So what's the problem w/ cheap axes, (analog) solid state tone & 10" speakers?

[Phantasmagoria]

I often wonder what "TR. shift" stands for?

[Phantasmagoria]

Which brings me to the Aria Pro II Fullerton axe I bought late last year...

Nice strat type poplar HSS budget axe...except I did'nt gel w/ the neck single coil which was a bit too dark/muddy for my taste.

I finally got around to swapping it out for a SD 'lil 59 which sounds fantastic! Way way better than the stock single..

Ballad (cuz that's mostly what neck pups are good for :)

Plugged into my Randall T2's Lead 2 (boosted) channel -> Laney Eminence 2x12 cab w/ only one mic on the Swamp Thang side

[Phantasmagoria]

Blue guitar neck pup tone comparison w/ an SS amp

[Phantasmagoria]

The Aria is very much what could be described as a 'cheap axe', pretty much on par with others like my Kramer Baretta & GIO price-wise and yet again this thing is second to none when it comes to playability ...in other words it shreds w/ the best of them

..and after swapping out the neck pup which was it's Achilles heel...it sounds pretty ****in' sweet too

Comes with a baked maple neck & Wilkinson Strat bridge w/ a big steel block (which personally is'nt a game changer for me since I like pot metal tone & am fine w/ dinky blocks ) but it's cool to have those features at this price..

Upped the pace a bit ...& it passed w/ flying colors. Yes it's a player

That's ^^ w/ the stock bridge pup. (Forgot to change that in the video title/description)

[Phantasmagoria]

And pedal to the metal w/ the ash RG370 + T2

[Phantasmagoria]

And the same thing again w/ my neck-through RGT w/ the Randall & Laney Eminence 2x12 (ManOwar mic'd with my AT2020 condenser)

So that little experiment showed that there was no huge leap upwards tone-wise as we went from budget to kinda mid-tier to kinda pricier axes

Also "country of origin" made bugger-all of a difference as well

[Phantasmagoria]

Ok that last one was w/ the ManOwar mic'd instead Of the swamp thang, but eh ..it gets kinda boring otherwise :

[El Dunco]

TR shift On's a bit louder too..and kinda spongier feeling...like you can "dig in" more.

Like I said, hard to describe...the feel changes too..

Wow, I don’t know. It’s not in the specs and I assume not in the manual. Treble shift? Troublemakers shift? You shift them out of the way and the tone clears up?

[Phantasmagoria]

Chalk it down to one of the many wondrous mysteries of the universe

RGT w/ Both speakers mic'd (ManOwar & Swamp thang) for the sake of scientific completeness

They do combine really great though

[Chistopher]

You've stated your case and made some fairly compelling arguments. I have decided, on behalf of the board of directors, to rule in favor that "made cheaply does not always imply cheaply made".

[Phantasmagoria]

Speaking of cheaply made.

You can see he's having fun & also sense his wonder/confusion @ it being solid state


Just killer sounding amps for what they cost (and their misleading size....these are extremely loud and will easily keep up w/ a loud drummer) & I defy anyone who played one blind to ever be able to tell it was'nt a tube amp;

I know I'm not able to...not even close.

Having said that, these are a lot more Marshall sounding/feeling than the tube Ironheart's... Those have more of their own thing going, although still a British sound but with a bit of Recto/5150 flavor thrown in too.