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Right guys and gals,

Its really time I got a new amp, my Marshall VS265 just isnt producing the sounds I want no days. I only use a clean channel and the rest is pedals and ill probably tinker with an FX loop so those two are ideal.

I feel with the marshall im loosing alot of low end and its just seems very treble to me, i played along side a friend not to long ago who had a Blackstar HT Stage 60 and it was a much thicker sound,

Please also bear in mind that im unlikely to be able to go and try the amps out so im going to have to fly a little blind here. It also needs to be gigable (small venues) but nothing crazy big roughly the same size and wattage as my current amp

Any ideas or recommendations ? Budget is up to £800

15-30 watts will be plenty gigable even clean. Are you fixated on a Marshally sound?

nope not fixated on it, i only ended up with my current amp because guy was selling it for £50 so bargin there..

Hmmmmm. I don't know for you but the "character" of an amp is the first thing I'm looking for. I pretty much like Vox ACs, Hiwatts, Roland JCs.

What's your deal? What are the amp characters that speak to you?

I really want a clean sound that is well rounded, i find the marshall clean at least on this amp to be very treble heavy regardless of where i have the knob turned to. I guess trying to describe a clean sound isnt very easy! I guess it also needs to play well with dirt.

I know ive never been interested in Lany or Line 6 amps. Orange amps appeal to me but not sure if they are known for a good clean sound or not?

Have you played on any other amp that spoke to you at some point? Cause from what you say, I find it really hard to narrow it down more than "anything that's not a Marshall"

As far as affordable Marshall type sounds go, Blackstar has been killing it the last couple years or so. Look into the Club 40, should be within your budget, especially used.

I also keep reading/hearing a lot of good things about egnater and jet city, though I haven't messed with either of those brands myself.

I settled for an Orange tiny terror, or at least that's the plan. 15Watt with a (half) open back 1x12" combo won't cut it in a loud live situation though, especially if cleans are a concern.

I get why you don't like your Marshall. The VS series is NOT worthy of the name imo, I guess it tries to mimmick the JCM/JMP series, but fails miserably. They're cheap solid state noob amps from an era when few major guitar amp companies seemed able to build a ss amp that didn't sound like ass.

Do yourself a favor and check some reviews and clips of the DSL40C. I'm personally more into plexi/jtm style Marshalls, but if you can't get decent crunch tone out of a DSL40C, you're doing something wrong Reverb, fx loop, 40watt with a half power option...And probably also within yer budget

Not sure how available they are on that side of the pond but well within your budget, even new, shipped to your neck of the woods (probably).

Carvin x100b

Has two channels -- but the distortion is only meh. Clean channel is great

Takes pedals like a fucking champion.

Has graphic EQ built in. Sort of Carvin's answer to the Boogie Mark series.

FX loop

Built in power scaling, 25w, 50w, 100w.

Haven't used mine much lately. It was last used in a bass guitar, actually. But I like it. Great pedal platform. Paired it with a Beta Lead for quite some time. Great amp. I paid $180 for mine and then invested in new tubes and a check up.

Sleeper amp of the year is, as D.o.S. and I both know, Mesa Boogie F-100. Comes equipped with two Mesa branded v30s. FX loop. Reverb. Takes pedals well and has a good dirty channel. Fender-ish cleans. Again well within your budget if you can find one.

Orange amps are great and have that same dirty/clean channel options, but you can really clean up the dirty side and use it for clean or slightly overdriven sounds. I know Marshall's' seem really dirty when I messed with them, which I found annoying and uninspiring.

For me, any amp that adds dirt takes away from your pedals unless it's a natural gain sound like what Mesa offers. I'm pissed at those bastards right now, but there's no denying Mesa is one of the best around. So if you get a chance, try a Mesa Boogie man.

I also love the sound of Bad Cat amps. They are expensive as FUCK but sound brilliant.

Some people hate em, but I'd consider a Deville. Not too heavy/big, great clean with classic Fender verb, can be found used for not a ton of money (although not sure if the same goes in London).

If you're playing mainly heavy stuff though, probably not your bag.

I love the cleans/tiny bit dirty on Orange amps, that might be a good option. TH30 falls under your budget and is nice stuff.

I just got a Crush Pro 120 and it's fucking amazing and loud as shit.

Nice, haven't tried that one, looks cool though. I think an orange/matamp is on the cards for me this year. Having tried and loved vidret's th30 (I think it was?) and my dad's rocker 30 I'm so ready for some of that in my life.

Wow guys thanks for the info, deffo staying away from Marshall and the Messa sounds good, and maybe the orange. I play all sorts as I'm in a cover band so cleans and heavy all mixed in.

I'll be heading to YouTube for now to see between Messa and Orange.

If you liked the blackstar you played that's probably the first place I'd start. I have some friends that love them