Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: Sancho on August 20, 2011, 02:54:16 PM
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Looks like I'll be in a covers band in the near future. We'll do old school metal and hard rock, probably.
I'm thinking about getting a H&K Switchblade, because it offers loads of tones with a single stomp of the foot.
Unfortunately, I've tried the Switchblade and found the tone OK, but somewhat lacking in detail. But for live work, I suppose I could live with its limitations. I have other amps for recording.
Alternatively, and much more expensive, there are a couple of amps that are midi controllable that would deliver killer tones when combined with a multi effect.
So, do I go with option A, a Switchblade, which is fairly cheap, or do I go for option B, a midi controllable amp (Engl?) with a multi effect processor?
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I would go with B, though I should probably point out that I hated the switchblade I tried, and that I also really like engls :lol:
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B.
You want to try and get an amp that has the most varied voicing from channel to channel though. Invader, VH4, something like that. A lot of multi channel amps dont actuallyu give you that much variety because they're 2 channel with another mode on one or both channels (like the powerball; advertised as 4, is in fact 2).
The most versatile amps I've played through are my VHT pittbull CL100 EQ, 2 channel, similar channels, both capable of clean to high gain, but it has a footswitchable boost and EQ and has never failed to deliver on anything from jazz to death metal; quite remarkable amp, makes me think that one good channel and a boost is worth lots of channels on lesser quality stuff. The other was a VH4, which is genuinely very different through its 4 channels (since it 4 different preamps), and all of them do what they do very well. Both these amps have a voicing thats a bit love or hate though.
Failing that, I'm gonna have to break character for a second and recommend that you at least entertain on of the panic-sales of an Axe FX standard or ultra (after the II was released) and get a poweramp for it. Thathas the effects as well, see.
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Not too keen on the whole digital modeler thing. Just me being old school...
A mate of mine is suggesting the Dual Rectifier. I could probably make do with a good multi channel amp (Engl something, Carvin V3, Dual Recto...) and a couple of my trusty pedals.
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I sypathise. I use VSTs for scratch tracks, but thats it.
I dont find the DR versatile at all. It seems to me to be an amp that has one sound with various amounts of gain (from clean to daft). Most engls cover more territory, but they have a family sound as well (bright, glassy out of the box, but very responsive to different valves).
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Do you need loads of different types of tone and effects though? As the audience probably won't be able to tell anyway! Personally I would go for something that gives one one or two solid tones (ie a great dirty and clean) then worry about individual effects.
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I dont find the DR versatile at all. It seems to me to be an amp that has one sound with various amounts of gain (from clean to daft). Most engls cover more territory, but they have a family sound as well (bright, glassy out of the box, but very responsive to different valves).
+1
Don't get me wrong- I like the recto (not at EU prices, though :(), but it's not what I'd get if I wanted versatility. There are other amps that do the versatility thing much better, if you ask me. A lot of them are fairly pricey, of course, but if you're looking at the recto you're already at the guts of £2k for the head alone.
Out of what I've tried, what I thought was pretty versatile:
Engl: SE, Blackmore, I assume Savage too (i have a savage se, which isn't quite the same, but which is supposedly similar). The invader is meant to be too, but i haven't tried it.
Bogner Ecstacy
VHT Ultralead. the sig X is meant to be super-versatile, but i haven't tried it yet.
Diezel VH4 (though i wasn't too fussed on the cleans)
H&K Triamp (though i wasn't super-fussed on the high gain)
Brunetti XLR-Evo
Genz Benz El-Diablo (from the looks of things, it's a bit love hate, but it's a bit like a more versatile recto).
Koch Multitone
Mesa Roadking
None of those is particularly cheap, but if you're willing to pay Recto money, most of those should be either under budget, or close enough to it that it may be worth stretching. If you ask me, all of those are more versatile than a Recto, unless the recto high gain tone is your main aim and versatility is lower priority.
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Add the Brunetti 059, which has a nice pleximode too.
And, if you like it, the Marshall JVM.
Had the Koch Multitone, but it has not much tone, you have to pump up the gain to get reasonable sounds. Clean channel, ok, the rest so-so.
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I really like the VH4 cleans. Its tempting to draw comparisons with its sounds, but while its very versatile (clean, crunch, a couple of high gain sounds), it very much has its own flavour for each of those sounds and I suppose you like em or dont. I liked the cleans best, I found the high gain a bit too low mid emphasised and saturated (this from a guy that has a powerball :lol:)
I would LOVE to get my hands on a UL. I adore my CL, its my go-to amp, I can only guess that the UL would be even better for me, given the reputed differences. The sig x is apparently extremely versatile, and more 'normal' sounding than other VHTs (which are very dry, uncompressed and aggressive sounding).
I've seen little but hate for the El Diablo myself, but havent even heard clips, so I shant comment.
By and large very good list, though dave. I'll add:
JVM: I dont consider this ultra-versatile, since its another 'same sound, lots of different EQs and amounts of gain to it' amps. You like that sound or you dont. But its various permutations of that sound go from clean to face melting and does all points in between, and is midi switchable. 4 channels, each with 3 modes, two masters, blah blah; lots of possible permutations. I like mine, I use it often for leads and crunch rhythm. I dont use it so much for higher gain or clean as my other amps do it better to my ears, but it can handle it.
Mesa Mks. All, especially the IV and V. Another really dry breed of amp with lots of versions of and ways to shape a common core sound. Like that dry, articulate, unforgiving voicing and it can do more or less anything for you.
The Invader is indeed very versatile. Had one in here not too long ago, was fun but I prefered my powerball. Its sounds all seemed a little bit engl trying not to be engl; warmer and smoother. Kinda like Marshall TSLs trying to be JCM800s and DRs in the same box. The engl realises this fantasy much better than the TSL did, but I found it lacking the precise laser-guided-pointy-sledgehammer mechanical aggression that I've come to know and love from engls. Maybe that would be a plus to you though :lol:
5150 :lol:
But seriously, if you get a decent amp with more limited options on the front panel, even something single channel, an 800 or deliverance or whatever, and use your guitars volume, a boost/OD and an EQ in the loop, then you can cover massive amounts of territory.
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5150 :lol:
I agree
But seriously, if you get a decent amp with more limited options on the front panel, even something single channel, an 800 or deliverance or whatever, and use your guitars volume, a boost/OD and an EQ in the loop, then you can cover massive amounts of territory.
I also agree with that too all you need is a good 1/2 channel amp max and just get to know how the EQ reacts with each channel and how the master volumes change the EQs (because they do!)
and you will be able to cover most ground
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My two cents.
Most people in a crowd won't notice or care about your sick guitar tone- especially if you're playing covers. In the rare occasion someone notices, then they'll either applaud your awesome tone or admit that you probably don't have the best cash flow.
You could snag a few Tech21 Character Series pedals that I think do a really good job depicting what they're getting at. You could run them through the input of a clean amp, the return of an effects loop, an EHX 44 Magnum, or use the speaker emulation out to the PA (which is convincing).
See also: EHX English Muff'n and that weird Krank pedal that makes everything sound like a Mesa.
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Marshall JCM800 and a couple of good overdrive/distortion pedals.
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Marshall JCM800 and a couple of good overdrive/distortion pedals.
This. Exactly what I'd be doing in your situation.
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(a) I really like the VH4 cleans. Its tempting to draw comparisons with its sounds, but while its very versatile (clean, crunch, a couple of high gain sounds), it very much has its own flavour for each of those sounds and I suppose you like em or dont. I liked the cleans best, I found the high gain a bit too low mid emphasised and saturated (this from a guy that has a powerball :lol:)
(b) I would LOVE to get my hands on a UL. I adore my CL, its my go-to amp, I can only guess that the UL would be even better for me, given the reputed differences. The sig x is apparently extremely versatile, and more 'normal' sounding than other VHTs (which are very dry, uncompressed and aggressive sounding).
(c) I've seen little but hate for the El Diablo myself, but havent even heard clips, so I shant comment.
(d) By and large very good list, though dave. I'll add:
JVM: I dont consider this ultra-versatile, since its another 'same sound, lots of different EQs and amounts of gain to it' amps. You like that sound or you dont. But its various permutations of that sound go from clean to face melting and does all points in between, and is midi switchable. 4 channels, each with 3 modes, two masters, blah blah; lots of possible permutations. I like mine, I use it often for leads and crunch rhythm. I dont use it so much for higher gain or clean as my other amps do it better to my ears, but it can handle it.
Mesa Mks. All, especially the IV and V. Another really dry breed of amp with lots of versions of and ways to shape a common core sound. Like that dry, articulate, unforgiving voicing and it can do more or less anything for you.
The Invader is indeed very versatile. Had one in here not too long ago, was fun but I prefered my powerball. Its sounds all seemed a little bit engl trying not to be engl; warmer and smoother. Kinda like Marshall TSLs trying to be JCM800s and DRs in the same box. The engl realises this fantasy much better than the TSL did, but I found it lacking the precise laser-guided-pointy-sledgehammer mechanical aggression that I've come to know and love from engls. Maybe that would be a plus to you though :lol:
5150 :lol:
But seriously, if you get a decent amp with more limited options on the front panel, even something single channel, an 800 or deliverance or whatever, and use your guitars volume, a boost/OD and an EQ in the loop, then you can cover massive amounts of territory.
(a) yeah, i thought the cleans were the weak link. the crunch channel maybe had a little too much gain and edge too (considering there are two higher gain channels for that type of stuff, i'd probably be running channel 2 at edge-of-breakup levels on that style of amp), but aside from that it was great. Well, aside from the price :lol:
(b) I should probably add that I can't actually remember which vht it was that i tried (i tried a bunch of amps in a row, things got a bit hazy :lol: ), but i *think* it was the UL.
(c) yeah, i've seen a lot of hate. I don't like to throw out these accusations, but I'm not convinced at least some of the hate wasn't user error- it sounded terrible when i tried it, but then the guy in the shop helped me dial it in and it sounded pretty great (it had a bunch of weird knobs on it which weren't exactly self-explanatory). Admittedly, it could be a bit dark, so I'm not saying that everyone who hated it didn't dial it in right or anything like that.
(d) :drink:
yeah the jvm would be worth a look too. Laney vh100r, too, if you're trying to keep the price down. I haven't tried the marks, but i hear they're versatile too.
And yeah, there's nothing to stop you from getting a less versatile amp and using boosts etc. too. Can be a lot cheaper, as well.
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Do you need loads of different types of tone and effects though? As the audience probably won't be able to tell anyway! Personally I would go for something that gives one one or two solid tones (ie a great dirty and clean) then worry about individual effects.
No, I don't really need loads of different tones. Playing the riff right is 90% of getting the tone right.
Clean, rhythm and lead. But rhythm does not equal "crunch". I'm not Malcolm Young. I want a rhythm tone with some gain.
A two channel amp with footswitchable master volumes would do the trick as well.
But seriously, if you get a decent amp with more limited options on the front panel, even something single channel, an 800 or deliverance or whatever, and use your guitars volume, a boost/OD and an EQ in the loop, then you can cover massive amounts of territory.
I've used my volume knob to go to clean for years. But I'm bored with that approach. I want the amp to do the work.
Marshall JCM800 and a couple of good overdrive/distortion pedals.
This. Exactly what I'd be doing in your situation.
Until I get my new amp sorted out, I'll be running a Jekyll & Hyde into a JCM 800 set for clean. This will give me acceptable three channel operation.
That being said, looks like my Carvin V3M is ticking all the right boxes, and its bigger brother is getting ever nearer the top of my list.
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(a) Clean, rhythm and lead. But rhythm does not equal "crunch". I'm not Malcolm Young. I want a rhythm tone with some gain.
A two channel amp with footswitchable master volumes would do the trick as well.
(b) That being said, looks like my Carvin V3M is ticking all the right boxes, and its bigger brother is getting ever nearer the top of my list.
(a) or even just with a boost. you can also approximate the twin switchable masters approach with either a boost or passive volume pedal in the loop (i think)- so don't discount otherwise perfect amps just because they don't have switchable masters, because that's one of the easiest things to to fix.
(b) yeah i mean if the carvin does what you want, then go with that. I didn't mention them because I haven't tried them, that's the only reason.
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(b) yeah i mean if the carvin does what you want, then go with that. I didn't mention them because I haven't tried them, that's the only reason.
I'll wait until the honeymoon phase is over before I pull the trigger.
As for the boost in the loop : I've done that before and it does work with most amps. Which puts the 5150 family back on the map as well.
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Laney VH100 - 2 channels with 2 footswitchable modes each. Great high gain sounds and the cleans are fantastic as well.
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Laney VH100
I love my GH100L. Love it. But... it was slightly modded to smooth out the gain.
The guy who did the mods has vanished from the face of the earth, unfortunately. But yeah, I suppose I should put the VH100 on my shortlist. Which by now isn't quite so short any more...
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Marshall JCM800 and a couple of good overdrive/distortion pedals.
This. Exactly what I'd be doing in your situation.
this IS essentially what I do and cover everything from Lady Gaga to The Darkness - use your guitar's volume pot to vary the overdriven tone.
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use your guitar's volume pot to vary the overdriven tone.
Nope, sorry. Not a road I want to take...
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use your guitar's volume pot to vary the overdriven tone.
Nope, sorry. Not a road I want to take...
why not? - some great tones to be had that way.
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I'm with HTH on the "why not?"
Not because I think you ought to do it, everyone's got to go their own way to get their instrument doing what they want it to do.
But I would be interested to hear your reasoning after "Not a road I want to take...". That made it sound like you think it might be some effort and possibly not productive enough. Of course, it does kinda depend on the type of music you play, how distinct you want the different voices to be, and the ease of getting from one to another accurately everytime.
Personally, I stumbled into the volume control way of doing it in gigs in the 80s because I had to - I was lead guitar and lead vocal and I was using a single channel marshall-type thing. I used a guvnor to kick it a bit harder when I wanted, but I was pretty much using vol/tone on the guitar almost by instinct.
Playing at home, I was still tending to use "everything on full" on the guitar because at living room volumes backing off does tend to muddy you up a bit more than you'd like. In the last few years though (always at home now) after much fiddling with small amps and a couple of modellors, I've found that the "muddying up" thing was a lot more to do with trying to use my "gig" amp EQ after turning the master down to neighbour friendly levels. I'm much more prepared to naff about with the EQ knobs on an amp nowadays depending on what volume I'm restricted to... in days gone by I used to "find my magical settings" on the amp and then tended to expect it to work from one venue to the next, forgetting that it still had adjustable tone controls! :lol:
I've actually had a lot more grief and problems getting a channel switching amp to do what I want. Yeah, I can get a cleaner clean or more godlike "godlike-lead-tone"... but can i get the two to sound like it's the same guitarist in the same song?! Nope... :roll:
So, ummm... yeah, I'm probably even less help for you in this thread than some others. I'd personally want a single channel amp that gave me "the" basic sound which I could then stick a quick boost/overdrive in front of if the guitar controls didn't give me enough variation. :lol:
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My own limitations are that i MUST have a dedicated clean channel.
Purely because i dont have any controls wired up on my guitars other than the pickup selector as i prefer the tone this way.
And also the fact that im too lazy and when i tried it i could never get it consistent.
For me its 2 strong channels & a seperate boost for solos all the way
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use your guitar's volume pot to vary the overdriven tone.
Nope, sorry. Not a road I want to take...
Agree that for you that is NOT the road to take, it's 2011 for Christ's sake, the technology is available to switch tones with one switch of a pedal, most players who need versatility in cover bands don't need to be fiddling with volume nobs like EVH did back in the day messing with single channels amps- that's exactly why his latest amp is a 3 channel beast!
I suggest you consder a jvm410 (midi controllable), EVH5150iii ( 50w version coming out soon should be less than a grand) or an engl screamer head....add a few pedals or a gmajor in the loop for later on and you've got a cracking rig. i hate to say it but someone earlier suggested axe fx ultra on the cheap which sounds like a plan but not sure how cheap they'll get and then you've got a hassle of getting a separate poweramp and rack gear etc.
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...this dude gets some killer tones with his engl screamer head and gmajor- check it out-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCwK3c9S4JY
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why not? - some great tones to be had that way.
Agree that for you that is NOT the road to take, it's 2011 for Christ's sake, the technology is available to switch tones with one switch of a pedal, most players who need versatility in cover bands don't need to be fiddling with volume nobs like EVH did back in the day messing with single channels amps- that's exactly why his latest amp is a 3 channel beast!
This, basically.
For years I've gotten my clean sound by turning down my guitar's volume. It always felt and sounded like a compromise. Whether with a Laney GH100 or a Marshall 2203 or a DSL, it was passable at best. Each of these amps is capable of both great cleans and great dirt, but not at the same time...
Now I simply want an amp with several dedicated channels.
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...this dude gets some killer tones with his engl screamer head and gmajor- check it out-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCwK3c9S4JY
I agree he gets some good tones, but he's still fiddling about with overdrives. I want to take those out of the equation as well.
The Thunder looks like it might be more up my alley than the Screamer as well. But if I'm going multichannel, I might just as well get separate tone and especially gain controls per channel.
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why not? - some great tones to be had that way.
Agree that for you that is NOT the road to take, it's 2011 for Christ's sake, the technology is available to switch tones with one switch of a pedal, most players who need versatility in cover bands don't need to be fiddling with volume nobs like EVH did back in the day messing with single channels amps- that's exactly why his latest amp is a 3 channel beast!
This, basically.
For years I've gotten my clean sound by turning down my guitar's volume. It always felt and sounded like a compromise. Whether with a Laney GH100 or a Marshall 2203 or a DSL, it was passable at best. Each of these amps is capable of both great cleans and great dirt, but not at the same time...
Now I simply want an amp with several dedicated channels.
Thats fair enough, I do know what you mean. For me it's not a problem as I like my 'clean' quite dirty (crunchy) - it also adds weight to your tone when playing live.
From the amps you say you've played, a Splawn would likely sort you out - plexi, JCM800 and hotrod tones. What else would you want (unless you play extreme metal).
You may also look into a Top Hat Emplexador - plexi and JCM800 tones, great amp.
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I think no one's wrong in this thread. Going from clean to full throttle with the vol.knob can work, but depends on the pickup and amp. I got amazing cleans and semi-cleans this way. However in my current coverband I just need cleans at high levels and this asks for an amp with a lot of headroom (on the clean channel). I prefer at the moment at least a two channelamp. Wit some good pedals you can do a lot of styles. I have great results with the Suhr Riot dist. which is designed for the use in front of the cleanchannel. Great tubeamplike tones out of that box.
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What about the modular series from Egnater and Randall. Gives you plenty of flexibillity with the push of a button.
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Thats fair enough, I do know what you mean. For me it's not a problem as I like my 'clean' quite dirty (crunchy) - it also adds weight to your tone when playing live.
Same here, it works way better for me especially live. The other guitarist I used to play with always had a dedicated clean channel and to me it sounded really sterile and thin when the rest of the band kicked in. FWIW I played in a cover band for about 4 years with a single channel amp, an overdrive pedal and a wah, using guitar volume for cleans. Never felt like I needed more. Everyone's different though I suppose.
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Thats fair enough, I do know what you mean. For me it's not a problem as I like my 'clean' quite dirty (crunchy) - it also adds weight to your tone when playing live.
Same here, it works way better for me especially live. The other guitarist I used to play with always had a dedicated clean channel and to me it sounded really sterile and thin when the rest of the band kicked in. FWIW I played in a cover band for about 4 years with a single channel amp, an overdrive pedal and a wah, using guitar volume for cleans. Never felt like I needed more. Everyone's different though I suppose.
I also find that riding the guitar's volume gives you more control over dynamics - its a dying art with all these unnecessary (imo) multi-channel amps. Two channels is the most I'd ever want and only then it would be if I needed quick clean/dirty switching (think Nirvana).
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Two channels is the most I'd ever want and only then it would be if I needed quick clean/dirty switching (think Nirvana).
For this situation it's easily done with a Gibson-style guitar.. neck pickup with volume rolled down for cleans and bridge on full for the dirty, use the selector switch instead of a footswitch :) On a Les Paul I find it really easy and natural to do with the positioning of the toggle switch.
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(think Nirvana).
I prefer never to think Nirvana...
:P
What about the modular series from Egnater and Randall. Gives you plenty of flexibillity with the push of a button.
Randall is as good as unavailable round here. I wouldn't have a clue where to get one... Egnater, maybe I should give them a try, but I doubt they will add anything to my shortlist at this point.
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Well, I feel I can make a valid contribution here as I play in a covers band and I use a H&K Switchblade. I wrote a review of the Switchblade that you may have read but to summarise, there are pros and cons. The tone isn't as warm and natural as some of the really good, traditional valve amps like a really good Marshall but neither is it bad. It is versatile and a lot more versatile than I need. Of 32 banks of sounds available, I only use three of them and each bank has a Clean, Crunch, high gain rhythm and lead sound available. For two of the banks it's only to change the voicing from British to American and the third bank is only because a particular song we play needs a particular set of effects. Some things I have discovered about it while I've been using it:
1) While the Lead channel is supposed to have a 'British' voicing and the Ultra channel has an 'American' voicing, the bottom line is that they all have a modern feel to them. The distortion is grittier than a Marshall so you can really get it to 'crackle' in a very aggressive way if you want to but it can also be tamed. It's not like a modeling amp because there is no attempt to slavishly duplicate another manufacturer's sound. The Lead channel certainly gives a strong nod towards Marshalls but the tone is still H&K.
2) There are a lot of ways to tweak the sound on a Switchblade because you have EQ, gain, presence, reberb and effects at your disposal and they can all make a serious difference so spending time with it is essential. Sure, it can sound awful, but there are also some really good sounds in there.
3) Newer models come with factory presets stored into the first 16 banks and these can be very useful when understanding the amp. I'm not suggesting they're perfect but they do give you a really good starting point when creating your own tones and I've found that with many of them, only minor tweaking is required. The Gary Moore preset for example was almost spot on right out of the box and I'll be using it next week when the band tries 'Empty Rooms'. If nothing else, the factory presets help you to understand how the amp's controls work quite quickly.
4) For what it is and the quality it is (they're very well built), I think they're priced quite well and they're certainly well priced if you consider what you save on effects (and space). I sold my old amp to help fund the purchase of this one but by the time I'd also sold my distortion, overdrive, chorus, delay and boost pedals and changed to a smaller pedalboard, I actually made a small profit on the whole thing :D
5) For the first time in my guitar playing life, I am completely GAS free. Are there better amps available? Yes, obviously there are but for what I use mine for, it's absolutely perfect and it's bloody loud. I've done two gigs with it now and I haven't been able to get it past 2 yet!
If you want to spend more money then I found the JVM to be really good. It had some great tones and lots of flexibility but was also more expensive and didn't have the effects built in. I tried the Laney VH100R after I'd already bought the Switchblade and was also impressed with that but I found it to have a grittiness to the distortion that was closer to the Switchblade than the Marshall and an amp that big was simply overkill. I've moved away from big amps with a 4X12 cabinet as it takes up too much room fo no real gain. I put my Switchblade combo on an amp stand so it projects better and mic it if required and I need nothing else at all.
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Thanks man for that extensive review.
It confirms both my experiences with and expectations of the Switchblade.
All in all, I think I'd rather go for a good core tone. With a good amp and a couple of pedals (which I already own anyway), I'll be able to do most songs justice (my playing is another matter entirely...)
So I'll probably end up with a Splawn Quickrod.
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That certainly qualifies as a really good amp and I'm sure you'll love it. As with many things to do with guitars, I don't think there is ever a clearly right or wrong choice, just various options that may or may not suit particular individuals. The Switchblade suits me, the Splawn suits you and a JVM may suit someone else. They're all good amps so you really can't go wrong :D
I look forward to reading a review of your Splawn.
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Thanks man for that extensive review.
It confirms both my experiences with and expectations of the Switchblade.
All in all, I think I'd rather go for a good core tone. With a good amp and a couple of pedals (which I already own anyway), I'll be able to do most songs justice (my playing is another matter entirely...)
So I'll probably end up with a Splawn Quickrod.
Exactly. A good core tone is for me always a starting point. When the basis is your cup of tea, then you need just some good pedals and there so many great drives/distortions on the market nowadays.
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Exactly. A good core tone is for me always a starting point. When the basis is your cup of tea, then you need just some good pedals and there so many great drives/distortions on the market nowadays.
The whole idea of this new amp is to get rid of drive and distortion pedals...
That's why the Splawn appeals to me : it's a hotrodded Marshall basically. It has all the tones I need built into it.
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It has quite some gain on tap, so must do the trick without pedals. I just sometimes use pedals on low stagevolumes bec my rockerverb 50 sounds best when crancked.
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Exactly. A good core tone is for me always a starting point. When the basis is your cup of tea, then you need just some good pedals and there so many great drives/distortions on the market nowadays.
The whole idea of this new amp is to get rid of drive and distortion pedals...
That's why the Splawn appeals to me : it's a hotrodded Marshall basically. It has all the tones I need built into it.
This is why i built a SLO clone i got absolutely sick of having to use boosts to get the tone i wanted then having to switch channels and switch the boost in and out. Complete PITA
Im so glad that i dont need them now
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This is why i built a SLO clone i got absolutely sick of having to use boosts to get the tone i wanted then having to switch channels and switch the boost in and out. Complete PITA
Im so glad that i dont need them now
Yes!! x10000!
One step should get me all my basic tones. I still need to do some tapdancing to engage my different modulation effects.
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i've been sniffing around the egnater tweaker lately - might be worth a look
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This is why i built a SLO clone i got absolutely sick of having to use boosts to get the tone i wanted then having to switch channels and switch the boost in and out. Complete PITA
Im so glad that i dont need them now
Yes!! x10000!
One step should get me all my basic tones. I still need to do some tapdancing to engage my different modulation effects.
This is where you move onto a rack fx unit that also does channel switching then its just 1 step either way!
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This is where you move onto a rack fx unit that also does channel switching then its just 1 step either way!
Don't tempt me... I've been trying to simplify stuff as much as possible :?
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well that could potentially be simpler
Amp with g major in loop
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Yeah, but... The phaser in a GMajor won't sound like my Phase 90 run into the front of the amp, for example.
Plus I'd need a switching module to control the amp's channels by midi. Plus I'd need a rackmount tuner...
And a bigger car to ferry it all around :lol:
Nah, I can live with my pedals really. I'm not that big an effects user either way.
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Hehe the g major controls the channels itself & it has a built in rack tuner.
The phase part is true though.
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Hmm, OK... Maybe I can just have a peek at this GMajor contraption...
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Im currently trying to find one used as when i wasn't aware of the full capabilities i saw them go for as little as £150 with a midi floorboard quite a few times.
But now that i want one they seem to have vanished completely
and the £450+ of the g major two doesnt appeal as much
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I've taken a quick look at it. Total overkill for me.
I really only need a bit of phaser for Thin Lizzy covers, a hint of flanger here and there and the odd bit of chorus for 80s stuff and ballads. I've got that covered with my pedalboard.
So, all that remains now is to get the Splawn 8)
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I use the RJM RG-16 to switch channels on my Bogner XTC and add/remove effects (Chrous/Delay/Reverb/EQ) simultaneously, via a midi footswitch out front. Not cheap, but a fantastic piece of kit if you play with a variety of tones live.
If it's good enough for Billy Gibbons, it's good enough for me!