Help with amp choices

[simonp]

I'm thinking about changing my amp. Currently I have a lateer model Trcae Elliot Speed Twin C100 (2x12 combo). This is the one with the white pushbuttons on the front so has none of the problems the earlier models had. It also has a retrofit MIDI switching module.

I have had the amp for about 7 years and have been very happy with it, but having fitted a pair of Mules to the LP in October I am on the hunt for tone again.
I'm looking for that responsiveness to picking that you hear some people get, you pick harder and the sound leaps out. Althought the C100 has a great rich overdrive even at lower gain settings (which is quite tricky as anyhting past 9 o'clock gives quite a lot of gain and the 2nd half of the gain pot just gets things mushy) the volume and dynamics don't change a lot with picking technique. The clean channel is great, but doesn't do crunch well. It is exellent for very clean sounds but dialling up to breakup makes a very mushy bottom end.

My big problem looking at some of the amps which might give me what I want is that they do not have the 2 features I find really usefull with the C100:

1) A parallel mode for the FX loop. My FX rack unit digitises the whole signal running through it so I use it in parallel to add reverb, delay, chorus etc. A series only loop would mean running all through the unit and hence detroying the all valve signal path.

2) Dual master volume. I find this great in the 2 guitar band that I am in as I can boost the level for solos etc. Without this nudge up on the volume I'm either too quiet on the solo or too loud on the rhythm.

You see my dilemna!

I have bben really taken by the sound samples of the Bogner amps (though the Shiva is the only one I could even contemplate affording) and I know a chap who raves about his Cornford. Both of these probably head where I'm wanting to go, but suffer with the issues above.

Any suggestions/advice/thoughts on amp choices is gretaly appreciated

[maliciousteve]

Cornford MK50 II or the Hellcat sounds like the thing you may be after. Cornfords are very responsive to picking dynamics and are very very versatile and very clear sounding. All valve and all PTP wiring.

[Twinfan]

Can't you just add a clean boost as the last thing in the FX loop to give you a solo boost?  That will widen your amp choice...

[hunter]

Well, I think for the parallel loop, I can understand, but have to say, if your FX unit is shitee, why replace the amp? I have a Lexicon MX200 which is absolutely neutral in my Bogner Shiva serial loop, but had experiences in the past which were similar to yours.

A better option than just a parallel loop would be a switchable loop, which is something you can emulate with units like the otterShocker:
http://www.monkeyfx.co.uk/routers.html

Re the 2nd volume, I can relate to that. I use FX programs to switch to higher Vols for Solos or just try to make sure I am loud all the time to get heard  :twisted:

[dave_mc]

what type of tone are you after for your cleans and crunch tones? what's the budget, around £1400? (i think that's what the shiva is)

[simonp]

I hear what you guys are saying, I used to use my old Quadraverb to control volume levels for lead with previous amps.
My FX unit is very good for the FX, can't remember the model, but it is the purple 2U rack Digitech unit with the valve pre-amp (that I never use). Unfortunatley it does rune the whole signal through the DSPs, and I can hear the difference (though subtle) to the original sound, and it seems mad to have an all valve signal path and then covert it to digital and back in the FX loop.

Using a clean boost pedal would still mean a non-valve element being there.

I suppose I could buld a midi switchable attenuation (I am an electronics designer by trade) to put in the FX loop to run a parallel path to the FX unit and then attenuate the whole signal at the return point to give me a volume drop for rhythm. The trick will be not affecting the character of the signal with the attenuation circuit, so op-amps are out. Mind you I have built a clone of a Landraff Dynamic Overdrive pedal using a fairly good op-amp and that keeps the guitar tone pretty much untainted, sounds great in the clean channel of the Trace too.

[Woogie]

If you sell, I might be interested?

[simonp]

As for tones, clean I really like the dynamic just on the edge of breaking up sound rather than a fat jazzy one.
For overdrive I like quite a sizzly sound but fat too. My problem is that I quite like the cranked plexi style of sound, but also love the rich Santana type too.

[dave_mc]

^ i think cornford probably would do that, more or less (at least the ones i've tried). i haven't tried bogner, so i can't comment on them.

Soldano might be worth a try too? i've only tried the avenger (stupid cr@p gear selection this side of the irish sea), but it sounded like a slightly fizzier (and slightly more modern-sounding) cornford to my ears. it's only one channel, though, you'd have to look into some of the other models for twin channels (and they get expensive).

[simonp]

Forgot the budget, well as we are about to move house, not much, but I can think more about budget when I have an idea of what I am looking at. At the end of the day it is better value to spend £1400 for what you want than £800 on something you aren't happy with. I will need a cab too if I go for a head which will take the budget up again!

[dave_mc]

^ i agree... you aren't saving money if you buy an £800 amp and 6 months later end up buying the £1400 anyway! of course, if the £800 one does exactly what you want, that's a different story...

The avenger i tried was second hand (i was extremely lucky to even get to try it, it was just chance they had one in stock the day I was in)... i think it was something like 1300 euro, which is about £800? so I'm guessing the new price (bearing in mind prices in the south of ireland have shot up with the introduction of the euro) would be somewhere in the region of £1300-£1400? i think the hot rod might be within budget, which (as far as I'm aware) is twin channel, but it might sound completely different to the avenger, as I haven't tried it.

Just when you said "fizz", it made me think of soldano...  i'd have described it as a cornford with a little more fizz and presence. and cornford would have been close to what you were describing before you mentioned "fizz".

as ever, though, anything you can get your hands on is worth a try. cornford may be fizzy enough for you, etc.

[simonp]

When I mention fizz, I suppose I'm meaning presence. Billy Gibbons always has that bite without sounding harsh. I'm trying to describe that top end that comes out whne you really dig in or use the edge of the pick.
If you listen to one of the sounbites on the Bogner site for the Ecstacy Classic clip, Ecstasy Classic-03 you will see what I mean about the sizzle.

[dave_mc]

^ yeah, i'd say soldano would do it, but i think it sounded a little more modern than that (bear in mind, i'm solely judging the bogner on the soundclips, which is never a good idea).

[simonp]

There is more gain used in that clip than I would probably use, but didn't think it was that "modern" sounding, not the scooped Rectifier type of sound, although the down-tuned guitar gives it a modern edge I suppose. I liked the sound as the little lick got played, kinda Hendrixy.
Soldano is probably out of my price range. Also the one I tried some years back didn't have great touch sensitivity.

[dave_mc]

^ ah, i meant the soldano i tried sounded more modern than that bogner clip.

you may be right about the touch sensitivity... i thought it cleaned up admirably with the guitar volume knob, but i can't remember what the touch sensitivity was like.

 :lol: