Author Topic: An epic tale of my eventful yet horribly disappointing day (Read 14533 times)

Sifu Ben · « **Reply #15 on:** July 07, 2006, 02:15:14 PM »

There is an art to using a drive pedal to boost a dirty amp, and the risk is that it can make it really muddy. You actually need less gain than you think on the pedal. Lots of people really complained about the MXR ZW overdrive when it came out, until they realised that Zakk essentially uses it as a fairly clean boost pedal.
As for the amp, I don't know. My Ashdown is one of the original ones and A) has tons of gain, B) has really good low end and C) has a really clear tone. I must say though, it is at it's best when you tune down to C#, and my guitars have pretty hot bridge pickups set pretty high. Unless you try another Ashdown somewhere else you're not going to know if it's the valves or not, although pretty much any Asian made amp would probably benefit greatly from some decent tubes.

Twinfan · « **Reply #16 on:** July 07, 2006, 02:28:29 PM »

Quote from: Petre

Yes i think ebay is best bet for a good deal, and davey the gh50l was my next choice... just a little concerned about volumes and such :roll: . ENGL screamer is also another choice, but both these options are a bit steep price-wise considering id need a half decent cab too (whats the cheapest you can get a pretty good cab for??)

The GH50L sounds pretty good at reasonable levels if that's what you're worried - I use mine like that at home while practising. You could get a Marshall 2x12 for around £120 on eBay I reckon.

Davey · « **Reply #17 on:** July 07, 2006, 04:54:24 PM »

i tried the gh50l through a full stack at LGS and it sounded awesome even at a very low volume.... though my perception at that time might have been seriously f00ked. i got it till like 4, then i had to step a bit further back lol .. i dont know till what number i got the highest, but it was at around 3/4 .. then the laney dude politely asked me to turn it down since it got to the quiet period, so i went away with a shite eating grin haha.

i did start at a little above 1 though. it doesnt have that fander type volume control, where it's nondistinguishable at one moment and super $%&#in loud at the other. it's pretty "linear" (i should rather say exponential, but that'd just confuse people lol)

so, all in all, that head rocked the whole volume spectrum

deg0ey · « **Reply #18 on:** July 07, 2006, 06:22:44 PM »

Quote from: Davey

i should rather say exponential, but that'd just confuse people lol

Not me, I've been doing exponentials in Chemistry, Physics AND Maths lately...

HTH AMPS · « **Reply #19 on:** July 07, 2006, 11:33:57 PM »

If its METAL you want, my opinion on the subject is clear (see avator). I use an MXR KFK EQ in the loop of my Randall Titan head and its an evil sounding combination. If I want more dirt I kick in the SD-1 I modded and it does mega-filth gain. I paid £260 for my Titan head and £60 for the KFK EQ.

:twisted:

Petre · « **Reply #20 on:** July 08, 2006, 06:05:07 PM »

hmm, some very interesting amp suggestions coming out of the closet now! The B-52 looks real ideal but i cant find anywhere to get it at all! And the Randall titan looks very tempting, even though its solid state.

Just a quick question about cabs. Do speakers make such a huge impact on sound to warrant me saving and getting the 2x12 ENGL cab with vintage 30's? I can get them for a little over 300 and i thoguht would be ideal for bedroom volumes as well as taking up less room (my room is small). Its a bit more than i was planning for a cab but i heard vintage 30's were tasty. Is it worth it? even thoguh i could be sticking a solid state amp ontop such as the randall titan in the meantime?

cheers
Petre

deg0ey · « **Reply #21 on:** July 08, 2006, 06:22:18 PM »

TBH, The speaker may make a bit of a difference to the tone - but if you have a decent amp then you won't be disappointed with slightly cheaper speakers...

Also, my Screamer combo sounds immense with its stock speaker (one of the G-somethings? G-12 maybe...but that could be wrong). Admittedly, it might well be drastically improved with a better speaker, but considering the price, I'm not disatisfied with the tone enough to warrant the money

I also do not regret getting a 2x12 as I was originally looking at - but it is plenty loud, and can fill a room on its own. At some stage, I may get another 1x12, so that I can position one on either side of the stage and get better spread - but 2 speakers next to each other is overkill to my mind :P

Dakine · « **Reply #22 on:** July 08, 2006, 06:42:50 PM »

Engl-2x12-bedroom level= forget it.

That is for any good (ENGL) distortion.

I LOVE my ENGL half stack but it is in a (pretty empty) 30x25 room and past second notch on the head is WOA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Petre · « **Reply #23 on:** July 08, 2006, 08:29:13 PM »

is there any sort of 2x12 cab that would be playable at bedroom levels with a solid state head?

Coz im back to square one on the budget thing, as i was tempted to get a good quality 2x12 stack and stick a solid state head on top, then later down the line grab a real nice all tube head to stick on it... as opposed to getting a pretty good combo now... but then when im off to uni and/or get a credit card (eek.. yes i know my family has had words.. but im so tempted) have to fork out for a real real TASTY head and then have to fork out for the cab at the same time. Id rather upgrade at a steadier pace... .. reading back that doesnt make a huge amount of sense but im sure some of you will get where im coming from!

anyway!

The ENGL grabbed my eye coz its almost the size of a half stack and stands upright. I dont enjoy the idea of bending all the way down to change settings lol. Im sorry but i am kinda a poser and i just think the upright 2x12 cabs look nicer than having a head with a really wide low cab on the floor :oops:
Plus i thoguht a small cab like that would be ideal coz it has good speakers and is also like 120 watt so i thought it wouldnt go toooo loud.

But yea, keep the 2x12 suggestions coming!
Cheers
Petre

EDIT - Oh dakine, i mean having a head ontop that isnt ENGL. Like the randall titan as HTH suggested. coz i thought solid states sounded the same at almost all volumes. at least my marshall MG i can have on tiny amounts of volume and put my ear close and it still sounds reasonable just like at wasp volumes.

dave_mc · « **Reply #24 on:** July 08, 2006, 10:09:38 PM »

Quote from: deg0ey

TBH, The speaker may make a bit of a difference to the tone - but if you have a decent amp then you won't be disappointed with slightly cheaper speakers...

Also, my Screamer combo sounds immense with its stock speaker (one of the G-somethings? G-12 maybe...but that could be wrong). Admittedly, it might well be drastically improved with a better speaker, but considering the price, I'm not disatisfied with the tone enough to warrant the money

I also do not regret getting a 2x12 as I was originally looking at - but it is plenty loud, and can fill a room on its own. At some stage, I may get another 1x12, so that I can position one on either side of the stage and get better spread - but 2 speakers next to each other is overkill to my mind :P

i think your screamer has celestion 70/80's (at least that's what the specs said)

The new screamer has a vintage 30, again according to the engl specs on their site.

deg0ey · « **Reply #25 on:** July 08, 2006, 10:21:17 PM »

Ok, so i actually went and looked at it and it said "V12-80"...dunno what that means, but it sounds really good :)

If the new ones are V30's though, then the combo would prolly do you Petre - the 1x12 is great, 2x12 isn't immensely necessary, and it has the same speakers

dave_mc · « **Reply #26 on:** July 08, 2006, 11:29:38 PM »

^ yeah, you just want to make sure you're getting one of the new ones with the vintage 30's, and not an NOS one with the old speakers...

HTH AMPS · « **Reply #27 on:** July 09, 2006, 12:16:29 AM »

I would just get a 4x12 and be done with it for that bass end you need for metal (2x12s are for pussies, heh)

:lol:

The Titan is an awesome amp. I went to solid state amps for metal because they just sounded best for the tone I'm going for (not for financial reasons).

The Titan can also be silly-loud (and I'm used to gigging with LOUD amps like 100w plexis).

:twisted:

Davey · « **Reply #28 on:** July 09, 2006, 07:24:07 AM »

well... if i'd go for a 2x12, i'd get one with ports.

and a big ass cab (same internal volume as a 4x12)
that helps immensly for that huge low end.

but unfortunately, they are expencive

Petre · « **Reply #29 on:** July 09, 2006, 05:59:27 PM »

One with ports davey? explain pls :oops: . and the ENGL does have a big cab. Its only a tiny bit thinner than a 4x12.

http://www.thomann.de/thoiw2_engl_e212v_gitarrenbox_prodinfo.html

For the same price or quite a bit less i could just get a marshall 4 x 12, but just concerned about volumes. Considering id be using a solid state, the volume goes up linear ? and sounds the same at all volumes?

Thanks
Petre

oh and guys im really not talking about sticking an engl head ontop of it... yet