Recommend a new Amp

DeadSkin

Howdo,

I picked up a PODXT Live a few months ago, great piece of kit.
I've mostly being playing with the headphones on, but I have a crappy amp, a Marshall MG15 I play it thru' when the opportunity arises to turn it up.
Lookin' for some recommendations for a new/secondhand amp to play the POD thru'.
All input appreciated.
Purely for home use and budget max 300 euros.
Cheers

DeadSkin

Dunno what happened there!!!!! Mods please delete one of these!!!!!:o

Karl Hungus

Now, this is a little over budget at €500 for the cheapest one, but check out Atomic Amps, which can be bought here. They're specifically voiced for amplifying modelling processors with an all tube power section. Haven't played one myself, but I've heard good things.

If you want a cheaper alternative, might I suggest running your Pod through a Epihphone Valve Junior. It's only got a volume control, so I'd say the EQ is pretty flat and would suit well for amplifying the Pod. I know people squeeze a lot out of these little amps by sticking an EQ pedal and distortion before it, so definetly an idea.

If the idea of a 8" speaker doesn't tickle your fancy, you can get the Valve Junior Head and 1x12 Cabinet sperately. The 12" speaker would give a much fuller sound, and if you want, you could probably upgrade the speaker at a later date. Your choices of 8" speakers wouldn't be very good if you wanted to upgrade the combo.

Hope that helps.

Voodu Child

In the e300 range of things, you're going to be hard pushed to find an amp which has a preamp section anywhere near as good as the PODXT, so tbh, i'd just go for any amp with a serial f/x loop, and run the pod straight into that.

I'd just look for something simple with modest (30-50watts) power and a good 12" speaker.

Karl Hungus

voodoo_child wrote:

In the e300 range of things, you're going to be hard pushed to find an amp which has a preamp section anywhere near as good as the PODXT, so tbh, i'd just go for any amp with a serial f/x loop, and run the pod straight into that.

I'd just look for something simple with modest (30-50watts) power and a good 12" speaker.

You know, you could probably just get ahold of a Crate Powerblock, and 1x12 cab easily enough. That would make a perfect way of amplifying the Pod.

feylya

http://www.thomann.de/ie/fender_fm212r_egitarrencombo.htm

Used to run a ME-50 through one of these. Sounded really good.

Voodu Child

Karl Hungus wrote:

You know, you could probably just get ahold of a Crate Powerblock, and 1x12 cab easily enough. That would make a perfect way of amplifying the Pod.

Yeah exactly. You've got a bunch of great sounds already, if you're on a tight budget, you just want anything really that amplifies the Pod without messing with the sound. if you stick with a standard 12" guitar speaker arrangement, you'll still get the same vibe as playing through a real amp.

That's why i wouldnt bother running it into the front of a cheap amp. You'll be taking the nice tones of the POD and putting it through a bunch of extra (and usually crappy) tone stages and clipping diodes.

Karl Hungus

voodoo_child wrote:

Yeah exactly. You've got a bunch of great sounds already, if you're on a tight budget, you just want anything really that amplifies the Pod without messing with the sound. if you stick with a standard 12" guitar speaker arrangement, you'll still get the same vibe as playing through a real amp.

That's why i wouldnt bother running it into the front of a cheap amp. You'll be taking the nice tones of the POD and putting it through a bunch of extra (and usually crappy) tone stages and clipping diodes.

I'd nearly suggest tracking down a second hand poweramp. Probably won't get much on a budget of €300, but it's worth a look around for anything good, hell you might even find a used Mesa 20/20.

Voodu Child

Karl Hungus wrote:

hell you might even find a used Mesa 20/20.

They are a fine poweramp for sure, but nobody's getting mine, I'm holding on to that baby

DeadSkin

Some great selections there lads, cheers.
Read some great reviews on the Powerblock, quite a few folk have used it for the PODXT.
Those Atomic Amps just outta my range dude, they do look good though.
I like the sounds of a head and a 1X12 cab.
Must do a bit more googlin'!!!
Any other PODXT/multi-effects users out there, what do you use?
Keep your recommendations comin'.

Karl Hungus

Well, I use a Pod XT Live myself, but for amplifying that, I'll sometimes run it through the FX Loop of my ENGL Fireball, which is probably way, way out of your price range.

DeadSkin

Karl Hungus wrote:

Well, I use a Pod XT Live myself, but for amplifying that, I'll sometimes run it through the FX Loop of my ENGL Fireball, which is probably way, way out of your price range.

Way, way outta my range
Also quite like the look of the Epihone Valve Junior Head and 1X12 Cab........think it'll go quiet nicely with my new purchase.
Damn buy it now button!!!

Quattroste

Laney LC 30 II. Check my sig. A little over 300 though but a great amp. You can go straight to the 4 x EL34 power amp section through the fx loop for the POD, and you have 2 channels of REAL valve tones!

Jack Vegas

feylya wrote:

http://www.thomann.de/ie/fender_fm212r_egitarrencombo.htm

Used to run a ME-50 through one of these. Sounded really good.

Troof! I've ran my pod through this before and it sounded great.

DeadSkin

Quattroste wrote:

Laney LC 30 II. Check my sig. A little over 300 though but a great amp. You can go straight to the 4 x EL34 power amp section through the fx loop for the POD, and you have 2 channels of REAL valve tones!

Sorry Quattroste 300 notes is my max, worth a try tho'

Yeah the Fender looks interestin' but I've read a lot of good reviews about the Powerblock, there's a few on the bay for sale, but waitin' to see if they'll ship to Ireland. Can't seem to find any stockists this side of the Atlantic except for a place in Dublin, they is lookin' for 290 euro :eek:
Cheers lads

Jonakin

Try the new Vox adxxvt-XL, their really versatile and i can play metal and blues on it.

Karl Hungus

Jonakin wrote:

Try the new Vox adxxvt-XL, their really versatile and i can play metal and blues on it.

They guy's looking for something to amplify his Pod. Using another modeller seems a bit redundant, no?

DeadSkin

Sourced the Powerblock today
Gonna try and suss out a 1x12 cab before the week's out.

DeadSkin

Anyone here actually build their own cab? How did you go about it? Where did you get the supplies?
I see in the resource sticky, ampmaker.com, did kits but he's closed due to ill health.
I find it very interesting, I'm looking for a 1X12, stumbled across a few websites mostly American, so anyone here ever go down the DIY route?

Voodu Child

Making a cab isnt difficult, it's just a wooden box, but most DIY cabs i've seen have been completely crap, roughly nailed together with crappy looking grey carpet stapled on etc.

Unless you're willing and able to do a proper job of it, even a budget cab like the Framus 1x12 would be significantly better.

DeadSkin

voodoo_child wrote:

Making a cab isnt difficult, it's just a wooden box, but most DIY cabs i've seen have been completely crap, roughly nailed together with crappy looking grey carpet stapled on etc.

Unless you're willing and able to do a proper job of it, even a budget cab like the Framus 1x12 would be significantly better.

Oh yeah, am willing to do a proper job, no nails, be using dovetail joints.
Have some experience with woodworking, so I wouldn't be goin' in totally blind.
Being tryin' to do some research over the last few days on what type of wood/speaker etc to use......
Just thought there'd be a few more heads here who went down this road before.

Voodu Child

DeadSkin wrote:

Oh yeah, am willing to do a proper job, no nails, be using dovetail joints.
Have some experience with woodworking, so I wouldn't be goin' in totally blind.
Being tryin' to do some research over the last few days on what type of wood/speaker etc to use......
Just thought there'd be a few more heads here who went down this road before.

Well, if you're going to do a proper job of it, by all means work away. I recommend a Mesa Thiele style cab (closed back, front ported). It's popular with lots of DIYers because it sounds fantastic.

http://archives.telex.com/archives/EV/Builders%20Plans/TL806%20Builders%20Plans.pdf

DeadSkin

voodoo_child wrote:

Well, if you're going to do a proper job of it, by all means work away. I recommend a Mesa Thiele style cab (closed back, front ported). It's popular with lots of DIYers because it sounds fantastic.

http://archives.telex.com/archives/EV/Builders%20Plans/TL806%20Builders%20Plans.pdf

Woah, that looks cool!!! Cheers voodoo.
Had a quick look on that website, looks very interesting, plans and all, just what I needed.
Found another few links with peoples' experiences going down this road.
So now it's just a matter of settling on a design and what speaker to use?

Voodu Child

DeadSkin wrote:

Woah, that looks cool!!! Cheers voodoo.

No problem.

So now it's just a matter of settling on a design and what speaker to use?

Yeah, and you should be able to find the jack dish very easily online, and the 1/4" connectors in the same place.

You'll need a speaker cloth or similar too, the construction of that can vary from design to design, usually it's fixed into a square frame that's separate from the cab.

If you're handy with woodworking, and use a nice grade of timber, you could end up with something looking like this: (this is the same thiele design as above)

DeadSkin

Hey voodoo, in the plans you posted, under the construction note 3 it says;
use 1/2" wide weather stripping tape around port cover item 5 for airtight seal, what's the puprose of this cover if air/sound can still travel in the ports either side of the centre port?
I've read elsewhere, that this is really a cab for bass? Does it matter? Are they the reason for the ports?
Found aswell, that cabs need to be tuned?
Finding a lot of conflicting information on some websites
Do you have any other links?
Sorry for all the questions, but I really want to go the DIY route.
Cheers

Voodu Child

When they say it needs to be 'tuned', that's simply the size and dimensions of the side ports in relation to the size of rest of the cab - afaik, if you follow a set of accurate plans, you don't have to worry about that aspect.

(FWIW, any speaker cab needs to be 'tuned' technically. The ratio of lengths should follow a particular mathematical rule-of-thumb, which is why DIY jobs are usually based off existing designs. If you were to just grab a few pits of ply wood and hammer together a mishapen box, it would probably sound terrible)

Ported cabs are more common in the bass world for sure, but the thiele design as used by Mesa is guitar through and through. It's intended as a 1x12 with massive sound projection and low end, to compete with 2x12s and 4x12s even. When they brought out the small but 100watt+ MK series short heads in the '80s, it was common for guys to replace their half-stack with a tiny head and 1x12 thiele setup.

(Ported cabs can be more efficient than closed or sealed cabs simply because the driver doesnt have to push against a cushion of compressed air behind it)

In relation to the stripping tape around the port cover, I presume it is something to do with the port cover being removeable.

I would say any questions regarding the build should be aimed at someone who has made one already, such as that link i supplied for the boogie board. Those guys could probably give you much better help than i could.

Edit - I see I didn't include the link for the boogie board, just the pic from the thread...ooops I'll see if i can dig it up again..

Edit - Have a look here:
http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?t=13747&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

I suggest signing up for that forum and starting a new thread with any and all questions you can think of. As with any home-build, it's better to get everything sorted in your head before picking up a hammer

DeadSkin

voodoo_child wrote:

As with any home-build, it's better to get everything sorted in your head before picking up a hammer

Very true, my head is wrecked from trawling thru' the net!!!!
Cheers for the link, will take a proper look tonight.

kranog

There's a dude sellin' a Laney LC30II on the board somewhere....that's a savage amp, he's about your budget too !!!

DeadSkin

kranog wrote:

There's a dude sellin' a Laney LC30II on the board somewhere....that's a savage amp, he's about your budget too !!!

Aye kranog, he's been on earlier, but I think I'll take the project on, cheers anywhoo!!!

Karl Hungus

If you're not up for building the cab, then this is a pretty good cabinet for the money.

DeadSkin

Karl Hungus wrote:

If you're not up for building the cab, then this is a pretty good cabinet for the money.

Dang it Karl, stop tryin' to distract me

shredhead

look into these
http://www.musicstore.de/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/WFS/MusicStore-MusicStoreShop-Site/en_EN/-/EUR/ViewProductDetail-Start;pgid=TOZgS8fSZObR0000000000000000MgBzo7ln?CatalogVideo=&ProductUUID=tT7VqHzlfUwAAAESswJ_Z_G.&CatalogCategoryID=SdnVqHzmgksAAAERuZsvKPl9&JumpTo=OfferList
they are all valve and wil be about 2.5 timaes louder than your current amp and will sound a lot better