Get valve distortion out of a Mesa Royal Atlantic

[ManuPuerta]

Hello everybody,

I've been trying to get a good thunderous valve distortion out of my Mesa Boogie Royal Atlantic amp since I bought it, but I haven't been able to achieve it yet. It gets a nice dirty sound and a good distortion tone, but it doesn't break through my band's wall of sound as it should do. Instead, it gets blunt and gets often not noticed when riffing at a lower volume.

When showing it to a friend that came to my rehearsal room, he told me that I wasn't playing with the valve distortion, but with just the distortion channel. I want to overdrive the valves to get that thunderous sound of a valve distortion, not to get blunt. Any help?

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: Get valve distortion out of a Mesa Royal Atlantic

Turn down the gain and turn up the master volume.

[some_dude]

Re: Get valve distortion out of a Mesa Royal Atlantic

Turn down the gain and turn up the master volume.

That about sums it up.

Also, turn the mids up, bring the bass down, and if your guitar sounds dull/blunt then increase the presence. If your band is a thick wall of sound there's no way a thick guitar tone is going to cut through on the low end, focus on the midrange. A well dialled in amp can sound thin, bright and boxy on it's own, but that sound will fit like a glove in a dense mix.

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Get valve distortion out of a Mesa Royal Atlantic

Are you using the attenuators? Combo or head? What tubes are you using?

Bill

[El Dunco]

Re: Get valve distortion out of a Mesa Royal Atlantic

I find that very surprising. Channel 3 on hi dialed in right should have no problem being heard.

A well dialled in amp can sound thin, bright and boxy on it's own, but that sound will fit like a glove in a dense mix.

People keep saying that but the electric guitar's purpose in a (assuming a guitar driven) dense mix and how it should sound separated from that is something you get used to and adapt to pretty easily if you know what you're doing. I don't need to have the band with me to know where the frequencies should be (particularly bass, treble and presence) to work properly in context. Turning the bass way up (to emulate the bass guitar underneath no doubt), scooping the mids out and being oversaturated with gain is something you grow out of pretty quickly.

[chadd]

Re: Get valve distortion out of a Mesa Royal Atlantic

Turning the bass way up (to emulate the bass guitar underneath no doubt), scooping the mids out and being oversaturated with gain is something you grow out of pretty quickly.

Some people do, others keep doing it for 30 more years

[Johnny the Kid]

Re: Get valve distortion out of a Mesa Royal Atlantic

People keep saying that but the electric guitar's purpose in a (assuming a guitar driven) dense mix and how it should sound separated from that is something you get used to and adapt to pretty easily if you know what you're doing. I don't need to have the band with me to know where the frequencies should be (particularly bass, treble and presence) to work properly in context. Turning the bass way up (to emulate the bass guitar underneath no doubt), scooping the mids out and being oversaturated with gain is something you grow out of pretty quickly.

There are a lot of people who insist on a scooped midrange and then complain that their tone is not punchy enough nor cutting through the mix. It's truly a mental disorder known as IwannabelikeDimebagphrenia. So sad that this easily treatable condition claims so many tones.

[El Dunco]

Re: Get valve distortion out of a Mesa Royal Atlantic

There are a lot of people who insist on a scooped midrange and then complain that their tone is not punchy enough nor cutting through the mix. It's truly a mental disorder known as IwannabelikeDimebagphrenia. So sad that this easily treatable condition claims so many tones.

/facepalm
/facepalm again
/headdesk
/smack
/smack
/smack
/smack

[Chickenwings]

Re: Get valve distortion out of a Mesa Royal Atlantic

Are you using el34s or 6L6s?
What speaker(s) are you using?

[Wormhelmet]

Re: Get valve distortion out of a Mesa Royal Atlantic

Turn your boss heavy metal pedal up to gain on full, mids scooped all the way. Use your distortion channel, preferably a good amp like an acoustic 75 watt solid state combo amp with 10" speaker, with distortion all the way up. Scoop the mids out all the way. Turn up the treble all the way and the bass all the way. Turn on the wah for leads and your set. Apply moist towels to bleeding ears and they should develop a healthy layer of scar tissue in a few days. Sure to cut through a mix in deepest of drum and bass assaults.

Good luck

[guitfiddle]

Re: Get valve distortion out of a Mesa Royal Atlantic

Some_dude has it pegged...what sounds best in a band mix usually won't sound best by itself. Get that midrange up and make the overall tone brighter than you would when listening to the guitar alone. My Music Man HD-150 absolutely excels at this trick. It is clearly heard no matter how low I have to play it.

[El Dunco]

Re: Get valve distortion out of a Mesa Royal Atlantic

what sounds best in a band mix usually won't sound best by itself.

Unless you train yourself to identify the kind of tone that will work best in a band mix, then it does sound pretty good. I like my tone even if I'm just playing and I don't have to wildly readjust it to record or play shows with. There are songs where the guitar will have a spot to play by itself or start the song with a riff and it doesn't sound bad without the other instruments. You just need to make sure you're not compensating for the other instruments with your settings. People might be tempted to add enough bass to make it sound like there's a bass player present and enough treble to add the grind normally reserved for cymbals.

[treyhaislip]

Re: Get valve distortion out of a Mesa Royal Atlantic

A well dialled in amp can sound thin, bright and boxy on it's own, but that sound will fit like a glove in a dense mix.

Some_dude has it pegged...what sounds best in a band mix usually won't sound best by itself. Get that midrange up and make the overall tone brighter than you would when listening to the guitar alone. My Music Man HD-150 absolutely excels at this trick. It is clearly heard no matter how low I have to play it.

Absolutely this! What you hear by yourself does not always fit in with the entire band.

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: Get valve distortion out of a Mesa Royal Atlantic

I don't need to have the band with me to know where the frequencies should be (particularly bass, treble and presence) to work properly in context. Turning the bass way up (to emulate the bass guitar underneath no doubt), scooping the mids out and being oversaturated with gain is something you grow out of pretty quickly.

I agree with MOST of what you said here. Yes, those of us with experience know not to go in with the scooped mids, bass on 10 etc (for metal anyway), you know, the BROAD EQ outlook. But you really don't know until you get inside a room with people and hear what they are coming at you with. Tweaks will be required.

When its the band you've been playing with for awhile sure, but as someone who fills in frequently, its impossible to know beforehand, you still need to tweak once your there. And as a fill-in, its your job to fit in with what they have, not to tell the two guitarists to change their tone because you know your bass tone will work in this situation. (I fill in alot on bass, ok?)

You just need to make sure you're not compensating for the other instruments with your settings. People might be tempted to add enough bass to make it sound like there's a bass player present and enough treble to add the grind normally reserved for cymbals.

Could not agree more, know your place so to speak. This is a huge problem with guitar oriented bass players.

Also, Manu - What genre are you playing?

[El Dunco]

Re: Get valve distortion out of a Mesa Royal Atlantic

But you really don't know until you get inside a room with people and hear what they are coming at you with. Tweaks will be required.

I know that. Of course everyone will fine tune their sound and not just assume that everything is working together. All I meant was that the tones I like to hear aren't wildly different from tones that work with the band.