I've read so many posts!!!...still not sure where to go on my semi hollow

[Boogie Bill]

Re: I've read so many posts!!!...still not sure where to go on my semi hollow

If you need more mids...

Try lowering the TREBLE and BASS controls on the amp. You don't need to run them on 10. Try B-3, T-4--5. And then you can run the amp volume louder, and it will fatten up the tone.

And there's always a Graphic EQ pedal, like the Boss GE-7, Mesa 5-band or the MXR 6-band.

Bill

 

[Gtrjunior]

Re: I've read so many posts!!!...still not sure where to go on my semi hollow

Thanks for all the great responses, this seems like a really excellent forum! Really helpful.

I'm pretty new here too....first thing(s) I noticed:
1) These guys know what they are talking about
2) I see very little of the typical forum BS. Everyone here is pretty damn cool and respectful of one another.
I think I'll stick around for a bit....

 

[Mincer]

Re: I've read so many posts!!!...still not sure where to go on my semi hollow

I'm pretty new here too....first thing(s) I noticed:
1) These guys know what they are talking about
2) I see very little of the typical forum BS. Everyone here is pretty damn cool and respectful of one another.
I think I'll stick around for a bit....

Thank you for noticing. We want to keep the good info/experiences flowing. There are excellent people here who really know their stuff.

 

[Joey Voltage]

Re: I've read so many posts!!!...still not sure where to go on my semi hollow

If you need more mids...

Try lowering the TREBLE and BASS controls on the amp. You don't need to run them on 10. Try B-3, T-4--5. And then you can run the amp volume louder, and it will fatten up the tone.

And there's always a Graphic EQ pedal, like the Boss GE-7, Mesa 5-band or the MXR 6-band.

Bill

I would go Parametric. With graphics you are pretty much stuck with high Q bands that are placed at the manufacturers discretion. GEQ's are much better if you have an FX loop so you can insert them post preamp much how mesa does.

 

[Despair]

Re: I've read so many posts!!!...still not sure where to go on my semi hollow

I would go Parametric. With graphics you are pretty much stuck with high Q bands that are placed at the manufacturers discretion. GEQ's are much better if you have an FX loop so you can insert them post preamp much how mesa does.

Depends on the graphic EQ. A lot depends on the amp, as well. If your amp's tone controls are mostly in front of the preamp distortion, post-distortion EQ is particularly handy. If not, Pre-distortion EQ gives you an ability to shape the distortion/tone more usefully. Same applies for a parametric as well. Some people like EQs in both positions for maximum pre- & post- distortion tone shaping.

A good guitar tuned graphic is better than one with lots of bands [for guitar], but for dealing with scoops or broad peaks, or feedback, parametrics are likely to be better. Parametric are generally more popular with electro-acoustic rigs, too.

 

[gregory]

Re: I've read so many posts!!!...still not sure where to go on my semi hollow

Even then, all butt loads of -fb is going to do for you is flatten the speakers response at the cost of potential instability and gain.

I was thinking more along the lines of 0 NFB vs butt loads vs power amps that are shaped.

This topic is kinda going sideways and I apologize for my share of it, though it's still very clear that the OP simply has the wrong amp; and that portion is very much on-topic.

 

[Joey Voltage]

Re: I've read so many posts!!!...still not sure where to go on my semi hollow

Depends on the graphic EQ. A lot depends on the amp, as well. If your amp's tone controls are mostly in front of the preamp distortion, post-distortion EQ is particularly handy.

They certainly are in this case although the caveat also is that in this particular case there isn't much distortion generated from the preamp period, and I'm not positive if his reissue has a loop he could insert any post preamp eq into. Speaking of distortion, There are actually very few gainier amps that do this. The majority that do rely on distortion generation with in the preamp often have the eq placement at the end of the chain because the useful range of the tone controls turns out to be rather limited if they are placed too immediately after the input stage. There are exceptions certainly, but the majority
Are typically post distortion generation

If not, Pre-distortion EQ gives you an ability to shape the distortion/tone more usefully. Same applies for a parametric as well. Some people like EQs in both positions for maximum pre- & post- distortion tone shaping.

There's room for argument there, and it's usually on a case by case basis especially if that signal gets distorted. While it's true that you will have more control over distortion shaping to an extent as in which mix of frequencies will get distorted or won't, generally speaking, low frequencies, and super hi frequencies do not sound particularly great distorted. Rather farty on one end, buzzy and harsh on the other and all the stable and unstable harmonics that get generated with them, So the use of the eq pre distortion is actually rather limited in reality and you don't really have as much control as it would seem. Its one of the reasons most high gain amplifiers cut a lot of bass and treble with in the preamp and or peak mids and high mids to shape the signal before it gets heavily distorted, so much so the resulting frequency response looks more like a giant band pass filter in those preamps until its compensated for down the line. If your talking about a pedal like a geq, or parametric, it's still rather limited, and your really shaping the guitar signal rather than the amps if you throw it up front.

 

[Joey Voltage]

Re: I've read so many posts!!!...still not sure where to go on my semi hollow

I was thinking more along the lines of 0 NFB vs butt loads vs power amps that are shaped.

This topic is kinda going sideways and I apologize for my share of it, though it's still very clear that the OP simply has the wrong amp; and that portion is very much on-topic.

Yeah it is, and I'm super guilty too because I enjoy discussing this stuff. The op got wayyyy more info than I'm sure he wanted, and probably just bought the damn pick up. But I agree, I too think this might be a case of either the wrong tool for the job, or not enough of the right tools to get the job done.

 

[Despair]

Re: I've read so many posts!!!...still not sure where to go on my semi hollow

Yeah it is, and I'm super guilty too because I enjoy discussing this stuff. The op got wayyyy more info than I'm sure he wanted, and probably just bought the damn pick up. But I agree, I too think this might be a case of either the wrong tool for the job, or not enough of the right tools to get the job done.

That's why I was suggesting a midrangy Celestion speaker [going from what is it, 6-9dB of midrange cut on some of the Jensens and clones, to +3dB boost in the upper midrange really changes things]. And tube screamer and/or MiaB pedal or EQ. Pickups wouldn't necessarily hurt either...

The tip of turning the bass & treble way down was a good one that I meant to mention and forgot about while writing multiple posts. Balancing a built-in mid-cut by pulling everything else down is simply called for if it's both too boomy and bright. But you are fighting a scooped amp and speaker, so likely to need more than just that.

 

[Clint 55]

Re: I've read so many posts!!!...still not sure where to go on my semi hollow

I have recently basically gone thru the same experience you are now in. I had SD Antiquities in my Ibanez AS73 ( semi hollow body ES335 clone ).
I took them out and put them in my Les Paul.( the stock 490's weren't doing " it " for me.) Now the Ants were a big improvement over the stock pups in the LP but I gotta tell ya those Ants in a semi hollow body guitar were seriously killer !! Now I most certainly understand the raves about Ants in LP's but they freaking shine in a semi hollow body guitar. I ordered myself a set of Pearly Gates for the LP and the Ants are going back into the Ibanez pronto.!
I believe they can do everything you want and them some. Of course with the DR your gonna need a coupla Amps In A Box to get what you want.
I'm telling ya you CANNOT go wrong with the SD Antiquities. If anybody ever has been disappointed by those pups I'd like to hear from them.
Yes they cost a bit more. Buy from an authourized dealer who has a good return policy if there is the remotest chance of you not being able to bond with the Ants and trust me that'll be on you not the Ants. lol
BP.

I agree. If you want it all rattly, the Ants are the ones to get.

 

[Joey Voltage]

Re: I've read so many posts!!!...still not sure where to go on my semi hollow

The tip of turning the bass & treble way down was a good one that I meant to mention and forgot about while writing multiple posts. Balancing a built-in mid-cut by pulling everything else down is simply called for if it's both too boomy and bright. But you are fighting a scooped amp and speaker, so likely to need more than just that.

you would need more. The inherent scoop of that particular tonestack is quite wide as well.

 

[Despair]

Re: I've read so many posts!!!...still not sure where to go on my semi hollow

you would need more. The inherent scoop of that particular tonestack is quite wide as well.

MiaB pedals are meant to make a Fender sound like a Marshall. I think combining a few options would get you close enough. Yes, you'd be fighting the amp considerably, having to roll off bass and treble heavily. But get rid of some of the speaker's mid-cut, adjust the amp EQ to something closer to flat, and throw in a mid-boost or two in front and a many find it close enough.

It also depends on whether you prefer the blackface Deluxe for the other things it does.

I'd prefer reissues that loosen harsh limitations of the originals. A mid-control with a taper pushing more of it's range into the reproduced model's space and a detent for retro sounds would go a lot further. But then there are retro nuts who hate any change. I guess I'm just not the target market!

We've fairly exhaustively covered the tradeoffs of sticking with the current amp, and the amount of effort and costs in various options, so up to BigDaddyB what he does next.

 

[Joey Voltage]

Re: I've read so many posts!!!...still not sure where to go on my semi hollow

MiaB pedals are meant to make a Fender sound like a Marshall. I think combining a few options would get you close enough. Yes, you'd be fighting the amp considerably, having to roll off bass and treble heavily. But get rid of some of the speaker's mid-cut, adjust the amp EQ to something closer to flat, and throw in a mid-boost or two in front and a many find it close enough.

Flat for pretty much any passive FMV type tonestack is achieved by turning both bass and treble to "0", and the mids to "10". The only issue with doing that with the typical fender stack is that it results in 90% of the signal being attenuated, because all passive stacks work on the principal of attenuation. The fenders is very extreme partially out of necessity to keep loading of the stage reasonable. In order to counter this, you would have to do what I suggested earlier and at the very least up the mid pot value and reduce the value of cap that feeds it.

 

[gregory]

Re: I've read so many posts!!!...still not sure where to go on my semi hollow

MiaB pedals are meant to make a Fender sound like a Marshall.

Unfortunately many aren't what they're cracked up to be. Far too many demos of MIAB-style pedals are run through clean channels that sound nothing like the traditional non-BM-style Fenders.

Also, far too many MIAB pedals have way too much gain and as such aren't even capable of the tone the OP is looking for.

 

[Joey Voltage]

Re: I've read so many posts!!!...still not sure where to go on my semi hollow

Unfortunately those reissues don't have loops or pa in options, or I would suggest going the half way route and picking up a separate tube preamp to throw in the loop return. Probably the best option.

 

[chadd]

Re: I've read so many posts!!!...still not sure where to go on my semi hollow

Holy cow, this thing went way off on a tangent fast and kept going.

 

[gregory]

Re: I've read so many posts!!!...still not sure where to go on my semi hollow

PA in? Sounds like a Peavey jargon.

 

[gregory]

Re: I've read so many posts!!!...still not sure where to go on my semi hollow

Holy cow, this thing went way off on a tangent fast and kept going.

You can't turn a DR into a Bluesbreaker.

/endtopic

 

[chadd]

Re: I've read so many posts!!!...still not sure where to go on my semi hollow

For 99.99% of people, a pedal does a sufficient job.

 

[gregory]

Re: I've read so many posts!!!...still not sure where to go on my semi hollow

Which one???