I mostly play and enjoy the sound of “classic” metal. 1980s Judas Priest. Metallica. Maiden. Etc.

What’s a good amp/fx setup to reproduce this sound at modest volumes?

I have a friend with a Marshall stack, which sounds amazing but I have neither the budget or the space for something like this. I currently have a Fender amp with a Boss GT-1 effects pedal, which is quite good but no matter what I do I never quite get this to reproduce the tone I’m looking for.

Will a small Marshall combo amp like a MG30GFX work for me? Does it make sense to go for low-wattage tube amps over solid state? Thoughts?

  • AstralPathEnglish
    6·
    6 months ago

    So many people just assume you need to dime the master volume to get good tone. It’s not the 70’s anymore. Most amps are made so that the pre-amp does the tonal heavy lifting. The power section doesn’t need to be pushed at all to get a serviceable tone. Sure, there’s extra sauce in the power amp as you turn it up but its not an absolute necessity like it was 50 years ago.