Good Small Amp And Pedal Combo For Vh Sound?

[unleashthejay]

HEY EVERYONE I WAS WONDERING IF ANYONE HAS ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR A SMALL (30 WATTS OR UNDER) AMP/ PEDAL OR BOTH THAT WOULD GET ME AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE TO THE VH 1 SOUND? <<<<for bedroom use i know i can't get to close and everything, any suggestions?

 

[shredaholic]

Re: Good Small Amp And Pedal Combo For Vh Sound?

yeh, unless you're willing to shell out on a 100w plexi, then mod it to the right EVH spec, then install a PPIMV and triode switch or get an attenuator, then buy a 4x12 with greenbacks, oh not to mention an equaliser pedal and a delay pedal, you're not going to nail the sound at bedroom volume.

having said that, I've heard clips of POD's and people have got pretty damn close with them:

http://www.markabrahamian.com/rockstah.mp3

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Good Small Amp And Pedal Combo For Vh Sound?

Get a Vox Valvetronix head/Marshall cabinet. For home practicing, it's the best way to get good cranked tube amp tones. For VH, use the UK 70's amp + 1 of the OD models, till it's dialed in to sound like the VH albums.
I get the closest with a 59, C-5, or CC.

 

[tone?]

Re: Good Small Amp And Pedal Combo For Vh Sound?

dude i am in the same boat as you are, as i am trying to get a awesome sound in the bedroom.
of course this is really tough and close to impossible.

i dont know if it would be worth getting a good amp and putting a hotplate on it to be able to push the amp a bit at a reasonable volume.
i have heard VHT's and they sound pretty darn good even at low volume as well as a soldano.
i havent had the fortune to play the stuff the Gearjoneser has played though, but i have played through the Vox Valvetronix and i didnt really like it too much.
i did however hear a Crate GFX 120 and it sounded pretty darn good for a SS amp. it was smooth and not buzzy at all. didnt have as much punch as the SS AVSmarshalls but it sounds way better than the Marshall in my opinion.

i read about the Crate in this site
http://jfrocks3.com/jfrocks/indexrocks.html

what do the others think about the site?
i dont think the guy can play Halen well at all but the sound he gets on the clips is damn good even for a SS.

i had a Marshall JTM60 and the crate kicks its butt. i also think that it is better than a few tube amps out there.

anybody else have any ideas on this?

if i had the resources ( unfortunatly i live in Greece and there isnt a huge variety of amps and gear here) i would try a bunch of amps and see if an attenuator would do the trick for having the power stage of the amp work a bit at low levels.

VHT really rocked my boat as well as the Soldano but those suckers cost a "#$!#$ load.

 

[Simon_F]

Re: Good Small Amp And Pedal Combo For Vh Sound?

A Tech 21 Trademark 60 will get you a range of great tones (including VH style) at bedroom to gigging volumes. Great sounding, portable, versatile amp at a great price. Check out the soundclips. :fing2:

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Good Small Amp And Pedal Combo For Vh Sound?

Boss GT-6, dude. I run mine through a 10 watt practice amp with a tiny speaker (at home) and can get a ton of great sounds at ultra-low volume. The feel isn't necessarily there, but it sounds great

 

[tone?]

Re: Good Small Amp And Pedal Combo For Vh Sound?

if you guys dont believe me about the crate then download the 'You really got me' clip that the guy plays and then play the original Ed version and see how close the sound is.

here is the url for the clip

http://www.jfrocks3.com/vinh/gotme.html

 

[PUCKBOY99]

Re: Good Small Amp And Pedal Combo For Vh Sound?

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[Hot _Grits]

Re: Good Small Amp And Pedal Combo For Vh Sound?

if you have a bit of cash to spend, I'd go for a soldano atomic or astroverb combo. They sound great at reasonable volumes. Otherwise, I've heard the eruption patch on the podxt and it sounded pretty dead on to me...

 

[Simon_F]

Re: Good Small Amp And Pedal Combo For Vh Sound?

+

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Ha Ha! :laugh2:

I don't have the MXR EVH, but I do have a BYOC phaser kit sitting here waiting to be built.

 

[PUCKBOY99]

Re: Good Small Amp And Pedal Combo For Vh Sound?



The VH setting on the TM60 is pretty d@mned good.

With the right pedal(s) & pickup, you can nail it pretty well.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Good Small Amp And Pedal Combo For Vh Sound?

i havent had the fortune to play the stuff the Gearjoneser has played though, but i have played through the Vox Valvetronix and i didnt really like it too much.

Most people who try out the amp in the store just hear the combo and spin the amp dial, looking for a good sound, including me when I first tried it. It's not until you buy the head, and put it on a Marshall cab, that you start to hear it sounding like a convincing amp tone. The best way to use the Valvetronix is to always use an OD model to help shape the amp models. You can get any shade of gain, if you get creative with the amps/OD models.

As for the brown sound, Marshall cabs are HALF of that sound, so it sounds much better when you actually use one. When you hear the direct modeling tone, it's OK, but it sounds more Marshall-like with the authentic cab under it.
The Recto and clean models are actually some of the best sounds you can get out of it. It's harder to pull out the good Marshall tones, but they're in there.

 

[unleashthejay]

Re: Good Small Amp And Pedal Combo For Vh Sound?

thanx, I have the evh 78' pickups just looking for what will get closest at a room volume

 

[ErikH]

Re: Good Small Amp And Pedal Combo For Vh Sound?

Get a POD or some other modeller and tweak away. Only other way is to have 100w Super Lead cranked with a Variac to drop the voltage down to 90V or so but we all know your neighbors may not appreciate that much.

Terry, you're graphic representation is great. :fing2:

 

[unleashthejay]

Re: Good Small Amp And Pedal Combo For Vh Sound?

ok, POD or the CM plexitone pedal?

 

[JeffB]

Re: Good Small Amp And Pedal Combo For Vh Sound?

Well, IMO the Plexi models on the POD XT absolutely suck.. too twangy, too thin...no "balls"..you gotta crank the amp, and thenw hats the point? (i.e. buy a tube amp). The JTM45 is pretty good, and the 800 model is dead on...but they won't get ya the "brown" sound. The Soldano model is actually quite good and will get ya close.

I've been messing with a Vox Tonelab SE the past week, and it's the opposite, the Plexi model is the ONLY good one of the Marshall amps. In fact I was really surprised how good it sounded compared to the AT30/50 vox combos I had. Very nice, especially goosed with the DS-1 pedal model. It will get ya much closer than the POD. The JTM model sounds good through the celestion 75 cab too, but the 800/900/TSL/and soldano models are horiffic...even with the modelled peds as tweaks (IMO)...they all have extremely sloppy bass response, are too twangy,are too fuzzy and the mids are completely wrong. You put the peds on them to tighten up the bass and smooth out the fuzzy highs and they all turn to mud. The MESA model with the gain dropped and "goosed" with a Boss SOD ped model actually sounds more Marshally than the Marshall models

Too bad too, cos the Tonelab sounds so much more authentic (I.e. clearer, more tubey) as an "amp" than the POD XTL (I'm running both through an Atomic), and I find the effects (both peds and modulation type things) are much better on the Vox TL SE. If it would just do a decent 800 series sound (which I use the most), no doubt I'd be happy with it, as the plexi and JTM tones are pretty good.

Tech21 stuff is great....for a good VH brown sound at low volumes thats the way I'd go, though I'm thinking about picking up a Plexitone myself to run into my Rivera as a last resort before I sell the damn thing.

 

[PUCKBOY99]

Re: Good Small Amp And Pedal Combo For Vh Sound?

Terry, you're graphic representation is great. :fing2:

:laugh2:

I especially love that EVH graphic....he's kind of become a caricature himself, so it's fitting!:beerchug:

 

[ErikH]

Re: Good Small Amp And Pedal Combo For Vh Sound?

:laugh2:

I especially love that EVH graphic....he's kind of become a caricature himself, so it's fitting!:beerchug:

Very much so....LOL :beerchug: