plexis distortion

[evh_slash]

how high can the distortion of a marshall plexi reissue go , i love guns n roses , van halen , acdc that kinda stuff and can this amp get that scorching lead kind of sound.

please rate its amount/ type of distortion out of 5

level 1: bluesy crunch
level 2: acdc / chuck berry/aerosmith
level 3: hendrix, guns n roses
level 4: van halen , evh
level 5: full OD!! :rocket: :rocket:

im interested in getting this amp because i love its tone , but im not sure how strong or brilliant its distortion is.
also , what level would the jcm 800 be at. would that be better for gnr, van halen and acdc.??

 

[Mephis]

Re: plexis distortion

The way you have 1 through 3 listed are pretty much the same.

Stock they'll sit in the 1-3 range that you have listed. And you'll have to have them loud as all hell to even get close to that sound.

 

[evh_slash]

Re: plexis distortion

ok! what about jcm 800 aswell as the plexi

 

[Hot _Grits]

Re: plexis distortion

800s have slightly less gain then Slash uses, as he uses a Jubilee.

Plexis can do the Van Halen thing, but you have to run them BALLS OUT to do so. No Master volume or preamp gain to get you that overdriven sound at more manageable levels.

 

[Lespaul1981]

Re: plexis distortion

Go for the 800

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: plexis distortion

Level 1 below 3, Level 2 at 4-6. Anything more requires and OD pedal. You'll be startled at how loud they are too.

If you're looking for scorching lead the JCM900 SLX or DSL is what you want.

 

[kevlar3000]

Re: plexis distortion

Check out the Dave Bray amp sound clips for his modded reissues. He gets amazing gain w/o adding tubes. A cap and resistor here and there, can do amazing things to make those amps scream.

 

[evh_slash]

Re: plexis distortion

so what amp shouid i think about getting for my level , 1-4
nothing with tooooooo much gain like zakk wylde, errrrgh!:biglaugh: , van halen is maximum kinda gain ill go to.
can you get modifications to get more gain out of a plexi , where can you get these modifications done and what do the people do to your amp to get that extra gain?? are they cheap?? etc

 

[Luke Duke]

Re: plexis distortion

Check out the Dave Bray amp sound clips for his modded reissues. He gets amazing gain w/o adding tubes. A cap and resistor here and there, can do amazing things to make those amps scream.

Man, that's EXACTLY what I was thinking!

 

[Bludave]

Re: plexis distortion

Get a Plexi 1987X and have it modded with a master volume. The Plexis were made from 1966 thru 1969 and are the amps the Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix used. Some of the guys you speak of used them as well but it is my understanding that they were heavily modded. The Plexis are great amps, the RI are not as great, but they have to be played very loud to get them to sound proper. This, for the most part is unusable in most clubs. The Master volume mod is a good alternative for a Plexi 1987 or 1959.

 

[The Golden Boy]

Re: plexis distortion

"Plexi" is one of those buzzwords that everyone knows they "should" like. Everybody wants a "plexi" amp, regardless of whether they're after a plexi sound or not. If you're looking for a gainy sound, and you want to be able to play at decent volumes, it makes sense to go shopping around for something that does that. There's plenty of medium gain tube amps that clean up nicely- the only problem is they're not "plexis."

I don't like the idea of getting an amp that does something well, and then modding it and running pedals on top of it to try to get it to sound like something else. To me it's like taking the subway to 6th street, getting on the bus to 42nd street, then catching a cab to 54th street and then walking to 71st, when you could have just taken the subway to 70th and walked a block...

 

[Luke Duke]

Re: plexis distortion

"Plexi" is one of those buzzwords that everyone knows they "should" like. Everybody wants a "plexi" amp, regardless of whether they're after a plexi sound or not. If you're looking for a gainy sound, and you want to be able to play at decent volumes, it makes sense to go shopping around for something that does that. There's plenty of medium gain tube amps that clean up nicely- the only problem is they're not "plexis."

I don't like the idea of getting an amp that does something well, and then modding it and running pedals on top of it to try to get it to sound like something else. To me it's like taking the subway to 6th street, getting on the bus to 42nd street, then catching a cab to 54th street and then walking to 71st, when you could have just taken the subway to 70th and walked a block...

I know exactly what you mean Dave. I'm also a somewhat guilty party!

I think if I had to get along with a "real plexi" long term I'd be kind of unhappy.

Luke

 

[The Golden Boy]

Re: plexis distortion

Your amp should rule- it's in the upper mid gain amp status- A nice, non-overcompressing distortion should give you some pretty nifty tone. As the added bonus it cleans up nice and gives you decent dynamics in the 1:00 neighborhood of the preamp...