AX8 | What's the best allround amp?

kaleidoskope

Inspired
I want to use scenes, in order to avoid the audio gap, so...

What's the best amp to take me from clean to heavy (no need for trash sounds, just a good "chunk" will do fine)
 
I must admit, I'm not sure what trash sounds are... But you can XY and use two amps for even more versatility. Brownface is my choice for clean and slightly overdriven tones. Some version of the PV 5150 tends to be my go to for higher gain tones.

If you really just want one amp, I'm really impressed with the Plexi amps and the 800 for their ability to clean up really well and do great overdrive tones. Put an overdrive pedal block in front of the amp to push it into high gain territory.

Seems like these might be a good starting point for you.
 
The JM45 and drive pedals do everything for me.

Otherwise, I use the Brit 800#34 with scene controllers to take me from clean (ish) to hair metal.
 
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I have never been clear as to how to create the "X / Y" situation in a single Preset for two different amps. Before I dig deeper into that idea, however, am I correct that switching between two amps via the "X / Y" approach does indeed eliminate the switching latency?
 
I have never been clear as to how to create the "X / Y" situation in a single Preset for two different amps. Before I dig deeper into that idea, however, am I correct that switching between two amps via the "X / Y" approach does indeed eliminate the switching latency?

A fast foot tap on the AXY switch cuts a lot of the latency out, at least for me. As for the best amp it really depends on what you mean by "clean" and "heavy". My favorite tends to be the TW Rocket or Express if I want to go heavier.
 
I use the Plexi 2204 for clean to mean....scene controllers for drive and the „shimmer drive“ from the drive block (with drive=0 and level=10) for some extra gain. With my HSS-Strat I can go from U2 to Rage against the machine within 1 preset.
 
My go to amp is a Princeton Reverb for 90% of my playing with one scene set up with a Bludo tone with a Dumble 4/12 cab. I can cover pretty much any situation with that one pre set.
 
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If you attach scene controller 1 to the gain and scene controller 2 to the cab level it is very easy to go from completely clean to the heaviest metal distortion not only without a gap but completely smooth. Its awesome!
 
I guess you can make anything work. But I would use the Bogner euro blue. Think they cover clean up to distortion and do it all well.
 
Yes, the Friedman amps. No doubt.

I'm trying to like these but they seem dark. Don't get me wrong, I'd buy a real Friedman without hesitation if I was looking for a real amp. I'm a Marshall guy and real Friedman's do that so well. Heck a lot of amp do that. But the Friedman amp models feel or sound a little darker and less dynamic trying to get to clean with my guitar vol. knob. I'm also saying this without spending much time trying to dial one in, so my opinion is based on a limited effort. They sound awesome full out. I just prefer a clean to mean via my guitar volume. It's an old habit that I can't get past.
 
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