Best amps for rock and heavy metal

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.

Jc51373, what I find that (most) transistors cannot do is play slam and definition- crucial for playing metal. On top you still need to get the cymbals right. Ya need tubes! In fact, even in the studio, the best microphones for recording cymbals are tube condensor mics.

I admit that not all tube amps are up to the task. For that matter most speakers aren't either. But the question was- *best* amps for... and the *best* amps are tube. Getting bass right is easy- you just have to have bandwidth well below 20Hz and keep the power supplies stable.