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Woah! Some ace posts, thanks for your knowledge on this matter guys its really appreciated.

All tbhis talk has got me thinking whether I should trade the VS100 in for a low wattage tube amp! I know we're digressing now from my OP but what make of 30W or 50W tube amp would you guys recommend, bearing in mind I'm not overly minted with cash! Marshall? Laney? Vox?

Hey sorry for the necrobump but this topic is very much relevant to my situation right now. I'm looking to get my first guitar amp. I like pedals, especially dirt pedals so I know I'd like to get an amp that will take pedals well.

If I understand correctly, dirt pedals work best with a clean amp? So if that's the case then does it really matter if it is solid state or tube as long as I'm not driving either into clipping? And following that, if a tube amp works best utilizing more of its power, it seems that solid state amps would be better suited to stay clean as opposed to getting a lower wattage tube amp that would work for home and small gig levels since they have less clean headroom? If this is the case, wouldn't a high wattage bass amp or power amp be a good platform for pedals and guitar?

Or is the "clean" not the same in a tube vs solid state amp and that light clipping with pedals in a tube amp is actually desirable? Or are there no rules here and it all depends on an amp to amp basis?

I realize this is highly subjective but I'm trying to understand how amps interact with pedals so I can figure out my best options for home recording and small gig use. Thanks!

Go to a music store and play with 'em.

Find the one you like with the dirt boxes you like.

Yeah, trying to figure out the theoretically optimal configuration is always a disappointment because it never sounds the way you expect. Tone stacks make a huge difference, too; there are too many variables to try to make any grand pronouncements about what sounds best.
If you don't have the resources or whatever to try out a bunch of amps, you might figure out what the artists you like use and start there. Or even start with a particular recording.

How much are you looking to spend, megamaeng?

Chankgeez wrote:How much are you looking to spend, megamaeng?

I'd like to spend around 5-600 but can stretch it to about 1k if it means that I'm stepping up big time to a point where I'm set for awhile. And I'm not shy about buying used so that budget is for used prices.

That's def good advice about trying out a bunch of amps but I'm trying to narrow my choices down, even conceptually. But yeah I suppose I can try to get as far as I can with my dirt pedals into a mixer and then take them to a music store but to be honest, time and resources are not in my favor. But that's my problem haha.

The style and recording influence is a good point. I looked into that and watched rig rundowns etc but most of the guitarists I'm liking seem to just crank tube amps and use the built in gain. For example on the first few black sabbath albums I think tony iommi just plugged into big laney amps? At one point I thought maybe I should just ignore pedals for now and get an amp with switchable dirty channels but then I ran into this thread and now I'm wondering if that's the best idea if and when I want to start adding pedals.

maybe the problem is that I should have started with the amp and figured out what pedals to use with it instead of vice versa. (I have pedals already because I used them on bass and synths)

Money at the 1k tier goes a lot farther by all measures if you buy secondhand.
I will always recommend a Bassman or derivative. They're just special amps, every version.
60s & 70s are my personal favorites. Their circuits are a dream for pedals.

Get a used Mustang IIIv2 for ~$250 and run it through its paces for a few months, then you'll have a good idea of what sound you're looking for. I would not recommend spending $500+ on a first-ever amp.

Also, for recording you may want a totally different rig than playing even in the room.

Mustangs do record well.

thanks guys!

food for thought and I'll look into the suggestions.

Believe me, I'm not looking to throw money around and this is a genuine question but something like that mustang which seems to be a modeling amp - how is a modeling amp different than running guitar rig on a laptop. Is the main difference that it has a speaker and cabinet that's better than the speaker sim?

At first I thought I could just play guitar through my bass rig which is an ampeg svt7pro and fridge. But it just doesn't sound "right". Maybe it's just a mental thing or just a lack of reference but even guitar rig seems to sound more appropriate, for a lack of a better term (not to mention the late night recording and small gig issue haha). I'm wondering if it's a matter of the amp, cabinet, or a combination of the two. I'm figuring that it's the cabinet mostly, as the svt7 theoretically is just giving me a bunch of clean. Then i looked into getting something like the hilbish pb-10 or another preamp that I can use on both bass and guitar and would allow me to plug in direct on occasion, and pair that with a power amp and cab, which led me to this thread...

Think about gain staging. Too much gain and your signal becomes squashed and undefined. Pedals that do most of the work, like fuzz and distortions, prefer a clean, full-bodied platform to sound their best. Remember, though, boosts and overdrives want to work with tubes. Also, don't fool yourself into thinking just any solid state is your answer. There are high gain solid states that rather do their own thing, as well. I, personally, often find big, clean solid state amps sterile. Even an all clean tube amp sounds better, warmed up, imo. There are only a couple solid state amps that I would own, right now. Quilter & JC.

When dealing with a modeling amp, the big thing is you get hardware. Don't underestimate that value in the sense that there's (a) some resale value (b) it's not subject to the vagaries of operating systems and DAW standards, etc.

Some sound better than the software VSTs IMO as well.