Solid-State Amp Choice!

[Annihilator]

Hi folks,

I'm about to buy the new combo amp. Since I can't afford tube amp at the moment, I'm forced to consider some other options. I play many styles, from old-school thrash metal, hard rock, to blues/jazz and alternative rock.
I was searching a lot, looking for all kinds and types of amps and brands, and I sticked with these two models, based on their characteristics and reviews, two of them hybrid, one pure solid-state.

Laney LV200Power RMS: 65 Watts
Inputs: 1x Jack
Channels: 3 (Clean, Drive 1 and Drive 2)
Equalization: Independent Bass, Mid, and Treble for Clean and Drive
Bright Switch: Yes (Clean Channel)
Reverb: Yes, with independent level controls for Clean and Drive
Footswitch: Custom 3-Way (Included)
Speaker connections: 1x Jack (8 Ohms)
FX Loop(s): Yes
Drivers: 1x12" Celestion Super 65
Scoop Switch: 2 (Drive 1 & Drive 2)
Tube Fusion Technology: ECC83 Preamp Valve
Headphone Socket: Yes
Price: 260EUR

Peavey Bandit 112
80 Watts RMS into 8 Ohms
100 Watts RMS into 4 Ohms (w/external speaker)
12 in. Blue Marvel speaker
High and Low Gain inputs
TransTube tube emulation circuitry
Footswitchable Clean and Lead channels
3 band passive EQ on each channel
3 position EQ/Gain Voicing switch on each channel
Reverb with level control
Footswitchable Boost with level control (footswitch optional).
Price: 350 EUR

 
Roland CUBE-60
60-watt output, compact 12" speaker design
9 COSM guitar amp models, including JC, British Combo, and R-Fire
New Dyna Amp feature enables smooth and expressive tone transitions based on picking dynamics
6 classic built-in effects, including Chorus, Flanger, Phaser, Tremolo, and independent Delay/Reverb
Recording/Phones output, Line out, Tuner out, and Ext Speaker out
Channel switching, delay/reverb, and effect on/off control via optional footswitch
Price: 330EUR


Btw. I saw some guy selling used '88. Laney Linebacker 50W Reverb, so I'm considering that too:

Laney Linebacker 50W Reverb
Made in England
Year of production: 1988.
Solid-state amp
Accutronix reverb
Celestion 10-50 speaker
Master: Presence, Reverb, Master volume.
Two channels
Channel A : Master A (volume) , Treble, Middle, Bass Pull Boost, Gain Pull Boost.
Channel B: Master B (volume), Treble, Middle, Bass, Gain
Input: Footswitch, Channel A, Channel mix, Channel B (footswitch not included).
Rear panel: FX Loop , D. I. , Speaker, Headphones.
Price: 170 EUR


If anyone has some better option in that price range in mind, please share it. Thanks in advance!

[J M Fahey]

They are all about the same.
Plug your guitar, play some licks and let your ears be the judge.
Since you are in Europe, "local" may be the best choice, not to mention somewhat lower price.
The Roland unit is excellent, but in case of (future) service, getting parts for  "oriental" amps can become complex.
The last one is a 24 year old amp, not bad at all, but not in the same league of the others either, plus it has somewhat less power and a quite smaller speaker.

[gbono]

Another option - if you want to learn about electronics/soldering/component research you can look for a non-functioning amp and repair it with the help of the various resources available online (like this site). Who knows you might start building your own amps and forget about overpriced tube gear 

[joecool85]

Not sure of the cost over there, but the Randall 8040 is suppose to be an amazing sound all analog FET solid state amp.  I know I want one 

[dconeill]

I'll put in a plug for the Peavey, but I cannot comment on the others.  I have a redstripe, made-in-USA Bandit.  It's solid, easily controllable, versatile, affordable, and sounds good to me at least.  I don't care for the distortion channel much, but then I'm not really a distortion kind of guy.  The current production of the Bandit is made in China, I think, and is slightly different from the one I have.  I would buy a Bandit again in a heartbeat.

I've heard very good things about the Roland Cube series, but apart from trying one or two in music stores I don't have much experience with them.

And as for the comment about "Asian amps might be difficult to find parts for", that strikes me as a suspicious statement.  Besides, outside of boutique amps what solid-state amps are not made in Asia these days?  If anything, I would think that an American-made amp, with our insistence on non-Metric parts, would be the one that would be hard to find parts for outside of the USA.

[joecool85]

I'll put in a plug for the Peavey, but I cannot comment on the others.  I have a redstripe, made-in-USA Bandit.  It's solid, easily controllable, versatile, affordable, and sounds good to me at least.  I don't care for the distortion channel much, but then I'm not really a distortion kind of guy.  The current production of the Bandit is made in China, I think, and is slightly different from the one I have.  I would buy a Bandit again in a heartbeat.

I've heard very good things about the Roland Cube series, but apart from trying one or two in music stores I don't have much experience with them.

And as for the comment about "Asian amps might be difficult to find parts for", that strikes me as a suspicious statement.  Besides, outside of boutique amps what solid-state amps are not made in Asia these days?  If anything, I would think that an American-made amp, with our insistence on non-Metric parts, would be the one that would be hard to find parts for outside of the USA.

What year is your Made in USA Bandit?  I didn't realize they were ever made here, neat!

Also, I agree about parts availability.  No big deal, you can get parts for any modern amp.

[dconeill]

What year is your Made in USA Bandit?  I didn't realize they were ever made here, neat!

I don't know exactly, something like 2002.

An amp called a Bandit has been in Peavey's line since 1980.  Production was in the USA until about 2004.  You can see an overview of the history at http://forums.peavey.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=14177.

[joecool85]

What year is your Made in USA Bandit?  I didn't realize they were ever made here, neat!

I don't know exactly, something like 2002.

An amp called a Bandit has been in Peavey's line since 1980.  Production was in the USA until about 2004.  You can see an overview of the history at http://forums.peavey.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=14177.

Wow!  That's really surprising how long they made them here!  Too bad they shipped out to China...maybe they'll come back.  Makes me want to check out some used Peavey's though.

[aentresz]

I would go for the Peavey. I have a mid eighties Bandit 65 Solo Series that is one awesome amp. It's fairly light, it's compact, and it's loud. It gives my Roland JC-120 a run for its money in terms of sheer volume. In terms of tone- I like it more than the JC. This might I add is *without the transtube technology- so I'd expect the Peavey you're considering to be even better.

I'd keep an eye out for some of the SS Fender amps too. They can be had for cheap (mainly the Stage 185 model). I just bought a Pro 185 (2x12 version of the Stage) and it blows the JC120 away.