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Powerful tube amp for Stoner/Doom (Orange? Sunn?)

M

Mindchef

Guest
May 23, 2012
11
0
#1
So I've once again come to that point in my life where I'm convinced that I need a new amp. I'm in a band that plays heavy stoner/sludge/doom metal. Looking for something that can go seriously LOW, FUZZY and LOUD, make me deaf in a couple of months and get me in plenty of trouble with the law until then. Something bone-rattling, that'll make the preacher crap his Sunday pants when it ain't even Sunday!

I currently use a budget Bugera hybrid amp (essentially an SVT3 with a lower price tag) with a Boss bass OD in front. It's been mostly adequate and the fans seem to dig it, but I know I could do better. The amp by itself lacks... well... anything :(

I want something all-tube, no more solid/hybrid state BS. And something with enough gain on tap that it will hopefully eliminate my need for a distortion pedal! Price isn't too big of a deal, but preferably under $2k (used). I kinda like the sound I get when plugging into a high-gain guitard amp, but I need more low end than those offer.

A couple of amps immediately come on my radar: The Orange Thunderverb 200, and the Sunn 300t (which I understand is the same thing as a Super Bassman 300? But of course, being a stoner, I'd opt for the one with the cool Sunn O))) badge on it :p). Or possibly even a vintage SVT??

Problem: None of these amps are readily available to me to test out. So basically I'd like any and all input you guys have to offer on any of these amps, or anything else you think I should check out before trekking around the world to actually try these things!

I play a Fender J, use a custom built 8x10, and am currently building a fEARful 1515/6. I don't plan on replacing any of this.

I don't come on here too often anymore and I already know there are plenty of stoner/doom guys here, so sorry in advance if this has already been covered. Just looking for some quick answers!
 
#4
I know you said no hybrids but you should look at a mesa big block 750. 4 tube preamp, overdrive channel that puts most guitar amps to shame without losing any low end (couple 2x15s don't hurt either)
 
#7
So I m using an orange ad 200b mk3, with an ampeg 610hlf, i think for your purpose it would be perfekt, it has a nice distortion and lots of bass and lowmids...
if you change the 6550 poweramp tubes to kt88s the sound is earthshaking, when i turn the bass and volume up high enough, the bottles on the tabel about 6 m away begin moving and fall off the table \m/ and you can feel your trousers vibrate/ flatter when your near the amp :-)
other option would be a kind of a fender bassman, mike shoes from qotsa is using one of them... for example
 
#11
The sunn 300t is the same as the fender 300t, not the fender super bassman. But all three amps are superb for doom and stoner rock. The 300t's have more volume for some reason and can be had for about a grand many times, but you want the fender, not the sunn. The sunn version has bugs to it that were fixed under the fender badge.
 
#12
Sartori said:
+1

I love mine. It's great for stoner doom. All the grind I need. And that is a lot of grind. Plus it's old and weird.
Click to expand...
I love mine too. It's a sweet sounding amp. I think it has just a *slightly* cooler tone (a tiny bit more "rounded" in the mids) than my Bass 400 with 6550's. These Mesa heads have pretty cool natural OD, probably a little coarser than other tube amps in the same ball park. You can find them all for $800 or less. If you need max output, consider a 400+ since they can go down to 2-ohms. For the big sound you are wanting, big cabs will need to be in the equation.
 
#16
I'll chip in my vote for the Bassman 300pro. I used to own one, the only reason I ended up selling it was my switch over to all vintage Sunn. Sure, they're big and heavy, but hey, you're playing Stoner metal, it comes with the territory. And for all that weight, you're getting a real monster of a bass amp. They get incredibly loud, and if you REALLY want to go into say, the skyscrapper demolition business, you can always get a second and use the slave output. The blend between the two channels is also a great feature. The dirty channel is neat, but it's more of pre-amp drive, and can sound a bit like a distortion/fuzz box more than amp distortion, but it's pretty cool. I just never really used it as I'm more a fan of power amp drive (the reason I switched to 120w Sunns). The only other danger of the 300pro is all the bloody knobs. You can find yourself constantly tweaking, but it is pretty nifty having a slider EQ right there on the amp. There's also the compression section, though I never used it. Overall, fantastic amps, especially if you can find it for around $800 (that's what I bought and sold mine for), I just found I'm more of a lower-watt, 4 knob kinda guy.
 

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