Your go-to high gain amp?

Atte

Inspired
Yesterday I was going through some amps on the AX8 and happened to find the FAS Modern III and it was amazing. The growl, the clarity, the tightness - just great. I used that in our band practice and even our singer noticed I had a new tone and everyone complimented it.
So I believe that will become my new go-to amp after a loong time of Friedman and 5150s.

What are your go-to amps for high gain stuff?
 
The Angle Severe 1 is my favourite. I also like the PVH 6160 BLOCK, used that one for a while, but I'm back with the Severe. The 6160 is amazing for very low tunes (8-string territory).

I never managed to get tones I like with any FAS amp. But the tastes are different, the guitars are different etc. But I DO like the FAS drive pedals! :)
 
The Angle Severe 1 is my favourite. I also like the PVH 6160 BLOCK, used that one for a while, but I'm back with the Severe. The 6160 is amazing for very low tunes (8-string territory).

I never managed to get tones I like with any FAS amp. But the tastes are different, the guitars are different etc. But I DO like the FAS drive pedals! :)

I do like the Angle Severe, but it's usually a bit too compressed for my taste as I like a little bit more organic tones. I do believe I will get some great tones out of that one as well as soon as I find the time to fiddle with it a bit more.

Many of my favorite sounds have been recorded with a Recto but I just hate playing one. The FAS Modern III gets me in the ball park while maintaining the feel that I love.
 
Using an Energyball with VH4 Tonestack, Tone-Freq of 1000Hz and a Triode2 Plate Frequency of 10000Hz. Sounds quite well.
 
I've only had my AX8 for a few months now.. there are so many excellent sounding high gain set ups in there, it is REALLY hard to pick a favorite... add in all the cab options and ways you can modify the distortion character... and well... I need to find a way to make the day longer so I can fit in more screwing around time!
 
Using an Energyball with VH4 Tonestack, Tone-Freq of 1000Hz and a Triode2 Plate Frequency of 10000Hz. Sounds quite well.
Sounds like someone has done some serious deep diving for their tone. I might need to try that one out, sounds interesting.

I like the SLO100.
I haven't really screwed around with that one. Is it kind of a modded marshall kind of a sound, or more of a modern tone?

I've only had my AX8 for a few months now.. there are so many excellent sounding high gain set ups in there, it is REALLY hard to pick a favorite... add in all the cab options and ways you can modify the distortion character... and well... I need to find a way to make the day longer so I can fit in more screwing around time!
I've felt the same way up until yesterday. It just felt so great to find an amp with the grind in the exact right frequencies that just makes it crushing. But I do still need to go back to the 5150s and the Friedman with similar cab setups to see if I can dig up some more golden tones.

But my advice for you would be to pick one amp that you love in the real world (one that you tried or heard somewhere) and just screw with it until it's amazing. Then see if you can get equally great sounds from the other amps as well (which you probably will).
 
When the rest of my signal chain is set up the way I like it, I find it really hard to find a high gain amp that I don't like. It's the best problem to have really, but I sometimes sit down to find 'my' sound, and always end up just saving 2 or 3 patches with just the heads different. At that point, it seems to be more about the context (what the rest of the band is using) than the actual tone I hear by myself. Oddly enough, after a ten year career of using amp sims and ALWAYS going with the mesa (pod farm, s-gear, amplitube), they tend to be my least favorite with the AXE. Still dope, though.
 
Sounds like someone has done some serious deep diving for their tone. I might need to try that one out, sounds interesting.
I am a fan of the Engl sounds, but from the stuff what I own(ed) (E646 and Ironball), the original Powerball tonestack doesn't cut it. (Although it's quite spot on the Powerball, I have to admit).
Applying the VH4 introduces some more mids and a lot of more high frequency components, only way to work around that is by putting the Plate frequency down. You have also to take a look at the presence.

Checked it on a Marshall 1960 with V30 at rehearsal last night, was cutting straight through the mix. Same with cab sim.

Done some more tweaks, especially on the definition (which is around 4 to 5 if I remember correctly, but that is just taste, since I really prefer the defined tones from the E646).
 
@moerker This sounds interesting indeed! I actually never changed tonestacks in amps, but you're right, it's possible with the Axe, so why not do it? :)
 
I'll have to try that powerball mashup. I use the angle severe models. Was using 1 for a good while but switched over to 2 a few weeks ago. Now I have them x/y with 2 being a very biting brutal thing and 1 being a little softer & more 'wall of sound' type of thing. I'm constantly going through other models to try and find something better or different, but so far nothing really gets me like the savage models. Everything is too this or too that or not enough this or lacking that....the savage models are just all there for me. Still working on deep editing to really get the sound out of my head, but mostly just because I can, I'm already happy with the tone, just feel like I'll eventually tweak the right knobs and have a golden moment.
 
I actually also like the Spawn Nitrous 1 model. Adding more presence you get a beast for drop tuned guitars. Usually use this one without advanced changes in pair with C# dropped guitar using the Digitech Drop.
 
My three favorites area probably:

6160 Block
FAS Modern
Recto2 Red

Angle Severe 1 is also great for my taste !
 
Some amps have virtues others don't. 5153 is modern voiced but the high notes don't thin out too much, the Savage has a fantastic voicing and thump, the Tucana has a thrashy voicing and is very reactive to the guitar, the Atomica can be scooped and yet cut very well, the Rockreverb is very thick and yet articulate all over the fretboard, the Mark is super juicy with the mid boost on, etc. No clear winner for me. I have a list of clear losers though. Some highly valued amps with nothing remarkable to it. The rectos, the xtc... or that damn Herbert and its weird voicing that doesn't cut.
 
When going for a high gain sound, I rarely get past the JCM800 #34 model. It's just the perfect high gain rock sound for me.
 
Brit PRE or Brit Brown. So freakin hard to pick one. Played around with the AFS today and love the JVMs too. Any hot rodded Marshall is good with me. And thankfully thee are many different flavors here. One of the main reasons I bought the AXE over all the others. Plus it's just so damn fun and inspiring to play every time I turn it on. I haven't had a piece of gear provide me with this much enjoyment in many years. I can't say enough good about it and really have nothing bad to say about it at all
 
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