Amp Question

IamMetaldave

Hey people,

I have a question about amps. Well, really just looking for peoples experience actually.

I've been looking at the following amps

Framus Cobra

Engl Invader

Diezel VH4

Since Ireland has such well stocked shops............ Not... I can't try these out here, from what I've heard on Youtube and the reviews I've read these are awesome sounding amps.

Any thoughts or opinions would be cool.

progsound

Ok first off what sound are you looking for??? Can you give me a reference band/album tone???

Unfortunatly you can not rely on youtube clips as most of the time its a ****ty camera mic positioned arseways in a dodgy room. You realy need to be playing the amp in person but in ireland this is not always possible.

Anyways from my own experience the cobra is the least desirable of those amps played one and i wasent overly impressed. Seems to be the feedback online also thats not to say its bad but just there are better options available.

The invader and the vh4 are very highly regarded i have not played either but you are talking about high end amplifiers that cost a lot of moneys. All engls have a sort of signature sound (not that they all sound alike mind) which has in part to do with the way the preamp circut rolls off the lows which gives these amps a very tight low end and not much sag which may or may not be desirable to you.

Id be looking at a duel rectifier as well fantastic amp as well as being very versitle.

Doctor J

A mate of mine had a VH4 as well as a Dual Rec. Personally, I never heard anything in it to justify the 4k pricetag, I always preferred the sound of the Dual Rec.

Voodu Child

A VH4 is closer to about €2.5k at the moment, if you shop in the UK.

Its a massive price tag, but a lot of that is explained with the build quality. Diezel are one of the highest quality PCB amps on the market, they are a step above Mesa and several steps higher than ENGL or Framus.

That doesnt mean diddly when it comes to whether you like the tone or not, but it does go some way to explaining the price difference.

IamMetaldave

Hey Dudes,

Thanks for the replies.

The thing is, I have a DSL and it's OK, but it hasn't got the punch I want from the tone!? My band just finished doing our album in January and we used a RoadKing and Powerball. We play progressive metal. The other guitar player has a Peavy JSX. After using the Roadking I was thinking of getting the roadster but I've read there isn't a huge amount of gain in it, so I assume a Dual Rec would be the same since the Roadster is a Dual Rec to start with.

As for Tone, I want something with weight, good punch and plenty of gain!

I played a JMP1 recently sitting on a EL34 100/100, it had some super sounds, but the gain wasn't as dirty as I'd.

I dunno if any of that helps...

Voodu Child

Dave Eyesclosed wrote: »

After using the Roadking I was thinking of getting the roadster but I've read there isn't a huge amount of gain in it, so I assume a Dual Rec would be the same since the Roadster is a Dual Rec to start with.

Ive never heard anyone say a Rectifier series amp didn't have enough gain:pac:. There is a huge amount on tap. The thing is that the character of the gain-tone in a Rec is very loose/flubby, especially in the low end. That is not a criticism, it is just how they sound; part of why they are so distinctive. That is the 'Rec tone' down to a T.

So it might have given you the impression that it's not got a lot of gain, because it doesnt do that tight/saturated 80s thing. But seriously, there is a shedload of gain in there if that's your thing.

The gain tones in a Roadster and Dual Rec are pretty much the same. The Roadster has more versatility and much improved clean/crunch sounds.

IamMetaldave

Yeah sorry, that's more what I meant.. It sounds fuzzy or fizzy or something!?

I dunno.. I guess it'll have to be a trip to London or somewhere I can actually play a few of these amps..

Cheers for the input Voodoo.

Trev M

I was thinkin of a Rec myself , price tag is a big issue in these times of woe so started looking for alternatives i really like the look of this

http://www.doublecrossusa.com/video.asp

I reckon the concept of the build is really cool and the designer of the amp does a damn fine job of explaining the theory of the amps "gain structures".

Proce seesm reasonable too , problem of course is I wanna play through it first before I buy it and not sure anyone stocks Kustom here

Voodu Child

Trev M wrote: »

http://www.doublecrossusa.com/video.asp

Im not going to judge an amp based on internet clips (wouldn't be fair), but he's messing around with all these different tone controls/switches, and every time it sounds the same, like a cheap fuzz-pedal :pac:

Karl Hungus

Dave Eyesclosed wrote: »

Engl Invader

This. But don't go for the 150 watt version, get the 100 watt. Absolutely spectacular amp, the range of tones are unbelievable, and the low-gain channels are absolutely fantastic.

IamMetaldave

Karl Hungus wrote: »

This. But don't go for the 150 watt version, get the 100 watt. Absolutely spectacular amp, the range of tones are unbelievable, and the low-gain channels are absolutely fantastic.

Thanks Karl, I actually ment to PM you, I saw a post of yours on sevenstring.org and saw it in your avatar.

Is there anywhere in Ireland that has these amps?

BuddhaJoe

Have you tried putting a tubescreamer in front of your DSL? It'll add a lot more punch to your amp and would be cheaper then forking out for a new one!

Patricide

Dave Eyesclosed wrote: »

Hey people,

I have a question about amps. Well, really just looking for peoples experience actually.

I've been looking at the following amps

Framus Cobra

Engl Invader

Diezel VH4

Since Ireland has such well stocked shops............ Not... I can't try these out here, from what I've heard on Youtube and the reviews I've read these are awesome sounding amps.

Any thoughts or opinions would be cool.

Jeffers in cork has a cobra head lying around for the past few years. Im not sure if they still have it but ring em up and see!