NAD - A dream come true. 1982 2203 JCM 800

[GuitarIv]

Tubescreamer, Boss OD-1, ProCo Rat, MXR Distortion, Fulltone OCD, Custom Badass OD and so on and on... I have a feeling I will end up buying more drive pedals than I'll ever need 

For now I'm really satisfied with the Bad Monkey, it's unbelievable how well it performs (with EVERY amp I used it with so far) and how cheap it was. I paid like 30 bucks for it back in the day. A damn shame it's been discontinued.

Fiddling with the 2203 I found that the Presence control really makes a difference, I never play the amp above 1 (the neighbours would kill me), but with EMGs, the BM set as boost and the Presence on 8 to 9 the amp produces a chest thumping, gnarly and chewy rhythm tone it's nasty. My cab isn't as pronounced in the high end (V30/G12-65 combo) so I can get away with the brighter settings, but the Presence control really does make a difference. Makes the amp sound sooo pissed off. I'm loving it! 

[gwEm]

Tubescreamer, Boss OD-1, ProCo Rat, MXR Distortion, Fulltone OCD, Custom Badass OD and so on and on... I have a feeling I will end up buying more drive pedals than I'll ever need 

I know I have ;)

There are few schools of thought to run the presence. One is to set the presence to 1 and adjust the treble to taste. The other is to set the treble to 1 and adjust the presence to taste.

I think both approaches sound good in different situations. Generally using the presence instead of the treble makes it sound a little sweeter.

The differences are audible, but quite subtle really.

[GuitarIv]

Well at last I did a quick recording. You can see my Presence is almost dimed and I'm boosting with a Bad Monkey:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpUx_4bA8Sg

[gwEm]

beautiful tone   

[Dave Sloven]

At low master volumes cranking the presence helps a lot.  As you increase the master volume you will generally reach a point where the full sound of the amp is evident and you need to roll off some presence

[blue]

That sounds great!  It's amazing how many different sounds can be gotten with such a simple setup, if you know how to get them.  Who needs multi channel amps! :)
Those EMG's sound really good too, crisp and clear.  It was good to hear them doing something other than all out metal, and they sounded good when you did let rip too

[GuitarIv]

Thanks guys!

Blue: it is amazing indeed. I needed some time to "mature" and realize that I'm more of a simple amp guy and the 800 does everything I need perfectly. I'll be building a pedalboard for it soon and it'll be as simple as the amp: tuner, wah, Underdrive pedal, Overdrive Pedal, Fuzz. I'll never be afraid I won't be able to coax out all sounds of it I need :)

Dave: you're right. As said I noticed it the day I cranked the amp, had to roll down the highs via tone pot on my LP it was that bright. Next up I'll experiment with my 10 band MXR EQ and see what sounds can be had :D