MadAsAHatter
Roadie
- Messages
- 172
So the is an atypical situation with my friend. The one and only amp he has ever owned or played over the last 30 years is his Peavey Transtube Supreme with matching MS412 cab (see pic below). The volume is cutting in and out and I've done all I know to do to fix it with no luck so it'd need to go into a shop. It'll probably cost more than the amp is worth to send to a tech to fix. So he's looking at getting a new amp.
Here's where he's coming from and why I'm having a hard time coming up with good suggestions. First as mentioned, this is the only amp he's played for the past 30 years. To him, his Transtube is the best amp on the planet and he emphasized how much he's loved the sound. But he also admitted he has no idea how to dial in a tone. He said he set the Transtube using the "Medium Distortion" suggested setting from the manual when he first got it and left it there all this time. He never tried anything else other than what was in the manual. To me it sounds like muffled farts; too much low end and zero top end clarity. He also doesn't know anything about amps other than the power button is there and you plug the cable into this hole. I was literally explaining the difference between preamp and power amp to him.
Trying to get something out of him for what kind of tone he had in mind for a new amp was like pulling teeth since he really doesn't know how to describe what he wants. The most I've gotten from him is he doesn't like anything with too many knobs or options because he'll get lost with what to do with everything. I think he may want to go full tube amp because he did mention a 5150. But he only has that in mind because he knows the Peavey brand and Eddie played one. And he seemed to get a little overwhelmed when I started telling him about all the 5150 & 6505 variants.
He'll be coming over this weekend to give some of my amps a test drive. Hopefully I can get a better idea of what he may like so I can help him narrow down what to look at. Most of my stuff is more Marshall-esque and is likely on the opposite end of the spectrum of what he's used to. So in the meantime I'm trying to think of some things he may like that I can recommend.
He plays mostly hard rock and 80's metal. Think Iron Maiden, Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, etc. His budget is at least $1000, but I'm not sure where he's want to max out.
Here's the short list of what I've come up with to suggest:
5150/6505 since he mentioned it.
PRS MT15/100, or Archon
Soldano SLO30
ENGL Fireball 25/100
Marshall DSL or similar if he likes any of my amps in that vein.
Given all this, what suggestions do you all have that I could recommend to him?
For reference, this is the Transtube Supreme and the settings he uses.
Here's where he's coming from and why I'm having a hard time coming up with good suggestions. First as mentioned, this is the only amp he's played for the past 30 years. To him, his Transtube is the best amp on the planet and he emphasized how much he's loved the sound. But he also admitted he has no idea how to dial in a tone. He said he set the Transtube using the "Medium Distortion" suggested setting from the manual when he first got it and left it there all this time. He never tried anything else other than what was in the manual. To me it sounds like muffled farts; too much low end and zero top end clarity. He also doesn't know anything about amps other than the power button is there and you plug the cable into this hole. I was literally explaining the difference between preamp and power amp to him.
Trying to get something out of him for what kind of tone he had in mind for a new amp was like pulling teeth since he really doesn't know how to describe what he wants. The most I've gotten from him is he doesn't like anything with too many knobs or options because he'll get lost with what to do with everything. I think he may want to go full tube amp because he did mention a 5150. But he only has that in mind because he knows the Peavey brand and Eddie played one. And he seemed to get a little overwhelmed when I started telling him about all the 5150 & 6505 variants.
He'll be coming over this weekend to give some of my amps a test drive. Hopefully I can get a better idea of what he may like so I can help him narrow down what to look at. Most of my stuff is more Marshall-esque and is likely on the opposite end of the spectrum of what he's used to. So in the meantime I'm trying to think of some things he may like that I can recommend.
He plays mostly hard rock and 80's metal. Think Iron Maiden, Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, etc. His budget is at least $1000, but I'm not sure where he's want to max out.
Here's the short list of what I've come up with to suggest:
5150/6505 since he mentioned it.
PRS MT15/100, or Archon
Soldano SLO30
ENGL Fireball 25/100
Marshall DSL or similar if he likes any of my amps in that vein.
Given all this, what suggestions do you all have that I could recommend to him?
For reference, this is the Transtube Supreme and the settings he uses.