[InTheRavensName]

OK, I've realised in recent weeks/months that I need to do some serious woodshedding to get my chops up, and that a half stack isn't really what I want or need right now (I plan on using an XTLive-->PA for any of the few gigs I'm likely to play in the next 6-12 months). Also, seeing as I'm selling my rig right down to the bare essentials, I reckon I could afford a really decent little combo for jamming/practicing that would stand up if I needed something to gig.

I'll be playing an ESP Ltd H307 with EMG81-7/707 set through it, and hopefully in the next year or so (if my chops improve to the point that I feel I deserve one) a Cooley RC7.

So far, my candidates are:

Peavey XXX 40 watt combo
ENGL Screamer/Thunder 50 watt combo
Randall RM50 with probably blackface and recto modules

or

something along the lines of

Line 6 PODxtPRO/Rocktron Prophecy-->Mesa/Engl/VHT 20:20/50:50-->Mesa/VHT 1x12

but the latter is probably not going to happen

Playing stuff along the lines of Iced Earth, Morbid Angel, Nevermore, Firewind, Carcass...basically it has to be pretty versatile, gainy, and offer me a pretty nice solo tone, seeing as lead is going to be one of the areas I'm intending to hammer myself on in coming months...

tl;dr need 1x12 combo for rehersing and occasional gigs/practices with bassist/other guitarist etc, metal tones with quality lead sound, preferably ~£500 UKP, definately used

[Leon]

when thinking *little* tube combo, 5w will be plenty for practicing, and when mic'ed, should be alright for a gig or two. anything 50w will get very loud when you turn it up to get that tubey goodness.

i'd say, if you're just trying to practice more (and more quietly), get a little digital modeler, and plug it into an auxilary input on your home stereo.

[jackson_metal_head]

wierd advice (IMO) from Leon there....

i have played a XXX head before and it was very nice, it held excellent tight low end, nice lead. im guessing the combo will have exactly the same circuitry but less tubes. I would definatly say the XXX is an option although they seem pretty rare on UK ebay which I scour regularly for amps such as that.

if you want versatility you could always go marshall, they so make some 1x12 JCM combos or atleast they used to, plus they are easier to get your hands on in the UK, Morbid and Carcass use marshalls (carcass also uses a 5150) but i expect the carcass one is modded and i know Trey mods his gear to shit. still though i think marshalls are underrated.

if you want peavey you could get a 5150 combo, they are definatly more easily avalible (from my regular ebay searches) than the XXX combo.

if your VERY lucky you might be able to find a crate blue voodoo combo on ebay although these are pretty rare on our side of the pond.

As for Randall i dont have any knowledge of them - never played them.
same with Engl's. if you go on www.rocksolidamps.com (google it if the link is incorrect) then im sure there are plenty of engl sound samples of extreme metal playing.

hope that helped with your decision.

[InTheRavensName]

cheers guys, I thought about the VK Royal 8/Mini Colossal etc, but from what Karl, Joe, Nick et al have said, the ENGL's seem to keep their awesome tone at low levels as well as gig levels...

I have an XTLive, and I'll probably be using that with my PC speakers for a little while, but I'm just gassing for something more substantial for taking on Charlie (bassist I jam with, uses a ProFet/4x10)

[Leon]

does your HD147 have a headphone out? you could just run that into your stereo (read: small power amp with full range speakers) instead of getting something new.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by InTheRavensName

cheers guys, I thought about the VK Royal 8/Mini Colossal etc, but from what Karl, Joe, Nick et al have said, the ENGL's seem to keep their awesome tone at low levels as well as gig levels...

I have an XTLive, and I'll probably be using that with my PC speakers for a little while, but I'm just gassing for something more substantial for taking on Charlie (bassist I jam with, uses a ProFet/4x10)

ahh... well, my Mesa Nomad sounds decent at low volumes, and can drown out ANY drummer when pushed.

[InTheRavensName]

My XTLive has a headphone out, so I'd use that, but honestly, I'm not a fan of headphone practice, I like to feel some air moving. The reason I want to get away from a halfstack is, essentially, that it takes up a lot of space and requires a lot of setting up for a practice amp, without being particularly useful for gigging right now. I figure having a small combo that sounds better without needing to haul everything out/set it up will stop me procrastinating so much...then when the time comes that I find myself gigging regularly I can drop the cash I'll have saved up on a nicer halfstack (something along the lines of an Invader/Rectocab or something...)

[stuh84]

I'm a fan of the Engl Thunder, love it (I own the head myself), but out of them, I'd probably go either "Line 6 PODxtPRO/Rocktron Prophecy-->Mesa/Engl/VHT 20:20/50:50-->Mesa/VHT 1x12" or the RM50 route, simply to provide a lot of versatility.

Depends what you are wanting out of it though, how many tones do you use on the HD147, are you someone who likes a lot of sounds, or just one or two sounds and plays?

[Drew]

Originally Posted by jackson_metal_head

wierd advice (IMO) from Leon there....

Less so than you'd think. Have you ever logged any serious playtime with a 5w tube combo? You'll be in for a surprise if you do, I didn't particualrly care for the tone of the Mesa Express 5:25, but it certaintly had way more than enough power even in 5 watt mode to make your neighbors hate you.

If you can get them at a good enough price, I'd strongly recommend some of the used lower wattage Mesas - the F-30, the Nomad 45, or the DC-3. I actually really like the low wattage EL-84 amps Mesa makes, and they sound surprisingly good at low volumes. I don't even need a hot plate to make my Nomad-45 sound good enough to record, whereas the Rectoverb absolutely requires one.

Barring that, the Marshall DSL-401 was also excellent for it's size/wattage, and while I can't speak for the 30-watt Laneys, they're probably worth a look, too.

[InTheRavensName]

I think I use maybe three tones to cover all 8 of my bands tracks, maybe 4 at a push, but there are 3 core ones, clean I hardly use, and a lot of the time I use the same patch for rhythm and lead...besides, I'll have the XTLive to fuck about with outboard EQ/FX etc, the few times I actually use them (and only then really delay, chorus or phaser...minimally)

In short...the ENGLs are holding poll, closely pushed by the XXX (there's one for sale locally)

The F30/DSL 401/DC-5 were all considered as well, but I have no experience with them, apart from my old DSL50 head, which was solid, but needed to hit about 8 on the master to sound great