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Author Topic: VBNAD  (Read 2721 times)

BigB

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VBNAD
« on: May 25, 2013, 09:34:01 PM »
Very Belated New Amp Day

Very very belated - it's been one year now  :? :lol: - but just to let you know:



Got it custom made by a friend (Arnaud from Awaï Custom Amps), basically it's a diode rectified (with switchable tube rectifier simulation) Deluxe Reverb + a kind of a vintage Orange-ish crunch "semi-channel" (shared EQ with the BF channel) + a switch to bypass the EQ on the BF/crunch channel + a SLO channel with two switchable gain/volume settings, all this with a very usable PPIMV.  The Blackface channel is, well, quite close to a Deluxe Reverb, the "crunch" channel gives a fat, low-gain, bluesy crunch and works wonder with boosts and/or ODs for 70s style overdrive, and the SLO channel go from a rich yet detailed overdrive to a massive - yet still very defined (and unforgiving) - wall of sound. Been using it for one year now, my previous band mates were blown off when they first heard it (and they are not the kind of guys to give a sh*t about gear) and my new band's mate love it too, and I've only had compliments on my tone (from the audience and sound ops) on our previous band's last gigs.

It's still not "the perfect amp", as Arnaud had to make some compromises to make all this work in a single amp - if I could afford it I'd ask him to build me two distinct amps out of it - but despite the almost four channels and various switching options and the effective EQ it's very easy to use and just SoundsGood(tm) whatever the settings (or almost - I really had a hard time trying to make it sound bad :lol:).



Have: Crawlers, BGF 50/52s, Mules, ABomb, RiffRaff
Had : Slowhands (n&m), Trilogy (b)

Toe-Knee

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Re: VBNAD
« Reply #1 on: May 25, 2013, 09:40:28 PM »
That looks great! And from your description sounds it too.

Any chance of some clips and gutshots? I always love seeing the insides of unknown amps.
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BigB

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Re: VBNAD
« Reply #2 on: May 25, 2013, 10:44:34 PM »
That looks great! And from your description sounds it too.

Any chance of some clips and gutshots? I always love seeing the insides of unknown amps.

Here's a gutshot of the amp completed:



For the clips I'm afraid you'll have to be patient - I'm not good at recording stuff  :?
Have: Crawlers, BGF 50/52s, Mules, ABomb, RiffRaff
Had : Slowhands (n&m), Trilogy (b)

Kiichi

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Re: VBNAD
« Reply #3 on: May 25, 2013, 11:01:57 PM »
Oh my, that sounds pretty bloody amazing. Just my kind of amp...tell me, where do you live and when are you out at work? Not that I would be thinking about anything...
BKPs in use: 10th set / RY set / Holy Diver b, Emerald n / Crawler bridge, Slowhand mid MQ neck/ Manhattan n
On the sidelines: Stockholm b / Suppermassive n, Mule n, AM set, IT mid

BigB

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Re: VBNAD
« Reply #4 on: May 25, 2013, 11:12:44 PM »
Oh my, that sounds pretty bloody amazing

Well, I wouldn't go that far - it's just a very good and quite versatile amp. To be honest the clean is not on par with real blackface DR (but quite close to a DRRI), I can't say about the SLO part since I never had a chance to play a Soldano but it's still the best (to my ears - YMMV) hi-gain amp I've played so far.

Just my kind of amp...tell me, where do you live and when are you out at work? Not that I would be thinking about anything...

Uhu... Not a chance  :lol: But if you have any reason to take a trip to Bordeaux, France, please be my guest 8)
Have: Crawlers, BGF 50/52s, Mules, ABomb, RiffRaff
Had : Slowhands (n&m), Trilogy (b)

Telerocker

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Re: VBNAD
« Reply #5 on: May 26, 2013, 12:04:22 AM »
Looks like a versatile amp. Congrats!
Mules, VHII, Crawler, MM's, IT's, BG50's.

dave_mc

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Re: VBNAD
« Reply #6 on: May 26, 2013, 07:35:18 PM »
excellent :D

38thBeatle

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Re: VBNAD
« Reply #7 on: May 27, 2013, 11:09:57 AM »
From reading your description and obvious delight, I am pleased that you have a great amp. Getting the tone you love is very satisfying.
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BKP's: Apache, Country Boy, Slowhands.

BigB

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Re: VBNAD
« Reply #8 on: November 24, 2013, 07:44:50 PM »
Quick follow-up: as much as I loved this amp, the SLO channel was a bit too much for my tastes and playing style - I knew it might be the case right from the beginning but still wanted to give it a try and I have no regret, now I know for sure. So this summer the beast has a couple mods:

- the SLO channel turned into something much more JCM800-ish - less gain, a bit less fatness and a bit more of that marshallesque upper-mids spike, and it works better with overdrive pedals so I still can get close to the gain level the previous incarnation delivered
- the clean/crunch channel was made a bit brighter to accommodate my rather dark cab
- the crunch channel now uses all the available gain, which makes it a bit less balanced with the clean channel but it now yields a really really glorious and touch-sensitive old-school type overdrive.



 

Have: Crawlers, BGF 50/52s, Mules, ABomb, RiffRaff
Had : Slowhands (n&m), Trilogy (b)