Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: Brow on November 22, 2007, 05:32:07 PM
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Hey guys.
As my current band is pretty much on the point of breaking up, I'm thinking/planning ahead as to what I can do.
1 thing I've wanted to do for a while now is get into/form a covers band, and for this covers band I'm thinking that a rack setup would be more 'fitting' with the style of these bands than my current pedalboard setup would be.
With my current band I use a clean amp as a base and then build on it with various pedals and guitars to build up the sound. I'm also a tweaker and quite anal when it comes to my guitar sound, so the individual pedals allow me to tweak settings etc as I play.
For the cover band, my thoughts are that I'd be less anal about 'my' tone than I would be in the originals band, so I'm thinking about going over to a rack setup so that all the sounds I'd need for the material (whatever that may be) will be EQ'd for my various guitars and be good to go at the push of a button.
My experience with rack setups is quite limited (i've only ever used 3) and they were a JMP1/Mosfet SS Power amp, Rocktron Chameleon (hated it) and the other was a POD XT Pro with an unknown power amp.
I just wondered if anyone had any experience in what I'm planning to do, and/or could provide any ideas as to possible gear for me to look into.
Cheers!
Craig
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My own advice is run something like a Boogie Triaxis through a 6L6 power amp.
Then you can get all your clean, crunch and high gain sounds through a power amp that will be clear and open sounding whilst still having that extra valve sound
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Ive had a kitty hawk power amp long time ago, also 6L6 i think, cheap and it was great, weight alot though.
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Thanks for the posts :)
I think I'm going to go with a Marshall JMP1 for the pre-amp. It's the only 1 I've ever used that I liked the sound of, so think the obvious thing is to go for 1 of those.
Gonna keep my eyes open on Ebay to see what crops up :)
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+1 in regards to Feline's suggestion-it is killer!
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+1 in regards to Feline's suggestion-it is killer!
From looking into them they do definitely seem cool, but at around £700 just for the pre-amp, it's more than I think I need to spend on something which may not be for me in the long run :roll:
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Ive had a kitty hawk power amp long time ago, also 6L6 i think, cheap and it was great, weight alot though.
Sorry need to correct this, the KH was a 2x60w but EL34 based. Still had better cleans then a Marshall IMO.
The JMP-1 is mostly used for metal and such, but if you like the tone, who cares right?
Most of the sound quality of the preamp comes from the poweramp you hook up with it. Listening to your present band which has more 'your' sound like you said i would focus more on the effects and the poweramp you are going to use in the cover band. A clean power amp, so on 6L6 base would be best IMO. If you can buy the JMP-1 cheap i cant think of a reason why you shouldnt, its a decent enough preamp.
Considering this i also would reccomend looking into Mesa, it really works well with effects and i cant say that about the JMP-1 as much im afraid.
I also wouldnt be surprised if you can find one really cheap somewhere, rackmounts seem to have decreased in value very much.
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If you are looking at the Marshall JMP1, then seriously look at the Rocktron Pirhana
Very similar in range etc but a lot more control over the midrange etc - can make all the difference
Alternatively find an ADA MP1
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Thanks for the info Henk and Jonathan :)
The main reason I was leaning more towards a JMP1 is that I used 1 a fair bit while I was at college and quite liked the sound of it.
As I said earlier, I've very little experience of the differing pre-amps available, the only other 1 that I can remember trying was a Rocktron Chameleon (I think) and it sounded dreadful to me.
I've had the Rocktron Pirhana recommended to me on another forum I go on too, so that's possibly an option for me to look into :)
The ADA MP1 is 1 I've looked up on the net a fair bit (it's been the main pre-amp recommended to me besides the JMP-1) but I'm yet to hear a sound clip of it that I've liked much. The clean clips I've heard of the amp have seemed pretty flat and lifeless and the Overdriven 1s sounded very fuzzy and not very clear at all. Maybe that's more down to the user than the pre-amp maybe?
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For one that sounds good that you should be able to pick up cheaply, check out the Digitech Twin Tube. It is the forerunner of the GSP2100 series and sounds way better than they do (though it does benefit from a noise gate!). Stay away from the 21xx range, I had a 2100 and it was way worse than my Twin Tubes (I thought it was broken until I heard a friend's 2101 and it sounded the same!).
I also had a Peavey one time that didn't sound too bad, however it was nicked years ago.
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Hey Phil.
Have you got anymore info on that Digitech Twin Tube? I can't seem to find anything about it on the net.
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This is the HC review:
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Effects/product/DigiTech/GFX-1+TwinTube/10/1
As you can see, most people think it has one of the best preamp sounds around. Finding one might be harder, since it looks like everyone wants to keep theirs! I still have mine with the foot controller (and I am not looking to sell it!!), the last time I was playing out I used to use it. In New York it was great because you could take the house amp and use the twin tube to get all the sounds needed.
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Thanks for the link Phil :)
They do indeed get good reviews, but as you said, finding 1 could prove difficult :?
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i've doin' some hard rock/metal session in studios for about 10 years now,
imho, i seriously recommend you a H&K access preamplifier
if you looking for some rock-metal sound. :D
it is 3 ch preamplifier,
it has two 12ax7 tubes for ch 2(crunch) and ch 3(lead).
ch1 (clean) is tr clean, and i think it's probably the best tr clean
you'll ever find.
i have a mesa triaxis with phat mod, CAE 3+ se and H&K access.
comparing the others, access has more hook options such as efx loops,
and various output options that others don't have.
about the tone, once i compared access hooked with
Groovetube D75 power amplifier(with KT88 installed) to
triaxis hooked with mesa 2:90 power amp, and both set
go to bogner oversized 12x2 cab(v30s).
as you know, opinions about the tone and sound is
all based on your own preference, having said that,
imho, access just eats up the triaxis alive. :twisted:
about rocktron piranha, i don't have it now, but used it for months before.
again, imho, rocktron stuffs sound little harsh to me, including prophesy.
prophesy has really great efxs such as delay and flanger stuff, but still
it's gain sound(incl. RIP Dime's preset) is bit too harsh. :cry:
i recommend you to try piranha before you buy one. 8)
i think you can find H&K access from ebay for good price.
btw, i used jmp-1 for about 4 years (since 2001),
sold it to my friend for 300 bucks after i got access. :)
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Cheers for your reply Shred.
I wouldn't say I'm after 'all out metal' sound, but an option of getting a 'heavier' tone is definitely an option I'd like (something I can't get with my current setup).
I've heard clips of JMP1's ranging from 'clean' to a hell of a lot more gain than I'd ever use. Whereas all but 1 of Rocktron Pirhanas clips I've heard have been massively distorted and very fuzzy sounding.
I think I have my FX/MIDI Controller/Power Amp chosen, but now there's just the pre-amp to decide on :roll:
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Cheers for your reply Shred.
I wouldn't say I'm after 'all out metal' sound, but an option of getting a 'heavier' tone is definitely an option I'd like (something I can't get with my current setup).
I've heard clips of JMP1's ranging from 'clean' to a hell of a lot more gain than I'd ever use. Whereas all but 1 of Rocktron Pirhanas clips I've heard have been massively distorted and very fuzzy sounding.
I think I have my FX/MIDI Controller/Power Amp chosen, but now there's just the pre-amp to decide on :roll:
thanx man, good luck.
oh, btw, i forgot to mention another one,
check Carvin Quad-X if you can find.
it's no longer in production now, but i think i saw one
on ebay sometimes.
i don't have it, but i tasted it for couple of hours at my friend's studio
before he sold his via ebay. :)
the sound of quad-x was pretty nice, thicker and heavier than
line6 pod stuff or other simulated sound from boss(vg-88/gt-8.) or
digitech(some gnx).
access is very versatile preamplfier, but i think quad-x is bit more
versatile and warm sounding.
imho, it's little bit similar to carvin legacy amp's sound. :)
i told you access got two 12ax7 tubes, but check this,
quad-x got 9 tubes. hah!
anyway, they're both 2-unit size,
and i think it's almost stealing, if got any of'em for around $400. 8)
it's all about personal preference based on YOUR ear,
but i should say, it's worth to try'em out. :lol:
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Thanks for your post Shred :)
As regards pre-amps, I think I'm either going with a JMP1, Rocktron Voodu Valve (like the idea of inbuilt FX, so less to work out MIDI wise) or Rocktron Pirhana.
I've looked around for the Carvin 1 you suggested, but couldn't find anything like it on UK Ebay :(