New Amp time..

Hey guys..I gotta a old crate G20xl (or something like that)
that has just kicked the bucket...I'm gonna need a new amp but really have no idea what to with so maybe yall can make
a few suggetions...I like to play rock/metal and blues and would really like some decent distortion...I don't need anything to use in a band but I don't want to have to upgrade in a year (unless circumstances change or something)
because I got cheap amp...I really need to budget my money on this too....I'd appreciate any input...

Thanks,

Jason

Well, two amps come to mind that seem like they would fit the bill. One is the fender Hot Rod Deville. It's a tube amp, but as the fenders go it is probably the best for tube distortion sounds, if you want to play metal you'd probably need to push it a bit further with a stomp box, but its well suited for rock and blues on its own, and since its fender it probably has a nice clean tone too. I think they are in the 550-650 dollar range, i'm really not sure.
The amp I use is the Line6 flextone. It's a digital modeling amp, so it has a lot more in terms of flexibility of sounds, and it has a lot of built in effects (flange, chorus, leslie, delay, swell, and some others.) Some say the tone isn't as nice as real tubes, but it really depends on your ears, because many also think that the flextone does a good job of imitating tubes, and that it's worth it for the increased versatility. Try them both, the flextone is probably around 650 (I got mine half off, 300, but that was lucky, blowout sale at guitar center.) See what you like.

Thanks for the info..I'd actually been looking at a Line 6..The one at the local dealer has an excellent sound and I think it's about $600....Thanks again....

Jason

there is only one amp for you, i just got one and they sound amazing. its the mesa boogie subway rocket. Mesa makes the best amps and they sound hell of better than fender. They have a great clean, and much better distortion than fender. They sound really great for blues and the tube tone is amazing. Also they are as loud as a mother. booyah man

Buddy, Mesas are great if you have a few grand to spare, which many people don't. As for their distorted sound being better than fender, no argument there I totally agree. As for their clean sound, well I disagree on that one. I play jazz, and having played through both, I tend to think the fenders sound just as nice or nicer for a warm clean sound. The real consideration is price though, mesas get up into the $2,000 range, whereas a nice fender tube will cost you less than 1k.

actually the mesa subway rocket, which is the amp i was refering to is only $500, i know cause i just bought one, i will agree that fender does have the better clean, fenders have a nice sparkle to their clean channel which does make them nice, but mesa's clean is right up there. I think the mesa has a much better tone than fender. Mesa uses better wood when making their amp cabnets which sets them with an incredible tone. Something else to consider is size, while the mesa subway rocket and the fender delux both have 1X12 speaker, the mesa is much smaller, which for me living in a dorm is something i had to take into consideration, but maybe not everyone. Anyway i hope this helps, oh yah and i almost forgot Mesas last for ever, they will never break unless you really mess up and they will work for ever

Oh really? Well than I'm sure that's a great amp that he should consider. Mesas are great, and while they really woudln't be for my kind of thing (I don't really use the distorted tone) if they make one that is on par with their other amps, or at least has the same attention to tone and detail, and they sell it for 500 bucks, sounds like a great deal to me. As for their lasting forever, I don't know about that, but no tube amp lasts forever, if you play it a lot you'll have to replace the tubes eventually, but that's a price you pay. Thx for tellling me about this, while I probably wouldn't get it, it's nice to know about.