Need amp tips

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MrStitch

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Congratulate me guys! Finally, after 10 long years of putting up with a pile of crap Marshall bottom end solid state piece of sh*t, i FINALLY came across a deal I couldn't pass up. I found a 40 watt Peavy combo XXX with the three channel foot switch thing (programmable, i guess) for $300. Yeah, it was used, but i REALLY had to get rid of that Marshall, and I really needed to get into the tube thing.

I live in a remote area, so actually playing on good amps are rare... in fact, this is the first time i actually got to sit down with one and do some digging. Sure, in the store it was 'ok'... but when I pulled it out in band practice...

HOLY MOTHER OF CHRIST ON A CRUTCH OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!!!!!11!!!1!! :)

Seriously, it was like hearing tone, up front, for the first time in my life! My rythm actually had presence, my leads were rich and warm... and LOUD. And I don't mean 'annoyingly loud', I mean... you could actually hear me in the mix, comfortably, while sounding GOOD. I was so thrilled that I was screwing up licks.. but it didn't matter! IT KICKED ASS!!!

I get heart palpitations just thinking about it hahahah. So, couple pointers here for the passer-by

1) Don't be like me. Save save save, BUY A TUBE AMP! Every effect in the world can only COLOR the crap that your solid state produces... it doesn't FIX it.

2) Solid state doesn't have any range to play with, NONE... which leads me to the core question of my post...

What are some things you guys like to do to get the sweet sounds from your tube amps?

I ask this because when I adjust settings on my amp, you actually hear things changing in a wide array... far different from 'the amp that shall not be named anymore'. Heck, i have a piece of crap $20 wah pedal, with an adjustment level. I usually had that level almost maxed just to get anything slightly passable on my other POS, but when I went to use it on my new amp, I didn't change the setting... it was nearly uncontrollable! We finished the song, i bent down, "Uh... i think I better back this thing off quite a ways".

So I'm totally stoked about playing all over again, and hear the almost unlimited possibilities now that I have TONE. So dish 'em out guys... what do you like to use? I'm looking for EQ settings, differences between Volume and Gain, stomp boxes, configurations, you name it.

I swear to god.. my EARS have been OPENED!!!
 
I'd like to make one slight rebuttal...

When I was in the store, i DID hear better amps... i just didn't have the cash. I played for a little bit on an Orange, and it was extremely impressive (far better than the Peavy i got). The distortion channel was 'ok', but I imagined it would sound great doing certain types of music. What got me was the clean channel... like angels singing. I about came in my pants playing that thing.

Then this other kid was playing a mesa (double or triple, wasn't sure), and it sounded just AWESOME. Granted, for $3000, it BETTER sound good.

So, NO i'm not saying that my XXX is the end-all amp for me, just saying that if/when i get another amp, i will NEVER look at another solid state for as long as i live.

P.S. - Pods suck
 
I didn't particularly care too much for your Christ on a Crutch comment but congrats on your new amp:)

effects pedals still have their place even with tube amps.
if your amp has an effects send and return your pedals will sound better if ran through the loop you will also want to invest in cheap a preamp attenuator like the omnisonic or either get a Weber mass that is rated for your amp.
 
Effects pedals sound better when run through the effects loop, rather than from guitar-to pedals- to amp?? Huh.. had no idea. (yes fella's, workin with the shallow end of the gene pool here)

I had to google the attenuator though. Never heard of it till now. So, if I got this right, it's pretty much a pre-amp, but works differently, internally? And... where would I put that in the pedal chain?
 
Effects pedals sound better when run through the effects loop, rather than from guitar-to pedals- to amp?? Huh.. had no idea. (yes fella's, workin with the shallow end of the gene pool here)

I had to google the attenuator though. Never heard of it till now. So, if I got this right, it's pretty much a pre-amp, but works differently, internally? And... where would I put that in the pedal chain?

actually what an attenuator does is allows you to be able to crank your amp in order to get full tube saturation at a lower volume output, the power attenuator hooks up between the amp and the speakers and disipates the unused portion of power in heat through the unit. the preamp attenuator only works on the preamp side of the amp and must be hooked up through the effects loop send and return I did a review on the Omnisonic preamp attenuator here a while back that explains in depth what attenuators do.
Ya you will get a better tone out of your pedals through the effects send and return IMO
 
I'm all for some tube amps, but I've got a Fender Princeton Chorus that still sees a boatload of use. LOVE that little bastard! Anyway....I've got a Mesa Trem'o'verb and while I don't delve very far into the land of huge distortion, I've got the hot channel setup so it's really f'n loud compared to the not so hot channel. I like to switch from clean to moderately not clean alot for accents on chords and off time picking and when I switch over I'll play a helluva lot lighter and then obnoxiously pluck the accents so they jump out and choke the eyeballs out of you. It's pretty kickass and I can't really get the same thing out of a solid state. I'll second the effects loop. Having control over the wet/dry of the effect in the line adds alot of versatility to the effects, whatever they are.

+1 for good amps
 
So cranking a tube amp will sound better (using one of these thingy's of course)?

Past experience has taught me that, at least with a solid state, "The higher the volume, the WORSE the sound"
 
So cranking a tube amp will sound better (using one of these thingy's of course)?

Past experience has taught me that, at least with a solid state, "The higher the volume, the WORSE the sound"

that is the whole purpose for using tube amps in the first place, yes you get much better tone when the tubes are fully compressed and the only way to achieve this is to crank the power but by the time you get the best tone out of the amp it is too loud thus using an attenuator allows you to be able to crank the amp but the attenuator controls the volume output to the speakers.
 
So cranking a tube amp will sound better (using one of these thingy's of course)?

Past experience has taught me that, at least with a solid state, "The higher the volume, the WORSE the sound"

As tubes get hotter they get louder.When you crank a tube amp you'll get more saturation and natural distortion which adds to the amp's overall gain.The power attenuator allows you to crank your amp to get the extra saturation but keep the volume in check.It's basically a second volume control.

Time based effects like delay and chorus will sound better through an effects loop.Distortion and overdrive pedals and your wah pedal on the other hand still goes before the amp.You should have a standby switch.Show up for practice a little earlier,turn your amp on and flick the standby switch on so it warms up a little before your ready to play.
 
So cranking a tube amp will sound better (using one of these thingy's of course)?

Past experience has taught me that, at least with a solid state, "The higher the volume, the WORSE the sound"

Oooooooooooh yes. :cool:

Two things to note:

1.) re: FX pedals - it depends on the effect. Anything time-based (delay, chorus, reverb) will sound better in the loop, anything gain based thay you DO want to impact the gain structure (OD's, basically) will sound better out front, and then there's sort of a no man's land where it really depends what you're after (a harmonizer will sound more like double stops than two seperate tracks if you put it out front; a volume pedal will function like you're guitar's volume knob, controlling gain AND volume out front, but more like a level control, changing output volume but not the gain structure, in the loop). Really, you just need to think about what you want the amp and effect to do.

2.) Those XXXs have a TON of gain. Like, absolutely disgusting amounts. I couldn't run the Ultra channel much over 2-3 when I tried one. Just be careful with that thing! ;)
 
...What got me was the clean channel... like angels singing. I about came in my pants playing that thing.

There is something just WRONG with mentioning angels and amp-driven autoerotica in the same sentence...
 
There is something just WRONG with mentioning angels and amp-driven autoerotica in the same sentence...

Hahaha... but have you heard an Orange up close before? Perfection, imo.

Good notes, and thanks. Looks like I gotta buy more equipment. :) About the attenuator though.... do i simply hook that up in the effects loop and crank the amp, or do I need to get into the wiring of the thing?
 
I remember when got my Peavey 6505 (my first tube amp). It sounded like ass because the tubes were all dead. I retubed it and fired it up. I'm naturally a pessimist so imagine my surprise when a sound like the spawn of a demon and an angel started oozing out of the cabinet. I could feel my face melting off from the sheer brutality of the tone, while I was simultaniously drooling at the smoothness of it.

There is simply nothing like suddenly hearing your tone improve tenfold. It's a feeling that non-musicians will never understand or experience.
 
There is simply nothing like suddenly hearing your tone improve tenfold. It's a feeling that non-musicians will never understand or experience.

Oh hell yes, that just recently happened to me too. I played several crate ss amps for 20 years cuz I could never afford a good amp. What piles of shit, I always always hated my clean channel, and my heavy distortion was always just kinda 'meh'.

I got a deal on 2 tube heads on CL at the same time, so good I couldnt pass on either. One's a crate blue voodoo, ya I know it's not the bomb, but it's 10x better than the SS amps for sure. Can't beat that for $250! Plus I'll eventually retube it and make it even better. A week or so later I also reloaded a 4x12 with vintage 30's, and that made it even better. Miles ahead of where I was..

But the real mindfuck for me is what's now my main studio amp, a 5w epi valve jr, it sounds incredible, I still can't beleive it! I did a few mods on it and gave it new better tubes, now I have nothing but awesomeness! I run it thru 1/2 of the 4x12 (in stereo mode), so it's effectively a 2x12 with v30's. The vj cost only $70 including the tubes, but it sounds sooooo damn good I'm blown away every time I hear it! The clean is so smooth, I've never heard anything like it coming out of any amp I've ever played.

Neither of my tube amps are high end, but holy balls, it is a 20x improvement, at least, I can't quantify it! Now I absolutely LOVE my studio and stage rigs!
 
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