Clean to Mean Rack Tones 12/27/25

[Anje]

We need to convince & help Bob do a book, with in depth details, photos, diagrams, notes... documenting all his work from the start to present days; highlighting his major contribution to the music & artists he worked with all along those years.
Something as great as the recent MIJ Charvel or JMI Vox books.
Seriously.

 

[mentoneman]

We need to convince & help Bob do a book, with in depth details, photos, diagrams, notes... documenting all his work from the start to present days; highlighting his major contribution to the music & artists he worked with all along those years.
Something as great as the recent MIJ Charvel or JMI Vox books.
Seriously.

a guy like Scott who has been through the process would be good to partner with

https://www.amazon.com.au/Scott-Modern-Guitar-Integrating-Effects/dp/1480355151

and this guy did a great high quality book on studio fx

https://vintagefx-thebook.com/

 

[ChurchHill]

I agree, Bob writing a book detailing his work would be incredible! Just the stories would be good, but any insights into why he did what he did, what his process was, even without getting into technical details, would be a gold mine.

That Jackson Charvel Japan book, assuming that's the same one, seems to be difficult to find. The Vintage FX book seems to be only available from Thomann at the moment, but will be worth the extra fees. And yeah, Scott's book was a really bad influence on me. Probably more than anything else, that's what got me started toward finally putting together exactly the rig I wanted.

 

[mentoneman]

think this is pre-bradshaw EVH but i’ll just leave this here because it’s quite a trove of newly released live recordings. live raw ed 83 tone!

 

[Anje]

I agree, Bob writing a book detailing his work would be incredible! Just the stories would be good, but any insights into why he did what he did, what his process was, even without getting into technical details, would be a gold mine.

That Jackson Charvel Japan book, assuming that's the same one, seems to be difficult to find. The Vintage FX book seems to be only available from Thomann at the moment, but will be worth the extra fees. And yeah, Scott's book was a really bad influence on me. Probably more than anything else, that's what got me started toward finally putting together exactly the rig I wanted.

Yes I was talking about "Jackson Charvel Japan, The Untold Story"; 1st print is sold out but Christian said there will be a 2nd edition this year.
This and Jim Elya's Vox bible are to me some of the very finest examples of beautiful, really in depth well documented reference books on a particular music gear topic.
I don't have it but I'd bet the "Blackguard book" from Nacho Banos would be another one. Same for the old Duchossoir books.
I got the Marshall "Collecting loud history" but haven't really gone into it yet, looks very cool also.
Not many around at this level IMHO.

Bob's legacy has the potential for similar fantastic material to me.

 

[ChurchHill]

I'll definitely keep an eye out for that second edition. I can vouch for the Blackguard Book, the amount of detail is incredible, and Jim Elya's Vox book in another great one, as are the Duchossoir books.

Yeah, if Bob would author something along those lines, even just the history, I think it would be incredibly valuable in many ways. I'm not going to claim to be anywhere near an expert with modelers, but setting up presets on my AxeFX was almost second nature because of everything I'd learned along the way with my racks. From the Fractal forum, it seems to me that many people just don't quite know the basics of how the signal chain works the way it does, even something as basic as levels. Having a book from someone like Bob wouldn't just be something historical, it could be a great resource for anyone who just wants to understand how guitars, amps, effects, and signal processing works. For many guitarists, Bob has been the center of the universe when it came to assembling a great rig and achieving great tone for decades and we still need his knowledge and expertise.

 

[mentoneman]

speaking of Marshalls

and i’m happy for Andy and his new JB collab—sounds great!

 

[mentoneman]

update from Foleytronics—the H3K repair with full 3500 preset ROM upgrades complete! coming home soon…stoked!

 

[Code001]

update from Foleytronics—the H3K repair with full 3500 preset ROM upgrades complete! coming home soon…stoked!

Awesome! Process go smoothly? Reasonable? Love how they always include videos for everything to prove it's working. Mine also has the H3500 upgrade which has been pretty killer. Mentioned this earlier, but https://h3000presets.com/ is awesome for navigating all the presets

 

[mentoneman]

Awesome! Process go smoothly? Reasonable? Love how they always include videos for everything to prove it's working. Mine also has the H3500 upgrade which has been pretty killer. Mentioned this earlier, but https://h3000presets.com/ is awesome for navigating all the presets

the turnaround was fast! my friend sent his pcm70 at the same time i sent the H3k and 2290 last week from HI to OH and we both got the completion confirmation today.

his pcm70 vid:


mine was a package deal for both H3K tantalum recap, test/fix/replace and clean any other trouble spots, and install the ROM preset upgrades cards, and TC PSU repair/recap and test for just under $2k w/shipping back to me.

 

[mentoneman]

PS
in case you haven’t heard the North Shore of our island of Oahu (where the famous big wave spots like Waimea Bay and Pipeline are located) is getting evacuated due to extreme flooding in the Waialua and Haleiwa areas. i’m ok but my friends are being hit heavily.

if you are so inclined please pray for those being affected and emergency workers.

 

[Code001]

and TC PSU repair/recap and test for just under $2k w/shipping back to me.

So the 2290's issue was indeed the PSU then? That's great news if so! One of the few parts of the unit still easily serviceable

 

[mentoneman]

So the 2290's issue was indeed the PSU then? That's great news if so! One of the few parts of the unit still easily serviceable

i believe he said it was the 5v rail that regulated the current to the CPU and that when an imbalance in the +/- current is sensed it normally takes out some caps in that area of the PSU circuit vs the CPU/ motherboard.
said he’s seen it a lot in 2290s and is one of the most common issues.

 

[VonBonfire]

PS
in case you haven’t heard the North Shore of our island of Oahu (where the famous big wave spots like Waimea Bay and Pipeline are located) is getting evacuated due to extreme flooding in the Waialua and Haleiwa areas. i’m ok but my friends are being hit heavily.
View attachment 438680View attachment 438683View attachment 438692View attachment 438693

if you are so inclined please pray for those being affected and emergency workers.

@mentoneman how you holding out bro? Keeping yourself and the JAMES TYLER dry I hope.

 

[mentoneman]

@mentoneman how you holding out bro? Keeping yourself and the JAMES TYLER dry I hope.

my peeps are all G brotahtoes but mahalo for asking


just got back from my friend’s studio where i checked out a Mockingbird he was considering and finally got to dig into the controls on his Jose. My ears are ringing!! I pretty much pegged everything except bass and mids and the thing was roaring. Switched to a Les Paul and really preferred that neck and tone with that amp.

 

[mentoneman]

does anybody here have any good SRV sounding rig recipes they’re happy with?

was snooping around YT and remembered this guy was one of the better chasers doing it with a fractal when the axe fx II was newish:



comes off a bit digi-brittle but totally agree with the two amp concept. i’m certain i could sting it with a tricked out clean super and a second pedal overdriven fender or vintagy low gain marshall.

in searching found this vid that i’d never seen before and made me miss SRV.

 

[VonBonfire]

does anybody here have any good SRV sounding rig recipes they’re happy with?

Strat-Tubescreamer-100 watt Marshall Plexi but I can't recall what my EQ settings were as it's been more than ten years. Any number of old Fender amps Super Reverb, Twin, Vibroverb with a Tubescreamer will put you in the ballpark. Thick strings i.e like 11-49 will help if you have the hand strength to stick it. Not as much rocket science as guys make it out to be but I have no idea how you work a digital rig.....

Now you gotta tell me what a G Brotatoh is...., lol

 

[mentoneman]

Now you gotta tell me what a G Brotatoh is...., lol

= “all good, bro”

 

[mentoneman]

i really hope Matteo gets bitten by the tube amp bug because when i hear this-



-it makes me think his playing could evolve an extra dimension if he had better tube like dynamics in his tone that modeling still hasn’t achieved.

this video seems to reinforce the idea that he doesn’t know what he’s missing.

since getting the axe fx II i’ve confirmed that it’s a great tool with access to every amp/cab/fx tone parameter beyond what i would ever normally need or want to bother with. if the models were perfect out of the gate i wouldn’t feel the need to fix anything but in order to try to perfect what i’m trying to achieve in just a few of the 200+ amps and 100 cabs i’m working with,

i’m compelled to go menu diving into several sub pages with dozens of parameters which is honestly painstaking.

matteo’s vid and this one has an inherent harshness and linear stiffness i hear in my fractal too:

 

[mentoneman]

the legend is back from the dead!