Bad.Seed
Well-known member
I've been a chupacabra owner for about 2 years now.
There were days that I loved the amp, and days where it just doesn't sit right with me. I play with a boost most of the time, and the amp doesn't always seem to like having the input pushed. It tends to bring out some thin/stringy qualities, especially depending on the guitar. I spoke to Nick, and he gave me the recommendation that pretty much cured my issues with the amp, of having the gain pots higher on front, as they take the bright caps out of the signal the more you turn it up.
ANYWAYS, A yeti came up for $1,000 locally. It looks clean, but still more than I was willing to pay. It sat for a couple weeks, I inquired about a possible lower price, and the guy said he wasn't willing to budge. I was browsing craigslist last Friday, and I notice he had the add up for $1000 still, but had added a vintage Marshall cab with 55 HZ "Greenbacks" to the deal...now I'm interested. When talking about the amp and cab, he mentioned he also had a clean Gibson SG Standard for Sale, so I said make me a package deal for the 3....
We agreed on $1600 for the Amp, cab and guitar. I picked up all 3 items, the amp and guitar are very clean, so my plan is to sell the guitar for roughly $850 and be into the amp and cab for $750. Can't complain about that deal.
As far as the amp goes, it sounds VERY similar to the Chupacabra. The main difference I'm noticing is the low end, and how it reacts. The cupacabra has this overwhelming low end that I wouldn't necessarily call lose, it just has a huge swell or bloom to it that can be tricky to dial out. The yeti on the otherhand, is very tight, immediate, and crunchy, which I really enjoy. I actually clicked the boost off and dialed the gain and mids up a tad on the amp and I was playing Reign in Blood rythms with no issues staying tight and still getting some great saturation without it being muddy.
I'm a pretty one dimensional player, and I have no qualms in admitting that. But this amp just begs to have all sorts of stuff thrown at it. I rolled the volume back on my LP with a Duncan JB in the bridge and I was right there in 70's classic rock territory. AC/DC, Uncle Teddy, Alice Cooper. The amp just sounded right for it, and this is on the 80's setting.
After that, jumped back into 80's/90's thrash. Played a few Megadeth jams and it felt right. Scooped the mids out a bit and played a couple Master of puppets riffs. It's not a Mark II but can get close to those sounds.
Rolled my volume back up and started chipping away at 90's pop punk and punk stuff. It nailed the Dookie tone for Green Day, came pretty close to the tones on Dude Ranch by Blink 182, and sounded damn good for some older Alkaline Trio stuff as well.
What I really love is the touch sensitivity. When playing the Green Day songs it's very apparent. Playing Basket Case, there is definitely some dynamic changes in the picking/strumming throughout the song. Picking a little lighter on the opening palm mute section and then hammering the bridge/verse on the open strings really hits the front of the amp and saturates it, and make it a ton of fun to play.
Anyways, I'll shut up now. Here's the only picture I took of it:
There were days that I loved the amp, and days where it just doesn't sit right with me. I play with a boost most of the time, and the amp doesn't always seem to like having the input pushed. It tends to bring out some thin/stringy qualities, especially depending on the guitar. I spoke to Nick, and he gave me the recommendation that pretty much cured my issues with the amp, of having the gain pots higher on front, as they take the bright caps out of the signal the more you turn it up.
ANYWAYS, A yeti came up for $1,000 locally. It looks clean, but still more than I was willing to pay. It sat for a couple weeks, I inquired about a possible lower price, and the guy said he wasn't willing to budge. I was browsing craigslist last Friday, and I notice he had the add up for $1000 still, but had added a vintage Marshall cab with 55 HZ "Greenbacks" to the deal...now I'm interested. When talking about the amp and cab, he mentioned he also had a clean Gibson SG Standard for Sale, so I said make me a package deal for the 3....
We agreed on $1600 for the Amp, cab and guitar. I picked up all 3 items, the amp and guitar are very clean, so my plan is to sell the guitar for roughly $850 and be into the amp and cab for $750. Can't complain about that deal.
As far as the amp goes, it sounds VERY similar to the Chupacabra. The main difference I'm noticing is the low end, and how it reacts. The cupacabra has this overwhelming low end that I wouldn't necessarily call lose, it just has a huge swell or bloom to it that can be tricky to dial out. The yeti on the otherhand, is very tight, immediate, and crunchy, which I really enjoy. I actually clicked the boost off and dialed the gain and mids up a tad on the amp and I was playing Reign in Blood rythms with no issues staying tight and still getting some great saturation without it being muddy.
I'm a pretty one dimensional player, and I have no qualms in admitting that. But this amp just begs to have all sorts of stuff thrown at it. I rolled the volume back on my LP with a Duncan JB in the bridge and I was right there in 70's classic rock territory. AC/DC, Uncle Teddy, Alice Cooper. The amp just sounded right for it, and this is on the 80's setting.
After that, jumped back into 80's/90's thrash. Played a few Megadeth jams and it felt right. Scooped the mids out a bit and played a couple Master of puppets riffs. It's not a Mark II but can get close to those sounds.
Rolled my volume back up and started chipping away at 90's pop punk and punk stuff. It nailed the Dookie tone for Green Day, came pretty close to the tones on Dude Ranch by Blink 182, and sounded damn good for some older Alkaline Trio stuff as well.
What I really love is the touch sensitivity. When playing the Green Day songs it's very apparent. Playing Basket Case, there is definitely some dynamic changes in the picking/strumming throughout the song. Picking a little lighter on the opening palm mute section and then hammering the bridge/verse on the open strings really hits the front of the amp and saturates it, and make it a ton of fun to play.
Anyways, I'll shut up now. Here's the only picture I took of it:
