just got my sp vtb1 preamp.. questions

[random effect]

the preamp seems to be just fine for vocals but it makes the guitar sound very harsh when im using distortion. i tried messing with mic placement and the tube blend but i can't seem to get a good distorted guitar sound from it. I'm micing a marshall halfstack with a shure sm57 and running through a 3630 comp into the preamp. should i reverse the order of pre and comp? any tips on the gain staging in the preamp? It just sounds really harsh and brittle. thanks guys

[scrubs]

If you're going to use the compressor (personally, I'd advise against it), it should be routed as an insert, via the insert point on the vtb-1. The compressor is expecting a much hotter signal than is produced by your mic. Take the compressor out of the chain entirely, and I'm guessing your sound will improve.

[random effect]

yea i just tried that actually right before you posted and it's still really gritty sounding... I know a tube pre adds some balls but this sounds a little too rough. I backed down the tube blend to ss and it still has some strange breakup in the high frequencies

[Micter]

Where are you placing the mic? It seems as though you might be over the voice coil. Try putting it between the voice coil and the edge.

[random effect]

i've tried it right at the cone and that was very brittle sounding and then i tried it closer to the edge and it was a little better but lacked clarity. i bypassed the pre and there wasn't any harshness but the signal waS A LOT weaker

[orksnork]

well...it wasn't amplified.

[random effect]

yea i gathered this much. Im just saying that it sounded much smoother but i can see the benefits of the tube in how punchy and clear the sound is when used.