Amp head with DI out to replace Laney 5 Studio (Marshall, L20?)

[frank1985]

Hey folks, I'm looking for suggestions on a decent amp head (marshall?) with DI out to replace my Laney 5 Studio. I don't know what's up with it - I can get some filthy tones, but when it comes to cleans it just sounds thin and anaemic, and I can't dial out the overdrive completely without degrading the tone further. My boss waza headphones actually sound better in this regard with lots of body and chime. Ideally I could afford a separate fender amp for the cleans but would prefer one that excels in both. How much would an L20 improve things? I've never owned a Marshall but most of my favourite Doom/heavy rock bands use one so I'd like to find one that also cleans up well for when i'm recording less aggressive genres like surf. Is that unrealistic to want something that excels in both ends of the spectrum? A DI out would be very handy so I don't have to use a speaker load. I will be hooking up to a torpedo cab.

EDIT: I will consider brands other than marshall.

 

[VintageSG]

The Laney Irt15 Studio does clean, crunch, \m/etal and utter filth with ease. It can run without a cab thanks to an internal load, and it has a DI.
On the L5, has it always been anemic, or is this something recent. Anemic isn't usually a term applied to them.
V1 -may- be in need of replacement. Try swapping it with V2. If things go from bad to Johnson, there's your culprit.

For Marshall sounds, give serious consideration to an amp-in-pedal. At the cheap end is the Joyo British, then here's a plethora of Sino pedals and the Tech 21.
Another alternative may be the Hotone Purple Wind. Daft name, but somehow Hotone have made a tiddler solid state that sounds way beyond its size and price point. No, I'm not selling mine. No DI, but it does have a headphone out ( not compensated ), effects loop and can run without a cab.

 

[Alex_C]

I have the L5S and it doesn't sound thin at all. You could swap out the tubes or check the bias for very little cost.

 

[Togman]

I suggest you look at the Hughes & Ketner range. I used to have an 18W combo that had two very different (and very usable) channels. It also had and XLR out. I'm not sure what's in their current range - but could be worth a look.