Best amps for rock and heavy metal

"I find that the powerhouse transistor amps can't make the bass impact right. You really need tubes for that!"

Not to get philosophical here, but this very much depends on your interpretation of what bass is. And that too, depends on a great many things, for one-your experiences.

To me bass does NOT roll away, sound muddy, or too rounded, and most tube amps I personally have heard do this to one degree or another. My interpretation of bass is having the ability to roll when it needs to roll (recording dependant) and SLAM! when it needs to slam. Which is why I find mixing a piece of tube with an agressive amp like Bryston, Krell, Pass etc. is simply a match made in heaven.

Jc51373,

A lot goes into how the recording sounds by virtue of microphone placement, attack, reverb and EQ.

See this article that explains some of it Equalization

You can boost the 80 to 100 Hz range for a more Britney Spears "Baby One More Time" sound. Some tube amps with a high output impedance transformer will do the same as an EQ boost at around 80 Hz (which is where most speakers have a high impedance point).

I agree with your summary though...if the artist/producer/engineer wanted the kick drum to slap then I prefer to hear it that way - rather than "Britney Spears it" myself.

One should repsect that often there is a trade off to help improve overall bass frequency audibility...either the kick drum will "slap" and the bass will be rounded or vice versa, for example Funk will often have a slap kick drum and a rounded groovy bass sound. These effects can also be controlled by type of miking and closeness of the mic,which controls tighness of the sound. On much heavy rock it is very hard to dinstinguish the bass from the drums as both are muddy or rounded to create a combined sound with heavy emphasis.

Well said Shadorne! Good article too. Thx!

Am I the only person here who doesn't know how to insert a link like that?

Just the opposite, JC. Transistor amps provide the bass punch, whereas tubes tend to soften sounds out. I have Mark Levinson amps with Klipschorns and the only thing on the market that would provide a better bass punch would be Khorns with Krell amps. I do not use Krell amps, because Levinson amps have the best over all sound quality, while Krells exceed only at the bass level.

Don't laugh, but I dare you to try Rotel.