HMMMMM Marshall half stacks?

The answer is too simple. Both.

I'm beginning to think some people under-value good amps. I was never really satisfied until I got my first good one. (Fender Blues Deluxe) That, more than any guitar I've purchased, enhanced my tone and enjoyment.

What would be better A Marshall Half stack for the home, Or another guitar?

A Marshall half stack for use only at home? No plans for large club gigs or small stadiums? Do you want to meet your local constabulary and kill small animals within a half mile radius? Or do you want to keep the amp throttled back and have to adjust the volume delicately because your whole usable volume is somewhere below 1?

Why do you want the Marshall? Do you really need the volume of the half stack? Is it the sound? Which Marshall? How about one of the smaller amps like the old Marshall 18 watt or the recent reissue or maybe one of the pretty common clones? How about other amp choices that will give you a Marshall sound at a more home friendly volume?
Define "new guitar."Like a standard SG, Or a Yamaha 20000

Those are the guitars I'm looking and I don't want another 22 pounder like my reso :P

Do you mean the Yamaha SBG2000 / SG2000 (originally called SG2000 in the 70's)? Those are awesome guitars and Santana played one in the 70's. Great tone and incredible sustain. They also weight a LOT - in the high end of Les Paul weight. Yamaha recently reissued them and IIRC they go for about $2500 new. You can find the older ones from the 80's for less but you will need to do some looking to find one in good and unmolested condition. They are under appreciated guitars that because there is no Gibson or Fender logo on the headstock sell for a lot less used.

Some Les Pauls weigh more than metal bodied resos.

Dude.. if you get any 'stack' for home use only... your friggen ears will bleed....and maybe your eyes too.

If you want loud...just look at one of the 12" Tube Combo's. No really...

Go into your local music store..plug into one.. (Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, Peavey Classic 30, Vox AC30, a Spider) and crank it.... crank it and watch the employees come running your way. If it doesn't blow you off your stool then something is wrong....seriously.

While your at it.. ask them what the smallest "tube amp" is they have... if they don't have a 5-15w go somewhere that does and do the same thing.. turn it up and see just how loud they get....."Sheeyaaa - 5watts" dude..that is LOUD!!

I can only 'tolerate' my Fender Hot Rod to about ohhh 4. Then my head starts to shake and I can feel my brain rattle around in my skull.

DUDE......"YOU DON'T NEED A STACK AT HOME!!!"

I don't know how else to put that.

Let your "EARS" not your "EYES" make your decisions.

Let me put it another way... in a whole different light.

Having a stack at home is like......... Using a Big-Rig (18 Wheeler) to pull 10' camp trailer. Its "OVERKILL" x10.

+1 to Dagwood and others on many points. I'm telling ya, the Fender tube amps are amazing. Put a couple of pedals in front of it and you're in great shape. Otheres tout other brands as well.

If you want a Marshall, there are a few here who can tell you loads of info on reasonably sized models that will still blow your ears off.

Get a new guitar, you can never have too many. And as others have said, if you get a half stack you will be deaf within an hour.

And the half stack is gonna heat up a lot. Correct me if I am wrong here.

I agree with Roy about getting a good amp. A great guitar will sound at best OK through a cheap amp. But even low priced guitars can sound amazing through a good amp. So, if you don't own a quality sounding amp, it is probably the best investment you'll ever make.

That said, you want to get an amp you will use. I would love nothing better than to own a first class Marshall tube amp head on top of a Marshall 4 X 12 cab. There is no sound I have ever heard that can compare with this. But.... like you said, they are super heavy, wherever you sit it down, that is where it is going to stay most of the time. It is very difficult cramming a 4 X 12 into your car, trust me, been there. :x

And you can forget going over to a friend's house for a jam or hitting the local Open Mic. Ain't gonna happen.

If you know you are going to do 90% of your playing at home, get a small portable amp you can move from room to room. But get a good quality amp like the Fender Blues Jr, or the Fender Champ XD.

Fender Champ XD

This is a great little amp with true tube tone, but it also has modeling. You can get tones from Fender clean to Marshall crunch, to out and out Metal tones. It has some great effects too.

This amp is small and easy to move around, but it packs some punch too. You could easily play a small club or Open Mic with these amps unmic'd. For large clubs or crowds you can mic them into a PA.

And the Champ even has a Speaker Out. You can connect it to a 4 X 12 cab and get some huge sound. You would be amazed just how loud a 15 watt tube amp is.

You don't want too much power for a home amp, because amps sound best when cranked. You will never be able to crank a 100 watt, 50 watt, or even a 30 watt tube amp at home, you will never be able to get these amps into their sweet spot.

But you can get a 5 watt or 15 watt amp cranked up pretty good at home. Then you will hear some amazing tones.

My 2 cents.

I have a 1960A+1960B cabinet driven by a JCM2000 (100 watt) head and I play it every single day in my cramped home office. It has both beautiful tone and lots of crunch even at lower volumes. I love the thing. I also have a smaller tube amp that sounds great and a solid state amp that ain't 1/2 bad! :D As others have posted tube watts are way different than solid state watts.

I hardly ever get to crank my 5-W EVJ combo at home. And that one has a just a measly 8" speaker. I can crank it only when no-one is home, and it feeds back heavily if I use it in the small room where I usually practice. So, I have to take it either to the kitchen/family room space, or my garage.

i used to have a carvin half stack that would get into ear-bleeding territory way before it got into the sweet spot. i ended up using my marshal combo amp most of the time. at the same time.... MARSHAL STACK mmmmmmmmmm

Roy and Dag...+1
You can't get better advise than that.

I have a Marshall DSL401 Combo Amp. It's a tube amp. Sounds great. I can pop it into the back of my car if needed. IMO - A half stack is "double overkill."

The answer to which one to buy is actually - neither. Get more skill, knowledge and talent first. Lessons, musical buddies, or just plain old study and practice will take you further than just buying more kit.

Of course, I didn't take this advice myself :roll: and bought several amps, which are now mostly stored in the shed. Meet one of my less smart purchases. An absolute bargain, new from a half price sale at a local store, and unusable in the house. It now lives under a cover in the shed.

Chris