Cant Decide..

[DimitrisZ]

Hi there brothers,
I have been playing guitar for 2,5 years but unfortunatelly using a crappy amp til now...So i took the decision to finally buy a head.Guitarists that inspire me and i want my tone similar to them to one point are :Y.J.Malmsteen,Gus G,Zakk Wylde,George Lynch,Jake e lee and some others...Which one blackstar Head you think it would suit me for playing covers of Sabbath,Black Label Society,Mettalica,Ozzy Osbourne,Maiden to newer bands in the likes of Firewind but also a good amp for shredding and improvising in the styles of the guitarists i admire.??

Hoping For an answer soon /m/

[majikmojo]

playing live or at home levels ??

[DimitrisZ]

Both...i want an amp that i can get a nice tone similar to my style for practice at home but also a kickass live sound..i was thinking of blackstar series one 100 whats your opinion on that?is it able to get the variety of tones i like?

[majikmojo]

yea - great chioce but a 100watts is a lot of power unless your playing huge venues
you could get by with half that power under most circumstances...
it does have DPR though...

as far as tones go its capable of most anything you throw at it....

[DimitrisZ]

Ty dude!but what do you actually mean by DPR?And something more i play guitar for 2,5 years and i can really pick fast but when i do especially in tube amps i sound like shit thats normal i think so i try to play slower but cleaner leads in order to enchance my pick accuracy.I wanna know cause i suppose you play lots of years and have experience in how many years with a proper study(exersises for pick,scales,theory every day) im not gonna sound "dirty" in a tube amp when playing fast ?Maybe you would think thats a silly question but i was wondering because im curious if something like this happens to many guitarists and its not only my prob?



And to be back on my basic point you mean Blackstar Series one 50?

[majikmojo]

it has a power reduction control to bring down the wattage to be able to push
the tubes harder and maintain a less than "aircraft takeoff" volume level

[Crunchifyable]

I think you're just going to have to try some amps and hear them (demos or self) to see if they have the note clarity you are looking for.

I think that kind of clarity is rare. I heard that the old JCM 2000 DSLs have it (mainly the EL34 heads). But yes, a lot of people have problems with note separation not being good enough in an amp, and you just have to keep trying until you find one with good clarity.

BUt it's also how you use an amp. The more compression and gain you have going, the greater tendency for everything to mush up. So instead of slowing down, you may just want to lower the gain on the amp, use a stomp box od maybe.

DPR basically lowers the internal voltage of the amp so it can breakup at lower levels. If metal is your thing then you probably just want loud cleans and clear OD, and DPR isn't going to be something you would use much. 50 and 100 watt amps do have a different sound and feel to them - most people seem to prefer 100 watters. But it's more tubes to change, and not really a volume issue, as both 50 and 100 watt amps have subtle volume differences.

[DimitrisZ]

Firtstly thanks for answering!Perhaps you are wright about my problem at playing tube amps...Blackstar Series One 50 and Blackstar Series One 100 only difference is volume? Yeah i cant see my self becoming a fullyl blues or jazz or modern rock player even though i like hearing the blues and use them in my improvisation,metal and especially that old heavy tone of those bands i mentioned is what i can think my self playing....perhaps i have litle experience playing tube amps or even guitar and this prob will be fixed at some point...

[Crunchifyable]

Firtstly thanks for answering!Perhaps you are wright about my problem at playing tube amps...Blackstar Series One 50 and Blackstar Series One 100 only difference is volume? Yeah i cant see my self becoming a fullyl blues or jazz or modern rock player even though i like hearing the blues and use them in my improvisation,metal and especially that old heavy tone of those bands i mentioned is what i can think my self playing....perhaps i have litle experience playing tube amps or even guitar and this prob will be fixed at some point...

Not really a difference in volume - a difference in feel. The volume difference is 3db. So the 100 watter is slightly louder, breaks up at louder volume.

Main difference is a 100watt amp is meatier, fuller than a 50 watt amp. Has to do with bigger transformers and having an extra set of tubes in parallel. Most seem to prefer the 100 watt versions of whatever amp. But like I said, it costs more money to maintain. I think Micheal Shenker of the Scorpions is the only one I've heard that preferred the 50 watters over a 100 watt amp, but then again, he liked a bright bright tone.

From the stuff you are interested in , I think a series one might work, but sounds like an old JCM 800 2203/ 2204 / JMP 2203 / 2204 would be your ideal amp for the classic metal tones, assuming you don't need a clean channel.

If you can't find one of those, then yeah, a series one or a newer marshall might work. I guess it comes down to whether you like Blackstar's take on British overdrive and like the DPR. I guess for me I have a hard timing buying anything at that price point made in Asia no matter how good they build it.

[majikmojo]

i still maintain you DON"T need a 100 watts of any brand from what i'm reading...more is not always more...
the jcm 2204 recommended above by "crunch" is a good choice too...i own one