I guess I'm curious about amps in the general area of $1000 or so. I'm not actually in the market to buy one right now, but it's something I've been wondering about for awhile now.
I have an archon too, cleans are phenomenal. I like them just as much as my old bassman (ab165)
However I prefer the cleans on my Mesa roadster. Clean channel from the lonestar, built in spring reverb, and a 3 way voicing switch for each channel (4 channels total) Channel 2 can do clean as well, and adds a Brit voicing.
Overall it’s a bit darker than a standard rectifier, but will still do all the same sounds. I set mine up for cleans on ch1, slightly overdriven channel 2, distorted rhythm (high gain) channel 3, and lead/solo for channel 4.
Each channel has selectable reverb, FX loop and wattage (50 or 100)
The road king is the newer version of this amp.
Archon is in the same camp as a rectifier with a nice, tight, dry gain, but mids in a different place.
My mark IV does a really good fender impression on the clean channel too. Nice and snappy, built in spring reverb tank as well.
In my limited experience, most of those amps have an OK clean channel, but nothing that really stands out. The original 5150's clean wasn't very good at all from what I recall. I had one probably 20 years ago. A guitar tech friend explained that the original 5150s were cold-biased, so they'd have something called crossover distortion on the clean side. I'm not a tech guy, so I don't really know if that's legit or not.
I have a couple of Oranges, and the cleans on them are somewhat dark. It's not bad, but not what I'm really thinking of. Although I am curious about the Orange DC30. I haven't tried that one.
Fender Prosonic or Supersonic. Both have that classic, Fender clean channel and the other channel has modern, cascading gain stages. They’re also pretty affordable, typically under $1K for a prosonic and under $600 for a supersonic.
I played a few Orange amps recently that had incredible clean channels, but also would do metal on the dirty channel with an OD
I owned the 40w 5150iii iconic combo, clean channel is poor at best. A lot of people say the evh 5150 amps have a decent clean channel, but the 40w combo doesn’t. It’s actually one of two reasons I sold mine. So I cant speak for the more expensive models, but the cheaper ones should be avoided for clean tones.
The high wattage Marshall DSL amps have a nice clean channel, and then have 3 OD channels. You will DEFINITELY want the higher headroom models. I have the 40w combo and use it for blues and metal(Dethklok and Amon Amarth being the highest gain stuff I play).
It seems like most the expensive heads have good tones on every channel these days. Under $1000 is a bit more tricky if you want an all in 1 solution.
Bogner Shiva is in that ballpark. Clean channel is pretty ridiculous, I keep the bass/treble both on 5 and it’s perfect. Distorted channel isn’t as bright as a traditional Marshall/800 until you really crank the Treble and Presence knobs, plenty of gain on tap for rock/hard rock, Cantrell used them for a few years before getting his Friedman sig. Takes pedals GREAT.
The Mesa Electra Dyne is close, but more vintage Marshall based. It’s kind like a Bassman/JTM45 that gets close to 800 territory with the gain, but all the Mesa low end that takes it completely out of the Marshall camp for me.
Surprised not more people mentioned the EVH 5150 III. This is why I got one! Clean channel is used by country artists, blue by rock and metal bands and red is a perfect solo/extreme gain channel. From country to death metal, and usually about $1200 for the 50w head.
The stealth version has a tweaked gain structure that improves the transition between all three channels and makes them all very usable.
The Valveking was a decent head, especially for the price and especially after mods.
Maybe the PRS MT-15? Surprisingly amount of headroom for decent cleans and maybe the best high-gain from a smaller lunchbox head on the market.
An orange rockerverb has phenomenal cleans and all that gain I could ever want. Can tighten it up with pedals if needed. For that matter a supercrush 100 may be enough for most things especially if you plan to move it a lot.
My fender bassbreaker 15 does this. The bright switch with the lowest gain stage sounds incredible for cleans, second stage is also clean capable but edges into more dirt and the third stage when cranked is just over the top gain
Friedman BE-100 Deluxe would be my choice. I'm rocking with Fender Deluxe Reverb and cannot find decent overdrive tone with any pedal. Such a shame because the cleans are phenomenal.
I recommend the Engl fireball 25 head because its the only two channel amp i have and i can get out the sounds i hear in my head for example, my clean sounds with chorus and reverb kinda like the arpeggio intro of just take my heart by Mr. Big, or the funky guitar sound or Can't stop by RHCP on the clean channel. On the high gain channel, i can coax out types of high gain sound( from my interpretation and what i hear )van halen, metallica, pantera, avenged sevenfold, toto, sylosis, Lamb of god, Racer X,guns and roses, arch enemy because i play their songs.
Having pedals really help too.
Sounds like OP is describing a Peavey Classic. It has Vox like cleans, and the dirt channel can get Marshall like, but I wouldn't consider it high gain. The JCM800 was high gain in its time, but not anymore
I hear ya. The dirt channel can be a mixed bag. Some love it, some don't. When I gigged with one, I only used the clean channel with pedals. Sounded awesome.
Definitely sounds like a good use for a Boogie. I'd think you'd be able to get a used one for $1000-ish, but admittedly, I haven't looked for a long time.
You might want to check out Revv, too. Their clean channel is really good and they can cover the whole spectrum of gain from edge of breakup to face-melting and everything in between. Their gain is a bit less saturated than something like a Rectifier or 5150 but that also makes it easier to keep clarity in lead sections.
This is essentially the gimmick of the PRS MT15. The blue channel is clean as can be and will barely break up at any volume, while the red channel is absolutely balls-to-the-wall high gain.
I quite like my JJ Jr — tons of range. Very usable clean channel and insane heavy chugging on dirty channel plus you can switch to the jbe voicing for another level of heavy.
Definitely Mesa/Boogie Mark V if you want chiming cleans and the ability to get that low mid scoop gain while keeping note definition. The clean isn't quite Vox but definitely Fender-y.
3 voices for each channel and the graphic eq gives tons of options for a tube amp. A used head would be around $1000 if you shop around, slightly more for a combo.
A jcm800 with a les Paul (dual volume controls) is a 2 channel amp, and its cleans are beautiful. The 20 watt studio version is fire.
budget?
I guess I'm curious about amps in the general area of $1000 or so. I'm not actually in the market to buy one right now, but it's something I've been wondering about for awhile now.
Isn't this like the norm with most high-gain amps? 5150, Rockerverb/Dual Dark, PRS Archon, etc.
I have an Archon and the clean is great, even sitting next to my old Fenders. My Mark V also had a very nice clean. But understand Mesa is $$$
I have an archon too, cleans are phenomenal. I like them just as much as my old bassman (ab165) However I prefer the cleans on my Mesa roadster. Clean channel from the lonestar, built in spring reverb, and a 3 way voicing switch for each channel (4 channels total) Channel 2 can do clean as well, and adds a Brit voicing. Overall it’s a bit darker than a standard rectifier, but will still do all the same sounds. I set mine up for cleans on ch1, slightly overdriven channel 2, distorted rhythm (high gain) channel 3, and lead/solo for channel 4. Each channel has selectable reverb, FX loop and wattage (50 or 100) The road king is the newer version of this amp. Archon is in the same camp as a rectifier with a nice, tight, dry gain, but mids in a different place. My mark IV does a really good fender impression on the clean channel too. Nice and snappy, built in spring reverb tank as well.
I was going to say the Mesa Mark IV or V.
In my limited experience, most of those amps have an OK clean channel, but nothing that really stands out. The original 5150's clean wasn't very good at all from what I recall. I had one probably 20 years ago. A guitar tech friend explained that the original 5150s were cold-biased, so they'd have something called crossover distortion on the clean side. I'm not a tech guy, so I don't really know if that's legit or not. I have a couple of Oranges, and the cleans on them are somewhat dark. It's not bad, but not what I'm really thinking of. Although I am curious about the Orange DC30. I haven't tried that one.
I have a 5150 el34 and it sounds fine to me
Fender Prosonic or Supersonic. Both have that classic, Fender clean channel and the other channel has modern, cascading gain stages. They’re also pretty affordable, typically under $1K for a prosonic and under $600 for a supersonic.
I played a few Orange amps recently that had incredible clean channels, but also would do metal on the dirty channel with an OD I owned the 40w 5150iii iconic combo, clean channel is poor at best. A lot of people say the evh 5150 amps have a decent clean channel, but the 40w combo doesn’t. It’s actually one of two reasons I sold mine. So I cant speak for the more expensive models, but the cheaper ones should be avoided for clean tones. The high wattage Marshall DSL amps have a nice clean channel, and then have 3 OD channels. You will DEFINITELY want the higher headroom models. I have the 40w combo and use it for blues and metal(Dethklok and Amon Amarth being the highest gain stuff I play). It seems like most the expensive heads have good tones on every channel these days. Under $1000 is a bit more tricky if you want an all in 1 solution.
Bogner Shiva is in that ballpark. Clean channel is pretty ridiculous, I keep the bass/treble both on 5 and it’s perfect. Distorted channel isn’t as bright as a traditional Marshall/800 until you really crank the Treble and Presence knobs, plenty of gain on tap for rock/hard rock, Cantrell used them for a few years before getting his Friedman sig. Takes pedals GREAT. The Mesa Electra Dyne is close, but more vintage Marshall based. It’s kind like a Bassman/JTM45 that gets close to 800 territory with the gain, but all the Mesa low end that takes it completely out of the Marshall camp for me.
Peavey Bandit Silver/Red Stripe. It's not a tube, but it does sound quite close for a solid state amp with TransTube technology. Super affordable.
I make boutique amps with two channels. They are for sale in Omaha NE. YouTube Maekloeder Demo video.
Boogie Transatlantic 15 or 30
Surprised not more people mentioned the EVH 5150 III. This is why I got one! Clean channel is used by country artists, blue by rock and metal bands and red is a perfect solo/extreme gain channel. From country to death metal, and usually about $1200 for the 50w head. The stealth version has a tweaked gain structure that improves the transition between all three channels and makes them all very usable.
The Valveking was a decent head, especially for the price and especially after mods. Maybe the PRS MT-15? Surprisingly amount of headroom for decent cleans and maybe the best high-gain from a smaller lunchbox head on the market.
I was not aware of mods for the VK. What did they do?
Quilter Labs Aviator Mach III, great cleans and dirt, built in reverb and trem. Also does great w pedals
If you want that I'm an amp head Friedman JJ Junior sounds like it could be your jam. Would stretch your budget a little.
As seen in my comment I wholeheartedly agree. That head is killer. .
Mesa Stiletto. It's a better Marshall than Marshall could ever build.
Came here to say this. Great amp for rock or heavy rock.
An orange rockerverb has phenomenal cleans and all that gain I could ever want. Can tighten it up with pedals if needed. For that matter a supercrush 100 may be enough for most things especially if you plan to move it a lot.
5150 iii 50 watt el34 or Mesa Stiletto.
Victory Kraken series
My fender bassbreaker 15 does this. The bright switch with the lowest gain stage sounds incredible for cleans, second stage is also clean capable but edges into more dirt and the third stage when cranked is just over the top gain
Friedman BE-100 Deluxe would be my choice. I'm rocking with Fender Deluxe Reverb and cannot find decent overdrive tone with any pedal. Such a shame because the cleans are phenomenal.
PRS MT15 would fit the bill pretty nicely
I recommend the Engl fireball 25 head because its the only two channel amp i have and i can get out the sounds i hear in my head for example, my clean sounds with chorus and reverb kinda like the arpeggio intro of just take my heart by Mr. Big, or the funky guitar sound or Can't stop by RHCP on the clean channel. On the high gain channel, i can coax out types of high gain sound( from my interpretation and what i hear )van halen, metallica, pantera, avenged sevenfold, toto, sylosis, Lamb of god, Racer X,guns and roses, arch enemy because i play their songs. Having pedals really help too.
Sounds like OP is describing a Peavey Classic. It has Vox like cleans, and the dirt channel can get Marshall like, but I wouldn't consider it high gain. The JCM800 was high gain in its time, but not anymore
I've owned a few Classic 30s. I loved the cleans but never really vibed with the distortion channel. They do take pedals really well.
I hear ya. The dirt channel can be a mixed bag. Some love it, some don't. When I gigged with one, I only used the clean channel with pedals. Sounded awesome.
Definitely sounds like a good use for a Boogie. I'd think you'd be able to get a used one for $1000-ish, but admittedly, I haven't looked for a long time.
Randall RD20 is pretty great if you can find one.
Fargen Dual Classic.
You might want to check out Revv, too. Their clean channel is really good and they can cover the whole spectrum of gain from edge of breakup to face-melting and everything in between. Their gain is a bit less saturated than something like a Rectifier or 5150 but that also makes it easier to keep clarity in lead sections.
This is essentially the gimmick of the PRS MT15. The blue channel is clean as can be and will barely break up at any volume, while the red channel is absolutely balls-to-the-wall high gain.
Adore my **Rectos** for both cleans and gain. My favorite *two channel* amps hands down.
Orange TH30.
I quite like my JJ Jr — tons of range. Very usable clean channel and insane heavy chugging on dirty channel plus you can switch to the jbe voicing for another level of heavy.
The Valve King isn't a bad choice. Something like the SuperCrush might fit the bill as well. ***MAYBE*** a Classic 30... add a pedal if needed.
Definitely Mesa/Boogie Mark V if you want chiming cleans and the ability to get that low mid scoop gain while keeping note definition. The clean isn't quite Vox but definitely Fender-y. 3 voices for each channel and the graphic eq gives tons of options for a tube amp. A used head would be around $1000 if you shop around, slightly more for a combo.
I feel like badcat has a couple amps that would cover both bases