Vox Or Marshall?

Kegzy05 · October 2007

Hey guys. Thinking of getting a new setup. Not sure whether i want to get just a amp combo or a head and cabinet package but I wanted to know your thoughts on what brand? I have a Laney amp now and I chose it over a marshall because i can get an awesome clean tone out of it that the marshall kind of lacks and if I wanna get some crunch then I can just run my effects pedals through it. Would a vox amp still run well with distortion put through it? my understanding is that they are prodominately a blues amp?? If so then I guess i would stick to the marshall as i play mostly rock. thanks

ianvomsaal · October 2007

A used Fender Super Reverb is probably one of the best clean tube amps you'll find in that price range (and my
personal favorite as far as really good clean tube/valve driven amps go).
If you're just running pedals, getting a really good clean amp is the way to go.
However, if you want a mixture of amp overdrive and pedals, the Marshall is a fairly good choice.
The JVM Marshall Head (JVM 410H) that's out now is nice - can't beat having 4-channels to choose from, but the
price will probably kill you unless you can find a used one somewhere.
Cheers . . .

- Ian C.T. vom Saal

Kegzy05 · October 2007

Cheers Ian. yeah I guess the other thing i forgot to mention (and probably the most important factor), price! lol. Im probably looking to spend no more than $2000. Yeah so if i'm just going to run pedals then i should be right to get a nice clean amp? Is there any point in getting a marshall that has good overdrive and gain when you can just simulate that with pedals anyway? Bit of a tradeoff i guess. its so hard to decide!

keeponrockin · October 2007

I like using amp od and pedals. Traynor makes AMAZING amps for the prics, although I don't know what they'll run in AUS.

ianvomsaal · October 2007

Kegzy05 wrote:

Cheers Ian. yeah I guess the other thing i forgot to mention (and probably the most important factor), price! lol. Im probably looking to spend no more than $2000. Yeah so if i'm just going to run pedals then i should be right to get a nice clean amp? Is there any point in getting a marshall that has good overdrive and gain when you can just simulate that with pedals anyway? Bit of a tradeoff i guess. its so hard to decide!

Really depends what you're looking for - If getting a Marshall, I'd suggest getting one with both "channel volume" and "mater volume."
It would suck getting a Marshall that you couldn't turn up to drive the channel (if that's what you want - unless you had an attenuator at your disposal).
McCready ran both a Marshall and a few pedals on TEN, but since then has really changed his set-up, running multiple amps for different clean and dirty
sounds (along with a few pedals). I'd suggest trying out what you're looking to do in a local music store (with your own gear) to see what you'll eventually
want - buying an amp is a big decision since that's a little more than half of your tone.
I still think the idea of running a really good BIG WARM clean amp with some pedals behind it is the simplest and easiest route to get a good tone
(spend the $$ on a nice clean tube amp that you can dirty up). As I said, the Fender Super-Reverb is one of the best clean tube amps available.
I’ve done both, and still like to run two amps (when I can) connected with a Whirlwind A/B (one for clean and one for dirty).
This way I still have all my pedals at my disposal for each amp.
Cheers . . .

- Ian C.T. vom Saal

lucylespian · October 2007

Or you could get a H&K Switchblade.

Ellaways has a couple in stock, a 212 , just over 2K, at Underwood and a 1x12 at Kedron which is under 2K. saw them yesterday.

Check the tone clpis on the website, you will be impressed at the range of those things.

Amp OD is way more fun than pedals, more dimensional.

seanw1010 · October 2007

check on some dr. z amps, they make copies of marshalls, only better than the ones marshall makes, for less $$

MichaelMcKevin · October 2007

Fuchs ODS 50

Period. Might run u a bit more than $2000 but it'll be worth the extra bit.

ianvomsaal · October 2007

lucylespian wrote:

Check the tone clpis on the website, you will be impressed at the range of those things.

Yeah, listening to clips is always a good idea . . . but you'll really want to play any amp, pedal, or guitar (with your own gear) before
you purchase since most sound clips you hear are usually messed with in some way - wether it be cleaned up or compressed, added
effects, or what-have-you in the computer beforehand (lets face it, people/companies want to sell their product to you).

- Ian

lucylespian · October 2007

Guys, ya gotta remember that amps cost 3 times as much here in Oz, typically No use suggesting boutique US stuff to us here, sadly.

samquigley · October 2007

You'll pick up an Orange AD30r for under $2000 if you do your homework. I did.

ianvomsaal · October 2007

Kegzy05, I take it you've looked here: click here: Gladesville Guitar Factory
Everyone not from Australia . . .
Try to remember that you'll need to add aprox 11.907% to the USA dollar to equal the AUD dollar.
That’s why I was recommending used Fender amps to try and keep him around his $2000 price point.
Amps in Australia are really marked up (I'm guessing due to: shipping, availability, and the sheer fact that they can).
Example:
A Fender Hot Rod Deluxe 1X12 normally sells in the US for $649.99 - in Australia the same amp sells for around $1699.
On the higher end . . .
A Bad Cat 'Classic Cat' Combo that sells for around $1449.00 in the US sells for around $4895 in Australia (crazy mark-up).

By the way, that Fender Rod Deluxe is a decent little 40 Watt tube/valve amp (and has enough power/volume for almost any venue).
Cheers . . .

- Ian C.T. vom Saal

Kegzy05 · October 2007

thanks everyone i feel a bit more informed now of whats what. I think i'll go with just a clean amp like you said ian. Think my problem is I want to rush in and get one right away but like you said it would pay to sample a few etc.. thanks for the help!

lucylespian · October 2007

The mark-up is mostly because they can. OUr dolalr used to be a lot weaker, and ebay was in it's infancy, so people accept paying high prices for imported gear, whichis mostly from the USA.

Now the dollar is stronger, some prices have come down, espon stuff people can easily post, or carry on a plane, because of competition.
The weight and size of amps make it more daunting to consider posting, and distributors are keeping the extra profits they are realising from the exchange rate changes, because there is no effective open market competition to make them do otherwise.
So there is not a lot of movement at the retail end of things, because the retailers are still paying higher prices.

Have a chat to a tech about teh Fender HOt Rods. The guy I use sees them with serious overheating problems, and says they have cheap components. They are popular because of their low pric compared to other stuff. The Switchbaldes are very competittive, and you can try them at Ellaways yourself. A couple of guys on other fiorums have them, and are very happy.
Always remember when Americans give you advice, they are incredibly Ameri-centric, and do not consider products from other countries.
If it's not "Made in the USA", it barely exists.

Anon · October 2007

lucylespian wrote:

Always remember when Americans give you advice, they are incredibly Ameri-centric, and do not consider products from other countries.
If it's not "Made in the USA", it barely exists.

ouch. that's very, very harsh. i got one of the new mini matons, the same one diesel uses, (i have always been a maton nut), and there are so many people here (USA), who fully love it, now they have seen and played it. they had never even heard of maton until seeing mine.
it kinda makes it really hard for them to recommend an aussie brand of anything most of the time because they just have not had the exposure to it. i honestly don't think it's intentional and it would be for no reason other than they have absolutely brilliant gear there, so why look around? if i was born in USA i doubt i'd be playing a maton. if that makes sense.

keeponrockin · October 2007

Pj_Gurl wrote:

ouch. that's very, very harsh. i got one of the new mini matons, the same one diesel uses, (i have always been a maton nut), and there are so many people here (USA), who fully love it, now they have seen and played it. they had never even heard of maton until seeing mine.
it kinda makes it really hard for them to recommend an aussie brand of anything most of the time because they just have not had the exposure to it. i honestly don't think it's intentional and it would be for no reason other than they have absolutely brilliant gear there, so why look around? if i was born in USA i doubt i'd be playing a maton. if that makes sense.

And on that same coin, If I was born in the USA I doubt I'd have two godin guitars, and a Traynor amp.

MichaelMcKevin · October 2007

keeponrockin wrote:

And on that same coin, If I was born in the USA I doubt I'd have two godin guitars, and a Traynor amp.

I was born in the USA and I do have a Godin and a Traynor... and they're my only electric guitar and amp.

I don't think it's really fair to say gear "does not exist" to us if it's not Made in the US. Maybe it seems that way here on the PJ forum because the only guitars we talk about are Gibson and Fender. If you look over to http://www.thegearpage.net/board , you'll see plenty of guys playing Tokai, Edwards, and many older Japanase and Korean made guitars. Quailty is more of a concern than where it is made. This forum has a lot of image as a factor of what people are buying.

You've got to understand, too, that this is a Pearl Jam forum. The majority of the guitarists on this forum are beginner-intermediate players heavily influenced by Pearl Jam. Of course they're going to be looking at Les Paul's, SG's, Strats, and Tele's almost all the time.

lucylespian · October 2007

I'm not just referencing comments on this forum. I know there are plenty of more open-minded people in the US. I have been reading comments on a number of forums for a year or so, to form that impression.
I guess I made that comment because even though other brands get mentioned in these discussions, those comments are frequently ignored. This includes referneces to CAnadian stuff as well.
I have also seen the phrase "country of origin" used to describe Asian guitars, and generally condescending remarks made.
I personally feel that JApanese manufacture is outstanding, and very consistent. "Made in Japan" has long been a standard of excellence her in OZ, but lots of remarks from US based posters seem to treat the Japanese with disdain.
IN a discussion about Gretsch (different forum) I saw this, "the quality has improved since Fender took over, I have heard". Well, for a start Fender has not taken over Gretsch, and the quality is just fine , thanks. I have a Japanese Gretsch, and it's the best made guitar I have, out of a strong field including 2 Gibson Custom shops.
Those comments just reflect a suspicious ignorance of products not made in the USA.

MichaelMcKevin · October 2007

The only other assumption that can be made is that most of the people who frequent this forum, epecially this section, are North American. We recommend US gear because that's pretty much all we're surrounded with. I don't often read people's "Location:" on their post. Had I read Kegzy's, I would certainly not have recommended a Fuchs amp.

Anon · October 2007

GivenToCarve wrote:

I don't often read people's "Location:" on their post.

haha that made me smile! that's very true! i'm not sure what i would recommend for someone whose location is in my tree

exhausted · October 2007

vox's are very particular about how receptive they are to certain pedals. not really a blues flavour either.

i honestly don't see what the issue is here.

if the laney has a good clean foundation. just go buy an mi audio (an aussie company. how terribly progressive of me) crunchbox or a zvex box of rock to get the marshal flavour and one of the numerous vox flavoured pedals for the vox tones.

hipkitty oxblood
menatone top boost in a can
olc english channel etc.

Vox Or Marshall?

Comments

Categories