4 Channel High Gain Head

I'd go with the Marshall JVM 410. It's a Swiss army knife amp, in that it can do a lot of different styles. Not to mention separate EQs for each channel and multiple gain stages in each channel. With MIDI IN & THRU to boot! FX loop and reverb as well.

Plus they are pretty affordable used if you're going that route. I've owned both the head and combo version.

I no longer have either now though since I got a Kemper power head.

I'd also check out a Mesa JP-2C, I own one of those as well and love that thing.

 

Not my call but I don't see the point of anything past 2 - 3 Channels.

Good luck.

 

I would go Marshall or Egnater, in that order. Another option, a bit more expensive, but better built than either the Marshall or Egnater would be the Mesa Road King. Completed ebay auctions show the Series I RK going as low as $1035 and as high as $1700.....

 

Check out the Panama Inferno 100.

 

Honestly, I think you'd do very well with a Mesa Mark V. It's only three channels, but it's super versatile. There are so many usable tones, even if you are just flipping switches. It will cover a huge range of genres easily and give you great footswitchable options.

 

I have one, and I like it. It does a lot, and has way more gain than you could probably ever use.

 

mesa, and H&K above REALLY need to be considered. they are some of the most versatile TUBE amps available.

honestly, the MarkV:35 or the grandmeister 40 were both on my short list before I went the modelling route... I chose 64 amps over 4 channels.

this was exactly me:

my 6505mh could get me 3 out of 4, but no clean channel to speak of. you can add a pedal like a boost to turn a clean channel into a little dirty, but nothing you can do can clean up a dirty channel enough...

the other thing, is consider focusing on 2, maybe 3 channels that you can only get with an amp, and then sprinkle on pedals like seasoning a top end steak...

that idea led me to the other amp on my short list... a friedman. it would do clean and dirty, and pedals like OD, boost and EQ could make it do the rest.

but if you really want to buy it for life, and really want the best amp channels... kemper, helix, AxeFX... maybe in that order.

 

I'd take the H&K over all other listings. It's a Swiss army knife with solid base tones.

 

From your list Roadie, go with the Marshall. But off list, Diezel Hagen/VH4, Egnater TOL, Rocktron Vendetta, Engl Savage 120.

 

keep the nova, but it doesn't hurt to have another option in your pocket... the H&K is serious business.

 

Go with whichever amp sounds the best for the majority of the sound you need. I have spent 10's of thousands on amp heads and cabs, and I can tell you that you will find amps that do ONE thing spectacularly, and the rest not so much.

Why would you do away with a pedal board needing the variety of sounds you need? Just curious. My current rig is a Friedman BE though a 2x12 Friedman cab, or 4x12, depending on the size of the venue we play.

I minimize pedals too....pretty much a tuner, a Boss DD7, a Wah, and the channel switcher for the amp. We don't play but 3 songs or so where I need a "Clean" tone, and the clean is more than acceptable (though not spectacular) on my amp. The dirt channel is out of this world, and I have a "lead boost" with a separate volume control, so essentially, it's a 3 channel amp.

I think you would do much better with an amp that does an acceptable clean-really nice dirt, and just add ONE pedal to get your metal sound. YMMV.

 

Marshall - the only one I've played from your list and like it very much. I've considered getting a JVM myself some day.

 

wise words ^

if you don't find an amp with all the channel options that really checks all the boxes... go with one that has 2 good channels, independent EQs, and can do clean and light-medium gain on those 2 channels... then push the channels this way or that, with pedals, depending on what's needed... plus, I've found, that no matter how good the channels are, I still want pedals... I love to hit the crunch channel on my 6505 with a glove OD(OCD type pedal) or hit the lead channel with a tube screamer... not so much to add gain in either case, but it just opens up the sound in a way I can't describe

that said, I think the mesa or H&K can do the 2 channel plus pedals too... but opening your options to 2 independent channels+ pedals gives you a lot more options.