griffiti
New member
After eagerly awaiting the arrival of my MOD50 on Tuesday...
http://www.rig-talk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=64703
...I thought I would post my impressions.
First off, I have to give a shout out to Russ (a.k.a. R.Milbeck)
for such excellent packing! After I unpacked it, I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to pick up. While it is a bit heavy, it's nothing like my rack gear. LOL
So Tuesday after work I took the MOD50 up to my studio. I placed it atop my GenzBenz 212, plugged in the cab, and fired it up. It was nice and quiet, with just a little fan noise. After about a minute, I plugged in my Fender HSS custom shop.
The MOD50 came with the D/D and SL2 modules. It came up on D/D channel A. It sounded good. But I was not giddy with excitement. I switched over to channel B to find more "twang" which was nice. So far I wasn't totally stoked.
I moved to the SL2 channel A. It was set at medium gain. Ok, not too shabby. I switched to channel B - so so. Then I remembered how someone on Rig-Talk told me to give it time; tweak the knobs; swap tubes; crank it up.
Later that night, after everyone was in bed I set the master volume to about 3 (my project studio is up in the attic). Ok ... now the MOD50 started to shine. I tweaked the EQ, played with the boost switches, and started dialing in some really nice tones. I ran an Xpression in the serial loop for a little more flavor.
I'm really starting to like the D/D. Very clean. I pushed the channel volume and I got nice break up even with the master volume at 3. Later, I switched to the SL2 and tweaked some more. I got it sounding the way I like rhythm tones, wishing it had just a little more gain. Then I realized I was still on channel A. LOL After I switched to channel B, I got the "shred" sound I was hoping for. Well after midnight, I finally came downstairs and went to bed.
So, on Wednesday I ran home for lunch (everyone was gone to work / daycare). I cranked it to about 6. It really started pushing air. I could feel the tones pumping my chest. Very nice tones. Very nice.
Over the years I've owned some decent gear. Nothing like some of you folks on Rig-Talk, but not bad. But, I've also owned a lot of cheap crap too. Cheap tube amps. Cheap modeled amps. Cheap. This is the first time I've invested in a "boutique" amp, if the MOD50 is considered boutique. I've never spent this much on 1 thing ever (except my Ibanez JEM PMC
- I'll post pics later). Now that I'm playing through this high quality custom built MOD50, I'm noticing something I've never noticed before. Clean dirty!? Is there such a thing? I am getting some killer tones. On the SL2 channel B, I'm getting a lot of gain. But it still sounds clean? Are my ears fooling me? The tone was not muddy or muffled. It was really hard to believe.
Last night I played a gig at my church. I had several members of the band comment on how good my sound was. I couldn't help but smile. I was able to cut through the mix real well. I only put the master volume at 3, and it was miced through the PA. It sounded great! And it was so easy to haul. I walked in with the MOD50 in one hand, and my strat / gig bag in the other. So much easier than hauling my rack gear on a dolly. LOL I still love rack gear. I'm even considering the M4 for more modules on tap. But the rack gear will probably live in the studio or for larger gigs.
Back to the MOD50. I can't iterate enough the surreal feeling of dirty clean. I loved it. It also highlighted my mistakes. That's cool. I just need to work more on my chops.
So far I'm loving the MOD50. I can only imagine other modules that will take me on more tonal adventures.
http://www.rig-talk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=64703
...I thought I would post my impressions.
First off, I have to give a shout out to Russ (a.k.a. R.Milbeck)
for such excellent packing! After I unpacked it, I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to pick up. While it is a bit heavy, it's nothing like my rack gear. LOLSo Tuesday after work I took the MOD50 up to my studio. I placed it atop my GenzBenz 212, plugged in the cab, and fired it up. It was nice and quiet, with just a little fan noise. After about a minute, I plugged in my Fender HSS custom shop.
The MOD50 came with the D/D and SL2 modules. It came up on D/D channel A. It sounded good. But I was not giddy with excitement. I switched over to channel B to find more "twang" which was nice. So far I wasn't totally stoked.
I moved to the SL2 channel A. It was set at medium gain. Ok, not too shabby. I switched to channel B - so so. Then I remembered how someone on Rig-Talk told me to give it time; tweak the knobs; swap tubes; crank it up.
Later that night, after everyone was in bed I set the master volume to about 3 (my project studio is up in the attic). Ok ... now the MOD50 started to shine. I tweaked the EQ, played with the boost switches, and started dialing in some really nice tones. I ran an Xpression in the serial loop for a little more flavor.
I'm really starting to like the D/D. Very clean. I pushed the channel volume and I got nice break up even with the master volume at 3. Later, I switched to the SL2 and tweaked some more. I got it sounding the way I like rhythm tones, wishing it had just a little more gain. Then I realized I was still on channel A. LOL After I switched to channel B, I got the "shred" sound I was hoping for. Well after midnight, I finally came downstairs and went to bed.
So, on Wednesday I ran home for lunch (everyone was gone to work / daycare). I cranked it to about 6. It really started pushing air. I could feel the tones pumping my chest. Very nice tones. Very nice.
Over the years I've owned some decent gear. Nothing like some of you folks on Rig-Talk, but not bad. But, I've also owned a lot of cheap crap too. Cheap tube amps. Cheap modeled amps. Cheap. This is the first time I've invested in a "boutique" amp, if the MOD50 is considered boutique. I've never spent this much on 1 thing ever (except my Ibanez JEM PMC
- I'll post pics later). Now that I'm playing through this high quality custom built MOD50, I'm noticing something I've never noticed before. Clean dirty!? Is there such a thing? I am getting some killer tones. On the SL2 channel B, I'm getting a lot of gain. But it still sounds clean? Are my ears fooling me? The tone was not muddy or muffled. It was really hard to believe.Last night I played a gig at my church. I had several members of the band comment on how good my sound was. I couldn't help but smile. I was able to cut through the mix real well. I only put the master volume at 3, and it was miced through the PA. It sounded great! And it was so easy to haul. I walked in with the MOD50 in one hand, and my strat / gig bag in the other. So much easier than hauling my rack gear on a dolly. LOL I still love rack gear. I'm even considering the M4 for more modules on tap. But the rack gear will probably live in the studio or for larger gigs.
Back to the MOD50. I can't iterate enough the surreal feeling of dirty clean. I loved it. It also highlighted my mistakes. That's cool. I just need to work more on my chops.
So far I'm loving the MOD50. I can only imagine other modules that will take me on more tonal adventures.
