Best cheap amp for metal?

[Jacksonluvr636]

I ended up with a Peavey Ultra 120 and IMO it is better than a 6505+. I paid so little for the amp and it had me thinking what else is out there?

Apart from Peavey amps, for a low cost used amp head (no combo) what else is a contender?

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

Define "cheap". Whats that price range?

 

[KnightBrolaire]

Peavey XXX/JSX
5153
Mesa F-series (provided you can crank the master enough)
Mesa 50cal +
Randall V2/archetype (if you can even find one)
ampeg ss-120c

All of those are 500-800$ normally.

 

[DeathByButterslax]

Single Rectifier

 

[Jacksonluvr636]

Define "cheap". Whats that price range?

Under $600 I guess.

 

[op1e]

I also have an OG teal stripe Ultra. I've tried to knock it off the top of the heap with a Vengeance, Rm100, SLX, EVH 50w. There's a mean magic in the mids like a pissed off Mark 3 maybe, combined with an 800. The EVH was maybe the best but the Ultra still felt better under my right hand with that big iron and less compression. I really want a single rec sooner or later.

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

Under $600 I guess.

In that case (I'm including SS and hybrid amps)
Randall V2 and T2
Hell even the RH150G3+, RH300G3+, RH100, and RH200
Randall MTS RM heads can be found around this price range too
Peavey XXX, JSX, Triumph (precursor to the Ultra series), Rockmaster
Peavey also did some killer SS amps like the Surpreme and XXL
ISP Theta head (if you're lucky)
Randall RG80112-SC (cheaper than the heads these days)
Marshall 8100 (still under $600 miraculously) and VS100
I've seen love for the Modefour but eeehhhh?...
Crate GX130C, GX900, GX2200 (these latter two being part of the Excallibur series), Tidalwave 350, and VTX series (the latter two abd GC130C being heavily based on the Ampeg VH140C, the former actually being a rebadged VH)
Ampeg VL series and Crate Stealth (Lee Jackson designed amps)
Hell, I still see people swear by the old Line 6 Vettas

 

[Jacksonluvr636]

In that case (I'm including SS and hybrid amps)
Randall V2 and T2
Hell even the RH150G3+, RH300G3+, RH100, and RH200
Randall MTS RM heads can be found around this price range too
Peavey XXX, JSX, Triumph (precursor to the Ultra series), Rockmaster
Peavey also did some killer SS amps like the Surpreme and XXL
ISP Theta head (if you're lucky)
Randall RG80112-SC (cheaper than the heads these days)
Marshall 8100 (still under $600 miraculously) and VS100
I've seen love for the Modefour but eeehhhh?...
Crate GX130C, GX900, GX2200 (these latter two being part of the Excallibur series), Tidalwave 350, and VTX series (the latter two abd GC130C being heavily based on the Ampeg VH140C, the former actually being a rebadged VH)
Ampeg VL series and Crate Stealth (Lee Jackson designed amps)
Hell, I still see people swear by the old Line 6 Vettas

Had both excaliburs when I was 17 ish...Would not buy again haha. I think the Ultra is the best I'll be able to find in the price range tbh.

 

[MASS DEFECT]

What's the difference between the XXX and the JSX (XXX II)? I always thought they have the same preamps and basically sounded the same.

 

[Bassman1]

PRS MT 15... Handles high gain and cleans like a champ.

 

[John]

Another vote for the MT15.

 

[B.M.F.]

What's the difference between the XXX and the JSX (XXX II)? I always thought they have the same preamps and basically sounded the same.

Power tubes; 6L6GC (XXX) vs EL-34 (XXX II/JSX.)
(Okay it's not tube but it's cheap.) I'll throw the new Randall RG1503h amp heads as a recent recommendation for good cheap metal amp. Used these are under $300 USD and do not disappoint.

 

[Sylim]

i´m gonna through the Laney IRT Studio in there. it sounds so gnarly and can also do cleans very well. it also has so many features that makes it super versitile.

 

[Choop]

What's the difference between the XXX and the JSX (XXX II)? I always thought they have the same preamps and basically sounded the same.

The JSX was based on the Triple XXX -- has some more control options (like presence/resonance/fat switches), the noise reduction circuit, and I believe it is voiced a little differently, at least on the crunch channel. JSX came stock with el34 tubes, but I think either amp can use el34 or 6l6.

The market is kind of wack at the moment, but Marshall DSL amps are good metal amps that are often pretty cheap. Laney gh50l/vc50...I'm not sure how much good and cheap stuff there is out there anymore, and it's always been hard to contend with Peavey in that regard.

 

[Emperoff]

What's the difference between the XXX and the JSX (XXX II)? I always thought they have the same preamps and basically sounded the same.

The clean channel was made from the ground up for the JSX. The Crunch channel is borrowed from the Classic 30 lead channel, and the Ultra channel is borrowed from the XXX Crunch channel.

Then you have the additional controls and switches, etc. While the JSX came stock with El34s, pretty much everyone agrees they sound better with everything else (KT77s, 6L6GCs or 6CA7s).

 

[Jacksonluvr636]

i´m gonna through the Laney IRT Studio in there. it sounds so gnarly and can also do cleans very well. it also has so many features that makes it super versitile.

So my Buddy got the Ironheart 120w head. I think something was wrong with it because it sounded like ass. We swapped preamp tubes and that was no help. Just sounded very thick, zero saturation and idk, neither of us liked it and he returned it. There must have been something wrong with it.

With that said I used to own an MT15 and yes it is definitely badass but we're looking for something high powered with headroom and can do the band practice thing unmiked.

The purpose of this thread, the other guitarist I'm working with needs a good sounding amp on the cheap.

 

[Emperoff]

So my Buddy got the Ironheart 120w head. I think something was wrong with it because it sounded like ass. We swapped preamp tubes and that was no help. Just sounded very thick, zero saturation and idk, neither of us liked it and he returned it. There must have been something wrong with it.

With that said I used to own an MT15 and yes it is definitely badass but we're looking for something high powered with headroom and can do the band practice thing unmiked.

The purpose of this thread, the other guitarist I'm working with needs a good sounding amp on the cheap.

Get any Peavey tube head.

 

[sevenfoxes]

Those Peavey UL+ amps are sick! I used to have one put a Sonic Stomp in the loop, which really brought the amp to life.

Check out the Ibanez TBX100. Solid state metal at its finest!

 

[Bearitone]

The Marshall DSL20 head kicks ass

 

[efiltsohg]

-used (insert 2203 clone here) - Laney, Traynor, Sovtek, etc

-for the $300 CAD I paid, Peavey XXX

Randall RG80112-SC (cheaper than the heads these days)

all of those Randall combos have awful stock speakers, other than that I agree with most of your list