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I'm trying to find a good tube head to shortly save up for (like $400-$500 is my budget). My band is going for a heavy post-rock sound. If it matters, most of the stuff I play is in D Standard or Drop C tuning. I mainly just need something with a good clean channel since I get my dirt from pedals.

I don't really know if I should go for a 50w head or a 100w head either. I guess it just depends.

What's on my radar so far is:
Ampeg V4
Fender Bassman
Jet City JCA50h or JCA100h
Laney AOR50 or AOR100

I just want something that's loud, clean, and reliable for the most part.

PVY KVLT...

sonidero wrote:PVY KVLT...

I do like their old solid state heads, but I'd like a tube head. I already have a solid state Marshall MOSFET Lead 100. Cheap Peavey tube heads are hard to find around here. Sometimes see an overpriced VTM60, but you'll never see something like a Butcher.

I've been curious about the Peavey Vulcan as there's one in a local music shop but I've never even seen any demos of one online.

ancientbones wrote:Peavey Vulcan

Go Play It Now... That's on my list, Fuzz, Verb and Trem plus super clean and LOUD...

sonidero wrote:

ancientbones wrote:Peavey Vulcan

Go Play It Now... That's on my list, Fuzz, Verb and Trem plus super clean and LOUD...

I'll hit up that shop one of these weekends. Maybe I'll sell off my marshall head and get that if it's not too crackly and janky. A friend of mine found a Peavey Standard 400 for like $85 on craigslist and that's pretty loud and clean. I would like the Marshall a lot more if I didnt have to have a footswitch to separate the clean and drive channels.

All sorts of fun can be had with that budget..... old Traynor's can be had for that, if not a lot less; odd ballish Fenders, Red Knobs and the like; etc.

doommeow wrote:All sorts of fun can be had with that budget..... old Traynor's can be had for that, if not a lot less; odd ballish Fenders, Red Knobs and the like; etc.

Eh... the traynors I've seen around here are usually REALLY overpriced. I've only seen one cool oddball fender and the guy removed the ad the next day. It was a Fender 75 for like $300. Some kind of weird tube amp of theirs from the early 80s.

Did they make red knob heads? I've only seen combos pop up now and then.

I would recommend finding an old Sovtek Mig. They sound quite good, are all tube, and incredibly loud and can be had pretty cheap (right in your budget).

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zW6SsznZkfo[/youtube]

Sardocasm wrote:I would recommend finding an old Sovtek Mig. They sound quite good, are all tube, and incredibly loud and can be had pretty cheap (right in your budget).

And there's one int B/S/T right now!: http://ilovefuzz.com/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=39522

If you decide to go 100w I'd go with the V4. The Ampeg V2 and B25/B25B are also good choices and come in around 50-60w.

musicman hd130 or 150 for loud ass clean

Of the stuff you've mentioned, Bassman and V4 are gonna be the cleaner pedal platforms. I'd take the low input of the Laney over the JCA for similar purposes, though the JCA is pretty good when you want that gainy rock amp thing.

Sovteks have gotten ridiculously pricey anywhere I look lately. Traynors not quite as much but they're trending that way. Jazz Choruses have ceased to be cheap around me but a deal could happen. Yamaha G series solid state amps are good at doing a Fender clean thing in a bulletproof amp that you can still usually find cheap still. Maybe a vintage Acoustic could work? They might have cooled down a bit for the average guitar or all-purpose head.

Older Marshall tube stuff can actually do good loud cleanish stuff, especially in 100 watters. James Honeyman Scott did those two Pretenders albums with Marshalls, for example. I haven't played a MOSFET Lead 100, but I hear great things about them and wouldn't count it out right away.

You've got a good direction. I'd say go V4 if you can get one in working condition for under 600 locally, and if you really, really like midrange. Otherwise, Peavey Rock or Road Master is cheap and hella loud, and also all tube. I love my Road Master, as does Thurston Moore. Also, older Traynors (YBA-1 if you want any amp breakup, YBA-3 if you're looking for cleans only), and also maybe a silverface twin (they pop up for cheap occasionally).

Gone Fission wrote:I haven't played a MOSFET Lead 100, but I hear great things about them and wouldn't count it out right away.

It's a decent amp, I just hate that it blends the gain channel with the clean channel when there isn't a footswitch plugged into it, so it's really only sometimes clean for me. I really don't want to have to have a footswitch around just to be able to use the clean channel. That's annoying.

I really don't mind SS heads, though. They seem like a lot less maintenance than tubez.

ancientbones wrote:

Gone Fission wrote:I haven't played a MOSFET Lead 100, but I hear great things about them and wouldn't count it out right away.

It's a decent amp, I just hate that it blends the gain channel with the clean channel when there isn't a footswitch plugged into it, so it's really only sometimes clean for me. I really don't want to have to have a footswitch around just to be able to use the clean channel. That's annoying.

I really don't mind SS heads, though. They seem like a lot less maintenance than tubez.

If you don't mind SS, look for the older Acoustic Control Corporation stuff.

theavondon wrote:

ancientbones wrote:

Gone Fission wrote:I haven't played a MOSFET Lead 100, but I hear great things about them and wouldn't count it out right away.

It's a decent amp, I just hate that it blends the gain channel with the clean channel when there isn't a footswitch plugged into it, so it's really only sometimes clean for me. I really don't want to have to have a footswitch around just to be able to use the clean channel. That's annoying.

I really don't mind SS heads, though. They seem like a lot less maintenance than tubez.

If you don't mind SS, look for the older Acoustic Control Corporation stuff.

I have before, but prices have really gone up for them. My friend did send me an ad for one in Ohio but it looked really gross. Had this weird tan wood case and the knobs were all painted over. Would have been $200 something with shipping. :S i don't think i'd pay that much for a really beaten one. I'll just have to keep an eye out and maybe check out that Vulcan.