Conundrum

[Ahpook]

Hi everyone,

I've been playing with a few people for a while and we are adapting to quite the repertoire of songs. It's our goal to have the ability to cover anything... really

Anyway, my current amp is Ceriatone Chupacabra 50. I LOVE LOVE this amp for anything dirt+, but technically being a single channel amp I'm obviously having trouble cleaning up for songs that require a clean passage. I could move over and turn down the trimmer or flip switches manually , but that's not ideal.

I've thought of utilizing a preamp pedal in the loop for a dedicated clean, but not real sure how that would help if at all.

Any ideas? I don't want to sell this amp, but I really need something 2 channel i suppose. I'm trying to hang on to this amp if at all possible.

PS: Even guitar volume adjustments do not really clean up the amp. It's a mean amp!

 

[Hiwatts and Gibsons]

Hi everyone,

I've been playing with a few people for a while and we are adapting to quite the repertoire of songs. It's our goal to have the ability to cover anything... really

Anyway, my current amp is Ceriatone Chupacabra 50. I LOVE LOVE this amp for anything dirt+, but technically being a single channel amp I'm obviously having trouble cleaning up for songs that require a clean passage. I could move over and turn down the trimmer or flip switches manually , but that's not ideal.

I've thought of utilizing a preamp pedal in the loop for a dedicated clean, but not real sure how that would help if at all.

Any ideas? I don't want to sell this amp, but I really need something 2 channel i suppose. I'm trying to hang on to this amp if at all possible.

PS: Even guitar volume adjustments do not really clean up the amp. It's a mean amp!

If you get clean tones you do like from the amp with the adjustments you mentioned have you thought about setting the amp clean, and adding a high gain pedal like the Soldano SLO pedal or similar?

 

[Ahpook]

If you get clean tones you do like from the amp with the adjustments you mentioned have you thought about setting the amp clean, and adding a high gain pedal like the Soldano SLO pedal or similar?

Thank you for the response.

The Chupacbra has an "Era" that switches between a Plexi mode to a JCM 800 pushed mode. I've tried an MXR 5150 pedal in the Plexi mode, but it was a no go. I've had that pedal for ages and used it in other amps. It sounds thin and raspy through this one

 

[Hiwatts and Gibsons]

Thank you for the response.

The Chupacbra has an "Era" that switches between a Plexi mode to a JCM 800 pushed mode. I've tried an MXR 5150 pedal in the Plexi mode, but it was a no go. I've had that pedal for ages and used it in other amps. It sounds thin and raspy through this one

There's a used Soldano SLO pedal on Reverb right now for $161..I had one for a while and used it plugged into my Hiwatt Custom 100. Thin and raspy are not anywhere within the adjectives I would.use to describe it, and that is before pushing in the "Deep" switch on its side. It had what I think of as the ideal high gain rock and metal tones. Personally I am not a 5150/6505 fan except for the OG Block Letter version. This was more like a cross between an SLO and an early 2 channel Dual Rectifier. If your amp has a big chimy Plexi like clean, then it should sound amazing with this pedal.

 

[Hiwatts and Gibsons]

Thank you for the response.

The Chupacbra has an "Era" that switches between a Plexi mode to a JCM 800 pushed mode. I've tried an MXR 5150 pedal in the Plexi mode, but it was a no go. I've had that pedal for ages and used it in other amps. It sounds thin and raspy through this one

This is the bridge P90 on an '85 Explorer III > soldano SLO pedal > Reeves Custom 100 DR504 (Hiwatt clone)

https://youtube.com/shorts/AAkKvMGdyOU?feature=shared

This is the neck TV Jones Supertron on my LP Studio into a Valco KGB Fuzz > Hiwatt Custom 100 DT103 on one side and the Soldano SL0 pedal > the Reeves DR504 on the other side.

https://youtu.be/YjJX8H3F7Fg?feature=shared

No thin and raspy harshness to be found.

I know Hiwatts and Marshall's are not the same, but there is quite a bit of overlap in tones. To some Marshall guys Hiwatts can be too clean and unforgiving. I find them beautiful and perfect, like if a Marshall grew an extra set of balls.

 

[ErikH]

Throw a compressor out front and dial it in to make it clean without having to do anything with the amp. It's an old trick, one that Paul Gilbert still does.

 

[Seashore]

If you can clean up by lowering your guitar volume, you could try an EQ pedal set to cut some volume before the amp. That way you have a single stomp and you always know what you're going to get, rather than messing around with getting a knob or a volume pedal in exactly the right spot. If you're getting preamp gain from the amp, putting something in the loop won't clean it up.

 

[Hiwatts and Gibsons]

If you can clean up by lowering your guitar volume, you could try an EQ pedal set to cut some volume before the amp. That way you have a single stomp and you always know what you're going to get, rather than messing around with getting a knob or a volume pedal in exactly the right spot. If you're getting preamp gain from the amp, putting something in the loop won't clean it up.

They had said cleaning up via the volume knob wasn't working for them..

But that brings up another approach. Settimg the amp tone a little cleaner but with a higher master volume setting in combination with the volume backed off on the guitar and being able to turn the guitar volume up for more saturation to cover crunchy rhythm to lead tones. If they combined that with your eq trick of backing down the volume and cuttung some of the mids that should yield cleans, crunch, and lead tones if the amp has enough headroom at its input stage.

I've found when playing with others I rarely need anywhere near as much gain as I tnink I do anyways. Once I get used to playing something with less gain I tend to prefer the sound.

 

[jeremy]

ive used a few pedals for this type of thing. to get a clean tone from an overdriven amp, an eq is a great option but itll take a bit of time to dial things in.

 

[beaubrummels]

If it were me, I always side with starting with a clean amp and putting the dirt/distortion out front. It's much more difficult to go the other way and still sound good.

 

[Mincer]

If it were me, I always side with starting with a clean amp and putting the dirt/distortion out front. It's much more difficult to go the other way and still sound good.

I was gonna post this. In your case, your amp doesn't seem to match your versatility in material.

 

[playas]

Hi everyone,

...I could move over and turn down the trimmer or flip switches manually , but that's not ideal.

Do you mean on the amp or guitar here, judging by your postscript below I guess the amp, right?
Either way, if you can take advantage of that to get your base tone, that´s a good place to start.

...PS: Even guitar volume adjustments do not really clean up the amp. It's a mean amp!

My thinking on this would be that it seems strange to not be able to get a clean tone from a 50w amp. Not being familiar with the amp, I would expect that type of single channel amp to be somewhat sensitive to guitar volume control changes.

Are you using really high output pickups that are really pushing the amp to begin with?

In any case if you can somehow dial in a clean tone on the amp that you are happy with, with the volume rolled way off and with a lighter touch playing, I would start from there. (Hiwatts and Gibsons mentioned this type of approach also.)
Using that as a base tone, does turning up the guitar volume / digging in more while playing a) just give you a really loud version of the same sound, or does it b) overdrive nicely - I would expect this is more likely but it´s not a given.


If:...

a) do you have access to any other pedals (eg. clean boost, comp, eq, overdrive/distortion) that you could try out to find something that just pushes the amp more from there to achieve more dirt.
b) you can use the guitar volume (or if you´re not comfortable with that on stage, possibly a volume pedal) to go for more dirt at higher volumes. If there is too much of a volume difference, maybe a dirt pedal might push the amp without such a difference in volume.

 

[GuitarStv]

Buy a JC120 and an AB switch.

 

[Chistopher]

Turn the gain down until you get a good clean tone, and then click on a clean boost for higher gain stuff. If you are mostly doing higher gain stuff, the boost will almost always be on, but you can click it off when you need low gain

 

[Hiwatts and Gibsons]

Do you mean on the amp or guitar here, judging by your postscript below I guess the amp, right?
Either way, if you can take advantage of that to get your base tone, that´s a good place to start.




My thinking on this would be that it seems strange to not be able to get a clean tone from a 50w amp. Not being familiar with the amp, I would expect that type of single channel amp to be somewhat sensitive to guitar volume control changes.

Are you using really high output pickups that are really pushing the amp to begin with?

In any case if you can somehow dial in a clean tone on the amp that you are happy with, with the volume rolled way off and with a lighter touch playing, I would start from there. (Hiwatts and Gibsons mentioned this type of approach also.)
Using that as a base tone, does turning up the guitar volume / digging in more while playing a) just give you a really loud version of the same sound, or does it b) overdrive nicely - I would expect this is more likely but it´s not a given.


If:...

a) do you have access to any other pedals (eg. clean boost, comp, eq, overdrive/distortion) that you could try out to find something that just pushes the amp more from there to achieve more dirt.
b) you can use the guitar volume (or if you´re not comfortable with that on stage, possibly a volume pedal) to go for more dirt at higher volumes. If there is too much of a volume difference, maybe a dirt pedal might push the amp without such a difference in volume.

All of this is solid advice. If the Era Switch has a Plexi Option that is legit between setting a cleaner tone on the amp, volume knob riding, and hitting the amp's input with a Clean Boost, OD or Treble Booster you should be able to get quite a range of clean to hardrock level gain tones out of it.

 

[Seashore]

If you're in love with the distortion sounds you get from your head (which I totally understand - I haven't found a pedal that's anywhere near as satisfying as my main head for crunch and high gain), you can find a decent clean head (or maybe even one of those pedalboard amps) and switch between that and your Ceriatone head with something like a Radial Headbone, so you can use the same cabinet. Might be a winner - a pedalboard amp for all your clean tones and a head switcher so you can use your preferred rig with no compromise, not a lot of extra weight, and less expensive than a good 2 channel head.

 

[Hiwatts and Gibsons]

If you're in love with the distortion sounds you get from your head (which I totally understand - I haven't found a pedal that's anywhere near as satisfying as my main head for crunch and high gain),

I get this, and it is really a personal thing for everybody, but imo the right amp and pedal(s) combo can A) sound just as good as any high gain head, and B) yield a more personally unique sound that does not sound reminiscent or near identical to person A, B, or C that uses the same guitar and amp combination, and C) expand the diversity of your set up if you are trying to cop multiple styles and types of tones.

I owned a Mesa Tremoverb for almost 30 years. After a while I had the poweramp modded with higher wattage screen grid resistors, so it could run EL34's at optimal bias with the silicone diode rectifiers without blowing tubes or arcing and also eliminating the harsh crossover distortion from cold biasing. I also switched from the high level of sag, softer sounding/feeling 5U4G's to less saggy higher voltage rated GZ34 rectifiers for when I did want to use the tube rectifiers for a little chewier vintage Marshall feel and tone.

I have played Wizards, Riveras, Marshalls, Bogners, other Mesas, 51506505's, Oranges, my Matamp GT150, and that Tremoverb's high gain tones I would put up there with the best of any I ever played. Only the Wizard, Mk IIC, and Mk III exceeded it in terms of punch and clarity for rhythm tones and perfect saturation that remained touch sensitive and aggressive with lead tones.

I also owned a Yamaha Soldano designed T100, that had a very good high gain channel that was designed to replicate the Soldano SRO.

Obviously I have a love for the SLO or similar SLO based preamp designs.

That made it a no brainer when Soldano put out their new SLO Pedal. I would put that pedal plugged into my Hiwatt, Reeves, or Matamp against any highgain amp I ever played, and guarantee you if you were blindfolded you would think you were plugging into one of the best high gain tube amps you ever heard, and not a stomp box. A/B'd with my Tremoverb through the same cab I could not pick the Mesa over it, or vice versa. They sounded related, if a little different, but not in a negative manner one way or the other.

It nails that big bottom end chug, glassy crunch, midrange grind, and singing saturated lead tone that makes a good tube amp drool inducing to hardrock and metal players. How good was it? Good enough for me to sell the Tremoverb, and never feel like I do not have just as amazing of a high gain tone.

 

[Hiwatts and Gibsons]

Here's a clip of me doing some on the fly riffing on the Mesa. Guitar is a Gibson USA Adam Jones Standard on the stock bridge pickup.

 

[Hiwatts and Gibsons]

Here's the SLO Pedal into a Hiwatt DR103 on one side and a KGB Valco Fuzz on the other side through a Reeves DR504. Guitar is a LP Studio using the TV Jones Supertron I installed in the nexk position.

 

[Hiwatts and Gibsons]

Here's the SLO pedal into the Hiwatt DR103 (I believe, might have been the Reeves DR504) at incredibly low volume. Guitar is an old Explorer III on the stock bridge P90.
https://youtube.com/shorts/AAkKvMGdyOU?feature=shared