XXX

I've got myself into a delima. I'm selling all my gear except for my guitars, and getting some new stuff. the reason I'm selling...carrying a 4x12 cab, PODpro, Mackie M-800, floor board, and other misc. stuff is getting to be a hassle. What I'm thinking about doing is getting a Peavey Triple XXX 2x12 combo and possibly(hopefully) a PODxt. I want at least a 3 channel amp that can be real brutal, but also versatile. I'm not looking to get a certain sound except my own, which is heavy and crunchy. I want the PODxt for the recording and extra versatility and effects. Ideally I would like to have the XXX and PODxt and have an A/B switch to go between them when playing live. I can just imagine the possibilitys then. I guess my sound is a mix between a high gain marshall and a mesa rectifier. Will the XXX get me close to that? Any help/advice/opinions will be greatly appreciated.

does mesa have a comparable 2x12 combo in the $1,200 range? BTW I love Marshall's, they're just over priced.

Originally posted by PonyOne
I'd just go straight for a Mesa, personally... after you spend 20 minutes with one you'll understand why. It makes Marshalls seem like tin cans.

Why go for the Mesa when there's Soldano?

ok, after doing some research on harmony central, I'm undecided still. Can anyone give me a pro/con list, opinions, experience, etc... on the XXX, a Marshall TSL 602, and a Mesa Boogie Nomad 55 2x12. All are 2x12 combo's and roughly in the $1,200 range. I play a PRS custom 22, and mainly use chorus, reverb, and sometimes wah for effects. My playing style is pretty versatile. I play with a bluesy sound, crystal clean, to godsmack like heavey distortion. All amps are 3 channel, and that's what I'm looking for, so that's making my decision that much harder. Please help!

I would avoid Laney, the first amp I ever had was a Laney mighty fifty, it spent more time being repaired than working!

I haven’t played the XXX but I have had other Peavey amps in the past and all of them have been horrible. OK for death metal but not much else.

Soldano amps are very very seriously nnnniiiiiicccccceeeeeeeee to the point where your head just wants to explode with total happiness ! Total tone monsters. However the cost of these amps also makes your head explode with total despair. Used for lots of crisp Hi gain stuff.

I really like Mesa kit but unfortunately they are also very expensive!

I’m playing a CE24 at the moment and although I have never tried it with a Mesa, I would put money down it would sound fantastic, same with the Soldano!. The closest I have got to the Soldano is the POD imitations and that is fairly orgasmic !

As you don’t seem to be into to really high gain distortion I would think seriously about the Mesa, If you can find a second hand one that looks like it had a good first home, it may be worth thinking about. Also with Mesa, don’t be fooled by there size, the last one I went any where near (little 50 W combos) could take out windows at about 30 yards……very loud !

Also check out the Carvin Legacy 212 combo. I love the tone.
I'm a big fan of Steve Vai though so maybe I'm giving it extra points for that. Beautiful sound anyway + it's cheap... Some Rivera models might be worth checking out too...

After talking to the music store, I've pretty much decided to go ahead and get the Line 6 Vetta combo. I think this will be the best way for me to go since I'm already familiar with line 6 stuff and my friend has one and I have been very impressed. I'm supposed to go get it Saturday. I'll let ya'll know how it turns out. Thanks for all the help.

Well, I ended up getting a Marshall AVT275 combo, and a PODxt. Let me tell you...they are both amazing. The Marshall is the loudest combo I've ever heard! And it is very versatile. The clean stays clean and can be dirtied up a bit with some extra gain. Overdrive 1 is excelent for blues to hard rock. Overdrive 2 is a gain monster! I only have the gain up to about 7 and it really shreads. The on board fx are fairly decent...good for adding that little extra something to your sound. Now for the PODxt. I thought the POD pro was just "the sh@t", until now. The xt blew my mind. The factory presets are very good. They almost don't need any tweeking, but I know once I get more comfortable with it, it's gonna be on. I was a little intimidated at first, with all the new features and buttons, but after playing with it, it's actually easier. I haven't tried the usb stuff yet, so I don't know how that's going to work out (I'll save that for another post). I'm off to play some more......................

lol...

put that in the paper

"XXX for sale!"