Peavey Girl

Peavey Girl
Help me choose a guitar amp?

Hi, I need help picking a guitar amp. I play in a high school band, so it needs to be loud enough to be heard over a drummer (I'm thinking 40-65W). I'm a teenage girl, so if it is as light weight as possible that would be a huge plus, it needs to be easy to transport to band practices because I'm not that strong . The sound I'm looking for is similar to guns n' roses, aerosmith, Motley Crue, Ramones, Rolling Stones. Also I'd like it to sound good with pedals. My budget is around $200 (again broke high school student:P). Some models I'm looking at are the fender frontman 65R and the peavey envoy 110. But I'm definetely open to other suggestions. Thank you for your time.

Hello there,

I give this advice to all beginners. Get a used 1x12 combo amp. You can get a much better amp used for the same amount of money as you would spend on a new amp. The price falls a lot on used amps. I see used 1x12 and 2x12 combos sell at very attractive prices on eBay. Sometimes below what new little practice amps sell for.

Since you are thinking 40 watts at least, that gets you out of the small practice amps. No matter what brand, I think the speaker in those always makes you sound thin and tinny. I would not limit your search to only 40 to 65 watts. If you see a good deal on a 75 watt 1x12 combo or even a 100 watt 2x12 grab it. Fender, Peavey, Crate, Marshall, Vox and Line 6 all make good amps and they can be commonly found used. I also like the sound of a B-52, those have a great tube simulation. But they are not often found used at bargain prices.

Fender FM65R. Not a bad solid state amp. Peavey Envoy 110, again not a bad amp, but I like the Bandit 1x12 better.

As for the weight issue, I can appreciate what you are saying. Transport can be tough. Picking up a 65 pound amp is a strain at times whether you are a teenage girl or a 60 year old man (like me). But the weight generally comes from the magnet in the speakers. Yes different wood types used in the cabinet itself has an impact. But the bigger speaker magnets do weigh a lot more. But it is those big magnets that are important to your sound. Take a look at the tiny magnet on a speaker in a practice amp then look at the magnet on a speaker in a Marshall 1960 cab (Celestion). You will see in a instant why one weighs so much more (and why one sound so much better).

For $200, you can get a mighty nice 1x12 or even a 2x12 combo. Most of the 2x12s have casters on the bottom to roll them around. Many of the transport cases you can buy have casters also, but those can be pricey. If your combo amp is too heavy to move around easily and does not come with casters, put a set on it. Makes life easier.

If you play with pedals, don't get caught up in the built in effects of an amp. You generally play your pedals through the clean channel. So you want an amp with a great clean channel. Frankly, I usually use my own pedals instead of the built in effects. Whether it is the distortion, the chorus or the delay, one or more of the built in effects will not suit my taste or will be too cumbersome to adjust (or have insufficient adjustment). So, I use my pedals, even with my Line 6 2x12. If you like your pedals, and you get exactly the effects you want from them, don't it caught up in marketing hype about built in effects. You play pedals through the clean channel any way. So pick an amp whose clean channel you like. I think Fender has about as good a clean channel as any.

Someone mentioned Line 6. Those are decent amps. They do simulate a lot of great amps fairly well. Since I have played on (and still own many) of the classic amps the Line 6 tries to simulate with its various channels, I can say the sound is close. Good to someone who have never played on the real thing. Not so great to those of us who have. Also with the Line 6, you can only access the 4 basic channels without their Shortboard footswitch. The FBV-2, the FBV-4 and the FBV Express pedals cannot access the other numerous built in models. It takes the Shortboard to do that and it runs around $150 used. Many beginners buy the Line 6 because of all the advertised built in amp models then they discover they also need to buy a pricey pedal just to get to those built in amp models. However, if you see a good deal on a Line 6 1x12 or 2x12 go ahead and buy it. The clean channel is good.. The 4 channels are fun. You won't need all the other amp models with your pedals.

I love vintage Marshall amps. Just simply a great sound. I don't care for the new MG series at all. If you don't know what a real Marshall sounds like, you can be satisfied with the MG series. But if you do, then you will not like the MG series. The MG series are decent amps, but not great Marshall amps.

One thing you might consider is going with a stack arrangement. You may find a deal on a amplifier head (no speakers) in the 50 to 75 watt range. Then you can pick up a 1x12 speaker cabinet to use with that head. By having the amplifier in one cabinet and the speaker in a separate cabinet, you split up the weight. Peavey makes some decent heads in that range. If you can find a used B-52 100 watt head at an acceptable price those are great. Not so sure that Fender makes any heads now under 100 watts. They may but I cannot think of any. However, they used to make a M-80 head. It has a funky gray carpet covering. Does not look like the traditional Fender look. So, they older heads sometimes sell pretty cheap. I have seen them go under $100 several times. Just because they don't look like a Fender. Not a bad little amp. 80 watts will not be a problem to match a speaker cab to.
later,

Peavey 5150 - Metal