Trying To Get A Good Tone

[Diego]

Re: Trying To Get A Good Tone

The Tweaker 15 is absolutely amazing.
Mine has EHX 6V6 and a mix of Ruby HG+ and Tungsol tubes in the pre, and it's ridiculous how versatile it is.

[jeremy]

Re: Trying To Get A Good Tone

40w is damn loud but its only an ok sounding amp. you have a ton of very nice guitars, i might get an amp that was up to par with them. even with the hrd you shouldnt have a problem getting a decent tone

[richard parker]

Re: Trying To Get A Good Tone

Your amp has a reputation for having a decent clean channel and a not particularly inspiring overdrive channel. I would concentrate on getting the best out of the clean channel using pedals.

A couple of years back I was gigging with a Laney VC30 using the clean channel only. I used a Boss OD3 which was always switched on with the volume nearly maxed and the gain at zero. This took care of my crunch sounds. Then I went through a Blackstar Drive pedal (in front of the boss) for my lead sounds. I got some awesome tones with this and it worked well at low volumes.

Try using your Blues Driver set up the same way as my OD3 and run your MXR in front of the Blues Driver for leads. I would suggest that you set the tone on the BD right down (turned to the left) and turn it to the right a little until you get the right tone.

I'm not familiar with the MXR distortion and have no idea what it sounds like so it might not be the right pedal for this kind of set up. You might think about getting a different pedal in which case I would say you can't go far wrong with the Blackstar Drive which is a tube based pedal.

[09 BB King]

Re: Trying To Get A Good Tone

Will try thanks

[Gamera]

Re: Trying To Get A Good Tone

Crank dem amps past bedroom levels! You have a lot of really nice gear.

+1

[Chickenwings]

Re: Trying To Get A Good Tone

Practice unplugged for a while.

[GregJr]

Re: Trying To Get A Good Tone

Just my 2 cents. Try a SD-1 into your Blues Driver for overdriven tones and/or a SD-1 into a DS-1 for distortion. Shouldn't cost you more than 70$. That's what I use on the clean channel of my Fender Performer 1000.(hybrid) .....and always EQ in the FX loop!

[crusty philtrum]

Re: Trying To Get A Good Tone

Sounds to me like you have the wrong amp for bedroom playing. Get something in the 15-watt range and maybe run a 2 x 10 cabinet. There is a great selection now of such amps available, from cheap to boutique. Valve amps can be expensive, but they will have better transformers and components that the cheaper stuff and will no doubt last a lot longer with less issues. Buy the best you can afford.

A valve amp needs to be turned up to a certain level to get the sounds they're famous for in the rock world. Try a bunch of amps and always set the volume to 6 or 7 (if it has a master, keep the gain low for this). Pick the amp that has the tone and volume you want at that setting.

I'd recomend takling a look at Trinity amps, they make kits based on classic circuits, and you can buy them pre-built and specify your own personal options. They have a whole bunch of 15-20 watt amps available at very affordable prices. Forum member Laughing Kookaburra recently bought an 18 watt Trinity and he's ecstatic about it (he runs it into a 2 x 10" cab and has good guitars, and tells me that any and all combinations sound brilliant through this amp).

He also is using a Boss SD-1 pedal that i fitted with the Monte Allum SD1-GT mod kit. He uses it mostly as a booster and the amp does the rest. PM him and ask him about the amp and what he plays etc.

[Matt42]

Re: Trying To Get A Good Tone

As a bedroom rockstar, the HRD might be a touch on the too powerful side. Something in the 25w or lower range would be better suited for bedroom rocking. Fortunately, there is a solution that doesn't involve buying a new amp, or going to an amp tech. Check out TAD Tone Bones or Yellow Jackets. They are adapters that plug into your power tube slot and let you put in EL84's, which will knock your power down to 15-18w, great for bedroom playing!

My band plays some DBT type stuff, and I've found that my Gretch 5120 + my MXR Custom Badass Overdrive into my HRDx gives me a great tone similar to the guitar in "Sinkhole." You should check out a few different overdrives, as the stock BD-2 gets a little boring (IMO), you might surprise yourself with something new!

Lastly, I use an MXR CC Delay, and my slapback settings are as follows MOD: off, Regen: 8 o'clock, Level: 11 o'clock, Delay: 8 o'clock. Tweak it from there for your individual tastes, but I always get compliments on my slapback tone when I set it up that way.