For the sake of discussion. Can you make a british amp sound american?

Mephis

New member
I'm getting bored with only reallying having 1 good tone.

That happens to be an extremely warm british tone.


I would like to play around with some other tones, something drasticly different.


Any suggestions? (I'm not looking for a $150 botique pedal.)
 
Re: For the sake of discussion. Can you make a british amp sound american?

Well, if you have a clean British tone, you could probably get an EQ pedal and play around to get somthing close . . . the problem is that most of the British tones that I've heard are distorted/compressed a fair amount, where many of the best American tones are cleaner and more dynamic. For this reason I think it would be easier to make an American sounding amp go British than vice versa (you can always add gain with pedals, but try taking it away . . . that's the challenge).
 
Re: For the sake of discussion. Can you make a british amp sound american?

Yeah, but it takes years to beat that horrible accent out of it. :D
 
Re: For the sake of discussion. Can you make a british amp sound american?

I thought Peaveys were american voice. Shows how much I know.

Well, I'm probably wrong about this, but isn't the tonestack before the preamp on a Fender, and after the preamp in a Marshall? Throw an EQ in the FX loop and you're on your way! (ooops, that's for american-->british!) Maybe try an american voiced speaker, too.
 
Last edited:
Re: For the sake of discussion. Can you make a british amp sound american?

Tweeds and Marshalls are esssentially the same basic design. Black Faces are a little different. Going to extra clean 6L6 type tubes, a 12AT7 PI, and American voiced speakers, instead of Celestion voiced, will Americanize a British voicing a bit. If you want to switch back and forth instantley, then that's more of a problem, but that might be accomplished with gain as suggested above?

Isn't the Peavy Classic 50 a tweed clone? I'm not that familar with the Peavy 50 though.

The best solution is two good, no compromize fairly dynamic amps, and A-B switching, such as what EJ does. This way he has a variety of British tones in his fingers, and a variety of American tones in his fingers.
 
Re: For the sake of discussion. Can you make a british amp sound american?

You can... ....but why would you want to? :D
 
Re: For the sake of discussion. Can you make a british amp sound american?

shredaholic said:
You can... ....but why would you want to? :D

:laugh2:

Now THIS is a man who loves his Marshall's, lol. :bowdown:
 
Re: For the sake of discussion. Can you make a british amp sound american?

Yes! Put a TS-9 in front of it.
It's the tried and true formula:

British + Japanese = American :D
 
Re: For the sake of discussion. Can you make a british amp sound american?

Mess with speakers, there are dramatic things that can happen... I would check out Emi's Patriot line.
 
Re: For the sake of discussion. Can you make a british amp sound american?

Really, I don't think there's much difference...especially since Marshall JTM-45's and Plexis are almost a complete clone of the '59 Fender 5F6-A tweed Bassman. Even the Vox AC30 is a Bassman knock off.

It's mostly in the speakers: Celestions have the classic British tone and Jensens and JBLs have the classic US tone.

I use UK made Celestians in my 50's tweed Delxues and my 60's Deluxe Reverbs....gives them a little more of a British tone.

I saw Mick Taylor with John Mayall 30 or 40 years ago and he was wailing through a tweed Bassman...sounded like a cranked Marshall to me.

I went out and found one right after that. Peeled off the tweed and replaced it with some spiffy orange naugahyde. :smack: :laugh2: Oh well....we all used to do stuff like that back then.

Lew
 
Re: For the sake of discussion. Can you make a british amp sound american?

I think you can get DAMN close, esp with good EQs, Limiters, and compressors.

LOVE hmmm close but, they will lose certain characteristics - such as the way they react when you spank them.

Amps that Fake Fender well (to my knowledge) - Marshall Bluesbreaker (at lower vol), JTM45, 6100, Bogner Shiva, Ecstasy, Peavey Classic 50 (yes I said it), Budda, Riveras (though it IS American, as are some of the others), select Hiwatts.
 
Re: For the sake of discussion. Can you make a british amp sound american?

No matter what amp I play through I still seem to sound like an American.

How does one sound more British or more American?

Does Jeff Beck sound more American if he plays through a Fender amp?

I think people think and worry too much about their equipment and not their playing.
 
Re: For the sake of discussion. Can you make a british amp sound american?

shredaholic said:
You can... ....but why would you want to? :D
Seriously, why?

With amps as inexpensive as they are, there's no reason to go effing around with amps.
 
Re: For the sake of discussion. Can you make a british amp sound american?

BigDaddy said:
No matter what amp I play through I still seem to sound like an American.

How does one sound more British or more American?

Does Jeff Beck sound more American if he plays through a Fender amp?

I think people think and worry too much about their equipment and not their playing.


Might be true, but you will not find a mesa sound anywhere else but mesa.


I always sound british through everything, then I noodled on a mesa and I sounded american heh... I liked that little taste I got, and I would like something like that in pedal form. (I think it was either a single or dual rect.)
 
Back
Top