School me on the Bray 4550
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PDC
Well-known member
I don‘t want to speak out of turn. I became fixated on these after hearing the clips online. Never heard a bad sounding Bray clip. I bought a super clean ‘previously enjoyed’ 4550 that was ordered with ALL the bells and whistles along with an effects loop. The loop was useless due to the design and placement of the PPIMV in the circuit. It sounded no different than putting time effects in front of a gained out amp and having all that distortion repeated through the effect. No worries - I kind of knew that going into it and just hit the bypass switch on the loop. But try as I might, I absolutely could NOT get anything out of that amp that sounded even remotely similar to the killer, killer ‘reach for your wallet’ clips online. I thought the thing had a ‘cardboard’ quality to the tone. Thin, hollow, like a half cocked wah pedal, zero low end, zero punch, zero thump, zero warmth. Just the absolute strangest amp I have ever played through let alone owned. I bent over backwards for hours a day for a week trying to find the sound, adjusting every single setting, trouble shooting everything. I even rolled 2 sets of known good glass through it (Brown Base Dual Halo Teslas and Gold Lion 12AX7s) Nope. Listed and sold for what I paid for it 14 days later. And to this day, I could listen to Bray clips online all afternoon.
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braintheory
Well-known member
Scumback Speakers
Well-known member
I know David professionally and personally. I know Vic Johnson uses that amp live with Sammy Hagar, it sounds incredible. Been to Dave's place quite a few times, did the LA Amp Show with him 6 years back, all of his amps in the demo room sounded like the clips. The Coco 50 is just too cool with the Gangsta switch, even I sound like EVH through that thing. Something is off with those amps, that's for sure.
And I'm not just sticking up for him, either. I currently have one of his amps on order, but in typical Scumback fashion, it's going to be a little more than the standard Coco...because, well, I'm just that demanding SOB when it comes to gear.
And I'm not just sticking up for him, either. I currently have one of his amps on order, but in typical Scumback fashion, it's going to be a little more than the standard Coco...because, well, I'm just that demanding SOB when it comes to gear.
PDC
Well-known member
Hard to say. I wouldn’t rule it out. It has been some time, and I’ve moved several amps through the stable since then. In hindsight, I think I was used to lots of punch and lots of thump and lots of articulation in my guitar sounds at the time. Bray amps have loads of dynamics depending on physical pick attack, left hand attack and volume knob. During my brief stint with that amp, I may have been trying to chop logs with a scalpel. I hesitated posting my earlier reply cause I need to own that it very well may have been me and not the amp.
Even after that experience, this is still a ‘reach for your wallet’ clip:
Scumback Speakers
Well-known member
I've heard this tone in person, so I know he produces it. When I get mine, assuming that I now can play guitar again after my 18 month layoff for my heart transplant, I'll post some clips. Right now my wife says I'm about 1/2 way to my former self on guitar. So I responded with "OK! So I'm still a half assed guitar player, great!"
Jebus Jim! Hadn't heard.
You making the right kind of progress according to your docs?
Beyond Black
Well-known member
Didn’t know about the HT, Jim! Hoping for a full recovery and long life for you!
Oh man, I didn’t know. We we’re all pulling for you brother! Glad you’re on the mend. Props to organ donors!!
@Scumback Speakers - I value your opinion and would love to hear your take on the 4550.
skoora
Well-known member
Technically your a quarter assed player working your way up to being 100% a half assed player....
But that's coming from another half assed player, so my opinion is always correct 60% of the time.
JackBootedThug
MURDERATOR
shitWhat!!? you ok bro?
Scumback Speakers
Well-known member
Ok, a short recap. Had my 1st heart attack in 2014, it was big, got diagnosed with congestive heart failure. What they didn't tell me is I had a five year shelf life from then. 2nd heart attach in 2018, caught it early, back to the gym as before, yada yada. I'd been going downhill from 2019 forward, slowly, but surely. You don't beat CHF without a transplant, by the way. It's only a matter of time. I made it 8 years, well past the original 5 year life expectancy. In Nov 2021 I got some kind of mystery virus, they couldn't figure it out. My heart got hit hard by it, and my ejection fraction rate (EFR) was down to less than 10%, so I wasn't pumping much blood to my body. 55-65% is normal, by the way. Finally got so weak on 3/1/22 my wife drove me to Mayo Clinic in Phoenix. They rant tests, told me I was Stage 3. So I said "WTF does Stage 3 mean?" The doctor turned to me and said "You have days to weeks to live. You're here for the duration." So either I got a heart or I was checking out. We made all the arrangements. On the 27th of March they put me in an induced coma, intubated, machines and tubes all routed in and outside of me.
They found a heart on the 28th, it was implanted on the 29th. Then I was still in a coma through April 8th, so 11-12 days under. The new heart is great, but I lost 80 lbs. Went from 216 to 139 at 6ft 2in. I know what a concentration camp survivor looks like first hand. I've put 50 lbs back on, finally, but it took a whole year.
But all my 1 year tests came back great, Mayo is super happy with me, calling me their "miracle patient". No one gets a heart in 36 hours, NO ONE. But I did. You don't have to believe in God, but I sure do.
Anyway, I quit playing guitar in Oct 2021 due to being weak. The meds I've been on for 12 months FINALLY got leveled out and my hands quit shaking 3 weeks ago. Before that I couldn't play a C chord at the nut, it was that bad.
I've been back playing for the last two weeks, I have callouses on my left hand fingers again. Been averaging 4-6 hours playing per week, around the business, which has been pretty strong lately.
So yeah, heart transplants are hell, but I'm good now. So I'll be pissing people, players, friends and family off for another 15-20 years...unless my bad gene pool comes back and blocks all my arteries again. I do have enough scar tissue on me for 10 men, though. Still pretty scary to look at when I get out of the shower.
Thankfully my wife, Shelly, was a huge trooper throughout it all. And having the best insurance was the other big factor, but since she's a VP at an insurance brokerage in LA, they have access to the best plans...and boy, did I need it. The billed summary (before discounts) has hit 2 million.
So, with that, I've got 22 speakers to pack, gotta go! Thanks for all the kind words!
Jim
They found a heart on the 28th, it was implanted on the 29th. Then I was still in a coma through April 8th, so 11-12 days under. The new heart is great, but I lost 80 lbs. Went from 216 to 139 at 6ft 2in. I know what a concentration camp survivor looks like first hand. I've put 50 lbs back on, finally, but it took a whole year.
But all my 1 year tests came back great, Mayo is super happy with me, calling me their "miracle patient". No one gets a heart in 36 hours, NO ONE. But I did. You don't have to believe in God, but I sure do.
Anyway, I quit playing guitar in Oct 2021 due to being weak. The meds I've been on for 12 months FINALLY got leveled out and my hands quit shaking 3 weeks ago. Before that I couldn't play a C chord at the nut, it was that bad.
I've been back playing for the last two weeks, I have callouses on my left hand fingers again. Been averaging 4-6 hours playing per week, around the business, which has been pretty strong lately.
So yeah, heart transplants are hell, but I'm good now. So I'll be pissing people, players, friends and family off for another 15-20 years...unless my bad gene pool comes back and blocks all my arteries again. I do have enough scar tissue on me for 10 men, though. Still pretty scary to look at when I get out of the shower.
Thankfully my wife, Shelly, was a huge trooper throughout it all. And having the best insurance was the other big factor, but since she's a VP at an insurance brokerage in LA, they have access to the best plans...and boy, did I need it. The billed summary (before discounts) has hit 2 million.
So, with that, I've got 22 speakers to pack, gotta go! Thanks for all the kind words!
Jim
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Scumback Speakers
Well-known member
Hey bud, don't take my word for it. Here's the 4550 in action. Seach YT for Sammy Hagar The Circle Fantasy Springs. David took me back stage with Shelly & we met the band. Vic is just super nice.@Scumback Speakers - I value your opinion and would love to hear your take on the 4550.
skoora
Well-known member
So awesome you got to stick around Jim. I thought my recent neck/spine surgery was a doozy but yours is next level, don't go into the light Carol-Ann type shit. Good luck with the rest of your recovery. I'm also lucky I have an awesome Wife who was all over whatever I needed. Surgery is indeed the great weight loss plan. I actually ended up at a weight I like but now need to keep it going and not gain it back.
Trevor
Trevor
MistaGuitah
Well-known member
I had a virtually brand new 4550 for about a week because an acquaintance really wanted to sell it and offered a free trial. I wasn't that interested at the time because I thought it was just another modded Marshall - which it is. However, I started to realize the guy was doing a stupid thing by selling it.
The thing is, the Bray 4550 is like his standard amp if I'm not mistaken. I know he's made other models but to be honest, I was so satisfied with the 4550 that I didn't think anything else could really top it except for just costing more.
Having said that, Bray amps aren't going to blow you away with some new, holy grail tone. In my experience, he just makes a really solid modded Marshall that will not disappoint anyone wanting that kind of tone. I wouldn't say it's like a Friedman BE100, for example, in the sense that there's a degree of uniqueness in Friedman amps. I don't think it's necessarily distinguishable from other modded Marshalls, but it's really well done.
Having said that. By the end of that week, I picked up on a couple of subtle things. Like I said, though not necessarily a unique, identifiable tone, there are a few subtle things that make the amp so nice. I can't really articulate or pinpoint what it is exactly but it's just how it all comes together in a way that's very satisfying.
No matter how distorted, loud, or how much you clean it up, it's all good, usable tone. It's bright but not shrill or metallic, but even the inherent brightness can be dialed back nicely. There's something he puts that's called the "wife circuit" or something, can't remember exactly what it's called, nor do I remember how it works exactly but it's like some kind of modified master volume that let's you get a great bedroom sound. Well, it's been several years so I can't really detail it but I found it to be very useful.
For whatever reason, most of the videos, audio demos center on the proverbial EVH/brown sound sort of thing. However, I think that sells the amp a little short because it's definitely suited for that but I see it as a sort of better-than-Marshall Marshall. Aside from EVH stuff and classic rock, there are a lot of great sounds you can get. I used to have a nice variety of pedals. You can get anything you want out of it with pedals. If you want a wooly tone, an EJ tone, woman tone, metal tone, etc., it's all easily had.
I ended up doing my best to convince him to keep it because it's stupid to sell it. I really regret not buying it but it didn't feel right because he just wasn't getting the picture. He told me about some things other people had said and some other amps they recommended so I could see he was hung up on that stupidity. I was like, "Dude, you're just not going to find a better modded Marshall no matter how much you spend." In the end, he sold it to buy some absurdly expensive boutique brand I hadn't heard of, and that - PREDICTABLY - didn't work out. You can lead a horse to water... as they say.
Anyway, it's just really solid and has some features more replica style amps don't offer. It's just a solid modded plexi. Back then, I think they were around $2200 new but now I think they're like around $3000.
The thing is, I don't want to wait 3 or 6 months for one, certainly not at that price, because I personally don't think it's particularly unique and because I prefer channel-switching amps with a good clean channel. However, if I was into the modded Marshall thing and had the money to spend, it would be a hard decision between a 4450, Metro-Plex, and Splawn Competition. All superior Marshall's in my opinion.
The thing is, the Bray 4550 is like his standard amp if I'm not mistaken. I know he's made other models but to be honest, I was so satisfied with the 4550 that I didn't think anything else could really top it except for just costing more.
Having said that, Bray amps aren't going to blow you away with some new, holy grail tone. In my experience, he just makes a really solid modded Marshall that will not disappoint anyone wanting that kind of tone. I wouldn't say it's like a Friedman BE100, for example, in the sense that there's a degree of uniqueness in Friedman amps. I don't think it's necessarily distinguishable from other modded Marshalls, but it's really well done.
Having said that. By the end of that week, I picked up on a couple of subtle things. Like I said, though not necessarily a unique, identifiable tone, there are a few subtle things that make the amp so nice. I can't really articulate or pinpoint what it is exactly but it's just how it all comes together in a way that's very satisfying.
No matter how distorted, loud, or how much you clean it up, it's all good, usable tone. It's bright but not shrill or metallic, but even the inherent brightness can be dialed back nicely. There's something he puts that's called the "wife circuit" or something, can't remember exactly what it's called, nor do I remember how it works exactly but it's like some kind of modified master volume that let's you get a great bedroom sound. Well, it's been several years so I can't really detail it but I found it to be very useful.
For whatever reason, most of the videos, audio demos center on the proverbial EVH/brown sound sort of thing. However, I think that sells the amp a little short because it's definitely suited for that but I see it as a sort of better-than-Marshall Marshall. Aside from EVH stuff and classic rock, there are a lot of great sounds you can get. I used to have a nice variety of pedals. You can get anything you want out of it with pedals. If you want a wooly tone, an EJ tone, woman tone, metal tone, etc., it's all easily had.
I ended up doing my best to convince him to keep it because it's stupid to sell it. I really regret not buying it but it didn't feel right because he just wasn't getting the picture. He told me about some things other people had said and some other amps they recommended so I could see he was hung up on that stupidity. I was like, "Dude, you're just not going to find a better modded Marshall no matter how much you spend." In the end, he sold it to buy some absurdly expensive boutique brand I hadn't heard of, and that - PREDICTABLY - didn't work out. You can lead a horse to water... as they say.
Anyway, it's just really solid and has some features more replica style amps don't offer. It's just a solid modded plexi. Back then, I think they were around $2200 new but now I think they're like around $3000.
The thing is, I don't want to wait 3 or 6 months for one, certainly not at that price, because I personally don't think it's particularly unique and because I prefer channel-switching amps with a good clean channel. However, if I was into the modded Marshall thing and had the money to spend, it would be a hard decision between a 4450, Metro-Plex, and Splawn Competition. All superior Marshall's in my opinion.