|
 RandalFlagg
Stranger
Registered: 06/15/02
Posts: 15,608
|
 Guitar amplification questions 
#3658649 - 01/21/05 01:59 PM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
This is my amp rig right now. It is a Fender Stage 100 DSP. It is fairly new(bought new in 2003). It is a 100 Watt solid state. It has a few effects on it like reverb, phaser, delay, etc... It has three channels(clean, distortion, overdrive distortion). I have it running through a 4x12 cabinet as you can see. I do not have the 1x12 speaker(the one that comes in the combo) hooked up. You can have both the 4x12 and the 1x12 hooked up at the same time without affecting power at all. It sounds a little different. I really think that 1x12 gets the high notes well and the 4x12 sounds a little woofy. I have been a a woofy and bassy mood lately so I only have the 4x12 hooked up. When both are hooked up it sounds pretty good.
The 1x12 and 4x12 speakers are all Celestions. The 4x12 was just bought about 6 months ago so it is a newer model as well.
Here's my thing...The distortion just doesn't "kick ass" like a tube amp's distortion seems to. The light distortion tries to be a bluesy gritty classic rock type distortion. It doesn't sound good so I never use it. The overdrive distortion isn't bad. The distortion can be pretty hardcore and the bass/middle/treble response is good(there is a decent amount of range). But, when you turn it up...it seems to be missing something. I can't describe it. It doesn't sound bad, but it doesn't impress me.
The clean channel sounds very good, although I have noticed it doesn't seem to get as loud as the distortion channels for some reason.
Now, I don't play in a band and I don't plan to. So, my rig or any updates to my rig might be overkill. Nonetheless, I have always thought it would be cool to have a kickass tube head(maybe like a good Mesa Boogie). I could use my Fender for clean stuff and switch to the tube amp for distortion stuff(I would use them in conjunction with a pedal or something).
My mom's husband was a professional musician for years. He is very good at guitar and has a very good ear. He flat out says that tube amps sound great, but they are limited in what they can do. He is all gung ho about solid state/digital stuff. He has a nice pre-amp(one that has a zillion settings and costs like $500). It can do everything from echoes to stereo sounds to realistic instrument modeling(sitars..etc..). He runs it into two Fender 90 Watt amps. Basically, the Fender amps are slave amps that amplify what the pre-amp is doing. He says that with his pre-amp he can emulate a tube amp(or anything) very well. He has no interest in playing tube amps anymore.
So here's my question...should I get a badass tube head? Or should I get another amp and cabinet and then get a preamp and have a pre-amp stereo setup run through two amps hooked up to cabs?
P.S. My cabinet is definately not bad. It is a Fender with Celestions. However, does anybody have any ideas on what super awesome cabs are out there?
My current setup just doesn't "blow me away" right now. Maybe I am picky.
|
spores
haploid
Registered: 02/18/99
Posts: 2,486
Loc: Washington
|
Re: Guitar amplification questions [Re: RandalFlagg]
#3658757 - 01/21/05 02:30 PM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
welcome to the club, I've been through a few different setups and am still searching for the tone I want. tube amps are great, but there is also some very nice digital modeling stuff. I recently got a line 6 POD that I don't know how I lived without before  , haven't found "that tone" on it yet, but it is pretty versatile and fun to play around with. lots of different overdrives/distortions are possible and there are lots of different amp/cab models along with a decent selection of fx.
have you tried your guitar through other setups and got a tone more like what you're looking for? if you have and it still didn't sound good, maybe changing the pickups would be a better idea than buying a whole new amp, just a thought. they can alter your sound pretty drastically, and if they're stock, they probably suck.
I'm certainly no gear head though, unfortunately, the best advice I can give is to go to a store and try a bunch of different stuff out.
DH
|
RandalFlagg
Stranger
Registered: 06/15/02
Posts: 15,608
|
Re: Guitar amplification questions [Re: spores]
#3658784 - 01/21/05 02:36 PM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
have you tried your guitar through other setups and got a tone more like what you're looking for? if not, maybe changing the pickups would be a better idea than buying a whole new amp, just a thought. they can alter your sound pretty drastically, and if they're stock, they probably suck.
Hehe...I don't buy guitars with shit pickups. My guitar is a Schecter with Seymour Duncans(real Seymours...not the fake Duncan Designed ones). I have a JB and a 59. My guitar is mahogany and is nice. I don't play shit guitars.
I actually haven't had a chance to try my guitar through many other setups. I probably should one of these days.
|
spores
haploid
Registered: 02/18/99
Posts: 2,486
Loc: Washington
|
Re: Guitar amplification questions [Re: RandalFlagg]
#3658793 - 01/21/05 02:38 PM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
ahh, nice
sounds like a better amp or preamp is the way to go then...
DH
|
RandalFlagg
Stranger
Registered: 06/15/02
Posts: 15,608
|
Re: Guitar amplification questions [Re: spores]
#3658823 - 01/21/05 02:44 PM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
It's weird...I am experienced enough with amps to be able to tell what I like and don't like, what is junk, and what is a "good deal", but I just do not have enough experience with fiddling with a zillion different models to really know what I want. That "sound" you speak of is hard to find. You know it when you hear it...it just sounds fucking good, full, and perfect. So many things go into how a guitar sounds though that it makes it hard to know what to get unless you have tons of fiddling experience.
My setup isn't bad at all. It just doesn't make me cum in my pants. I want a setup that will do that.
|
automan
blasted chipmunk
Registered: 09/18/03
Posts: 8,272
|
Re: Guitar amplification questions [Re: RandalFlagg]
#3659958 - 01/21/05 05:58 PM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
you need to put a tube preamp i front of everything to open the sound up before it is processed. i recommend getting a mic tube preamp and running that before anything else.
--------------------
No, no, you're not thinking, you're just being logical. ~ Niels Bohr
|
zSDMF
Stranger
Registered: 09/07/04
Posts: 10,562
Loc: lost in nothing 
|
Re: Guitar amplification questions [Re: automan]
#3660025 - 01/21/05 06:10 PM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
But, when you turn it up...it seems to be missing something. I can't describe it. It doesn't sound bad, but it doesn't impress me.
i'm not a gear head in the least, however.. people always say the EXACT OPPOSITE about tube amps.. the lower they are, the shittier they sound. in fact, EVH used some sorta radioshack rigged genius shit to tweak his amp to use max power at low volumes, to get that 'brown sound' even at extremely low volume 
tube amps are pretty good. if ya wanna be a tone-ho(which isn't bad at all), Vox provides some of the sweetest sounds out there IMHO.. particularly the AC-30. my 'teacher,' and one of the best peoples and player I know owns one.. it's old as dirt, and i've never heard such a smoothe, liquid-like sound in my life. if you like overdriven distortion sounds, this kinda amp(or a large % of tube amps) won't provide w/o overdrive pedals. zakk wylde uses a 2203 jcm800 marshall head w/ a boss ds-1 overdrive to give it that sustain and extra balls.
|
 Divided_Sky
Ten ThousandThings
Registered: 11/02/03
Posts: 3,171
Loc: The Shining Void
Last seen: 15 years, 6 months
|
Re: Guitar amplification questions [Re: automan]
#3660056 - 01/21/05 06:14 PM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
If you have the money go with a tube amp. I've never heard a solid state or modelling amp that could come close to a tube amplifier. I like some solid states for a unique clean tone (like on the Wall), but to me it's all about tube stuff. I used to have a Mesa Boogie and it was pretty cool. Nowadays I'm only into old school style amps. I really dig Vox AC-30 type amps but I also like Fenders and old Marshalls.
It all depends on what type of sounds you want. Sounds like you want channel switching and some good overdrives. If that is what you are into you might try one of those Marshall TSLs, or an old Mesa like a Mark I, II or III.
The amp I use is a Top Hat King Royale and I am very happy with it. It's kind of boutiquesy and new they cost alot of money. I put a fair amount of money into NOS tubes and replacing speakers. It doesn't have channel switching but I usually control my distortion with the guitar's volume control. It's pretty good for Neil Young, Tom Petty, The Edge kind of sounds and if I turn it up alot I can get a bit of an AD/DC grind.
--------------------
1. "After an hour I wasn't feeling anything so I decided to take another..."
2. "We were feeling pretty good so we decided to smoke a few bowls..."
3. "I had to be real quiet because my parents were asleep upstairs..."
|
automan
blasted chipmunk
Registered: 09/18/03
Posts: 8,272
|
Re: Guitar amplification questions [Re: Divided_Sky]
#3660806 - 01/21/05 08:35 PM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
for most people, a tube amp is out of their price range, but like i said, adding a tube mic preamp to a solid state amp opens the sound up a ton.
--------------------
No, no, you're not thinking, you're just being logical. ~ Niels Bohr
|
nonoman
ambassador
Registered: 06/25/04
Posts: 1,326
Loc: the wood
Last seen: 5 years, 7 months
|
Re: Guitar amplification questions [Re: automan]
#3667571 - 01/23/05 11:58 AM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
Fender Super Reverb. That is all.
--------------------
|
abhi
Why not?
Registered: 10/11/03
Posts: 16,404
Loc: in some small dive
Last seen: 1 year, 9 days
|
Re: Guitar amplification questions [Re: zSDMF]
#3680193 - 01/25/05 09:40 PM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
Quote:
zSDMF said:
But, when you turn it up...it seems to be missing something. I can't describe it. It doesn't sound bad, but it doesn't impress me.
i'm not a gear head in the least, however.. people always say the EXACT OPPOSITE about tube amps..
Those were just my thoughts when I read that. Solid state amps seem to sound worse and worse as they get louder, whereas tube amps just sound better and better. If you like your cleans you could check out some tube fender amps. I've had the pleasure of playing some old silverfave twin reverbs and I love the tone of those. I definitely wouldn't mind owning one myself.
I feel your pain though, I'm stuck with a 100watt solid state head.
--------------------
|
|
Threaded
Previous
Index
Next
CBD Concentrates 
Kratom Powder for Sale, Maeng Da Thai Kratom Leaf Powder
Edit 
Reply 
1 2 all )
silversoul7
Harbinger
RandalFlagg
vampirism
Kremlin
shr00m