Marshall vs Line 6

[Sproles40]

i am currently starting to gig and my line 6 spider 2 just aint cuttin it. I really like line 6 but i also want the marshall classic british rock tone. there are two amps i am debating on purchasing.

The line 6 spider 3 150w combo amp

or

The marshall 250dfx combo amp or the marshall 100hdfx half stack

Let me know what you think.

[Ben Harmless]

Just my not-so-humble "sound dude" opinion here, but I think those SS Marshalls beat the Line 6s hands down. The 6's sound great in the store, when you can spend hours tweaking the settings and entertaining yourself, but on stage, the Marshalls cut through much, much better.

The secret is in the knob that shapes the mids. I can't remember what it's called, but you turn it to scoop out the mids like a crazy nu-metalhead. Turn it the other way for a good, classic crunch. You'll thank me later.

Also, the Head versions benefit from the real Marshall 1960 cabs, as opposed to the ones built as part of the same series. Those ones aren't bad, but the higher-quality speakers really make 'em sing.

[jmaul]

what style of music are you playing?
What size of venues?
Do you need to be able to play at home?

If you are stuck on line 6, get the spider valve 112, used.

But if you are gigging, I'd recommend a full tube amp.
There are plenty of good cheaper tube amps under $550.

You can pick up a new Orange Tiny Terror for $500, used 400-450.
Blackheart has very marshally sounds in the mix- a new Handsome Devil runs in the $300-350 range.

Keep in mind that tube watts are probably a lot louder than the solid state you are used to. They are rated clean, so a 15watt tube amp may put out 25 watts- also keep in mind that the wattage to volume ratio in tubes is roughly 10 to 1... so a 150 watt tube amp would only be twice as loud as a 15 watt amp. You can push a 212 or 412 cab with efficient speakers and get some serious volume with even a 15 watt head. If you want a marshall tone, you probably want your drivers to be celestion vintage 30's or celestion G12M or H in a closed back cab. There are cheaper sound alike alternatives from Eminence and Warehouse speakers, but used celestions are easy to find.

My recommendation would be a Blackheart Handsome Devil with a 212 loaded with one V30 and one G12H. Find a used closed back cab, and if you can, used speakers- new speakers need break-in.

[Sproles40]

i play zeppelin,boston,skynyrd type stuff. im really wide range with tone. but i like to keep it in the 70s bristish rock sound. i need sumthin for small clubs, outdoor festivals things like that. and were can you buy an orange ? i have never played one and have always wanted to ?

[chadp]

A friend of mine just purchased the 50w, single 12" combo version of that Marshall series. It sounds good and has a ton of distortion on channel 2. I believe that knob BenH is referring to is called 'Contour' and, like he said, you can get a broad range of sounds by adjusting it.
I used to have a Marshall Valvestate VS265R. The Valvestate's were 'hybrid' amps that paired solid state power with a 12AX7 tube in the pre-amp. After Valvestate came the Marshall AVT's and I believe the current VOX Valvetronix amps are basically the same design with a few refinements and extra features. The Marshall VS & AVT's can be found used at pretty decent prices and the VOX's are available at GC.

[jmaul]

Originally Posted by Sproles40

i need sumthin for small clubs, outdoor festivals things like that. and were can you buy an orange ? i have never played one and have always wanted to ?

you provide the zip, orange will tell you the dealers:
http://www.orangeamps.com/dealers.asp?Area=USA

decent demo through a 10" speaker here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tab8z...eature=related

small clubs and outdoor festivals... that is a tall order for one amp. If the outdoor festival has a PA, you will be ok with the 15 watter.

[krauser2]

black heart
tiny terror
peavey classic series
used fender blues jr or hot rod deluxe

Tube power, the first 2 have some serious marshaly sounds when cranked....affordable too

[Sproles40]

nice i will look into those.

[Ben Harmless]

Yeah! The contour knob! That's the one!

Seriously, I started playing in public when I was 16, and I wish I had an amp that good.

That being said, if you can swing the cash, some of the above amps are fantastic. I'd especially recommend the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. It's not as much of a British tone, but very usable for the things you describe anyway, and takes pedals well.

I don't know what kind of band you're playing with, but be aware that the Orange Tiny Terror, and most of the Blackheart amps are very low power. They're great amps, but they wouldn't last two seconds against some of the drummers in my past - 'course I played in punk bands at 16.

The Peavey Classic series would definitely be on my list too so long as you don't mind not having something that says "Marshall" or "Fender" on it behind you. There have been a number of variations over the years. If you go used, pretty much anything that says "Peavey" and "Classic" on it is going to be a workhorse.

I still like those solid-state Marshalls though. Dependable, good sounding amps. I've seen them behind metal bands, blues bands, punk bands, rock bands, and even ska bands, and the amps were never the weak link.

[Justinvs]

I'm playing through an SS Marshall and I love the sound of it. Having said that, so much depends on the cab. The lead player in our band and I just swapped cabs - his Berhinger 412 for my Crate 412 - and the sound through the Behringer is much better with th eMarshall than it was through his Crate head, versy-visa.

[gitlvr]

I have the Marshall MG50DFX. 50 watt 112 combo. I gigged with it for a couple of years before I quit the bar scene. Played everything from Phish and the Grateful Dead to Zepp, Hendrix, Cream and any other 60's, 70's or 80's classic rock you can think of. It will do anything you want. The clean channel sounds great, and once you pass halfway on the volume it starts to give you some of that gritty,bluesy breakup. To me, it sounds like the clean channel on a tube amp being pushed. The lead channel can do classic rock all the way to metal, providing you take the time to learn to use the contour control properly, and with individual eq on each channel you can get that deep, powerful low-end Marshall "chunk" that I like to hear. Master volume lets you set the volume levels of the channels to match, then adjust stage volume with the turn of a knob. Reverb is ok. I've heard better, but it does the trick for me. The delay is servicable, but the rest of the built in effects aren't that great, but that's what processors and pedalboards are for. The 250dfx is the same as mine, but with another 50 watt channel and a second 12", and I bet a 100w stack with a 412 cab would be the very definition of mean, but I never needed anything more than 50 no matter where we played. I love mine.And if you need more volume(ie;those festivals), it has a line out that sounds great.
The other recommendation I'd make is the Peavey Bandit 112. 80watts and a time-tested bar and club band veteran that does classic and southern rock really well.