Re: NAD, NCD, and Some Rig Pictures.
Thanks a lot, guys! :beerchug:
It really is a pretty sweet rig. I've done without a really great amp for far too long and I'd been asking myself why I'd totally ignored what's the backbone of any decent rig, just because new guitars are shinier and more exciting. Foolishness on my part.
That Tele is a really sweet guitar (even if it does desperately need a new neck pickup) and it nails the sound I had in my head when I think of a really great pissed off Tele.
My pedalboard's been through a lot of changes lately and I feel that this incarnation is getting really close to what I want from it. Most of those pedals will be staying for the forseeable future (I'm still trying to decide whether I want to keep the Rhino or the Raptor; with an amp like this, I really don't have a need for two overdrives, so I'd like to replace one of them with a fuzz) and I still want to add another delay, a tuner and some modulation, but I've got everything I feel like I really need on a board.
This amp is really just the missing part of that puzzle. It's made so much difference to my sound, it's unbelievable that I waited this long to go amp shopping.
In short, all I'm trying to say is that, for the first time in ages, I'm really happy with my rig, and I don't really feel like it's lacking in any significant way. Which is a pretty awesome feeling.
Dude.
EPIC.
Hope you're likin' that ET65!
I'm thinking about those WGS Speakers for a new 2x12 I'm thinking of for my SLO clone. I'm very interested to hear what you think to it.
I'm really digging the ET65 so far! Thanks to you and everyone else who recommended it to me. It's a really great match with this amp. I knew I could count on you guys. :beerchug:
Brow, I don't really feel qualified to talk about speakers very much, since the only ones I have any experience with are the cheap stock 'Celestion-Designed' stockers in my old Laney LV300 and Marshall MG30, and the Celestion G12M-70 that came stock in my Laney AOR. Therefore I can't really make any worthwhile comparisons, since I don't really have a decent frame of reference. Also, it's the only speaker I've tried in this cab; the G12m-70 I was playing the TM18 through until yesterday was still mounted in my AOR, so I don't know how much difference that's making.
I will say, however, that I'm blown away by the difference it's made to my tone. It's a hell of a lot warmer and smoother than the 70. With the old one, the TM had this brittle kinda harshness to the top end and a cold aggression to the crunch. The overdriven tones were super crunchy and kinda rough sounding. A cool tone in it's own right if that's what you're going for, but it didn't suit me.
This speaker took that brash high end, trimmed it down a little and made it a lot sweeter. Clean tones are a lot more full and sound pretty even. I can really slam the strings without it getting boomy and there's no ice pick on the high end. Overdriven tones have just the right amount of crunch, while staying warm and smooth; again with no over-abundance of high or low end. I haven't really pushed the gain or volume with it yet, but it seems to hold together really well with higher gain settings, especially for leads.
I can't wait until I have it broken in a bit more. I was kind of expecting it to sound and feel quite stiff for a while, but it honestly doesn't. It feels like a speaker that's been played in for a good while and has settled down. It'll be really interesting to see what a few high volume jam sessions will do to it's tone.
I haven't opened the cab to take a look at it, so I can't comment on it's build quality. There's certainly no rattles or any other defects that I can detect negatively impacting the tone.
So, yeah. I'd recommend it but, as I mentioned, I'm sorely underqualified to judge, so take my opinions with a pinch of salt. Certainly, for the price, I'd say that it's worth a shot if my description sounds like something you'd be going for.
Looks good. I'd like to hear more about it. And happy NAD.
Thanks, dude.
To be honest, I've only had it a week and I've been working a lot and gradually moving house in that time, so I'm still forming a good impression of it myself. I don't want to do the classic honeymoon phase review proclaiming it to be the greatest amp ever made. That said, I'm going to play it for a good while today and I'll put up some (hopefully coherent) thoughts on it later on tonight.
