....and desperately need some help with my tone!
So, basically I'm really not happy with the tones I'm getting from my gear and it's driving me insane
My main guitar is a MIJ Charvel w/ a JB + 59 combo. I absolutely love it to bits. Love the tone acoustically, love the sustain(thanks to FloydUpgrades' big block and tremstopper), love the feel and the comfortable neck. So I don't think that's the problem.
My amp's a Laney VH100R. It's loaded with Svetlana EL34's, I have no idea what the preamp tubes are, cause the previous owner had the amp retubed and I've never even checked to see what they are. But I do know that the tubes are about a year old. I've had mixed emotions about this amp.. Some days it sounds pretty good, but usually it doesn't... I feel like Im fighting the amp to get a decent tone.. I don't know if anybody's familiar with this amp but I usually crank the gain but I don't touch the drive except for solos and such(the Laney has a Gain control and a Drive control. Cranking the gain doesn't equal huge amounts of distortion. So I don't think too much gain is the problem here..). I boost the mids(I set it to anywhere from 6-8) and set the treble to about 5-6, the bass at 3 and the presence at 6. The biggest problem is the lack of sustain, the harshness and the overall muddiness... I've got the amp hooked up to a 2x12 cab w/ Vintage 30's. I think one thing that would help is to get a cab w/Greenbacks or something similar. What do you think? Also I might be overdoing the mids by having the mids up on the amp AND using V30's.
I've tried sticking a Graphic EQ in the loop, and using a clean boost to get some sustain. I just bought a TS9 from a guy on eBay, and it should be here soon.. Maybe that'll help? The only way I can get a decent tone is by cranking the volume, and I mean REALLY cranking it... And that's really not possible to do at club gigs etc without an attenuator. I've also been thinking about swapping the magnet in the JB for an RCA5. Would that help me?
I really dig the tones of players like DeMartini, Lynch, Gilbert, Timmons etc etc and i guess something like that is what I go for, tone-wise. And I know Gilbert used a GH100L(which is basically a single channel VH100R) for the GOOMY record and Timmons used a VH100R a while back.
I can't post any clips cause I don't have the equipment, and my amps at band reh. and that's about an hours drive away....
I know there are some serious tone beasts' in here, and I'd appreciate any help/tips.
So, basically I'm really not happy with the tones I'm getting from my gear and it's driving me insane
My main guitar is a MIJ Charvel w/ a JB + 59 combo. I absolutely love it to bits. Love the tone acoustically, love the sustain(thanks to FloydUpgrades' big block and tremstopper), love the feel and the comfortable neck. So I don't think that's the problem.
My amp's a Laney VH100R. It's loaded with Svetlana EL34's, I have no idea what the preamp tubes are, cause the previous owner had the amp retubed and I've never even checked to see what they are. But I do know that the tubes are about a year old. I've had mixed emotions about this amp.. Some days it sounds pretty good, but usually it doesn't... I feel like Im fighting the amp to get a decent tone.. I don't know if anybody's familiar with this amp but I usually crank the gain but I don't touch the drive except for solos and such(the Laney has a Gain control and a Drive control. Cranking the gain doesn't equal huge amounts of distortion. So I don't think too much gain is the problem here..). I boost the mids(I set it to anywhere from 6-8) and set the treble to about 5-6, the bass at 3 and the presence at 6. The biggest problem is the lack of sustain, the harshness and the overall muddiness... I've got the amp hooked up to a 2x12 cab w/ Vintage 30's. I think one thing that would help is to get a cab w/Greenbacks or something similar. What do you think? Also I might be overdoing the mids by having the mids up on the amp AND using V30's.
I've tried sticking a Graphic EQ in the loop, and using a clean boost to get some sustain. I just bought a TS9 from a guy on eBay, and it should be here soon.. Maybe that'll help? The only way I can get a decent tone is by cranking the volume, and I mean REALLY cranking it... And that's really not possible to do at club gigs etc without an attenuator. I've also been thinking about swapping the magnet in the JB for an RCA5. Would that help me?
I really dig the tones of players like DeMartini, Lynch, Gilbert, Timmons etc etc and i guess something like that is what I go for, tone-wise. And I know Gilbert used a GH100L(which is basically a single channel VH100R) for the GOOMY record and Timmons used a VH100R a while back.
I can't post any clips cause I don't have the equipment, and my amps at band reh. and that's about an hours drive away....
I know there are some serious tone beasts' in here, and I'd appreciate any help/tips.
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