Laney LC15R or LX65R

AxeMan99

Hi all,

I am looking into possibly buying a Laney LC15R or a Laney LX65R for playing mostly metal with some rock thrown in. The LC is 15W all valve and the LX is 65W solid state.

I am going to try out the LC15 on Tuesday and that is the one I am veering towards at the moment. I emailed Laney asking which would suit my needs and they said both would but to quote the email:

"Both amps would be great for what you require. The only thing I would
suggest is that the LX65R would be able to better control the master
volume - less chance of annoying the neighbours.
Unless that's what you are aiming for that is....... "

So, this is because the LX is solid state and therefore doesn't need to be cranked up to sound good. My question is what will I be missing by playing a non cranked up LC with the gain turned up and an OD pedal? Its the preamp distortion that is most important for metal isn't it? Am I right in saying that by turning it up you overdrive the power amp and this is what is supposed to sound good? Is it essential?

Thanks.

Herbie

Ok, firstly the helpful bit!

Solid state amps will sound fairly consistent as the volume increases. If you imagine a hifi amp, then the tune doesn't change as you turn the volume up...

Essentially you have a preamp section which sets the tone, and a power amp section which sets the volume. A bit simplistic, but that's basically it.

With a valve amp, the pre and power stages both impact the tone. Cranking the power valves will 'drive' the amp harder until they break up and you get that distinctive overdriven tone. Depending on the amp, you'll get more distortion from the preamp stage.

To get the best out of a valve amp, you need to play it at volume... however, it can still sound good at lower volumes, though you're mainly relying on the preamp...

Anyway, as a slight aside... I've got a Series 1 LC15R which I'm looking to sell as I just don't need it any more... If you're interested let me know!

AxeMan99

Thanks herbie, I'm trying it out tomorrow so I'll see what its like cranked and turned down low.

Unknown

for metal tones you'll probably end up using something like a boss mt-2 to get the sond youre after anyway so the power amp section probably wont make that big a contribution to the sound.

bear in mind though that with a solid state power amp section you will never get the benefit of a tube power section, while if you get the laney then it will sound even better when you get the opportunity to crank it up a bit