Which amp for an intermediate player?

[Carroll1812]

Planning to upgrade my guitar+amp, already decided on the Epiphone Elitist Les Paul Standard Plus (Vintage Sunburst), but I have no idea what to do with amps.

Been looking around a little bit, and I want to get a Marshall in the $500-800 range (I can go higher/lower depending on quality vs price), but it can be any brand really.

I was thinking the Marshall MG250DFX (http://www.marshallamps.com/product.asp?productId=40), which is about $550-650, but again, I really don't know much of anything about amps.

If anyone has any suggestions, opinions, or comments, that'd be great.

Cheers.

[SinCron]

All depends on what genre of music you play and what sound you want to get. I'd stay away from the solid state Marshall's unless you really want that sound.

[Tarl]

Personally I would not go for that model amp. For that money you could get a nice all tube combo, new or used, that would be much better. Something like a Traynor YCV50, Crate V30 or a Peavey Classic 30 would go great with that Epi.

[Robert1950]

Good guitar choice - Gibson LP quality at least or better for half the price. I had a smaller Marshall SS amp and I am NOT a fan. I would suggest that since you are in Toronto, that you go to a few of the music stores and try out different amps in that price range (tube and SS). Play until your fingers bleed if you have to, to find the right one.

[hoser]

scrap the elitist, pick up a used gibson studio and a peavey classic 30.

[Paul]

scrap the elitist, pick up a used gibson studio and a peavey classic 30.

Have you ever played an Elitist? Have you ever played the Elitist that Carroll1812 wants to buy????

The Elitist guitars are a great value. The Elitist Byrdland is less than 1/2 the price of a Gibson Byrdland, and is 99% the guitar. I know from my experience comparing an Elitist Byrdland with a new Gibson Byrdland, and two vintage Byrdland guitars.

To be fair, the Byrdland was in play for me because I wanted the shorter scale. With the "regular" Gibson scale found on Les Paul guitars and whatnot, you have more choices.

[Robert1950]

scrap the elitist, pick up a used gibson studio and a peavey classic 30.

I have managed to play a couple of Elitists and they out performed any Gibson studios I've tried. I didn't buy because I prefer SGs and Hamer Studios (double cuts) - that's just me.

[hoser]

Have you ever played an Elitist? Have you ever played the Elitist that Carroll1812 wants to buy????

The Elitist guitars are a great value. The Elitist Byrdland is less than 1/2 the price of a Gibson Byrdland, and is 99% the guitar. I know from my experience comparing an Elitist Byrdland with a new Gibson Byrdland, and two vintage Byrdland guitars.

To be fair, the Byrdland was in play for me because I wanted the shorter scale. With the "regular" Gibson scale found on Les Paul guitars and whatnot, you have more choices.

Personally I wouldn't pay what they're asking for those guitars. There are a lot of other companies I'd go with before I'd buy an epiphone.....but if he's found one he likes enough, go for it.

[a Pack of Wolves]

try to find something used


lots of good options around

sometimes kijiji or craigslist (in yer area) are good places to look
same as looking here is

[Diablo]

Dpends on the music you play, more so than your skill levle. A jazz player will prefer different amps than a blues player or metalhead.

That being said, I think just about everyone should avoid MG Marshalls as a general rule. If you're into ruock/metal, I'd get a Peavey 5150 combo in that price range.

[Marcel Furlanetto]

scrap the elitist, pick up a used gibson studio and a peavey classic 30.

You shouldn't completely judge a guitar simply by the company, Epiphones don't get the respect they deserve. I've yet to play a descent Gibson Les Paul Studio...I think most of their studio sales are from guys who only really want the name for a fairly low price. The elitist is most definitely the right choice here but play before you buy...every single guitar is different. Also, the '62 reissue MIJ Fender Strats are great guitars for the price, you should look into those if it fits your style.

I second the peavey classic 30/50 (depending on your style of course). The vintage traynor heads are also worth looking into.

[Budda]

actually marshall MG's are FINE practise amps!

but a 100W 212 MG is STILL a practise amp!

how do i know? i used to own one ;)

traynor YCV50B/Marshall JCM800/JCM900 COMBO, mesa F-30, Mesa DC-3/DC-5 (all 3are discontinued and come up on the used market for around and under $700), peavey classic 30 or classic 50

those are all good suggestions to look for, and will all cover many styles of music.

[Tightbutloose]

A great amp platform to refine and progress your own tone and style would be a used Fender Deluxe Reverb reissue. You should have no problem finding a used one in excellent condition from $600-800.
Great classic cleans, nice overdrive when cranked, adores any pedal you throw at it, reliable, predictable and will hold resale value if you want to move on to something else.
You won't get Pantera tones without a pedal in front, but most of the Pantera-tone-gettin'-amps won't deliver the Fender clean that the DRRI has.

http://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/images/0000/3511/3511.jpg

[Budda]

and if you dont need a "fender clean"? ;)

(i perfer the traynor YCS100H clean channel to just about any clean tone i've heard live or recorded or played through)

[Diablo]

actually marshall MG's are FINE practise amps!

but a 100W 212 MG is STILL a practise amp!

how do i know? i used to own one ;)
traynor YCV50B/Marshall JCM800/JCM900 COMBO, mesa F-30, Mesa DC-3/DC-5 (all 3are discontinued and come up on the used market for around and under $700), peavey classic 30 or classic 50

those are all good suggestions to look for, and will all cover many styles of music.

Life is too short to use a crappy sounding amp, even for practice :)
j/k!
well, sort of...Maybe you're like Robert Duvall in Apocalypse Now: "I love the sound of squealing feedback in the morning!"-

[Tightbutloose]

and if you dont need a "fender clean"? ;)

(i perfer the traynor YCS100H clean channel to just about any clean tone i've heard live or recorded or played through)

Everyone needs Fender clean (whether they realise it or not!) :smile:

But seriously, ya just can't go wrong with a blackface Fender. To list the number of tracks recorded and pro musicians that use/used a DR would crash the hard-drive. It's the chameleon of tone. Plug in and go or add your fav pedal in front. Blues, country, hard rock, psychedelia, jam bands, southern rock, indie, jazz -- This amp keeps showing up at the gigs. Loud enough for a drummer, usable at home. Never a problem with resale if you find you need something different.

By all means, ya gotta follow your own ears, but for an intermediate player who is likely still searching for their tone, for the buck I can't think of an amp that will offer bigger bang (and likely stick around for years).

Your mileage will likely vary...

[hoser]

clean? what's that? :P

[Julien94]

I suggest you a Koch Studiotone because it's not that expensive, it have a killer tone and a bunch of interesting features. It's an all tube class A, 20 watts amp. In addition, it's very, very versatile. It bring back in mind the vintage british type amp (ex.: Vox AC-30). Also, it's easy to carry (light weight), specially the combo version. Try it, it might fit your style of music. But let me tell you Koch Amps worth the price for sure. :rockon2: sdsre kjdr

[noobcake]

Go tube and you'll never look back. At that price range you can easily score a used Traynor YCV40/YCV40WR or a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe and a decent overdrive pedal or two (the Digitech Badmonkey is an amazingly inexpensive Overdrive that DELIVERS). Your ear might not immediately notice the difference between an SS amp and a tube amp, but as you keep playing you'll realize that tube amps are way more dynamic than SS amps.

[Greg Ellis]

I suggest you a Koch Studiotone because it's not that expensive

Are you joking?

No doubt, it's a very very fine amplifier.

But the price tag is something like $1400 for the head, and $1550 for the combo.

i.e. nowhere near the original poster's price range.

[Bobbypols]

go down to pauls boutique where they sell used gear and have a go at 'er. Paulsboutique.ca there are a few tube amps in that price range. Stay away from solid state and especially the mg series.

[Budda]

why stay away from solid state?

a peavey XXL sounds scarily close to a JSX if you dial it in right ;)

[Archer]

Unless you have to crank it a lot you dont need a tube amp.

[Robert1950]

Stay away from solid state and especially the mg series.

Not necessarily so. People have been getting decent sounds from the the Vox ToneLab and Valvetronix (reliability judge still out) at the intermediate level and Axe-FX at the high end is blowing everyone away. But I do agree with you on MG series.

[pickslide]

Traynor YCS 50 head or YCS 90 combo. 2 Channels, great flexibility, switch to bring down to 15 or 30w, around $800-$1000 new (head is 800)

[Greenbacker]

Another vote for the elitists! I once owned a sheraton elitist. That was a hell of a guitar! I don't think a lot pf people realize that these are japanese guitars with gibson hardware/electronics.

As far as an intermediate amp with some volume? I'd say Fender DeVille! I grabbed mine for $500 used (a steal, they are usually $600-$750) but it is a real workhorse of an amp. The Deluxe is very similar and is 40W through 1x12 compared to the DeVille's 60W through 2x12 or 4x10. (Grab a 2x12 if you can find one!)

[overdriver]

When you get the guitar go out a try as many amps as you can find one you like and buy it. Tube amps IMO

[foghorn99]

Not necessarily so. People have been getting decent sounds from the the Vox ToneLab and Valvetronix (reliability judge still out) ...


+1 for Valvetronix. I've had my 15 watt for over four years and the versatility is astounding...especially for personal practice/recording. I bought it originally for the warm/punchy clean 'silverface' type of sound, but the AC15 and AC30TB sounds are waaaaaaaaaay too much fun (go figure....it's a VOX...duh).

Important: As far as I can figure out with VOX customer service, the reliability issue with the 'random speaker/volume cutout' stems from a low quality headphone jack switch (when jacked, it is supposed to disable the speaker for quiet practice). Sometimes, the switch gets stuck between disabling the speaker and enabling the speaker....thus the occasional 'volume cut' noticed when using the speaker. BTW: I've yet to hear anyone complain about the volume cutout issue whilest using headphones. So.... I keep a can of contact cleaner handy when it starts acting up...give it a good spray...go in/out/in/out/in/out/in/out with a guitar plug (insert joke here) and then it seems to be fine. Someday I'll change out the jack to a quality piece, but for now I'm comfortable treating this symptom.

PM me if you have any other questions about the Valvetronix. For the money, they are phenominal 'toys'....and they only weight 20-something pounds...which is easy on this old man's back (LOL).

Have fun....