TheGreatGreen
Well-known member
I feel like 5150's get reputations as one-trick-ponies, known for being 100% high gain fire breathers and not quite good at much else. So, to see if I could stretch one a bit outside that wheelhouse, I tried to dial in the impossible... a dynamic tone that could go from almost clean to mediumish gain using just the guitar. From a 5150. Personally, I have to say I think it delivered some pretty solid results I definitely wasn't really expecting. And really, after doing this clip, I feel like they can do just about anything, at least the III's anyway. What do you think?
Guitar:
PRS Custom 22 with EMG 81 (bridge) and EMG 89 (neck)
The 89 can be coil-split and is essentially an EMG 85 in full humbucking mode and an EMG SA in single coil mode
Extra:
Slight Van Halen "Balance' style pitch effect, mixed very low, less than 10% mix. It's almost inaudible, just provides some depth/dimensionality.
Some delay with the highs EQ'd out of the trails to fill empty space.
Some EQ. Slight wide-Q mid cut around 800 Hz by 1 or 2 db's, slight shelved bass boost, high pass filter around 100 Hz.
Some info about the clip:
The Blue Channel's Gain was probably set around 1 (8:00) or so. Very low. Aside from that, the tonestack was set fairly normally, in the neighborhood of Bass 1:00, Mid 10:30, Treble around noonish. Presence was set slightly higher around 2-3:00 for shimmer. Depth around noon. Nothing too out of the ordinary except for very low Gain control.
All changes in tone throughout the clip come from changing pickups and playing dynamics. I never touched the guitar's volume or the amp. The 5150 III’s Blue channel is surprisingly dynamic with the gain set this low. The clip starts with the neck in split mode, then neck humbucking mode, then ends with the bridge humbucker.
https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/9ZE2qMLcGqcUKo4x8
Guitar:
PRS Custom 22 with EMG 81 (bridge) and EMG 89 (neck)
The 89 can be coil-split and is essentially an EMG 85 in full humbucking mode and an EMG SA in single coil mode
Extra:
Slight Van Halen "Balance' style pitch effect, mixed very low, less than 10% mix. It's almost inaudible, just provides some depth/dimensionality.
Some delay with the highs EQ'd out of the trails to fill empty space.
Some EQ. Slight wide-Q mid cut around 800 Hz by 1 or 2 db's, slight shelved bass boost, high pass filter around 100 Hz.
Some info about the clip:
The Blue Channel's Gain was probably set around 1 (8:00) or so. Very low. Aside from that, the tonestack was set fairly normally, in the neighborhood of Bass 1:00, Mid 10:30, Treble around noonish. Presence was set slightly higher around 2-3:00 for shimmer. Depth around noon. Nothing too out of the ordinary except for very low Gain control.
All changes in tone throughout the clip come from changing pickups and playing dynamics. I never touched the guitar's volume or the amp. The 5150 III’s Blue channel is surprisingly dynamic with the gain set this low. The clip starts with the neck in split mode, then neck humbucking mode, then ends with the bridge humbucker.
https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/9ZE2qMLcGqcUKo4x8
Last edited:
