Please help me pick the right amp...

Big Beat · Newbie Alert Joined: 21 Mar 2008 Posts: 2

Hello all, newbie here with a question.

I am currently trying to set up a backline for a small to medium size club. I need some suggestions on which guitar head to get. It has to be a head, not a combo, already have a Trace Elliott 4x12 cab to mate it into a half-stack with.

Basically need a simple, good quality workhorse guitar head, reliable, not too expensive, versatile enough for different music styles. It can be a current model or an older discontinued one, though not something esoteric with hard to find parts and the temperament of a vintage Italian car.

Been looking at some used Marshalls, but there are a zillion models and I don't know which ones are good for my purpose. Other brands, I'm totally clueless about. What would I look for, what should I avoid?

In other words, as a musician, if you're playing a club where the backline is provided, what guitar head would you reasonably want to see on that stage?

Thanks.

mikem015 · Newbie Alert Joined: 03 Apr 2008 Posts: 2

If you're looking at Marshall's already, you can never go wrong with a JCM 800...

It's not too pricey, it's versatile, and it's MARSHALL...

Big Beat · Newbie Alert Joined: 21 Mar 2008 Posts: 2

What's the difference between all the different JCM's? There's the 800, the 900, the 2000... Do they still make them?

BritishSteel · Sea Monkey Joined: 29 May 2008 Posts: 14

If you are setting up a club you need to be more specific. What music will be played there nearly all the time, will it be metal, jazz, folk, blues all mixed? A "Silver Bullet" amp doesn't exist (we all wish). My question is why are you not setting up a PA system instead? You're a club not a studio right???