Looks amazing great soul sound' date=' cant seem to dial in highs well though.

 

Very little information is available on these amps, especially the new ones but supposedly they're bass-y and thick by nature.

 

Being a noob I'm not sure if there is a pedal to help give me screaming highs. And by that I mean the solo in Blackened by Metallica sound. I've found a few videos of kids who achieve that sound but not sure what they used.

 

I know amps take forever to dial in and I need A LOT more time but I'm wondering if I'd be better off going Fender with a distortion pedal rather then trying to put better highs/cleans on this one.

 

Really love the amp and how its built but want all the sounds I desire.[/quote']

 

 

My metal muff pedal is great for very trebly highs / thrash tones but I don't know what effects were used on Blackened. To me, the whole of that album is very trebly compared their highly successful follow up; so production could be the key.

 

You may find the stock pickups on your deluxe not so suitable for metal as they don't take a lot of distortion very well (mudding up with anything more than modest gain). They're based on the Gibson '57 Classics which are more suited for rock, blues and jazz So, you may want to consider a pickup upgrade. I do know Metallica and many other speed metal bands use the ultra clear EMG active pickups but they don't do classic rock tones that well. I prefer the Seymour Duncan JB which is high gain but does nice rock tones too.

 

If you don't want to change pickups I'd highly recommend an EQ pedal instead. I'll bet your Orange can dial in quite a lot of gain already so I'd say you'd do better to go for an EQ pedal rather than a distortion pedal. Your stock pickups are your problem, IMO.

 

BTW, photos of your new LP are compulsory!

 

PS. You don't necessarily need a valve amp if you want to play thash only.

 

Alan

[Cronie]

 

Sorry, didnt feel like taking out the d40 so this grainy pic will have to do for now. I should be ashamed for not posting high res because this guitar is absolutely drop dead sexy but its dark and wouldnt turn out great. I'll take better ones later.

 

Also thank you very much for the information about the Alnico Classic Plus pickups on my guitar.

[colchar]

Just picked up an Orange Crush PiX 35w amp and its pretty nice. Looks amazing great soul sound' date=' cant seem to dial in highs well though.

 

Very little information is available on these amps, especially the new ones but supposedly they're bass-y and thick by nature.

 

Being a noob I'm not sure if there is a pedal to help give me screaming highs. And by that I mean the solo in Blackened by Metallica sound. I've found a few videos of kids who achieve that sound but not sure what they used.

 

I know amps take forever to dial in and I need A LOT more time but I'm wondering if I'd be better off going Fender with a distortion pedal rather then trying to put better highs/cleans on this one.

 

Really love the amp and how its built but want all the sounds I desire.[/quote']

 

 

I just ordered my Orange Crush PiX 20-watt and cannot wait for it to come in.

 

As for the highs you are looking for - I think you'll be able to get them with that amp but it might take some time for you to figure out how to get the exact sound you want. Play with the settings on both your amp and your guitar(s) and you'll get there. Figuring stuff like that out is one of the fun parts of learning to play.

 

BTW, did you get the orange version or the black one? I'm not sure if the black ones have hit the stores yet I've seen a couple of photos and damn they look good. I considered waiting for them but I have to wait until June before I can get mine so I didn't want to have to wait even longer for the black version (the distributor here in Canada sucks and can take forever to bring in new products). Oh well, at least mine will have that classic Orange look!

 

And finally, since I am the one who originally suggested that you look at the new Orange amps and you ended up getting one - what do I win?

[Cronie]

I got the Orange version, it looks so vintage and the build quality is very nice. I'm going to try to play with it some more before I try and swap it for a Roland or something that can emulate different guitar sounds. This thing really does sound great and gets very loud with a big full tone. I'm a complete noob but have been the plenty of gig bars and this could definitely play there. Perfect loudness if you have a detached house. I was under the assumption the black amps were bass amps only. Regardless, I prefer the Orange look next to my Glossy Ebony Les Paul.

 

Really torn here, but I think I will need to demo that Roland.

 

The Orange Amp has an "overdrive pedal input", is what they call it or is it specifically for overdrive only? My gut tells me no and should mean any pedal can go in there. I would like to get a Digitech pedal to get the sounds I want and keep this awesome amp.

[colchar]

I got the Orange version' date=' it looks so vintage and the build quality is very nice. I'm going to try to play with it some more before I try and swap it for a Roland or something that can emulate different guitar sounds. This thing really does sound great and gets very loud with a big full tone. I'm a complete noob but have been the plenty of gig bars and this could definitely play there. Perfect loudness if you have a detached house. I was under the assumption the black amps were bass amps only. Regardless, I prefer the Orange look next to my Glossy Ebony Les Paul.

[/quote']

 

I'm a noob too and considered the Roland because I could get a great deal (a lifelong neighbor is a product rep for them and would've gotten me one for his pricing) but ended up buying a Marshall MG15 because I have always loved Marshalls. The clean channel on that is great but I am not too happy with the overdrive channel so I've decided to go with the Orange. Orange and Marshall were my first two choices, even over a ridiculously cheap Roland, and I should've grabbed the Orange instead of the Marshall. Oh well, at least it is ordered and on its way so I've rectified my mistake.

 

The bass amps have black grille cloth but an orange exterior. The black ones I am talking about have a black exterior with the traditional grille cloth. They look awesome but, like you said, the orange exterior looks so vintage and I also think that colour is very very cool. Here is a link to the ones I am talking about (the link is to the 35-watt version that you have, I've ordered the 20-watt version as that is plenty enough for me)- if you click on the photo it will take you to a larger one:

 

http://www.humbuckermusic.com/orcr35pixgua.html

 

 

Really torn here, but I think I will need to demo that Roland.

 

I get why you would but, in my opinion, Orange amps are far better than the Rolands. Don't get me wrong, Rolands are good but I think Orange amps are just better - better sound, better look (faaaaar better look), superior quality, and they are more unique in sound and looks than Rolands (or many other small solid state amps). In my mind, you can't beat the Orange amps when compared to other amps in their class. Give the amp a chance and don't make a rushed decision (like I did when I bought the Marshall) on a Roland - I made a mistake and wouldn't want to see you make one too. I think that if you give the orange a chance you will learn to get the sounds you want out of it and that you'll learn to love it.

 

Check out youtube as there are plenty of Orange amp videos on there that will give you an idea of thetones you can get from them. There are very few Orange PiX videos (that I've found) but below is a link to one. Check that and videos of other Crush series amps to see where you can take that one once you've learned to use it properly. Also, search around online and you might find some user submitted settings that will help you get the tone you want. Or you can go to the Orange webpage and click on the 'Community' link at the top to join their message boards - I'm quite sure someone there can help you out as they are all Orange players. Anyway, here is that video (this is of the 20-watt version):

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftXfLkDsxAI&feature=related

 

 

The Orange Amp has an "overdrive pedal input", is what they call it or is it specifically for overdrive only? My gut tells me no and should mean any pedal can go in there. I would like to get a Digitech pedal to get the sounds I want and keep this awesome amp.

 

As far as I know, you can plug any pedal in there and you'll be fine. Once you've used a multiFX pedal for a while you can then switch to boutique pedals and I am certain they will sound amazing with that amp. Then again, I am sure the multiFX pedals will also sound good with it.

 

Keep us informed of how things go. Besides, the more tones you discover and post the settings for, the easier it will be for me to find them when mine finally comes in ;)