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Good amp for metal?

#2
Depends alot on the budget. Any brand of amp can pull off a metal tone really. You really gotta get your son out there to try some stuff out. Also, are you looking to get a big combo amp, or a stack? I would say if you can't spend alot check out some of the lower end harkte and ashdown stuff. SWR also has some reasonably priced stuff. SWR, in my opinion, has some really great stuff for the money. If you want to spend more you could check out ampeg, mesa, sunn, fender and some higher end SWR stuff. Ampeg is always a good choice, its all I use. Mesa and the higher end SWR amps and cabs are really awesome too. I owned a Sunn 1200s for a while. It was a monster 2-channel amp, clean and overdrive. That would be a great head for metal.
 
#3
All the bands you mentioned use Ampegs, so if you have the money that's a good direction to look in, assuming he wants to emulate that sound.

Aside from those mentioned above the Kustom heads are well thought of by some here and seem to be pretty versitile, but I've played one.

Again, give us a budget and we'll have better luck helping you out. Also its imperative you get your son to actually play through as many amps as possible, preferably in settings besides a large music store where its hard to really hear what a rig can and can't do.
 
#11
karrot-x said:
Actualy Godsmack uses SWR, Korn uses Mesa Boogie, and Disturbed uses GK :).
Click to expand...

At one time or another I know both Korn and Godsmack had contracts with Ampeg. I was pretty sure the same was true for Disturbed, but I could have confused them with a different act.

I know when I saw Korn (when they were opening for Ozzy on the Ozzmosis tour) there were Ampeg logos all over the place.
 
#13
I use Ashdown's MAG amps. I got the 410 cab. I play in two bands. one is metal and the other punk/surf. It handles both types well and is relatively cheap. I paid 600 bux for the head and cab at americanmusical.com .
 
#14
In Fieldys latest videos and tour he was using Mesa gear. The "Yall want a single" video had him sporting PowerHouse 1000's with M-Pulse 600's. He is also a Ampeg guy and played Hughes & Kettner back before Issues. I think his ampeg use is only for combos, on the ampeg poster he's just got a bunch of smaller cabs in his car.

Now to not take away from the topic. You really can't go wrong chosing from any of the big names. The type of metal you've mentioned is more of the Nu-Metal crowd, Ampegs will do their job there. I'd suggest GK or Peavey; those new GK neo cabs look great.
 
#19
For metal, probably better with a single 4x10 cab than a 2x10 + 1x15 cab. Cutting through will be a lot more important than the extra boost in the bass.

Definately try to play as many possible amps as possible. Most amps will work for metal, but will need to be loud if nothing else.

I'd go with an Avatar 4x10 cab and his choice of a head.
 
#20
Shop used!!! For $1000 you should be able to get a nice rig put together. If at all possible, get the lad a pair of less expensive 4x10 cabinets or an 8x10. (15+410 would be OK too) Peavy TX series would be a good choice here. If you pick them up used they should be really cheap, which will leave some room in the budget for a decent head. People around here seem to like the Avatar cabs, you could try a pair of B410s, especially if you can find them used! It may take time to find them locally, but that is your best bet since they are so expensive to ship.

A head of 500 watts + would be great! Even if it is just a hartke :p There are lots of cheap heads out there that are OK on sound quality ... carvin and peavey and SWR "Workingmans" all come to mind as also being reliable.

Those marshal 4x12 cabs are really beasts on volume ... so the more speaker area the better! You don't need to get the "best" sounding gear around, the challenge is just to make enough noise to be heared.

PS. You are a REALLY COOL dad to be looking for a $1000 stack for his kid's metal band! :D
 

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