Is there a good "multi-genre" tube amp?

mritech75 · #1 May 6th, 2008

Hi-I am looking for a tube amp that sounds good with blues and classic rock, but one that hard rock and metal doesn't sound like crap on. I currently have an american fat strat with a blues junior. As an amateur that has only been playing for a year, I think the blues junior has some pretty good cleans. With a little bit of overdrive by using a TS-9 it doesn't sound too bad. I have a Boss Metalzone pedal to try to create a little distortion for Metallica to Black Sabbath but if I turn up the distortion much is sounds pretty muddy through the blues junior. I am thinking it is just out of range with this amp and I'm considering selling it and looking for something else. I pretty much just play at home and a buddies house-no gigging anytime soon. Does the Blues Junior NOS with the upgrade to a Jensen speaker make much difference? I'd like to stay under $700. Thanks for your time!

Andy S · #2 May 6th, 2008

How much money are you able to spend?

That is one major criteria that has to be considered. I saw a guy last year, playing at B.B.Kings club in Nashville, TN. He was playing through a small (12" speaker, power ??) Hi-Watt amp but using a Carl Martin Plexitone pedal. He was getting a HUGE variety of tones. They didn't do any metal, but played funk, blues, classic rock and he was easily covering all the tones he needed.

I have heard a guy using a Fender Hot Rod Deville with 4-10" speakers. Plenty of clean power and he was using a distortion pedal that sounded good. Don't recall what the pedal was, but he had plenty of clean power that could handle his distortion. You may want to look at something like that. Really clean, lots of power and room to distort.

Or, Mackie has a new amp that is tube powered but can do some modeling. Or, there's the Line 6/ Bogner hybrid amp. Does it all, so they say.

But, again, it probably comes down to how much do you want to spend.

allthumbs · #3 May 6th, 2008

Look on youtube for a demo of the BB Pre amp pedal. It is pretty versatile

mritech75 · #4 May 6th, 2008

Thanks, I was just under the impression that the blues junior is not very good for hard rock and of course not metal. I don't think I'll get into too much hard rock or metal, I suppose I could just use my microcube for that since i'll be at home or buddie's anyway. I think I'd like to get into more blues and classic rock anyway. I've only been playing for a bit over a year so I guess it's still early in "the game". My tastes may change as I progress, who knows? Maybe I should just experiment with a few more pedals-maybe I'll get something half way decent for the hardrock/metal that I'll occasionally mess around with. Thanks for your input. Mark

Stratrat · #5 May 8th, 2008

I think the your problem is more with the pedal than the amp. Just about anything will sound muddy with a Boss Metal Zone in front of it. The Xotic BB Preamp that Allthumbs mentioned gets very good reviews, as does the MI Audio Crunch Box. Personally, I'm looking at the Barber Small Fry as my next pedal - it's pretty versatile and can go from mild to wild without sounding muddy and cruddy.

The Blues Jr. isn't a bad little amp at all. Sure, you can do better (if you're willing to pay the price), but you could also do a lot worse. IMO your money would be better spent trying a few pedals than looking to another amp....especially since you're only going to want/need those hard rock/metal sounds once in a while. If that was going to be your "main" sound, you'd probably be better off spending the bucks for a high-gain metal-type amp - but as you said, for just doing it once in a while you can always use the "R-Fier" setting on the Micro Cube.....or just find a better pedal to play with.

krissovo · #6 May 8th, 2008

There is loads of mod kits around for the Blues Jnr, mine has some of "Bills" mods done (google). Its a lovely amp now even if it is to loud for the apartment.

For Blues and crunchy rock it sounds great, only problem is that it has one channel.

Stratrat · #7 May 8th, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by krissovo

There is loads of mod kits around for the Blues Jnr, mine has some of "Bills" mods done (google)...

Here's a link to the "Billm mods" page - Billm Mods

mritech75 · #8 May 8th, 2008

thanks stratrat! those pedals did sound pretty awesome.....i checked them out on youtube. maybe you're right, i should check out a couple more pedals. there are just so many factors to one's tone that it's hard to pin down what you need to get it-guitar,pickups,pedals, amp, and of course one's ability is at the top! i have a fender fat strat and a vintage mahogany les paul that i mess around with. only playing for over a year, i've had to spend a bit of money to learn what shapes one's tone. that's ok-keeps it that much more interesting to learn! G.A.S. has set in i'm afraid! Thanks a lot for your input as well as the other guy's input!

Noodler · #9 May 9th, 2008

Quote:

Or, there's the Line 6/ Bogner hybrid amp. Does it all, so they say.

Called the Spider Valve. Supposed to be able to go from nice cleans, through to bluesy-breakup, to insane metal. They're very clever marketers though. I'd definitely check this and see if it lives up to their hype. I bought a pocket pod, and am far less than satified. Portable, easy to use, great tone. Not!! Should be called the "Tangle" from all the cords you have to feed it, and it eats batteries so you aren't really portable at all. Line 6 has great hype. I nearly bought into the idea till I saw this:

YouTube - Spider Valve Overview
I think you have to ask yourself how serious the people who make an ad like that are about the subtleties of blues tones.

Stratrat · #10 May 10th, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Noodler

....I think you have to ask yourself how serious the people who make an ad like that are about the subtleties of blues tones.

Line6 tends to cater to the metal crowd for the most part - especially with the Spider series. If you listen to the music in the background of that YouTube clip, it's pretty evident who they're targeting it toward.

I've heard people get some pretty nice (non-metal) tones out of their Vetta series amps, but we're talking about a whole different price range there. You could buy a hand-built Dr. Z amp for the price of a Vetta, and there's absolutely no comparison between the two in terms of quality, workmanship and tone.

I don't know much about the Pods (I've read mixed reviews on them), but I've tried the Spider amp and it's definitely not my cup of tea. The "Spider Valve" looks like it lists for about $700 in a 1x12 combo configuration....I can think of a number of other amps I'd rather spend $700 on.

Ian McAllister · #11 May 10th, 2008

I use a Line6 KB37 and it's really good, but I HATE THOSE GUYS!!!! They're all about marketing. If you want to get a great sound, buy a Line6, and then firewall them! It's Valentine's Day, want to buy your sweetheart the Gold Metal Upgrade package? Mother's Day in Taiwan, why not treat dear old Mum to the VST version of Gearbox. What? Your brand new unit doesn't work with Vista? We'll fix that as soon as we've finished with the next new product. HeHe, you run Vista?
Ian

thomasdk · #12 May 15th, 2008

I second the Line6 KB37Q!