Advice on amp for live work

[Fendermike]

Hello all – I am after some advice on amps. After many years of playing at home/jamming with friends etc, I got involved in setting up a covers band at age 50!(better late than never). I am having great fun, we are playing at parties, charity events etc and play a wide variety of material from old rock and roll numbers through to some tunes from the 'noughties'. The lineup is bass, drums, keyboards, guitar (me) and two vocalists. I usually play my trusty Mexican strat and to date I have got away with using a little Laney LC15R valve amp with a Korg effects unit to help with different sounds. This is a very loud little amp for 15w, but is not really loud enough for the live work. So I am looking for a versatile amp, loud enough for village halls, sports club type venues (audiences maybe 100 ish), but not too big/heavy, budget £300ish, so probably solid state.

So far I have tried the Line6 SpiderIV 75w and Vox VT50w. These modelling amps are impressive but I wonder if they are a bit too complex for live work? I tried a Fender Frontman, did not like this, and a new Marshall MG50FX, nice sounds both clean and overdriven with a few useful built in effects. The Marshall is my favourite so far. I would like to try the Laney LV200 (65w) but have not found one in stock locally yet.

Any views on what models might best fit my requirement? Also what wattage do I need? Valve amps seem much louder for the same rated output, would a 50w solid state amp, such as the Marshall MG50) be loud enough?

All guidance appreciated to assist me in making the right choice.

[Didier]

So far I have tried the Line6 SpiderIV 75w and Vox VT50w. These modelling amps are impressive but I wonder if they are a bit too complex for live work?

Why too complex for live work ? Once you have found the proper setting, you don't have to change them.

I tried a Fender Frontman, did not like this, and a new Marshall MG50FX, nice sounds both clean and overdriven with a few useful built in effects. The Marshall is my favourite so far. I would like to try the Laney LV200 (65w) but have not found one in stock locally yet.

Have you tested the Epiphone Valve Senior ?
Or the Peavey Bandit 112 ?

Didier

[gary mac]

Hi why dont you mic up youre laney through the front line thats the simple route to go a mic is less expensive than buying a new amp or take a line out from youre korg to the front line simples !!

hope this helps
gary

[BrianD]

Mike,

I tried modelling amps a while back and gigged with a Line 6 for a short while. I had hours of fun setting up different combinations of amp and speaker simulation and thought it great to switch from a Marshall stack to a Vox AC30 mid song and then use a Mesa Boogie for the solo. Then I thought "hey, wait a minute, what guitarist do you see on stage switching rigs?" Just find the sound you like, get the best amp you can afford for the job and go with it. I bought a Fender Bassman 4x10 on e-Bay for £500 and it was superb. I loved the sound and simplicity, recently, however, I switched to the Blackstar Artizan 30 2 x 12 combo and am very pleased with it. The only regret I have is going for the 30 rather than the 15. I only play in relatively small venues and the 30 is too loud and never gets turned up beyond 4 or 5. Last night I watched the Cadillac Kings at the Hawth in Crawley (Sussex) and they were superb. The guitarist played a Gibson L5 - ES350 through a Victoria 20 watt valve amp and the sound was absolutely great. The Victoria is quite an expensive amp though so I would definitely check out the Blackstar Artizan 15, I think you will be impressed. By the way this is the amp Big Jim Sullivan now uses .

Brian

[RUSSET]

Hi Mike,
I too am in a gigging band, & at age 63 (yes !!) am thoroughly enjoying it, so go for it. One thing you find out, rather quickly, is that it's not so easy in these advanced years to pick up heavy equipment, like you did when you were a teenager. Unless you have a roadcrew, don't go for heavy backline amps, & certainly not a Marshall stack, unless you want to end up in hospital. Many small combos have a Line-out jack which can be used to take your amp signal direct into the PA. Not sure about the LC15, but I have the great little Fender Superchamp XD 15w combo which has, as have many other many other small combos. What we actually use live, with my band are our effects-modelling pedals, direct into the PA. I use a Zoom G2, which has all the amp-modelling & effects I will ever need, including Shads echoes. This gives me all the Lead & Rhythm sounds I use at the press of a footswitch, & comes in a 9" square box that is very lightweight. I even get an excellent 'Acoustic' guitar simulation with my Strat out of this little box, for my Brucey moments. Go as lightweight as you can for your health's sake.

Tony.

[keithmantle]

For a great all round sound incl Shads try a Peavey classic 30 all valve 30W easy to carry around and all the power you need. keith

[David Martin]

Why not an AC30 CC1? It's the real deal... Only a Vox really does the business for Shads' stuff...

[neil2726]

David,I took your advice and got an AC30CC1, and once all the faults were sorted by Amanda, with no help from Vox, it is a good sounding amp - but its bloody heavy to lift in and out of a car boot and lug up stairs where it lives at home! Amanda is overhauling my old Peavey Encore 60 valve amp which may take the place of the Vox for reheasals and gigs as we only do a couple of Shads numbers. It isnt as heavy for a 60 plus year olds back! Another nice little amp Ive bought recently was the Fender FM65R, solid state, very light and great for rhythm with a telecaster.

[petercreasey]

Why not an AC30 CC1? It's the real deal... Only a Vox really does the business for Shads' stuff...

[cockroach]

Mike,

I use a Marshall MG50DFX myself, it's reasonably light, compact and loud enough for gigs- and with the built-in effects and standard footswitch it will probably do most of what you need in the band you have, at a reasonable price. I use it with a Squier Telecaster, and can get most sounds required with this combination- even passable Shadows sounds.