The New Tone Thread

[Lt. Bob]

it's fucking great here with the fucking cussing and shit ...............

Being the contrary guy I am I feel compelled to point out that a very large percentage of amps out there are based on either the early Vox circuit or a Fender circuit with modifications done.

The early Marshalls we all love were based on a Fender Bassman and then modded from that.

There actually are not very many original circuits that show up at all so it's prolly an overreach to say the guy 'stole' that circuit and just modded it. That's the case with 80% of all the amps out there.

Also ...... I don't mind hot glue or silicone glue on a cap ..... they're heavy and tend to vibrate and break loose when you throw them in the truck and bounce them down the hywy.

Having said that, you did a beautiful job re-doing that amp's guts. That's how you would hope any boutique amp would be done ................. but they often aren't.

 

[Greg_L]

Oh man, what a stupid name "Billy Blades". Lol. Sounds like a gay wrestler. Gonna google him...then clear my browser history.

I've seen modders hide their mods by painting parts or burying things in silicone or shrink wrap. It still looks neat and tidy though. The fact that you had to redo the thing, and made it look a million times better than the "builder" did, makes me think he's a moron.

 

[DirtySteve]

it's fucking great here with the fucking cussing and shit ...............

Being the contrary guy I am I feel compelled to point out that a very large percentage of amps out there are based on either the early Vox circuit or a Fender circuit with modifications done.

The early Marshalls we all love were based on a Fender Bassman and then modded from that.

There actually are not very many original circuits that show up at all so it's prolly an overreach to say the guy 'stole' that circuit and just modded it. That's the case with 80% of all the amps out there.

Also ...... I don't mind hot glue or silicone glue on a cap ..... they're heavy and tend to vibrate and break loose when you throw them in the truck and bounce them down the hywy.

Having said that, you did a beautiful job re-doing that amp's guts. That's how you would hope any boutique amp would be done ................. but they often aren't.

He claimed to have been ripped off by Cameron on some mods he had done and when he finally got his amp back he reverse engineered it and was going to start selling them for much less. I knew him from the Marshal forum and I didn't do my research. I had only talked beer and music with him, but when a couple of guys from the forum actually met him and played his amps and were talking about how awesome they were I decided to let him build mine. He had only built 50 watters until he made mine. I should have known not to trust a guy that's always talking about how great he is...lesson learned, but by the time I figured out I was getting hosed it was too late and I was too far into it. I just hoped for the best and obviously it didn't work out. It's all water under the bridge now and I'm very proud of the amp that I built.

So, I take it you're in Florida? "America's wang" lol!

Oh man, what a stupid name "Billy Blades". Lol. Sounds like a gay wrestler. Gonna google him...then clear my browser history.

I've seen modders hide their mods by painting parts or burying things in silicone or shrink wrap. It still looks neat and tidy though. The fact that you had to redo the thing, and made it look a million times better than the "builder" did, makes me think he's a moron.

He tried to defend his work after I posted gut shots saying that's how the pros do it and it was perfectly safe. Once I started rebuilding it he hasn't been seen since, hahaha! You're in for a good laugh if you google him. Check out his tattoo work.

 

[Lt. Bob]

Oh man, what a stupid name "Billy Blades". Lol. Sounds like a gay wrestler. Gonna google him...then clear my browser history.

I've seen modders hide their mods by painting parts or burying things in silicone or shrink wrap. It still looks neat and tidy though. The fact that you had to redo the thing, and made it look a million times better than the "builder" did, makes me think he's a moron.

I would ideally want any amp to be set out on a terminal strip like Steve has done there ..... the parts aren't gonna go anywhere and you're not gonna get any noise issues from parts emf'ing each other.
For his first time to do that , it's really impressive.

 

[minerman]

I think Steve did a great job on the amp, even better, he handled the situation a lot better than I would've....


Ok, another T-75 tone, going for some old-school stuff....same mic positions as yesterday, really liking that mic behind the speaker...

LP > X3L (Rat emualtion) > DSL > T-75 > '57 & C1

Set the "Rat" pedal to just slightly boost the amp (you can hear the clean part toward the end....)

DSL:
1w mode
Green channel
Bass: 10
Mid: 4
Treble: 7
Deep: On
Tone Shift: Off
Vol: 10
Gain: 10



Excuse the piss-poor shitty playing, just a quick-n-dirty tone test.....as usual, ran out of time....gotta run....

 

[Lt. Bob]

I think Steve did a great job on the amp, even better, he handled the situation a lot better than I would've....


....

I believe I've said that several times ....... I just don't agree that the before shot was THAT terrible as far as the build goes.
As for all the other stuff, I didn't venture an opinion ...... but ALL these small amps are based on old designs ........... sorry, that's a fact.
Everybody has their own mods to the circuit to get their personal tonality and gain structure out of them but there aren't many actually different amp circuits.

I'm not sure why me pointing that out seemed to come across to ya'll as not recognizing what a great job Steve did on that amp when I said that multiple times.
But once more to be clear: He did an absolutely beautiful job for anyone. Even an experienced builder could have done no better. Simply lovely layout there.

 

[Lt. Bob]

v So, I take it you're in Florida? "America's wang" lol!

yep ......... lol!

Full disclosure ....... that's a Homer Simpson quote!


Your amp sounds and looks great ...... did you do the tolex on the cab and matching speaker?

 

[DirtySteve]

I believe I've said that several times ....... I just don't agree that the before shot was THAT terrible as far as the build goes.
As for all the other stuff, I didn't venture an opinion ...... but ALL these small amps are based on old designs ........... sorry, that's a fact.
Everybody has their own mods to the circuit to get their personal tonality and gain structure out of them but there aren't many actually different amp circuits.

I'm not sure why me pointing that out seemed to come across to ya'll as not recognizing what a great job Steve did on that amp when I said that multiple times.
But once more to be clear: He did an absolutely beautiful job for anyone. Even an experienced builder could have done no better. Simply lovely layout there.

I never took it that way man and I understand what you're saying about the circuit. Thanks for the compliments Lt, I really had fun redoing it and all.

yep ......... lol!

Full disclosure ....... that's a Homer Simpson quote!


Your amp sounds and looks great ...... did you do the tolex on the cab and matching speaker?

The cabs are Sourmash. I'm planning to get a second cab and running a full stack.

 

[Greg_L]

I'm not sure why me pointing that out seemed to come across to ya'll as not recognizing what a great job Steve did

I didn't see it that way at all. I understood you.

 

[Greg_L]

Lt Boob is right about the circuits. I've always though that we're way past the dead end of tube design and technology. That's not a bad thing because tube amps still rule the roost. The audio world is the one place where 100 year old tube technology is still highly regarded and sought after. I just mean really, how many different ways can you build a tube amp? It's all been boiled down to "American" or "British". Sparkling clean with no breakup? Been done a million times for a million years. More gain than anyone knows what to do with? That's been done too. All you can ask for is different features, a few different flavors, and really, all new amps are basically just chasing the sounds of old amps. When was the last real tone revolution? Early 90s maybe? Fender, Mesa, Orange, Marshall, Ampeg....they all established their style and sounds a long time ago and haven't really changed since. Just about everything that's come along is a copy of one of those.

 

[Lt. Bob]

I never took it that way man and I understand what you're saying about the circuit. Thanks for the compliments Lt, I really had fun redoing it and all.



The cabs are Sourmash. I'm planning to get a second cab and running a full stack.

now you're thinking right! Then it'll be time for a double stack!!

 

[ShanPeyton]

The deal is done. I got the guitar and the little fender Mustang Amp for what i wanted!! He however didn't get anywhere close to what he was asking. I dropped it off at my guitar guys and they have been doing a little set-up and string change and over all inspection on it. they just called and told me it is ready and they worst thing they had to say about it is i should consider getting it to the local lutheir sometime this year and get the frets looked at. They are jumbo stainless steels frets and some of the higher *up hair metal section frets are a little tiny bit higher than they should be. But they know i am three chord punk guy so they know that it isn't detrimental for me personally at this stage.

They also plugged it into a couple Marhsalls and an some Oranges and were pretty impressed with it. Said the tones they were getting out of it were pretty awesome.*

Here is the next little surprise juicy part. I went so far as to call Anchor guitars this afternoon (They were formerly Sparrow) and got a guy who was part of the Sparrow Empire and he informed me the guitar i have is a limited edition run of guitars they did with a Calgary based Skateboarding / Rock and Roll / Motorcycle culture influenced clothing company called Megadestoryer. There might be 10 to 15 of these guitars out and around. That explains the slightly cheeseball artwork on it.*

The pros of this guitar he outlined were that the Megadestoeyr model was their Rat Rig "Boss" Model. Which was a Rat Rig with all upgraded hardwear and pickups from the Rat Rig "Pro" Very Nice Surprise.*

The *cons is that, even though they did maybe 15 *or less, they did so many experimental and one off guitars the first few years in business that my "limited run" could potentially be more common then some of their earlier "stock" guitars. If that makes sense. It does kind of make sense in my mind. We were both in agreement however that it is still desirable and and one hell of a find. But i can definitely look past it for simply for what this means to me. I finally got my Sparrow guitar and for a ridiculously cheap price. The guy at Anchor was really surprised at what i got for agrees it was a steal.*

Picking it up after work boys. Very Excited. I wish i had something more than a Fender Mustang or a POD to plug it into. I have some old Distortion pedals and my Gallien Kruger bass amp i could could probably plug it into ? Not sure any of them will really do it any justice though.*

Pics coming up later tonight! Giddy as a little girl HaHa!

 

[ShanPeyton]

My apologies for all the asterisks and sloppy typing. I hammered that out on my phone.

 

[Greg_L]

Haha, awesome man. Get us some pics.....then get you some Marshalls.

 

[ShanPeyton]

Pics.. Sorry if they are too massive guys.

Well here it is. What a rediculous hunk of wood. This thing weighs a ton. It feels like rock and roll. The "quick" set-up that was done to it has improved it infinetly. I lowered the action and wow. Just Wow. Playing those silly little rock a billy bend solo things is a whole new experience. It feels like the strings are sliding over butter. o.k. I'll shut up now.

Head stock. Beautiful. Much Larger than the Gibson Headstock, If anything i would call it a Disney Version of the Les Paul Headstock.



There reverse of the headstock. Serial Number hand painted.



Big Ballsy Stainless Steel Frets and Knock Off trapezoids.



This was pretty well the only way i could get a picture of the cheesy graphic. It's not all that cheesy i guess. Definitely not an accurate reflection of my personal taste but i think they definitely hit a home run with it's subtle-ness.



Graphic in normal to low light. Pretty well have to be on an angle to see it really well.



Sitting next to it's step sister. I am not up on my gibson headstock history perhaps some models have bigger ones then this LP Jr. Special But even though the Sparrow is closer to the foreground you can really see the size difference.



And just a bullshit pic for Greg. No the record isn't in it. It is elsewhere in safe keeping. thanks for the kind review of my tune Bud.




Now i am off to capture some sounds!

 

[minerman]

Bob: I didn't take it that way either dude, at all.....

I thought Steve did a super job on his first build, the point I was trying to make more clear is he handled getting shafted waaaay better than I would've....

You're right on BB's work, it wasn't that bad looking, but the safety issues were definitely not cool....but, I would've been pretty upset if I'd paid for the amp myself, & gotten that kind of work for my $$$$ (it might not have been so bad if BB hadn't made himself sound like fuckin' Reinhold Bogner, Mike Soldano or something....you should've read some of the shit he posted, "sending amps to Sweetwater, AMS, Musician's Friend"....all kinds of bullshit....LOL...Sweetwater my ass....if he'd just been honest, things just would've been a lot better IMO...)...

I know Steve's heard enough of this shit in the Marshall forum though, so I'm gonna hush up about it now....he still did a hell of a lot better building that amp than I could have...ok, ok, enough....LOL......

Shan: Cool looking git-fiddle dude, looks right at home with the Gibson to be honest....Post us some clips dude!!!! Hope it works out for ya, & you're happy with it, that's all that matters...

Steve: You ever make a decision on an interface??? Just wondering man, keep me informed, & I'll do what I can to help....

Greg: Did you hear anything about the cab trade today???? And, have you tried the V30 I sent??? I've been wondering about the speaker....


Well, nobody replied about the tones I posted today, so they must've really sucked ass....LOL....I really didn't listen to it before I left today, but I was getting a kinda Rush 2112-ish tone...or that's what I had in mind anyway....Gonna go check it out, may delete that clip....I do that every so often too, the older clips I remove/delete from Soundcloud to make room for new ones....

 

[ShanPeyton]

Here is a first test run on the new sparrow.

I used the same amp model as i did for the last tone i posted only tweaked as best i could. Spoiler Alert: i have been jammin all night so this may sound good to me now after fiddling with it all night, but i will probably barf a little bit when i hear it tomorrow. Who knows.

I think quite possibly my bridge p/up may need to go down into its home a bit? it sounds pretty bottom heavy for a bridge only position?

It plays like a freakin dream, it feels really solid. Pretty sure i can feel every chord resonating up to my elbows. The g-string stays in tune so much better than on my Epi or My Gibson the strings are a little further apart and i am liking it actually quite a bit more than i had thought i would, though it is clear i need to accommodate for that until i get a feel for it. So far the only thing i can objectively find fault with is that i am not used to the full bottom end on it that my ears are picking up. Too many years of "stock" p/ups ? Or maybe tinker with the height of the p/up. Difficult to judge with out a proper amp.

Clip is a riff from a Hot Water Music song.

 

[minerman]

Sounds good Shan....

On the low/bottom end, might just be that type of guitar man, my new LP has a shitload of bottom, my wife noticed it too, even with the ISO cab (it doesn't kill the sound completely, especially using the Tweaker amp), so again, it may just be the LP type body, I dunno....I do know my LP is great man, I can get all kind of different tones with that thing, the vol/tone knobs make a big difference, & it's just responsive as hell....hopefully your new toy will do the same for you dude, my LP actually inspires me to play more & better (you may not believe the better part listening to my clips....LOL...)...

I'd recommend playing with the p'up height, even though an ampsim isn't as responsive as a real amp, you should be able to tell when you find "the" spot...You've gotta make it yours too dude, set it up how you like it....

I actually like the graphic on it myself, if it were a lighter color, or was more apparent/visible, it might be different for me, but, the guitar looks good IMO...

Congrats dude, sounds good!!!!

 

[Greg_L]

Greg: Did you hear anything about the cab trade today???? And, have you tried the V30 I sent??? I've been wondering about the speaker....


Well, nobody replied about the tones I posted today, so they must've really sucked ass....LOL....I really didn't listen to it before I left today, but I was getting a kinda Rush 2112-ish tone...or that's what I had in mind anyway....Gonna go check it out, may delete that clip....I do that every so often too, the older clips I remove/delete from Soundcloud to make room for new ones....

Sorry man, I didn't even notice any new tones from you. I must have whizzed right past it somehow while posting yesterday. I'll check em later.

No new news on the cab trade yet. We're shooting for saturday afternoon but he hasn't confirmed yet. He's gotta clear his schedule or something.

Yeah the V30 got slapped into the B cab as soon as I got it. Sorry I forgot to report back on that. Works fine and sounds great. So now that cab is a V30/G12T-75 x-pattern. Sounds better than I thought it would to be honest. In other cabs I didn't really like a V30/75 combo. The V30 would always stomp out the 75. Maybe the slightly larger internal volume of the B balances them out better? I don't know. It sounds thick and crunchy though and that's a good thing to me. Partnered up with the Greenback/G12-65 A cab, it's like a choir of rock and roll awesomeness in here.

 

[Greg_L]

Cool guitar Shan! I'm not crazy about the graphic but it isn't that bad and that guitar looks really nice. That is a big ol headstock!

If it's built like a traditional Les Paul it's naturally gonna have a lot more low end than your Jr, and a humbucker will sound much thicker and fatter than the P-90 in your Jr. I love P-90s and LP Jrs but they don't have nearly the beef of a regular humbucking LP. So there's that. If it's too much meat, lowering the pickup can definitely cut some of the low end. Give it a try. Also check your pots. Many Gibsons come with 300k or 500k tone and vol pots. If that Guitar has 250k pots then switching to 500k will brighten it up. A tech could knock that out easy or if you're halfway competent with a soldering iron you could do it yourself.