The New Tone Thread

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I've been doing nothing but lurking these forums for the last 2 months because work/life is stupid busy right now and I quite literally have almost no time to post or contribute. I look a this thread almost daily though. How can I not? It's always on page 1.

Anyway, had to say Greg, that the JTM vid that you just posted is killer. What a voice. Dude has great fingers and great pick technique, but that amp really allows his hands to sing. Because there are so many different Marshall amps, "the Marshall sound" is different for different people. This is IT for me.

It looks like Marshall has a good selection of hand wired amps (hopefully with high quality, simple, no BS circuitry) in it's current line up. Have you had any experiences with any of the modern hand wired JTM's?
 
It looks like Marshall has a good selection of hand wired amps (hopefully with high quality, simple, no BS circuitry) in it's current line up. Have you had any experiences with any of the modern hand wired JTM's?

Yeah I've played that same JTM45 in hand-wired reissue form. It's bad ass to me. Marshall, to their credit, does a fantastic job of remaking the amps that made them famous. To their discredit, they wanna rape your wallet to get one. Those amps have NOTHING inside of them. They're as primitive as it gets. But the used market is your friend.

The thing with those type amps, IMO, is you have to play them. They're not a modern design that gives you everything you need when you turn it on and you do nothing else. You have to play your guitar and play the amp. They are players' amps. They can sound like God himself is playing through it, or have you wondering how anyone likes those things. They're not a beginners amp.

For example, I have a 1987x. It's the 50w Plexi reissue. It's more akin to the 70s-era non-master vol amps. But the core sound of that JTM45 clip is in the amp. I can hear it. What I can't do is play it like that. I can't really coax that JTM45 tone out of it for a variety of reasons, the main one being I don't play like that. I don't have the touch or fretboard sensitivity to make it sing quite like that guy in the JTM clip. I don't have the classic rock licks and chops to make it sound like it's "supposed" to sound. I just don't play like that. Like I said, you really have to play those amps. What I can do is make it roar with a fury like a tank flying down a mountain, but that's pretty easy. Lol.
 
Yeah I've played that same JTM45 in hand-wired reissue form. It's bad ass to me. Marshall, to their credit, does a fantastic job of remaking the amps that made them famous. To their discredit, they wanna rape your wallet to get one. Those amps have NOTHING inside of them. They're as primitive as it gets. But the used market is your friend.

The thing with those type amps, IMO, is you have to play them. They're not a modern design that gives you everything you need when you turn it on and you do nothing else. You have to play your guitar and play the amp. They are players' amps. They can sound like God himself is playing through it, or have you wondering how anyone likes those things. They're not a beginners amp.

For example, I have a 1987x. It's the 50w Plexi reissue. It's more akin to the 70s-era non-master vol amps. But the core sound of that JTM45 clip is in the amp. I can hear it. What I can't do is play it like that. I can't really coax that JTM45 tone out of it for a variety of reasons, the main one being I don't play like that. I don't have the touch or fretboard sensitivity to make it sing quite like that guy in the JTM clip. I don't have the classic rock licks and chops to make it sound like it's "supposed" to sound. I just don't play like that. Like I said, you really have to play those amps. What I can do is make it roar with a fury like a tank flying down a mountain, but that's pretty easy. Lol.

That's great to hear. I have one local shop that carries Marshall and they should have one or two, so I will go and spend some time with them this weekend. I had a quick look at the used market here (Southern Ontario) and there's not much happening. I can be patient with a purchase like this though. I love the used market because to me it's more like 'trading my cash' since I can always get it back.

I can 'use' the local store to really get a sense for whether or not this type of head is really for me and I can try it though different cabs to find what works best for me. That's a little tough to do in the used market I guess.

The primitive innards is something I really like. I am very much one of those sorts who 'plays the amp' as much as I 'play the guitar'. Not like this guy though! I don't have 1/20th of these sorts of licks and feel and I guess I don't aspire to, but for my limited grab bag of goto licks and riffs, I do like to really feel the expression in the full chain. I have a Class 5, which is one of those sort of amps that likes to be driven by the player. I feel it a lot. Silky to punchy depending on what the fingers are doing. I do find that the Class 5 forces me to try to play well because it is so revealing of what I am doing. It is at it's best when it is being crunchy and growly. I get the sense that a JTM would be like that in spirit, but on a different scale altogether and with a tone that would be a thing of beauty.

"What I can do is make it roar with a fury like a tank flying down a mountain, but that's pretty easy. Lol."

I think these heads would sound awesome played really aggressively. I imagine each note rings out beautifully with every chord.

Thanks dude. I think I just might be about to embark on a new tone quest here.
 
Haha nice. Yeah big chords do ring out beautifully. That's my favorite thing about these old-style amps. When you dig in they scream, but they're never so raunchy that a chord won't ring every note perfectly. Pick lightly and get really sparkly tones, then big chord BAM! Lol. It's fucking awesome. You can literally dime the amp so it's set to kill, and just rolling off the guitar vol tames it down. For as basic as they are, they're very versatile if you know how to manipulate them.

The Class 5 is similar in the way you have to play it. Keep in mind a JTM45 will be about ten million billion zillion times louder than the Class 5, and the JTM45 has no volume control. It's just loud, all the time. All of those Plexi-type amps are. You will need an attenuator or some type of master volume installed if you wanna use it at home without blowing your ears out. I love me some loud, but not ALL of the time. If you wanna really enjoy that amp, I think you're gonna wanna be able to play it at more reasonable volumes for goofing around. It's even probably too loud for gigs. I use my 50w Plexi in a punk rock band with another guitarist, heavy drums, and growling bass. Without the attenuator, that Plexi is all you hear. I easily stomp out everyone. That's how loud these amps are. And that's *only* 50 watts. My 100 watt Plexi will cause earthquakes. I love recording them at full roar, but they can't be used that way in any real-world practical situation without an attenuator. Just FYI if you hadn't considered that.

Also, if you go try one out, or any 4-input Plexi type amp, try the Y-cable like the guy in the vid. I've started using it myself. I think it sounds better than just jumping the channels with a patch cable.
 
Beautiful, Greg. Thanks a lot for the advice. I'm bookmarking this page for the future. Good tip on the Y cable. I was indeed thinking about an attenuator already, specifically from seeing you talk about it before.

GAS can strike at any time. Beware. Holy sweet Mary.
 
Beautiful, Greg. Thanks a lot for the advice. I'm bookmarking this page for the future. Good tip on the Y cable. I was indeed thinking about an attenuator already, specifically from seeing you talk about it before.

GAS can strike at any time. Beware. Holy sweet Mary.

You're welcome dude. By all means, if you get a JTM45, you must post some tones in this thread!

On the attenuators, I use a Weber Mass 200. I don't have much experience with other attenuators, they all work roughly the same way, but the Weber stuff seems to be bad ass by all accounts. I use a variety of cabs so I needed one that wasn't specific to any impedance. The Weber totally fits the bill. I can use it with any cab or combination of cabs. Their customer service is quite good too. I dropped my Mass 200 off the top of a full stack and it shattered the giant resistor inside. I decided to try to fix it myself and they sent me a replacement part right away. It's been fine ever since.
 
Alright guys, been working on a few songs, here's a little clip of one of 'em...There are 4 guitar tracks on this, you should be able to tell when they're all playing...I'm learning the new amp a little more everyday, & trying to get that spot where it's bright enough, without being harsh/brittle, and/or sound like a can of bees...The speakers in the new cab aren't broken in yet, but I'm doing my best to soften 'em up...I gotta say, I like this amp/cab combination a lot...

Signal chain:
SG>interface>re-amp box>EVH LBX>EVH 4x12 Greenback>i5

There is reverb on all the tracks, but that's it...Exact same tonestack settings except I dialed the gain back on the layered/red channel tracks...

Amp settings:
15w mode
Resonance:........0
Bass:................8
Middle:.............3
Treble:.............6
Presence:..........6
Gain:................4 & 8
Volume:...........4

Main tracks: Blue channel, gain on 8, using both pickups in the SG
Layered tracks: Red channel, gain on 4, using the bridge p'up in the SG

WR 6-6-2016

Miner, listening on proper headphones now. Love the intro, its well heavy.

Its seriously hi gain so sounds nothing like the original - but then I know that's not what you're going for. There's nothing bad in there though - it sounds like a good metal tone. I'd like to hear a bit of palm muted chug with it, would sound great I recon.

Wouldn't mind hearing myself re-amped through that at some point!
 
While we're getting back to tones, I thought I'd send you a quick sample of the OCD with the drive at 9PM through my bridge pickup.

View attachment OCD 9PM.mp3

I know everyone and his dog has heard and OCD sound sample before but I thought I would post one - sounds alright actually.
 
Hey guys.........just cutting in here because I know you will know the answer........and then I'll butt out.......maybe. Anyway.......I have an old Ibanez Tube Screamer that uses the older "mini-jack" kind of power cord plug for it. Not the usual "sleeve" plug found on the newer power supplies. Where can I get an adapter to use a sleeve power cord to a mini-jack type power plug? I need it because I want to put the Tube Screamer on my power daisy chain and all those plugs are sleeves. I know I have to double check the polarity.

NEVERMIND.........I FOUND WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR. HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND !!
 
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Thanks guys, I'm still finding my way with the new amp/cab, but I can say there are some good tones in it, I just have to find 'em. I know it doesn't have the headroom & power, but this little thing really reminds me of the Chupacabra that I had. It's got "that" kind of character & gain structure in a tiny little package...

On the last clip in particular, I could probably drop two of the layered tracks (it's only power chords during the intro riff anyway), & it'd still probably sound heavy, so again, I'm still finding my way with this thing...Thanks again!!!


JDOD: Send me your di's dude, I'll do my best with 'em...The last clip you posted sounds pretty good. It's got clarity, but it's not harsh, & it's gain-y, but still defined. I think you're finding your spot with your gear dude...
 
I
Thanks guys, I'm still finding my way with the new amp/cab, but I can say there are some good tones in it, I just have to find 'em. I know it doesn't have the headroom & power, but this little thing really reminds me of the Chupacabra that I had. It's got "that" kind of character & gain structure in a tiny little package...

On the last clip in particular, I could probably drop two of the layered tracks (it's only power chords during the intro riff anyway), & it'd still probably sound heavy, so again, I'm still finding my way with this thing...Thanks again!!!


JDOD: Send me your di's dude, I'll do my best with 'em...The last clip you posted sounds pretty good. It's got clarity, but it's not harsh, & it's gain-y, but still defined. I think you're finding your spot with your gear dude...
Miner, on your White Romm clip, try dropping a couple of the guitars doing power chords but replace them with a few long held notes for the Hammond parts.
 
While we're getting back to tones, I thought I'd send you a quick sample of the OCD with the drive at 9PM through my bridge pickup.

View attachment 97322

I know everyone and his dog has heard and OCD sound sample before but I thought I would post one - sounds alright actually.

Is that through your clean channel? I think OCDs are real good for providing dirt. They're like an amp in a box. Into a clean setting or light crunch they work well. Into an already screaming amp they just muck things up to me.
 
Is that through your clean channel? I think OCDs are real good for providing dirt. They're like an amp in a box. Into a clean setting or light crunch they work well. Into an already screaming amp they just muck things up to me.
Yeah, clean channel. I've found I can get the higher gain settings of the OCD to work if I actually treat it like an amp and stick the SD1 in front of it too. I'm working on a mix using the OCD as my main crunch sound today.
 
Yeah, clean channel. I've found I can get the higher gain settings of the OCD to work if I actually treat it like an amp and stick the SD1 in front of it too. I'm working on a mix using the OCD as my main crunch sound today.

Cool man, post it up when ready.

Today is the day I use this $500 voucher thing. I'm headed out to all corners of Houston to find something to buy. I'm still thinking pedalboard + power supply is my top priority. I'm also thinking the Angus SG will still be mine by the end of the day. I just don't see them giving me a good enough offer to part with it. That's not how they do business.

Wouldn't it be hilarious if I'm totally misunderstanding this $500 thing? I read the fine print. Seems like a 500 dollar e-gift card. Watch it be only good for BC Rich and Line 6 products.
 
Good luck on the shopping spree Greg...

Fuck dude, I have nothing to add to your "list" that you don't already have man, you did mention a couple G12H's a day or two ago, I can honestly say I think you'd like 'em, but again, you've got everything under the sun dude....:)
 
Good luck on the shopping spree Greg...

Fuck dude, I have nothing to add to your "list" that you don't already have man, you did mention a couple G12H's a day or two ago, I can honestly say I think you'd like 'em, but again, you've got everything under the sun dude....:)

I know I'd like them. I don't wanna spend GC prices on them though. When I decide to get some, I think I can do better than that.

What I'm really hoping for is that my usually pretty good luck pops up again. It's not all luck, I do spend time and effort to find killer deals, but there's a lot of luck involved too. I'm hoping I find some kind of forgotten gem in a corner somewhere that costs exactly 500 dollars. :D

I know amps and guitars are pretty much off the table for only 500 bucks. But you never know.
 
I know I'd like them. I don't wanna spend GC prices on them though. When I decide to get some, I think I can do better than that.

What I'm really hoping for is that my usually pretty good luck pops up again. It's not all luck, I do spend time and effort to find killer deals, but there's a lot of luck involved too. I'm hoping I find some kind of forgotten gem in a corner somewhere that costs exactly 500 dollars. :D

I know amps and guitars are pretty much off the table for only 500 bucks. But you never know.

Hopefully there'll be a special offer on a pink Mockingbird...

Here's a shit load of OCD tones (in amongst everything else) meeting mates at the pub now, will check in later.

View attachment AMG OCD.mp3
 
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