speed2dirt
Butterball
Re: If you Spend More Time Tweaking Your Gear Than Playing It...
I think knowing your tone and what makes it allows you to dial it in. I know what I like and can dial it in pretty quickly on any amp. It may have something that I can't change (tightness, sponginess, etc), which is an inherent character of the amp that would make me choose a different amp. But knowing the tone in your head and what it needs (ie more mids, less bass, whatever), allows you to dial it in much quicker. Also, the concept of how amplifier EQs work and interact makes it much easier.
Rivera Knucklehead Reverb:
I sat down with a used Rivera Knucklehead Reverb at GC a month ago, and the tone was terrible. It was muddy, thick, muffled, no definition, no mids/treble, etc. Just everything I hate and couldn't tweak it to an acceptable sound. So I shut it down, turned everything to zero, and checked the impedance (which was set incorrectly; 2nd high-end amp at GC that has been set incorrectly when I check it). Anyway, I fire it back up, turn the gain to noon, and adjust the EQ by sound. Ends up bass is way less than a traditional amp, the presence is higher, etc. Slowly add gain until I'm satisfied, which is lower than normal since this amp is super high-gain. In the end, the tone was rocking. The GC sales guy came it and was amazed. Said they all thought it was broke when they got it because they couldn't get an acceptable sound out of it. I told him it is pretty good and would be even better on a cab without G12-T75s. He had no idea what I meant by a dark speaker, but said let's hook it up to this VHT cab. The amp that was rocking became amazing and blew us both completely away. I should have bought it, but thought I'd think about it. I went back a week later and it was gone.
Point is, they couldn't figure out the EQ, which is complicated on the Knucklehead, and thus couldn't sell it. Me spending 15 minutes to understand how the EQ worked and thus dialing it in made it sound unworldly and sold instantly. Even on the forums, the Knucklehead Reverb is labeled a "dark" amp, which when EQed correctly, is actually very Marshall-esque. It can definitely go more modern and dark, but the amp itself isn't necessarily like that.
I think knowing your tone and what makes it allows you to dial it in. I know what I like and can dial it in pretty quickly on any amp. It may have something that I can't change (tightness, sponginess, etc), which is an inherent character of the amp that would make me choose a different amp. But knowing the tone in your head and what it needs (ie more mids, less bass, whatever), allows you to dial it in much quicker. Also, the concept of how amplifier EQs work and interact makes it much easier.
Rivera Knucklehead Reverb:
I sat down with a used Rivera Knucklehead Reverb at GC a month ago, and the tone was terrible. It was muddy, thick, muffled, no definition, no mids/treble, etc. Just everything I hate and couldn't tweak it to an acceptable sound. So I shut it down, turned everything to zero, and checked the impedance (which was set incorrectly; 2nd high-end amp at GC that has been set incorrectly when I check it). Anyway, I fire it back up, turn the gain to noon, and adjust the EQ by sound. Ends up bass is way less than a traditional amp, the presence is higher, etc. Slowly add gain until I'm satisfied, which is lower than normal since this amp is super high-gain. In the end, the tone was rocking. The GC sales guy came it and was amazed. Said they all thought it was broke when they got it because they couldn't get an acceptable sound out of it. I told him it is pretty good and would be even better on a cab without G12-T75s. He had no idea what I meant by a dark speaker, but said let's hook it up to this VHT cab. The amp that was rocking became amazing and blew us both completely away. I should have bought it, but thought I'd think about it. I went back a week later and it was gone.
Point is, they couldn't figure out the EQ, which is complicated on the Knucklehead, and thus couldn't sell it. Me spending 15 minutes to understand how the EQ worked and thus dialing it in made it sound unworldly and sold instantly. Even on the forums, the Knucklehead Reverb is labeled a "dark" amp, which when EQed correctly, is actually very Marshall-esque. It can definitely go more modern and dark, but the amp itself isn't necessarily like that.
