my response to that is if it’s so easy that any common stock marshall can achieve it,
why don’t more people chasing vh tone have it nailed? it’s definitely not just because of the “tone is in the hands” thing, which i agree to in part. i’ve played a 12000 series super lead very close to eddie’s serial number. not even close. and most 70’s era marshall tones growing up in that era sounded like harsh dry crap.
in the 80s/90s every brand under the sun claimed to capture vh tone as a marketing ploy, but the closest thing to early vh tone i heard out of an amp was the first time experiencing Victor’s mojave peacemaker rig at the plexi palace. i’ve never been more stunned by a first impression of hearing an amp in my life. perfection.
but if the average shmuck like me stabbed my guitar into that amp cold turkey, after minute one i’d be bitterly disappointed. 2 of my friends bought and sold peacemakers because it didn’t have enough gain fir them. it’s a formula to get to the finish line. attenuate. PAFs. gh30s in a 4x12. the right delay. verb. and for me i had to hit the front end with the right something.
after that amp it was zach’s “brad era” cameron atomica serial #1 proto that came close.
now that amp has enough gain to be way more plug and play friendly for the average person. so the goal becomes reducing the preamp gain and cranking up the power section to balance it out, hide the distortion fizzies while preserving sustain and create more clarity and string to string definition.
i noticed when i played zach’s guitars with hotter pickups it was easier but the tone leaned towards modern metal. with my low output holmes 450 hummer loaded tyler, to my ears it was closer to vh and still super easy/slinky on the single notes.
honorable vh brown sound tone mention is the friedman steve stevens V1. no boost and cranked it starts getting plexi brown.
i haven’t played the new metro but it sounds amazing too.
