The New Tone Thread

  • Thread starter Thread starter Telegram Sam
  • Start date Start date
It's just a simple little mod.
ace_smoker_79_back.jpg
you're kidding me right?
Is that the actual mod?

Seriously?

Tell me you're kidding ....... I wouldn't do that to even a cheap guitar.
 
you're kidding me right?
Is that the actual mod?

Seriously?

Tell me you're kidding ....... I wouldn't do that to even a cheap guitar.

Well that one is supposedly Ace's actual guitar, so it has smoked it's way through about a thousand shows before it got retired. But yeah, every pic I could find of the mod involves serious routing on the back to house all the battery packs and lights and wiring and shit. It had a big cover over it though. The metal plate is a "combustion chamber" built in under the neck pickup to house the smoker unit. It gets smoldering hot so it's literally a metal box fitted into the guitar to keep from melting the middle pickup - which didn't work anyway on Ace's guitars. The original plan involved an XLR cable plugged into the guitar right next to the standard guitar cable. When it was smoke time, Ace would poke the fake neck pickup out with his pick and the sound guy would apply phantom power to the guitar to turn on the halogen light and get the smoke going. Later he had it modded to be self-powered with batteries and he'd activate the whole thing with the neck tone knob. He'd twist the knob, the fake pickup would flip out of the way, and he'd let the smoke out. I think it's pretty awesome. :D

4c641ae03a5ba017b0915b3b52aee908.jpg


835b566177285d04fdc340b0147b17a8.jpg



You can clearly see the two cables plugged in in the bottom pic.
 
Cool prop & the original didn't sound too bad either.
Now, I wonder whether folk will argue about the influence of the density of the wood on the tone?
 
Ok...as much as I wanted it to work for me, the ISO cab just ain't gonna cut it for real/keeper tracks....doing some testing today with it, while the lid's open, it seems to do pretty good, but when I close the lid, it makes it sound weird, with the hollow sounding mids/low end I'd been struggling with...But, like I've mentioned before, I can still use it with my DSL-1 H for low-noise di recording (I've mentioned I could use ampsims, but it just ain't the same, I play different & it feels different when I use my real amps), but will have to use the 4x12 (or possibly a 1x12 or the ISO cab with the lid open) for my keeper tracks...

Here's 3 different takes of the same riff/recording, exact same settings (other than I flipped the 0.1w switch to see if it made any difference in the tone) on the amp...same mic position, everything....I did add a gain plug-in on the low power track to make the volume as close as I could to the other 2 clips...

Signal chain:

LP (di) > DSL-1 H > T-75 > '57 ISO cab

Amp settings:

Red Channel

Bass: 5
Mid: 5
Treble: 8
Deep: On
Mid Shift: Off

Volume: 5
Gain: 3

DSL-1 Open ISO cab

DSL-1 Closed ISO cab

DSL-1 low power Closed ISO cab


So, really disappointed with the Randall ISO cab, but, live & learn...It's not the end of the world, as (like I've mentioned 100+ times...lol) that I can still use it to track di's, but for real tracks, it won't be used...In a way, I wish I'd kept the home-made ISO cab, but in reality, that thing was a pain in the ass, & while the results were pretty good, it just wasn't worth fucking with...

Something I've noticed today is the DSL-1's tone is pretty much the same when switching between the 1w & 0.1w modes...I really can't tell any difference between 'em, other than the volume drop, which is actually a good thing for me at night...

Lemme know what you guys think, off to work!!!

Well to me the open lid sound is the best, but they all have a boxy quality to them. The closed lid sounds seem really choked off to me. I'm afraid it's true - that iso cab sucks. Your 4x12 sounds, and even your old iso box sounds, are vastly superior.
 
Well to me the open lid sound is the best, but they all have a boxy quality to them. The closed lid sounds seem really choked off to me. I'm afraid it's true - that iso cab sucks. Your 4x12 sounds, and even your old iso box sounds, are vastly superior.
yep ..... live and learn I guess.
 
Cool prop & the original didn't sound too bad either.
Now, I wonder whether folk will argue about the influence of the density of the wood on the tone?

They can try, but it doesn't matter with Ace's sound, style, and stadium rock volumes.
 
I thought these things were indestructibel...
I had my Marshall Superbass & a Jade Clubman amps stacked on top of this crate which was stacked upon a similar crate.
I noticed they were leaning a little today.
Upon closer investigation I removed the amps to forstall a disaster.
The 2nd crate is still in good nick!pot marshall.webp
Could've been unpleasant - not for the amps - they're made of tough stuff but the gear it was leaning towards - EVERYTHING on my mixing desk!
 
No toans today guys....tomorrow's my birthday, so I'm going out to celebrate tonight....won't be back until tomorrow, gonna make an all-nighter out of it...big 44 tomorrow.....:D.

On the gear side, GAS has struck again...I'm thinking of making my strat into a S-S-S, instead of the H-S-S, so I'll have true strat tones with it....I could put a coil tap on it, but in my experiences, it just isn't the same (on the guitars I've had anyway...)....it's close, but still not quite there....anyway, I'm looking at this guitar pretty hard:

Jackson DK2MQ Pro Series Dinky Electric Guitar

I almost bought this guitar last year, but chose the LP instead...and yes, I've still got the Ibanez which is pretty much the same thing, but IMO this thing looks fuckin' killer....I love the color, & love the maple fretboard....Duncan JB in the bridge, & a '59 in the neck, with a 5-way switch....This could be my Christmas present to myself this year.....:).
 
Haha, happy birthday. Hideous guitar, but whatever floats your boat dude. :D

Ray, come on dude, milk crates? :laughings:
 
Dinky? DINKY? IN Oz that was a very popular brand of caste metal minature toy cars as well as the generic name for a toddler's front wheel pedalled trike.
Greg, Milk Crate - yes, I know but I had my amp heads stacked on one side of the room and the cabs on the otehr so I could tweak without feedback and also reach the DAW consol stuff with guitar strapped on.
Now I'll have to re consider - that was one quite robustly constructed crate too.
 
Dinky? DINKY? IN Oz that was a very popular brand of caste metal minature toy cars as well as the generic name for a toddler's front wheel pedalled trike.
Greg, Milk Crate - yes, I know but I had my amp heads stacked on one side of the room and the cabs on the otehr so I could tweak without feedback and also reach the DAW consol stuff with guitar strapped on.
Now I'll have to re consider - that was one quite robustly constructed crate too.
I kinda like my cabs on the floor ..... that way I can mic a bottom speaker if I want the 'boundary effect' and a higher one if I don't. That eliminates the need for any stand.
 
My cabs just stand on their wheels. I've never noticed any significant difference between the lower and upper speakers. I usually mic the upper speakers just because it's easier.
 
well, and in fairness it's been years since I've had a 4x12 cab.

I think it might have a lot to do with close miking. I do everything loud as shit and right up on the grill. That probably negates any floor effect. If I pull the mic back the floor reflections will probably make a difference.
 
I go back and forth with that ...... I feel like a mic back a foot or two allows the sound to develop and it helps tame any spikey freqs ....... but close micing is so much easier ....... just eliminate the hell outta any variables and you have a rock solid sound to manipulate as you wish. In the last decade or so I've really had less interest in experimenting with sounds and just close mic. Maybe that's why I don't have fun recording anymore ............ maybe I need more playing around like that.
It did use to be fun just trying things for the hell of it.
 
No toans today guys....tomorrow's my birthday, so I'm going out to celebrate tonight....won't be back until tomorrow, gonna make an all-nighter out of it...big 44 tomorrow.....:D.

On the gear side, GAS has struck again...I'm thinking of making my strat into a S-S-S, instead of the H-S-S, so I'll have true strat tones with it....I could put a coil tap on it, but in my experiences, it just isn't the same (on the guitars I've had anyway...)....it's close, but still not quite there....anyway, I'm looking at this guitar pretty hard:

Jackson DK2MQ Pro Series Dinky Electric Guitar

I almost bought this guitar last year, but chose the LP instead...and yes, I've still got the Ibanez which is pretty much the same thing, but IMO this thing looks fuckin' killer....I love the color, & love the maple fretboard....Duncan JB in the bridge, & a '59 in the neck, with a 5-way switch....This could be my Christmas present to myself this year.....:).

Happy Birthday Minerman!

Yeah, straight singles on the Strat is a great way to go; if you have humbucker guitars already, might as well have the tone option of a tilted single in your tone toolbox.

Your "Chupa" sounds awesome, congrats on that.
Forget the whole "iso" thang, the DSL1 sounded pretty monster thru the 4x12's; that's how I always run my JVM1 too.

The Jackson is cool, you know I dig them pointy guitars, but that 3 bolt neck looks like a nightmare waiting to happen Bro. If you like the blue finish and maple the new Charvel ProMod's are very nice too. I would seriously check them out. Same compound radius necks, Strat headstock, same pups & Floyd Rose, but we're talking 4 bolt necks there. :cool:

IMG_2784_zpsbdeed7ac.jpg
 
I thought these things were indestructibel...
I had my Marshall Superbass & a Jade Clubman amps stacked on top of this crate which was stacked upon a similar crate.
I noticed they were leaning a little today.
Upon closer investigation I removed the amps to forstall a disaster.
The 2nd crate is still in good nick!View attachment 90213
Could've been unpleasant - not for the amps - they're made of tough stuff but the gear it was leaning towards - EVERYTHING on my mixing desk!

WOW!!!

Note to self, don't ever try that.

Count your lucky stars right there!
 
I go back and forth with that ...... I feel like a mic back a foot or two allows the sound to develop and it helps tame any spikey freqs ....... but close micing is so much easier ....... just eliminate the hell outta any variables and you have a rock solid sound to manipulate as you wish. In the last decade or so I've really had less interest in experimenting with sounds and just close mic. Maybe that's why I don't have fun recording anymore ............ maybe I need more playing around like that.
It did use to be fun just trying things for the hell of it.

That 2x12 I had seemed a lot "bassier" when it was on the floor. But that was the sound out in the room. The mic on the grill didn't care if it was on the floor or on top of another cab.
 
That 2x12 I had seemed a lot "bassier" when it was on the floor. But that was the sound out in the room. The mic on the grill didn't care if it was on the floor or on top of another cab.
yeah, that's the blessing of close micing and why the people here that freak out about room treatment in your tracking room are wrong.
 
Back
Top