software

Ok these are the 3 amps i have whittled it down to. I play mainly hard rock and metal. Could anyone who's played one of them let me know their opinions and to help me decide what to get. Looking for the one with both nice distortion and cleans!

And yes i will be trying them all out, but i'd just like a few opinions to go by until then!

IMHO, get an F50... I've played that, the DSL 1x12 combo thing, and the peavey XXX 1x12 combo thing, and it's the nicer of the three.

It's also quite a bit more expensive mind...

I'm not generally into mesa's, but the F-50 is a nice amp no doubt about it. And it's a better sounding amp than the marshall peavey.

The peavey doesn't have that nice cleans imo, and the dirt always had a harsh/fizz I couldn't get out. The marshall was ok, but was just missing quot;somethingquot; in the gain tone.

Haven't played the F30, but I know the F50 is nice

Btw, hate to rehash this, but 2x12's gt; 1x12's especially in heavy music... I'd look at getting an extension cab if you're only getting a 1x12 combo.. presuming you're gonna be gigging that is.

agreed, the DSL401 has quite a fizzy high-gain tone... i usually use a spina DS-1 if i can hehe

its a good amp, there's just better around..

Thing is i'm mainly a bedroom player, but would still like to gig with the amp if i need to. Thats why i kind need an amp around the 30-40 watt tube power, so that i can get a good tone at lower volumes.


Originally Posted by matrixman_397Thing is i'm mainly a bedroom player, but would still like to gig with the amp if i need to. Thats why i kind need an amp around the 30-40 watt tube power, so that i can get a good tone at lower volumes.

I don't honestly think you'll get great tones from any of those amps at bedroom levels, even if you went for a 20 watt amp that would probably be too loud to crank. My F50 sounds ok at bedroom levels, but better when you can open it up a bit.


Originally Posted by moog1000I don't honestly think you'll get great tones from any of those amps at bedroom levels, even if you went for a 20 watt amp that would probably be too loud to crank. My F50 sounds ok at bedroom levels, but better when you can open it up a bit.

1. Valve amps are pants if you want cool tones at low volume - IMO you want to get a solid state amp or Pod type thing for home stuff. Use your valve-driven baby for jamming sessions and times when you can get into a studio / club / church and let her open up

you need to play them, then decide. In my opinion,

Marshal= Apple
Peavey= Orange
Mesa = Pear

You cant really compare them to each other.


Originally Posted by matrixman_397Thing is i'm mainly a bedroom player, but would still like to gig with the amp if i need to. Thats why i kind need an amp around the 30-40 watt tube power, so that i can get a good tone at lower volumes.

Whatever you end up with (I'd def recommend the F-30 vs the other 2 you mentioned..absolutely no comparison in build quality/versatility of the MESA vs them... tho the tone may not be to your personal liking), you should really buy an attentuator of some sort. THD hotplate, Airbrake, MASS, etc. I have a Marshall Powerbrake and it works, but it sucks alot of quot;tonequot;. The others I mentioned apparently keep the original tone of the amp more intact.

As for price, here in the states the Marshall is the most expensive, and the Peavey goes for the same price as the F-30.

Hmm well in terms of prices over here in the UK the DSL401 is ?400 ($750) and the F-30 is ?950 ($1800), both brand new. So its basically the reverse situation over here, is the Mesa worth double the price of the Marshall?

I'v heard upgrading the speaker and a change of tubes of the marshall can help the tone out a bit?

All 3 are nice amps, can't speak to the other 2 but a tube upgrade in a XXX makes a world of difference. It will never have Fender cleans but certainly they can be quite useable.

As far as money is concerned, get a MARSHALL!!!! It is british made so you'll get away with a lot less expences (like shipping, vat etc.) Marshalls also have great tone. Marshalls mix distorted sound and clean sound in a way that you have a layer of distortion and little peaks of screaming tones. I don't know about Mesas but Peavey can't do that for sure, its like hearing distorted and clean sounds together when you crank a XXX up.

I'm not a huge fan of the newer marshall line, they're OK amps, just a little fuzzy for my tastes.

The triple XXX is an OK amp, but to me it sounds like its overly compressed.

I'd suggest the mesa, I know i liked the F-50 when i played it. Though, as a nother member posted, try em out. Decide what works best for you (and what you can make work with your wallet), cause thats really what its all about.

I'd go for the F-30.

On that XXX, the EQ for Crunch and Clean are shared, making it a passive EQ. The Crunch channel is my main high-gain channel!

I despise the Marshall, doesn't sound good at all to me, and didn't have quite enough gain.

But then again, I don't like combo's for metal in a band setting, period.