EQ in front of tube amp ?

[dudiluty]

Hi there

I own a Marshall JTM60. I recently replaced all the tubes and in a week the heritage speaker will be replaced for a fullback 15".

Do any of you have experience with this amp? Because I have to use an EQ pedal in front of it to fatten up my sound. I know Marshall isn't really a bassy amp but I have my bass pot full, treble and mids on 12oclock and still have to use an EQ pedal to give me more bass and give me a nice smooth sparkling sound.

Does anyone experience the same issue?

Thanks.

Marco

 

[JMP/HBE]

Re: EQ in front of tube amp ?

15's are primarily a bass speaker.

 

[Jacew]

Re: EQ in front of tube amp ?

Hi there

I own a Marshall JTM60. I recently replaced all the tubes and in a week the heritage speaker will be replaced for a fullback 15".

Do any of you have experience with this amp? Because I have to use an EQ pedal in front of it to fatten up my sound. I know Marshall isn't really a bassy amp but I have my bass pot full, treble and mids on 12oclock and still have to use an EQ pedal to give me more bass and give me a nice smooth sparkling sound.

Does anyone experience the same issue?

Thanks.

Marco

Sounds strange. What speaker/cab you have?

 

[dudiluty]

Re: EQ in front of tube amp ?

1x15" heritage LE15 16ohm Marshall eminence speaker.

It's a combo. Not a stack.

I ordered a 15" fullback speaker.. I will put that in this week.

 

[dudiluty]

Re: EQ in front of tube amp ?

Could it be a problem with the capacitors of the amp?

 

[Aceman]

Re: EQ in front of tube amp ?

What guitar, what pickups?

 

[Gtrjunior]

Re: EQ in front of tube amp ?

Also...are you referencing these tonal qualities in the context of a full band mix or are you just playing at home?

....it makes a huge difference.

 

[dudiluty]

Re: EQ in front of tube amp ?

Both. But definitely when playing alone.

Guitars aren't the problem I think.
Guild Starfire V - LB-1 pickups
Luthier made strat with handwound custom pickups(warm and sparkling and a p90 in the bridge)

Before the Marshall I had a fender the twin.. that amp got a lot of body and low-end when comparing to the Marshall. If I play a transistor amp I should get better sounds right now...

 

[Gtrjunior]

Re: EQ in front of tube amp ?

I would suggest listening to some recordings of bands that use a Marshall and have tones you like. I’d bet that there is less bass/low end than you would think.
But if you have an FX loop I would run the eq there. Just personal preference. But a good eq can likely give you anything you aren’t getting now.

 

[Jacew]

Re: EQ in front of tube amp ?

I think if your playing low volume, it could be just the amp. But played loud JTM shouldn't be that thin sounding.

I had similar problem with my Egnater last year. There was visibly burned 1 ohm resistor in fx loop return causing it.

Update when you get the speaker replaced. That should tell if the amp has problem or not.

Note that speaker will sound thin and tight until well broken in. I put mine in the corner under blankets and played winamp playlist through mine about a week with volume. It still took couple months to get the actual sound of the speaker.

 

[dudiluty]

Re: EQ in front of tube amp ?

I think if your playing low volume, it could be just the amp. But played loud JTM shouldn't be that thin sounding.

I had similar problem with my Egnater last year. There was visibly burned 1 ohm resistor in fx loop return causing it.

Update when you get the speaker replaced. That should tell if the amp has problem or not.

Note that speaker will sound thin and tight until well broken in. I put mine in the corner under blankets and played winamp playlist through mine about a week with volume. It still took couple months to get the actual sound of the speaker.

Do you meen the fullback will sound thin? All reviews that I read they are saying it got more body and mid focus. And it sound a bit like a greenback.

I have the speaker in.. so I will replace it soon to check.

 

[Gtrjunior]

Re: EQ in front of tube amp ?

Do you meen the fullback will sound thin? All reviews that I read they are saying it got more body and mid focus. And it sound a bit like a greenback.

I have the speaker in.. so I will replace it soon to check.

I think he simply means that the speaker will sound better and better as it properly breaks in.
That’s the case with all speakers. You’ve just got to give it time and work. Usually a speaker needs a minimum of about 20 hours of loud volume for the break in process. Even then, it will continue to break in over the next several months and become warmer sounding.

 

[DavidRavenMoon]

Re: EQ in front of tube amp ?

Also...are you referencing these tonal qualities in the context of a full band mix or are you just playing at home?

....it makes a huge difference.

This is a good point. You don’t want a lot of low end in a band context. It muddies things up and leaves no room for the bass and drums.

And no one will hear you in the mix.

Guitar is a treble instrument.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jeremy]

Re: EQ in front of tube amp ?

jtm60 isnt a marshall they sing songs about but its not a bad amp. it does need to be turned up in order to sound its best though. i love greenbacks but they are not a bass heavy speaker. its mostly upper mids with a soft bottom and warmer top end. not the harsh upper mids of a v30 though. i dont have much experience with 15's as guitar speakers but the fullback gets a fair amount of love

 

[dudiluty]

Re: EQ in front of tube amp ?

Ok. Today I replaced the speaker and the cable. I switched of the eq first before playing.

Wow.. what a difference! It got that body back!

 

[Coma]

Re: EQ in front of tube amp ?

Provided there is nothing faulty with your amp, the ways I've gone about getting extra low end:

1: Use pickups tailed towards the low end. In my case that was the SH8. Drawback: Not great for cleans, probably mostly fun if you play metal.

2: Play through a good quality 4x12. By design it should give you more low end. Drawback: Takes up a lot of space and can be pricey if you don't want to/can't buy used.

3: Connect an active EQ in the FX loop (gave me better results than sticking it in front). I used the MXR 10-band to add thump to my home rig. Drawback: It might make your tone muffled in the process.

I've never owned a tube amp that wasn't designed primarily for high gain (though admittedly one of them failed spectacularly at that job), so YMMV. Not a Marshall guy myself but my blind guess is anything with the JTM moniker wasn't designed to provide a lot of low end thump?

Best of luck, hope you find something that works for you.