Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum

Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: sambo on January 31, 2006, 04:34:14 PM

Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: sambo on January 31, 2006, 04:34:14 PM
ok so no problem with the lc30 off ebay- it arrived today in pretty good condition and sounds AMAZING! the dodgy picture control panel pictures i was worried about are still a complete mystery to me but its definately the lc30 i received not a vc30 so im ok!

just wondered though, seeing as this is my first valve amp and i have virtually no experience with them what so ever, is there anything i should be careful with? just the basic do's and dont's of valve amps: imagine im an idiot who knows nothing about amps  :roll:  - dont overlook anything- i want to be sure i dont accidently mash something up...

for example- could anything go wrong if i play whilst the valves are warming up e.t.c e.t.c, you get the idea... thanks in advance...

sam.
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: Davey on January 31, 2006, 04:48:44 PM
glad to hear that the deal went down ok...

IMO, the VC30 panel on ebay was due to the fact that the dude couldnt find a good closeup of the LC30 panel and found that one on the net. was the 1st front panel laney picture that poped up. he ust didnt pay attention..


anyway.. i'll be getting that amps little brother (lc15r) sometime late february/early march, sooo.. get posting folks :D
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: sambo on January 31, 2006, 05:12:13 PM
kool if the 15 is anything like my 30 then you wont be disppointed its a great amp.
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: Dakine on January 31, 2006, 05:24:19 PM
Sorry,
no insight here but CONGRATS!  :P
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: sambo on January 31, 2006, 05:26:15 PM
lol thanks dude. just cant wait to crank it now!
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: tewboss on January 31, 2006, 05:43:14 PM
general valve amp tips

- turn the amp onto standby for about 40 seconds before you actually turn it on
- before you move the amp make sure the tubes have cooled otherwise you will shorten the life of them
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: sambo on January 31, 2006, 05:44:33 PM
ok cheers tewboss thats exactly the kinda stuff i need...
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: Johnny Mac on February 01, 2006, 05:17:00 AM
Don't turn it on without the speakers connected as the power has no where to go but as its a combo this should'nt affect you as much.
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: math2014 on February 01, 2006, 07:50:06 PM
Congrats man!

Wellcome to the Laney club  :twisted:

I got the LC30II (which i was told today by someone that is a cheap-o chinese made amp, which wont deliver any reputable tones...).

Yannis

PS. I am happy with the LC30II  :shock:
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: sambo on February 01, 2006, 07:53:55 PM
kool thanks dude.... im not sure which one supposed to be "better" the lc30II or the 'original' .... big steve on here told me that the original is a bit brighter and the mkII has slightly more gain and thats about the only difference.

who told you that about your mkII???? you definately should  :shock:  them whoever it was, they seem fantastic amps to me on first impressions: still getting used to mine at the moment.

sam.

p.s still waiting to crank mine  :twisted:
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: Davey on February 01, 2006, 08:08:08 PM
i played through a VC30 on a gig w/ a marshall guv'nor in front. the usual semi flat EQ, master on 4, gain on around 3, the rest from the marshall. with a JB/59 equiped epi SG. the tone was AWESOME!! singing leads, crushing rythms.
i was in tone heaven. wanted to buy it on the spot, but dude just smiled and declined LOL .. i could have heard why (though he was playing a cheap LTD)


i heard gilbert used the LC15 on a clinic for something or other =P
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: sambo on February 01, 2006, 08:10:49 PM
how does a vc30 compare with an lc30? sorry should really just google that but cant be arsed lol.  :P
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: Davey on February 01, 2006, 08:30:56 PM
i havent played an LC amp, so i cant tell you..

but for starters, the speakers are diferent(i think), they are voiced diferently (the VC series, is vintage voiced, should be a tad brighter and have less gain)

lets see what the laney catalogue says
yep... more a bluesy amp, pure class A.. other specs differ too
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: math2014 on February 01, 2006, 08:53:16 PM
Quote from: sambo
kool thanks dude.... im not sure which one supposed to be "better" the lc30II or the 'original' .... big steve on here told me that the original is a bit brighter and the mkII has slightly more gain and thats about the only difference.

who told you that about your mkII???? you definately should  :shock:  them whoever it was, they seem fantastic amps to me on first impressions: still getting used to mine at the moment.

sam.

p.s still waiting to crank mine  :twisted:


You dont want to know who told me this about the MKII that i got... :D, it is plain silly...

Congrats again on the MKI man it rocks.

PS. I have tested VC30 vs LC30 head to head in a studio, clean was almost identical, drive was much more on the LC30.
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: sambo on February 01, 2006, 08:56:50 PM
lol kool cheers dude.
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: Davey on February 01, 2006, 08:59:48 PM
Quote from: math2014

Congrats again on the MKI man it rocks.

PS. I have tested VC30 vs LC30 head to head in a studio, clean was almost identical, drive was much more on the LC30.
thats what i'd expect, cos the VC30 is marketed in the same are as the peavey classics.. ie, blues amps, where the LC series is more for the all out rock player
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: sambo on February 01, 2006, 10:03:18 PM
ah right didnt know that.... speaking of peavy classics they're great amps too- my guitar teachers got one and it sounds amazing!
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: Davey on February 02, 2006, 09:21:36 AM
yea, but they NEED a pedal in front, cos in its stock form, it will only bring out ac/dc type overdrive with a hot pickup.. and everything dimed
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: maliciousteve on February 21, 2006, 04:25:37 PM
I played through an LC30II today. Am i right in thinking that this particular amp sounds a bit muffled on the overdriven channel? it sounded like it needed a presence control because it sounded like a pillow was in front of it. It was a fun amp to play through though.
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: sambo on February 21, 2006, 04:27:20 PM
yer mine feels like its just holding something back and that the right boost pedal or something would release hell....

mines not a II though its an original- mkI
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: math2014 on February 21, 2006, 06:51:31 PM
On the flipside, i thought that in stock form, the LC30II is overly bright. It is spot on now with the JJ valves.

But maybe the pillow effect would be associated with the stock speaker?
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: sambo on February 21, 2006, 07:56:09 PM
yer maybe its something to do with the speaker or valves in stock form... they just feel like they'r not quite right... but i reckon with a bit of tweaking, they could become amazing...
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: Tin(it)us on February 27, 2006, 05:10:06 PM
I owned an LC30I amp for a few years before I moved on to get something better suited to my taste. It served me well as a "poor man's VOX" I gigged alot with mine and used the extension 2x10 cab with it to get fuller tones onstage.

The stock speaker in the LC30 (HH invader) isn't that inspiring so you might consider upgrading it in the future. Even a G12H or similar would probably be alot better. I use the small brother, the LC15R, at home and when I replaced the speaker with a Jensen P10R Alnico it sounded way better, much more like an old amp actually.

There is a neat trick I used with my LC30 to boost solos. I inserted two 3m guitar cables in the send and return of the parallel effects loop with an A/B switch to either connect or disconnect them. With the loop broken the amp will function as usual but with the loop closed the effects control at the front (far right) works somewhat like a second master volume on both channels. It's able to boost the output level considerably. Hope this makes sense...
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: sambo on February 27, 2006, 05:17:02 PM
that sounds cool dude.... what you mean by A/B switch though? what exactly do you do with the two cables...?
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: Tin(it)us on February 27, 2006, 05:42:55 PM
An a/b switch has a single input and two outputs, a footswitch will divert the input signal to either of the two outputs off the pedal. Here's one for example: http://www.elderly.com/new_instruments/items/270.htm

Your LC-30 has a parallel fx loop with a send (output) and return (input) on the back panel. The signal path you need is [send] -> [a/b switch] -> [return]. One of the a/b switches outputs remains unused. This gives you two possibilities:
1) the A/B switch blocks the signal (which is diverted to the unused output) so nothing happens, your amp works as usual.
2) The A/B switch connects both cables so the loop is closed. Now, if you turn up the effects dial on the front panel you will notice the sound will get louder the more you open it up. This is your solo boost sound. It works on both the clean and overdrive channel.

You can test this without an a/b switch by using a patchcord plugged into the send and return. Turning up the effects dial will make your amp louder, somewhat like a second master volume.
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: sambo on February 27, 2006, 05:46:31 PM
excellent. cheers dude thats an awesome little trick! gonna have to get me one of them a/b switches now.
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: Tin(it)us on February 27, 2006, 05:51:17 PM
np@all! Now go and enjoy your new amp some more  :D
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: sambo on February 27, 2006, 06:00:34 PM
dude i just went and played it with the drive on about 7 and master volume on about 3/4 (this is the loudest ive managed yet) and it sounds sweeeet! such a big difference in tone between when its quiet and when its a bit louder....

one q. tho- when it turn the standby+power switches off when im done playing, it fizzes and sounds like the amps dying lol. only lasts a few seconds and hasnt affected anything (i dont think) but it sounds really bad---- any idea?
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: Davey on February 27, 2006, 09:51:57 PM
tubes make that sound
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: sambo on February 27, 2006, 09:53:50 PM
its meant to do that? only thing is i remember playing a vox ac30 in a shop once and when that was turned off it didnt make a similar noise??? it just sounds so unnatural and damaging....
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: Tin(it)us on February 27, 2006, 10:07:53 PM
There are many valve amps that do that, especially if you keep the volumes up when you switch down. What you're basically hearing are different amp components releasing their voltages. No worries there or chances of damage, if the noise reacts to the master volume you might want to turn that down before switching off.

Dunno where anymore but I read somewhere that it's actually even better to turn an amp off with the standby in playing mode, as this would give a better chance for everything to release voltage.
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: sambo on February 27, 2006, 10:09:11 PM
okay cheers guys. that puts my mind at ease.
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: Tin(it)us on February 27, 2006, 10:22:22 PM
Oh I forgot: if you dig your amps sound at high levels (and who doesn't :twisted:) you might want to test a power attenuator sometime in the future. This will enable you to get that amp-on-ten sound with much lower volumes. I play a very loud amp myself and this tool (I own a THD Hotplate) made getting a nice sound in smaller clubs so much easier.
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: sambo on February 27, 2006, 10:24:33 PM
yer i thought about a hotplate. at first i was sceptical but indy played me a clip of his jcm800 at low volume with the hotplate off and then on and the difference blew me away. thing is, how could i actually try one without buying one?!?! no one i know has one... i dont think...
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: Tinus on February 27, 2006, 11:11:49 PM
Well let's see, Chandler guitars sells them so could probably try them out there. If you'd want to take the plunge there's one offered in the seconds out / for sale forum: http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2011

Still I'd wait awhile and get used to yer new amp some more before spending more right now. Also I'd experiment with lower gain / higher master volume settings as these might sound better than the other way around.

Oh, and I'm the same guy as Tin(it)us, this is my previous account which was reanimated by Ol so I'll be using that from now.
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: sambo on February 27, 2006, 11:14:04 PM
ok cool thanks for the info.


yer i was gonna ask about the two accounts lol.
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: math2014 on February 28, 2006, 07:22:36 AM
I dont want to add more GAS but the LC30 with/without the hotplate is worlds away, i never turn the hotplate off (though i play 100% at home to an imaginary croud with imaginary groupies etc etc)
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: sambo on February 28, 2006, 08:17:17 AM
hahaah!!!! neeeeed a hotplat.e..
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: Tinus on February 28, 2006, 02:17:51 PM
Yes you do!!!!  :twisted:  :twisted:  :twisted:  :twisted:  :twisted:
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: sambo on February 28, 2006, 04:13:04 PM
who wants to buy me one????
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: indysmith on February 28, 2006, 05:11:24 PM
I'd give you mine, but I LOVE IT :twisted:
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: sambo on February 28, 2006, 05:20:27 PM
can you lend it to me? for an extended period of time...
Title: laney lc30 arrived today! + valve help/advice???
Post by: twangmeister on February 09, 2007, 05:27:15 PM
Quote from: Tin(it)us
An a/b switch has a single input and two outputs, a footswitch will divert the input signal to either of the two outputs off the pedal. Here's one for example: http://www.elderly.com/new_instruments/items/270.htm

Your LC-30 has a parallel fx loop with a send (output) and return (input) on the back panel. The signal path you need is [send] -> [a/b switch] -> [return]. One of the a/b switches outputs remains unused. This gives you two possibilities:
1) the A/B switch blocks the signal (which is diverted to the unused output) so nothing happens, your amp works as usual.
2) The A/B switch connects both cables so the loop is closed. Now, if you turn up the effects dial on the front panel you will notice the sound will get louder the more you open it up. This is your solo boost sound. It works on both the clean and overdrive channel.

You can test this without an a/b switch by using a patchcord plugged into the send and return. Turning up the effects dial will make your amp louder, somewhat like a second master volume.


This actually works really well, thanks for the tip. I run a Laney LC30 with a GS210VE cab.