I just wanted to tell everyone:

[Mllerrin]

It's easy to think another amp will solve all of your problems, but often your own amp has exactly what you need.

I posted a while ago trying to get a sound I made with a Pod XTL based on a Boosted Plexi Model. This is the sound I was trying to make with a Tube amp (Title is PodXT Live:Go about 1 Minute into the song):

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=648336

Now the whole time I was looking into either a JCM 900 (Only one channel), or a very expensive Splawn to make this sound. But when my band decided we should record the song since we hadn't had any on our myspace. The recording made me realize:

www.myspace.com/leaveherkimer

The song is "One Take Jake".

I had the sound I wanted all along!

My only grief is that at the same volume I get lost in the mix more than I'd like. Which a lot of Mesa Rectifiers are known for. The rhythm tone is a little lacking too but that goes with my rhythm guitarist's MG Half Stack, but it's close.

I just wanted to share this with all you people who think they need to change their amp all the time to get the sound they want.

 

[heavydutysg135]

Re: I just wanted to tell everyone:

If you are getting lost in the mix try turning up your mids more. When you lack midrange your lows get drowned out by the base and your highs get drowned out by the cymbols and high hat. I have found that scooped mids can sound cool and agressive when I play by myself; but I need midrange to cut through in a band setting. Just my .02

 

[greco]

Re: I just wanted to tell everyone:

It's easy to think another amp will solve all of your problems, but often your own amp has exactly what you need.


I just wanted to share this with all you people who think they need to change their amp all the time to get the sound they want.

Wise words Grasshopper

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: I just wanted to tell everyone:

Yeah -- often times we spend more time thinking about what our gear CAN'T do instead of what it CAN.

One thing's for sure tho: the Bassman doesn't cure my ORANGE GAS...

 

[Mllerrin]

Re: I just wanted to tell everyone:

If you are getting lost in the mix try turning up your mids more. When you lack midrange your lows get drowned out by the base and your highs get drowned out by the cymbols and high hat. I have found that scooped mids can sound cool and agressive when I play by myself; but I need midrange to cut through in a band setting. Just my .02

Trust me it's not the mids, I run my settings like so:

Presence: 12:00
Bass: 9:00
Mids: 4:00
Highs: 5:00
Gain: 2:00

I've tried Maxxing my mids but that made me sound a bit looser than I liked.

 

[jeremy]

Re: I just wanted to tell everyone:

one of the reasons i shy away from ss amps is they dont cut thru in live situations as well. especially line 6 for some reason. my buddy plays metal with a hd147 and he has to be so loud hes almost drowning out the band to be heard. especially for recording i think a pod or something similar can give you great results

 

[Mllerrin]

Re: I just wanted to tell everyone:

But for some reason the other guitarist using a MG Halfstack at some parts completely overshadows me. It's most noticeable after the intro, I seem to just drop out.

 

[Rich_S]

Re: I just wanted to tell everyone:

One thing's for sure tho: the Bassman doesn't cure my ORANGE GAS...

Recover it in orange tolex.

Back to Mllerrin's idea: truer words have never been spoken. I recently had a couple of experiences that reminded me to always try the simple stuff first, before giving in to expensive GAS.

Having recently joined the praise band at church I was dissatisfied with my baby Marshall's sound. It's great for blasting out Police and Prentenders-style stuff like I played back in my club days, but it's too dirty for what we play at church. GAS says that it's time for another amp, or a more versatile amp (i.e. expensive channel-switcher).

I toyed with the idea of a Fender for church, but money's tight. Last weekend, I spent some time thinking about what I really didn't like about my 18 Watter - that it was too dirty, and didn't clean up until the volume was down below 2. Then it hit me - a lower gain preamp tube. I had some nasty old 12AU7's in my junk box, but their gain was too low. So I invested $15 in a 12AT7, and now my Marshall has a useable range of dirt on it's volume control. "Church Clean" with a little tiny bit of grit is now between 4 and 5, and pop-rock crunch is still available between 6 and 8. If I really want to dirty it up, I can put the 12AX7 back in about a minute. Result - a more versatile amp for a measly $15.

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: I just wanted to tell everyone:

Recover it in orange tolex.

You wouldn't be the first one to think that's all it takes...I saw a Bassman head exactly like mine in bright orange about a year ago on the Bay.

Your story about different tubes making such a dramatic impact on your tone makes me wonder (again) what my amp would sound like running EL34's like the Oranges and Marshalls i love so much. How hard would it be to try this?

-X

 

[Rich_S]

Re: I just wanted to tell everyone:

You wouldn't be the first one to think that's all it takes...

Well, obviously you have to recover the front panel with wheat grillcloth, too. Duh.

Your story about different tubes making such a dramatic impact on your tone makes me wonder (again) what my amp would sound like running EL34's like the Oranges and Marshalls i love so much. How hard would it be to try this?

It not terribly difficult, but not as easy as some tube swaps. I don't remember all the details, but they are documented on the web. You have to make sure your PT can supply enough heater current - EL34s use a buttload of heater current compared to pretty much everything else. YOu might need to add an extra little 6.2 volt filament transformer, but they're cheap.

There's also some bits about making sure certain pins aren't shorted or grounded, or are shorted or grounded, or something. Search Doug Hoffman's and/or ask the regulars - they'll know all the details.

The good news is, once it's modded for EL34's, you can go back to 6L6's with a simple bias adjustment. The bad news is, it still won't sound like an Orange. More British, yes... but not an Orange. But I think it's worth doing, just for the added flexibility. Carrying around one amp and a few spare tubes is a lot easier than carrying around two amps.