Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: HJM on April 08, 2005, 04:05:14 PM
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Just interested to see what sort of features you all look for.
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One great clean channel and one great gain channel will suit me just fine. I only use the clean channel about 2% of the time, tho ...
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There are only 2 two tones-clean and dirty :twisted: :D
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There are only 2 two tones-clean and dirty :twisted: :D
yeah but you only need one... :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:
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Sort of all of the above really. I'm an amp whore, I'll use anything to get a job done. I do use the Vetta quite a bit as well as the Tonelab SE but I tend to only use about 2% of their capabilities for my own stuff.
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I used to think that more is more....then I learned that less is better. The easier an amp is to use, the more you can play guitar....let your ears do the judging. I had a Line 6 Head that I ran with a 31 band eq and BBE maximizer before I found a usuable sound, which in time was close to four months. The amp had so many options and configs that I felt I was more expressing myself through the amp than my instrument.
Now it`s plug n play baby, crank it and let your heart,soul and feelings make the tone... you could have a dozen stacks all on `11` but unless your projecting yourself through your instrument your not really saying anything atall.
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I use all 3 channels on my Koch.
clean channel for uh, clean!
2nth dirty channel for my Les Paul dirt.
3th channel for my Firebird and Strat dirt. (called Ultra Gain by Dolf Koch, and he's right :D )
so i can change guitars without messing with tha amp settings.
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There are only 2 two tones-clean and dirty :twisted: :D
yeah but you only need one... :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:
Amen brother Yngwie-I only ever use the one amp tone, all the rest is done from the volume knob. No switch tap dancing for me!! :D
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I use all 3 channels on my Koch.
clean channel for uh, clean!
2nth dirty channel for my Les Paul dirt.
3th channel for my Firebird and Strat dirt. (called Ultra Gain by Dolf Koch, and he's right :D )
so i can change guitars without messing with tha amp settings.
Have you got any clips of the Koch you could post-would love to hear it!
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Not realy, but ill try to record some today!
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Not realy, but ill try to record some today!
look forward to it.
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I'm kind of split between the 1st 2 options
Single channel point and shoot?
Basic twin chan clean and dirty?
I have 3 Main amps:
Orange AD30 Head (Single Channel)
Marshall JCM800 2210 (Not technically 2 channels, but footswitchable for clean/OD)
Marshall JTM 60 (2 Channel Clean and Vintage OD)
I tend to switch around with the amps depending on what I'm doing :D
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@Tim
I tried recording the some soundclips today, but the little PC mike isnt doing it any justice, so ill fine a better way to record first.. so no Koch sounds yet ;-)
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To me, that would be a single channel, cathode bias amp. I wonīt go saying "class a" cause itīs not.
Master, treble,bass, volume. I donīt need anything else, i even run the master all the way up, so itīs like itīs not there... Maybe if i need low volume iīll use that feature. Oh by the way, 35 watts. Thatīs way more than what i need!!!! i never played stadiums yet! :D
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I just like a rip-snorting overdriven tone then use the guitar volume to clean things up a little but it's never really 'fender twin' clean - more like, cranked plexi clean :lol:
:twisted:
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Being Almost Older Than God Himself.......... I was bought up in the days when Amps really didn't have Master Volumes and all that clever stuff that everyone goes on about.
So I have always driven from the Volume and Tone Controls of the Guitar.
My Current Set up is a Cornford Harlequin and a Rivera Mk 11 Fender Concert via an A/B Box. The fact that the Harlequin is only 8 Watts tells you that I no longer Gig. This set up is used purely at home in the Studio.
When I was Gigging? Ahhhhhhhhhhhh......Matamp or Orange. In one particularly nasty Band that I ended up Touring with back in 1900 and Frozen over.....I had 2 120 Orange Heads and 4 4X12s and STILL struggled to get heard!!! Course, I'm as Deaf as a Bleedin Post these days!
What was that you said? :D
Cheer's
Rob
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2 Orange 120w.......what - were you insane????
How do you find the Cornford, I think they're a touch dark?
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:D No......Not quite Insane....Well......er.....maybe?
Trouble was that I was having to compete witha Thunderously Loud Micced Drummer, A Bass Player who was STONE Deaf, a Keyboard and Hammond at Full Bore and another Guitarist using about 400 Watts of Marshall and Hiwatt mixed.......Thankfully the job lasted for One Tour, I honestly doubt that I'd have survived another!! :wink:
Personally, I have no problems with the Cornford, Great Little Amp.
Cheer's
Rob
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Running 2 Orange/Matamp stacks would be bloody loud, bet that tour was fun. Single channel amps are a lot more flexible than the lack of controls and switching would have most people believe I think, I can clean my Laney up or get it to grind when it's set right just by varying my pick attack.
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Single channel amps are great-you get your tone quickly so all you gotta do is play, no messing 8)
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I only once had a 'true' 2 channel amp, the reast have always been one tone stack with sometimes a switch for lead/clean. The exception was an old beige Fender Temolux which I used with a Bassman 2x12 cab. But even then I only used one channel!
When I used to gig a lot, I used various Marshalls, but nearly always 50's, other than one gig with a MV100 which I took back the next day! We used to mike up the guitars and I could get a much better sound with the 50 watt amps. I used to use AC30's for a bit too, but kept going back to Marshalls. My favourite set up that I ever had was a small 50w head (probably a JMP50, but back then a Marshall 50 was either big or small to me!), with a Marshall 8x10 cabinet. I was using an SG Junior and a Strat with a DiMarzio bridge pickup.
I have always used a very old Jennings Wah for tone shaping and I have had various boost pedals (from my Tone Bender to now a Blackstone Overdrive). I find setting the amp up for a nice rhythm tone and then boosting the front end suits me. Who wants a clean sound anyway :lol:
I actually use a Fender amp now for clean stuff, but since it is a valve amp, it is not truly clean. I once had a HH VS for about 3 weeks. I was recording at first and it sounded great, then I took it on a gig and it squealed like a pig! I think the Line 6's are the same if you turn them up.
Phil
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Voted for the single channel amps, I learned that less controls means less to fiddle with, and often better overall tone. Also, active use of volume/tone/selector and OD's or boosters pedals will add plenty of gain choices even with a single channel amp.
My own much loved amp (Budda DS30) is actually a twin channel amp but it switches between two poweramps (2x6L6 30w and 4xEL84 30w) with the same (very simple) preamp, so it's more like using two different amps in one cabinet than the usual added high-gain preamp stage. If I hadn't had this I'd probably pick two nice single channel amps and switch between them for clean/crunch and overdrive.
Regards,
Martijn
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There are only 2 two tones-clean and dirty :twisted: :D
:twisted: Heaven "n" Hellll :evil:
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I voted for Twin Channels, even though I own a(nother) 3 Channel amp. I've recently bought an Ampeg VL-503 combo, these amps were designed by Lee Jackson, and really are three amps in one.
Ch1 is great for clean tones, a wee bit of reverb, rarely use it though. Ch2 is where it happens for me, set so that it's just breaking up with either a Vintage Rat, a Guv'nor, or an Ibanez TK999US Tube King (my new toy!). Great tones across the range from cleanish to classic rock to super saturated gain. Great stuff. Ch3 is just dirty. It even has a built in attenuator, it's not so good for home use, but in a live situation, you can crank the Ch volume's, and still be able to hear afterwards.
Add to this equation a THD HotPlate attenuator (better than the built in one), where you can really get those power valves (2x 6550's)cooking.
So that's it, one channel with pedal's = 2 channels (well, it does in my book).
For home use and recording (at home), it's the PODxt every time. Great tones are there for you to find (with your BKP equipped guitar o'course!).
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I prefer a two channel setup w/ a dark footswitchable boost on the lead channel. That's quite like what the amp's going to be like I'm having built at the moment. I think that's versatile enough.
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I'm with Peterku ... I like having a dead clean channel without having to muck around with my guitar's volume control. Actually, I really only use the volume on my guitars to mute 'em ... and I don't use tone knobs at all!
For the gain channel, while I prefer hi gain amps, I usually keep the gain at about 1/2, and use an OD to push the head into distortion. I find that this adds a richness to the tone and a harmonic complexity you don't get with just the amp's gain.
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When I did the last Music Live music show with BKP, Geoff Whitehorn was there with his Crawlers, he had a great trick of using the tone control to soften the guitar tone when playing chords so it didn't overpower the solos....
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Fender Hot Rod Deluxe (I don't use the overdrive channel) into a '67 Fender Bandmaster Speaker cabinet (2 X 12" Jensens) and a Hughes & Kettner Tube Factor pedal for the dirty work.
Simple but effective, will do anything from rockabilly to metal :twisted:
It's only 40 Watts but it's louder than a flathead V8 with open headers :band1:
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If someone bought me a two channel JCM800, I'd love them forever.
Andy!
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If someone bought me a two channel JCM800, I'd love them forever.
Andy!
Oi!
Join the queue!!
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Having said that i own the oddest rig of all- I own about 5 ADA midi preamps - some of which have been modified by the guys at Adadepot
http://www.adadepot.com/
I also own 2 Rocktron Pirhana preamps, a couple of BBE sonic maximisers , a TC Electronic G-Force and Marshall and ADA power amps
The ADA preamps are midi - so it would seem a waste of time having more than 1 but having them modded makes each one very different. One is modded like Paul Gilbert had his done(3TM) with an extra valve and it does kick really well.
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Ooooh, if you ever fancy selling one of the ADA's, give me a bell, I love the Gilbert tone I heard with them :)
Andy!
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Ooooh, if you ever fancy selling one of the ADA's, give me a bell, I love the Gilbert tone I heard with them :)
Andy!
the secret is to get one secondhand - in a shop or ebay and send it to one of their guys who will mod it for you - the 3TM is awesome..
Just been playing through it and it wails
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Horses for courses, tools for job etc etc :D
For live work I have a pair of Boogie combos, a Road King and a TremOVerb. The RK is such a versatile and great amp, 4 wonderful channels. the TremO is just a magic amp though....not sure what it is about it but the TremO is my favourite Mesa. The Mesas also handle most of my gain recording.
Clean-wise in the studio it's one of 3 amps. One is a Yamaha JX50. I know NOTHING about this amp, I saw it advertised in a paper years ago and the dude offered to deliver it for half the price he was asking, he must have been real desperate for the cash or something. It's a simple affair, probably a keyboard amp I suspect, but sounds awesome and has one of the best reverbs I've heard in an amp. Number 2 is a Marshall BluesBreaker, one of the white tolex re-issues with the slightly enlarged cabinet. This amp sounds just fantastic, I love it to bits. Number 3 is a Marshall head from the late 60's. I have no idea what it is, though it looks to me to be similar to the Bluesbreaker but in head format. This one stays at home and in the studio, is a bit old and fragile (though in perfect working order). I run it through old Marshall and Orange cabinets for clean goodness, good for the soul!
My ultimate answer? Dunno, depends on what the situation is. :lol: Though if I could only have one amp it would be a two-channel affair, like the TremO.
N.
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I only ever use the one amp tone, all the rest is done from the volume knob. No switch tap dancing for me!! :D
i was the same way back when i had my 5150
all my guitars had lp style switching (seperate volume for neck/bridge pickups) so i'd just roll the volume back on the neck pickup and switch to that for my cleans...it sounded pretty good, and worked VERY nicely for seemless live switching...but after time the lack of a GOOD clean sound got the better of me, and it was time to move on
nowadays i'm a 3 channel guy...metal cleans, metal rhythm, and rock n roll lead :twisted:
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Two channels if they are really distinctive and useable. But I think it's a matter of maturity to have less channels and who knows, maybe in a few years I'll just have a Plexi with one sound :)
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I currently have a twin-channel amp (Mesa single rectifier) - clean & face-ripping :twisted:
Ideally I'd like an in between "crunch" sound as well. I'm particularly impressed by the switching options that Engls have - hitting one button to change channel AND the patch on my FX unit would be great :)
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How do you like your amp?
I dont. I hate my amp.
I have to wait till I can justify a proper amp before I can get one. I hate having a conscience :cry: . I can afford most of what I want, I just cant bring myself to buying it.
Anyways I'm a twin channel kind of guy. A single channel amp is great but hey... flexibility.
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any more than two makes me ed spin. That being said the Mesa Single has alot more. Yes it has two full EQ channels but then has the clean/pushed, raw/vintage/modern. The Engl is sold/being sold but was similar.
Goodness knows with a Diezel Herbert or Engl Invader etc. I think I would spend more time messing with the amp changes than playing (another reason why the Boss GT-8 is saying bye bye and going along with the Engl). I wanna be more K.I.S.S. keep it simple stoopid :)
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Bucketshred!
If you want an MP-1 i'm selling mine. Look in the seconds out section
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18 months ago I'd have said 2 channels for clean and dirty sounds. But since then I've fitted BKP Mules to my Epi Les Paul and swapped the ashdown for a matamp. Now it's single channel all the way - the BKP's give much more expression when riding the volume control than my stock Epi pups ever did, and the Matamp's a much more responsive amp to the same volume control. So now-a-days it's all about simplicity, less buttons and channels the better. Though I'm still gassing for a Matamp 1224, and that has a frightening number of switches ;)
*Rahnooo*
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that has a frightening number of switches ;)
How many? Three?
:D
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How many? Three?
:D
3 I can cope with. My minimat has 3 on the front, and an attenuator on the back. The 1224 has so many controls I have to take my shoes off so I can count them all :?
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One channel and a guitar with volume & tone knobs.
Although I like single channel amps all my amps are multi-channeled.
That said, I only have one I used both channels on....though rarely do I use both in the same song. It's more like having two single channel amps stuffed into one......
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There are only 2 two tones-clean and dirty :twisted: :D
And they should be easily distinguishable!
Personally I go for the single channels. I can't figure out how to use most of the dual channels...
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I voted for single channel, although my two main amps are twin channeled
(Fender and Laney).
After some years of trying to simplify things, I would go for single channel if I had a chance to start again.
:idea:
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I just voted for two channels, three is better depending on the amp. My amp has one clean and two dirty channels.
One dirty channel is tighter and more clear than the other. But its colder, and has a rougher high end (which is great for those cold cold dark death metal tones.) The other channel has more gain, but the gain is more...crunchy. More like 6550 high gain. Still tight and clear, just a little less than the other. But its perfect for getting that really thick bass + mid sound. Rawr. Think GOD HATES US ALL (slayer).
The first channel is that really clear cold stuff. Korn. Mnemic. Early Rammstein.
So basicaly, three = all worlds covered.
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I'm saying Single Channel here. My Laney (VC30) might be some kind of "Channel and a half" type of thing, technically, but as far as it goes, the guitar goes into the Drive end with all the taps open and gets steered from there. Clean on the volume knob, extra boost from the wee behringer...No problem!!!
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I find that using a good single channel amp works fantastic for any purpose, i only ever used one channel on my amps, coz i was always too tight to pay for the footswitches.. 135 quid for an ENGL footswitch? are you mad! and i couldnt find one that worked for my Carlton and my Marshalls's have all been single channel ones.
hence my decision to order a splawn competition, no need for all those bells and whistles i just want one killer tone that if i roll back the volume knob i can play quiter, not even botherd if it's that clean i like dirt in my chord work it adds texture and dissonance i mean listen to scott henderson recently or andy timmons (resolution) or evh or yngwie they don't use purely clean channels and they rock socks!! also if your in a twin guitar band and your amps don't have a boost y'know when your band mate is soloing ever considered rolling back your volume a bit to make your partner in crime clearer to hear?? ladies and gents?
none of this sparkly poppy clean it's for girls!
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Amps - how do you like yours?
Loud, of course! :twisted:
single channel, just because I'm too lazy to fiddle around with rows and rows of knobs, i just want to plug in and play.
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I have a 3-channel Peavey Rockmaster preamp but since I only need/use the Ultra chan, I vote for the single.
Thing is, I don't need cleans that often or at all sometimes. Usually when there's a clean part in a song why bother switching the channel when you can clean up with a twist of a volume knob especially with a pickup like the Nailbomb?
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I always wanted more than one channel, but when you start playing in bands and not in your head I think you come to realise that with one channel you can have all manner of possibilities.
In all honesty, I don't run the JCM800 with much gain, just a slight breakup and with some clever EQ'ing you can bring a real glassiness back into it which is great for pseudo clean tones. And for heavier tones I'm always using fuzz anyway. So I guess I don't really have it clean, or dirty - what is that, a no-channel amp???
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I voted two channel because that's what I reckon my Laney VC30 is. However I've set up my pedal rig to be run through a clean amp because that';s what I use at home the most. Either the clean channel of a Trace Elliot Tramp or my '74 Princeton Reverb. I also have an '81 Twin Reverb, but it's permanently knackered and needs a proper re-build as every time I've gigged it something has gone "phut" and it's ended up back at the tech's to get whatever went this time fixed!
Now if I can just convince Nik Azam at Ceriatone to to the Voodoo amps mod on it for me...
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I need a twin channel, clean and dirrrrty. The only way I think I could be bothered with a single channel is if I had two of them and was able to A/B them.
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loud...
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I like 2 Channel heads with an Tubescreamer in front of it.
1 channel for a glassy clean tone
1 for heavy heavy stuff
The Tubescreamer to smoothen out my lead tone but boost the level a bit to come out in the mix more.
I should really try and use my Tone Control for all of that, but I haven't quite mastered that yet.
A volume boost would be nice for solos though.
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Although i'm still looking for the ultimate distortion box to give me another sound - i still voted single channel for the tone. you can always roll the volume off for clean (or get a volume pedal with a minimum setting if your a bit lazy) :D
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Although i'm still looking for the ultimate distortion box to give me another sound - i still voted single channel for the tone. you can always roll the volume off for clean (or get a volume pedal with a minimum setting if your a bit lazy) :D
Exactly, multi channel my arse, its not needed (at least for the music I like to play)!
I do like using an overdrive infront sometimes to tighten up my amps tone or as a lead boost though..
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I like single channel non-master volume amps best...crank them up to get a nice thick, dirty tone....use clean boosts or overdrives driven like clean boosts for more saturation and back off the guitars volume for clean tones. This gives me maximum flexibility and maximum tubey goodness for tone. I don't like super high gain preamp amps (a la mesa recto's). I want sensitivity and dynamics in my tone. The pedals allow me a variety of tones but since I run them with the volumes high and the gain low they're not too invasive on my tone just a nice mix of hitting my tubes hard and a little color for variation but all diode sounding.
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Minimanlism is the Key. I like one basic good sound, none of this intergrated effects gubbins! An amp is just an amp, and I like to keep things basic and use stomp boxes to change the sound the old school way. I am currently using the Vox VR30 amp, which I bought for its amazing tone, it has 2 channels, but they both sound great. So I have 2 channels to work from, I tend to use the treble booster a lot with the dirty channel for soloing, and sometimes with the wha added, it sounds great, everytime. Especially with the Mule humbucker its a fat sound.
regards,
Ben.
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one nice clean channel and one nice overdrive channel with a effects loop for a distortion pedal for heavier stuff
e.g Orange thunderverb