The tone I get is airy and feels like it doesn't have any chunk to it.

Go buy a Mesa Boogie... yawn.

I'm looking at spending 500 or less hopefully.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

OK, You've got Carvin amps at about $1,000, but those aren't chunky, they're more along the lines of buzzsaw. Then you have Peavey at about $1,500. Those aren't chunky either: more gritty and focused. I've really become disenfranchised with Chinese amps: they are built horribly, and they all have multiple Achilles' heels. There's brands like Randall, but I don't like any of their amps: too noisy and they sound too solid state. So, your options are: expensive, more expensive, and really expensive. I hope you can work overtime at your job. 8)

i use a '65 fender champ for recording. its all tube and sounds absolutely wonderful for recording. it breaks up at around volume at 6 or so, so you wont go deaf (like with a twin reverb or a princeton) or you can get GREAT sounds out of it by putting a tube driver pedal (i use an ibanez 808 resissue) in front of it. both my strat and lp sound great, but i would say the single coil strat sounds better through it (my preference)

on ebay you can pick up a pre cbs champ for about $400. although blackface and silver face champs are pretty similiar.

you might think "that little amp?". but jimmy page used a champ for a lot of his guitar work in the studio with zepplin.

i personally have never ever ever found a modeling amp that i liked. in fact have a vox ad30vt in my studio that is being used right at this moment. as my footrest.

at that price range, the most bang for your $ may be Guitar Rig 3 or a similar program. a huge amount of options for recording different amps with different effects, and the ability to customize your own sounds is limitless. plus it is quiet and removes bad recording space or lack of great pres/mics from the equation. i think it sounds great, and this is coming from a long time purist who would not even use any pedals between the guitar and amp because the tone/signal was weakened...
and it is $200 less than your budget...

Glasstone-Talk to Brian- He Hand builds them.
$500USD may be a bit low, but give him a try
http://www.glasstoneamps.com/index.php?page=productlist&cPath=26

Genz-Benz makes great amps as well...Orange is another favorite. I own a Randall, and love the tone I get from that 4x10.

I've been looking at these as well. I've heard clips of the Blackstar and I'm very impressed with the tone for such a low price :D I'm listening to you guys, I just want to know what you've heard from these guys, if anything.

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I don't see a lot of people playing the Blackstar through the cab that came with it though, so maybe they are trying to tell me something. What's a good 1x12 cab for recording? (/blanket question)

You want an all tube amp with a full tube power amp and preamp section. You cannot get good tube gear for cheap, especially when it comes to guitar amps. Those amps you are looking at will be no better than what you currently have. This is the cheapest tube head worth buying as far as I know: https://www.carvinguitars.com/products/single.php?product=X100B

I thought you said Carvin was buzzsaw and not what I was looking for?

I thought you said Carvin was buzzsaw and not what I was looking for?

That was more of a generalization. A lot of punk bands in the 80's and 90's used Carvin amps. From your description of the tones you want and the stuff you've posted, Carvin amps might not be exactly what you're looking for, but a good tube amp, even if it isn't "perfect" for your style will be a lot better than any crappy digital, solid state, or cheap tube amp. And just about all amps made in China under $1,500 are quite questionable in quality.

True true. Believe me I know the quality of tubes, and the reason why you can't skimp, but I just don't think I have the budget for them right now. I have a lot of things on the blacklist that need to happen before a nice $2000 tube amp. For one, a set of MONITORS. Which will send me back another $500 for the pair I want. That's why I said 500 originally. If the price goes upwards from there, then that means it will have to get pushed off into the sunset until I can justify throwing down that much cash. And on my paycheck, that won't be for a year or two.

I'm just looking for a good recording package, you know? I'm a decent enough guitar player and it's tough for a guitarist that on record I sound like shit. It's like my amp was meant to throw sound over distance instead of sounding great up close and intimate. I'm looking for one of those kind of amps. I've heard good things about VOX amps in the studio. At least for the money, which I don't have much of right now. I mean come on, you guys were in my shoes once?

I think the Vox Valvetronix series amps sound pretty good for the money and record really well. You should take your axe and go try one out. Also look at the new Marshall Haze series amps.

I have tried the VOX line and yes I did like them :D The only thing is I didn't try it with my distortion pedals, so I'll have to go back to GC one of these days and check out how it sounds. I heard that GC sometimes carries the Blackstar ht5 also.

I'm fairly certain at this point that I have narrowed it down to these two. The VOX VT50, and the Blackstar HT-5. From what I've heard from sound clips, it seems the ht5 sounds like a contender in its own right.

Plus I just ordered new pickups for the guitar in question, so a trip to GC will be mandatory before I make any sort of purchase. BTW yay! :D lol Super Distortion and PAF Pro.

Double post*