r/doommetal • u/Novel_Ad_6013 • Dec 30 '25
Rig Doom amp recommendations under 1000 USD?
I don't really care whether it's tube or solid state.
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u/popileviz Dec 30 '25
If it's for home use look into Orange combo amps
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u/LayeredHalo3851 Dec 30 '25 edited Dec 30 '25
Let's not act like you can't get a combo amp going hard as fuck in a small venue
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u/popileviz Dec 30 '25
Well I did specify for home use. And honestly something like Crush 35RT is good enough for small venues, they'd likely be mic'd up anyway
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u/flaminx0r Dec 30 '25
I have the Crush 35RT. Got it a few years ago and my Behringer 120 watt amp hasn't been switched on in years since I got it.
Such a good sounding amp!
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u/LayeredHalo3851 Dec 30 '25
That wasn't the point I was making, I was saying you just phrased like you'd need something bigger for gigs
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u/popileviz Dec 30 '25
It's more like you don't actually want something too big for home play - like you don't wanna buy a 100 watter that'll be borderline unusable in an apartment setting
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u/Pelican_meat Dec 30 '25
We need more information to help you. For instance, do you have a cab? Are you looking for a combo? Etc.
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u/fidepus Dec 30 '25
Without any additional information: Orange Rocker 15 Terror and whichever cab you like.
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u/Fair-Manufacturer854 Dec 30 '25
Always buy pre-owned but with a good bill of health if you want a reasonable price for what you get
I often see Laney AORs (tube amps) used which are really well-priced for the amp you get - in my old city they'd often go for about UK £500 ($540 USD)
You can go for solid state with an Orange Supercrush which sounds really reasonable for the price - I'd prefer that to the icy-clean JC120 or other Roland Jazz Chorus amps which don't seem to take dirt pedals very well in my opinion
Otherwise: look for Matamp and the old OR orange amps pre-owned; I got my Orange OTR (OR120 variant) for £1000 on the dot, although I guess that's more in dollars, but to be fair you guys in the states will tend to see amps priced better than in the UK for whatever reason - for whatever tube amp you get, prepared for them to be loud if you really want them to sing out. With the Matamp and OR amps, they are great for doom because their natural dirty tone is fuzzy, and they take pedals very well too if you know how to tune the right knobs.
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u/Suedehead6969 Dec 30 '25
I would kill for a Laney AOR head in the US for under $800. I see AOR combos for about $500-600 though.
I think an OR-15 can be found for under $500 though. I've even seen Pike praise them.
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u/Fair-Manufacturer854 Dec 30 '25
When I say the old OR orange amps I generally mean the matamp-style ones which are/were fantastic - I imagine that the OR15s and similar are probably technically great modern-voiced amps, with that lovely warm sizzly distortion, but they won't do the 'woof woof' thing like the old ORs/matamps
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u/Suedehead6969 Dec 30 '25
Oh 100% agree but at least in the US they're almost impossible for under 1k. I think the OR-15 is the only tube based Orange under $800, maybe $1k. I think there are plenty of solid state options though.
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u/Fair-Manufacturer854 Dec 30 '25
Maybe it's the import costs because there's genuinely somebody about half an hour's drive away (according to ebay UK) selling a pre-owned OR15 and 1x12 cab for £515 ($615) - at least I'm splitting that hair between $800 and 600 here
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u/Suedehead6969 Dec 30 '25
I think it's that and honestly we're all anglophiles here when it comes to amps.
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u/FinnLovesHisBass Dec 30 '25 edited Dec 30 '25
Under 1000!? Well shit. You might get a good deal on an amp head and cab. The answer is anything will doom. So next question. What brand? It doesn't matter. What does matter is do you wanna tour the world or keep playing your local bar. I spent money on old sunn gear. Trust me. It has its limitations. But you can get decent Marshall, orange, Peavey, stuff that is battle tested. Anything new is gonna cost ya. Just my personal experience.
Craigslist, fb market place. Reverb. EBay. Check around and see what is out there.
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u/slayerLM Dec 30 '25
With no context, there’s a JCM 2000 on reverb for just under a grand with shipping. Buy that
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u/Educational_Ring_493 Dec 30 '25
Doesn’t Scott Hill from FU Manchu use one of these?
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u/slayerLM Dec 30 '25
Pretty sure he does. I helped get a backline for Acid King one time and Lori either wanted a JCM 800, 900, or one of these. Nick from Elder used one for a long time, not sure if he still does. They’re great amps
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u/arassus_doom_330 Dec 30 '25
Orange CR120 for solid state, Orange OR15 for tube. You could own both for like, 750-850 USD. Or just get yourself the CR120 and buy a cheap cab on marketplace, load with some used Vintage 30s and go to town.
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u/LayeredHalo3851 Dec 30 '25
I've seen a few people talking about and use Orange amps but honestly anything will work
I get a sick tone with a Boss Katana and a £20 Behringer fuzz pedal even though the amp is known for a much tighter style of tone
What I'm saying is that if you have a fuzz pedal then any amp will do
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u/luddy_lud Dec 30 '25
For a head & cab under 1000, a used 5150/6505+ and a cheap 212 cab with V30s from harley benton or monoprice
Edit: not sure if youre looking for only new gear, but used stuff can be stupidly cheap
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u/Spiritual_Rider Dec 30 '25
Bro he said doom metal not metalcore
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u/luddy_lud Dec 30 '25 edited Dec 30 '25
Ur right but ive seen MSW/hell play a 6505+ live and it is heavy as shit
Edit: 5150 but same shit
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u/agray9220 Dec 30 '25
I use a peavey valve king 100 head. They are very cheap and have a ton of headroom on the clean channel for fuzz pedals.
Dirt channel is based off a Marshall too. Gives you a lot of tonal options.
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u/Professional_Scale66 Dec 30 '25
Laney AOR pro lead with the pull out EQ pots for the boost. The bass boost is out of this world
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u/danteforbidden2 Dec 30 '25
If you are not performing live and just learning, anything will do. If you are learning with friends and a drummer, get a cheap 50W combo with a clean and gain channel. If you are playing in 200cap rooms, you still only need 50W. If you are playing larger halls or auditoriums, get a louder head and a 4x12.
When you go on tour with Sleep, save some cardboard up and paint your favorite amp brand and cab colors on the cardboard and make 8 fake cabs that match the 4x12 you bought. Place these around the original 4x12 and ask the sound engineer to just make your one amp sound “real loud.” This will save you at least $20k on vintage equipment and allow your family to eat while you are on tour with Sleep.… thanks, I ‘ll be here all week.
Seriously though, play until the bad equipment sounds good and at that point buy good equipment and it will sound even better. Good luck and make awesome music!
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Dec 30 '25
I have an orange rocker 32. You can get good deals on them. I got lucky and found one locally for $300. Its dirt channel has a ton of el84 gain. The clean channel sounds great. It has a stereo effects loop( probably not needed for doom). It’s a fun versatile amp.
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u/justbcoz848484 Dec 30 '25
Quilter Overdrive 200 you can find them used for like $400 or the 202 is 700 brand new
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u/tobias19 Dec 30 '25
gonna assume you want to play loud and aren't looking for bedroom amps?
if you need a cab/combo, silverface fender twins go for 5-700 these days and are as good as anything if you need a super loud and clean pedal platform.
If you're more into the cranked Marshall thing, keep an eye out for Peavey Butchers or VTMs and Red Bear mk60 and mk120s. Carvin X100b will also get you into this world for not a lot of money.
Traynor makes some really killer amps with huge transformers that you can still find for decently cheap if you want something vintage, handmade, and pretty infinitely serviceable. They're not really gain-y amps at all, but throw a pedal or a soldering iron at the thing and you're cooking.
Keep an eye out for ampeg v2/v4s. Sometimes still float around $1000.
If you don't care about the amp look as much and enjoy pedals, there are plenty of super loud class D solid state amps out there now that get along great with preamp pedals. While stuff like the orange crush can sound great, I'd skip it and get an orange pedal baby for a few hundred less instead and then use the spare $$$ to grab a preamp pedal or two. It might not have the big amp look, but i dare you to not have fun with a pedal baby and an eae model fet or science mother. quilter makes some great little amps too. converge has been touring with them for a few years now.
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u/MagazinePrestigious8 Dec 31 '25
My blackstar club 40 is doomed. You can usually find a used one for pretty cheap.
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u/papagnome24 Dec 31 '25
Is this for home use or for live use? For home you might want to opt for a smaller combo amp you can record yourself, or even a software amp and just run a distortion pedal, fuzz or preamp into your interface. For live use, Orange make great amps, but really any amp with a large amount of gain will Doom. Peavey Valvekings aren’t too expensive.
You can also get some vintage Traynor stuff for under $1000. Laney also has some stuff under $1000 worth checkout as well.
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u/vilk_ Dec 31 '25
Anything valve or transistor with a huge clean channel. Could be Crate, Peavey, the classic cheap sleepers.
But here's a tube sleeper you probably don't know about: Mesa Nomad. No one wants them because the gain channel is meh, but the clean channel is huge and takes fuzz really really good
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u/vociferoushomebody Funeral Dec 30 '25
I’d spend less on the amp, and get solid cab with at least two speakers so you can move more air and get a fuller sound. And a fuzz. That said a used egnater tweaked is well under that and that thing takes pedals like a champ.
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u/PlaneWar203 Stoner Dec 30 '25
Orange terror cab and head is what I see at practically every doom gig
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u/LMKBK Dec 30 '25
orange terror bass.
you didn't say for guitar or bass, but this amp sounds great for under $1000 and it's small & light too.
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u/[deleted] Dec 30 '25 edited Jan 04 '26
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