flashback x4/arion chorus/vertex plexitone/ethos overdrive

[mentoneman]

lots of popular toys jumping in and out of this one--recorded my w/d pedalrack rig today, and although i'm still trying to get the hang of the x4, this is a pretty good place to be after a week with it:

http://soundcloud.com/mentoneman/w-d-pedalboard-test-11-12


other items:

tyler strat-holmes 450 bridge, fletcher landau standard middle/neck sc's.
mojave peacemaker head
bogner 4x12 dry cab micing gh30
(although my dry cab "hears" the flashback x4 as it's the last pedal in my chain before the head, so my dry is truly moist )

hotplate pulls a line out to the gforce running mono out to the tech 21 power engine with the scumback H65? swapper outter

the vertex is wicked with the mojave, although on this recording it's a little bit scooped sounding, but trust me there is a ton more mid and low range on the pedal. i just set it more for crunchy rhythm and take leads to the ethos for the smoother fatter single note tone.

things i hear:
1) the plexitone could be set a bit warmer so single notes weren't as skinny.

2) the arion chorus could be set a bit brighter on the tone knob, a rack compressor would really kill for the blang factor---and i could tweak the gforce for a bit more motion and space in the chorus/delay/verb department

3) the ethos lead sound could be a bit more dynamic--ie less gain more volume.

4) haven't dialed in the magic ep3 setting on the flashback yet, but i did notice in general that for certain tones the pedal LOVES a boost of some kind right in front of it. i put my arc furnace boost function into it and it was killer.

your verdict?

 

[Badronald]

Too much sauce for me but great tones all around.
Sounds fantastic.

 

[Devilinside]

Sounds great dude!

 

[Rogue]

Personally, I think the Vertex sounds great. I wouldn't dial it warmer, in fact, I might even go slightly more aggressive. You've got the ethos for that fat, violin like warm tone. I'm thinking the Vertex is sounding pretty killer in your setup.

So, you're running your peacemaker fairly clean. I run my plexi (clone) a bit over midways, so I can get crunchy full on, but get some cleans by adjusting pick attack or guitar volume adjustments. How does the Vertex do with the amp running a bit hotter than you have yours?

 

[mentoneman]

Too much sauce for me but great tones all around.
Sounds fantastic.

thanks man-
i am definitely all about the goo.

i find myself having to be texture guy more often than not, and believe it or not, mixed in to the wash of the band those effects aren't as pronounced as you'd think.

in fact i often think i'd love a global lexicon pcm verb across everything to stereofy and milk it up spacially for a longer meltaway carry, but i'm running wet/dry to resolve better to a mono house so stereo although awesome on stage turns bad in the house.

 

[mentoneman]

Sounds great dude!

i'm pretty satisfied...for now...until something cooler comes along....

 

[Gainfreak]

Sounds killer brother and you know I love the sauce

With that said, after a few years of going light on effects when Playing Live, I've come back to using them and I can agree with you 100% that in a band context, the effects aren't as pronounced as one might think. I had to watch videos of me playing in order to dial in an audible delay lol. It took me like 4 shows to get it where I wanted it.

With that said, I'm done with trying to please people who like dry tones. To me ,they are flat out uninspiring. (everyone has there own opinion, and it's all good!! I've come to realize that I'm not a play dry, kind of guy and I'm kicking myself in the ass for going against that fact lol )

Hope all is well with you and The Family.

Happy T,day

~R~

 

[mentoneman]

Personally, I think the Vertex sounds great. I wouldn't dial it warmer, in fact, I might even go slightly more aggressive. You've got the ethos for that fat, violin like warm tone. I'm thinking the Vertex is sounding pretty killer in your setup.

So, you're running your peacemaker fairly clean. I run my plexi (clone) a bit over midways, so I can get crunchy full on, but get some cleans by adjusting pick attack or guitar volume adjustments. How does the Vertex do with the amp running a bit hotter than you have yours?

thanks man!
mason at vertex did a great job with the modification of the plexitone. i actually had both the stock and vertex side by side, and the stock one is still cool but had this out of control vibe on the top and bottom sometimes, and that's where mason totally fixed it.

the more i push the head, the better the plexitone works, until you get into the totally cranked plexi thing at 6-7 or higher, and the relationship between amp and pedal change where less pedal gain is better. i love the vh thing the peacemaker does in that realm but i'm not as fond of managing that kind of volume.

 

[stratotone]

Pat, have you checked out a Kemper yet? Would be REAL curious as to what you thought of one. Obviously you have to have the power amps for it, but you can set it up to do a W/D/W rig with the outputs. Great clip as always. You've got a great touch.

Ralph, ever download stem tracks? Listening to a lot of guitar parts in isolation, ones that I thought were pretty dry were wet as hell. A full band mix soaks up reverb/delay like a drummer soaks up fun.

 

[mentoneman]

Sounds killer brother and you know I love the sauce

With that said, after a few years of going light on effects when Playing Live, I've come back to using them and I can agree with you 100% that in a band context, the effects aren't as pronounced as one might think. I had to watch videos of me playing in order to dial in an audible delay lol. It took me like 4 shows to get it where I wanted it.

With that said, I'm done with trying to please people who like dry tones. To me ,they are flat out uninspiring. (everyone has there own opinion, and it's all good!! I've come to realize that I'm not a play dry, kind of guy and I'm kicking myself in the ass for going against that fact lol )

Hope all is well with you and The Family.

Happy T,day

~R~

from day one we have seen it as is my brotato chip--goo is your friend and dry is for homos
hope you have a great thanksgiving as well!

 

[thiswaythatway]

Sauce is good, dry is for the dogs.

 

[mentoneman]

Pat, have you checked out a Kemper yet? Would be REAL curious as to what you thought of one. Obviously you have to have the power amps for it, but you can set it up to do a W/D/W rig with the outputs. Great clip as always. You've got a great touch.

Ralph, ever download stem tracks? Listening to a lot of guitar parts in isolation, ones that I thought were pretty dry were wet as hell. A full band mix soaks up reverb/delay like a drummer soaks up fun.

mahalo my man!

i heard the kemper demoed at the la amp show by the official demo guy but didn't get to actually play through it.

i heard one sound in it that seemed great..it was the fender bassman i think...and speaking with the don barzini lately he loves his and bailed on the yjm in lieu of it, and we see eye to eye on many manly things, so i'm sure i could be happy with it as well-however i "sensed" a touch thing happening as he played that was a bit latent-could have been my imagination.

any good clean, dirty, and lead kemper clips you wanna post up here feel free! i wasn't knocked out by the effects in it like i was in the axe-fx.

 

[mentoneman]

Sauce is good, dry is for the dogs.

..jes..

 

[Rogue]

the more i push the head, the better the plexitone works, until you get into the totally cranked plexi thing at 6-7 or higher, and the relationship between amp and pedal change where less pedal gain is better. i love the vh thing the peacemaker does in that realm but i'm not as fond of managing that kind of volume.

I run the amp right about 6. I don't think I have a particularly gainy plexi clone though. It's still crunchy, but nowhere near VH. I can't quite get VH running it dimed either.

So you feel it still sounds good with the amp cranked a bit and getting fairly crunchy? Just reducing the gain on the pedal and it still sounds good?

 

[Gainzilla]

That sounded great Pat, I love da sauce!!!

 

[stratotone]

Mesa Maverick clip I did, Kemperized.

https://soundcloud.com/okstrat/mavericksampler

Pat, have you checked out a Kemper yet? Would be REAL curious as to what you thought of one. Obviously you have to have the power amps for it, but you can set it up to do a W/D/W rig with the outputs. Great clip as always. You've got a great touch.

Ralph, ever download stem tracks? Listening to a lot of guitar parts in isolation, ones that I thought were pretty dry were wet as hell. A full band mix soaks up reverb/delay like a drummer soaks up fun.

mahalo my man!

i heard the kemper demoed at the la amp show by the official demo guy but didn't get to actually play through it.

i heard one sound in it that seemed great..it was the fender bassman i think...and speaking with the don barzini lately he loves his and bailed on the yjm in lieu of it, and we see eye to eye on many manly things, so i'm sure i could be happy with it as well-however i "sensed" a touch thing happening as he played that was a bit latent-could have been my imagination.

any good clean, dirty, and lead kemper clips you wanna post up here feel free! i wasn't knocked out by the effects in it like i was in the axe-fx.

 

[mentoneman]

that does sound nice and ampy!
i still think there is a higher generation coming where the line between real and model will be indistinguishable to the ear and hand.


id love line 6 to buy out cliff/fractal, kemper, and italo, lock them in a room for a year and contract the boutique amp guys to consult periodically on how the amp models are sounding and feeling.
and make the final product simple and cool looking.

that would be amazing.

Mesa Maverick clip I did, Kemperized.

https://soundcloud.com/okstrat/mavericksampler

Pat, have you checked out a Kemper yet? Would be REAL curious as to what you thought of one. Obviously you have to have the power amps for it, but you can set it up to do a W/D/W rig with the outputs. Great clip as always. You've got a great touch.

Ralph, ever download stem tracks? Listening to a lot of guitar parts in isolation, ones that I thought were pretty dry were wet as hell. A full band mix soaks up reverb/delay like a drummer soaks up fun.

mahalo my man!

i heard the kemper demoed at the la amp show by the official demo guy but didn't get to actually play through it.

i heard one sound in it that seemed great..it was the fender bassman i think...and speaking with the don barzini lately he loves his and bailed on the yjm in lieu of it, and we see eye to eye on many manly things, so i'm sure i could be happy with it as well-however i "sensed" a touch thing happening as he played that was a bit latent-could have been my imagination.

any good clean, dirty, and lead kemper clips you wanna post up here feel free! i wasn't knocked out by the effects in it like i was in the axe-fx.

 

[Anonymous]

It all sounds great, but the gainy tones were my cuppa tea. Sounds like a PeaceMaker with a little more. That plexitone is pretty transparent, but gives the Mojave the right kick in the ass...

Nice playing!

Steve

 

[mentoneman]

It all sounds great, but the gainy tones were my cuppa tea. Sounds like a PeaceMaker with a little more. That plexitone is pretty transparent, but gives the Mojave the right kick in the ass...

Nice playing!

Steve

glad you approve!

you of all people would be able to tell what's going on and it's so true-
the plexitone is a perfect extension of the peacemaker!

i can get that pinch harmonic "WWWANK-aunch aunch ba-waaaang!!!" across the chords ala hot rod marshall. there is ever so slightly some evidence of pedal versus wide open amp dynamics like your cherry bomb or camerons have, or a wide open peacemaker, but to the mic in a mix it's not as obvious.

 

[mentoneman]

the more i push the head, the better the plexitone works, until you get into the totally cranked plexi thing at 6-7 or higher, and the relationship between amp and pedal change where less pedal gain is better. i love the vh thing the peacemaker does in that realm but i'm not as fond of managing that kind of volume.

I run the amp right about 6. I don't think I have a particularly gainy plexi clone though. It's still crunchy, but nowhere near VH. I can't quite get VH running it dimed either.

So you feel it still sounds good with the amp cranked a bit and getting fairly crunchy? Just reducing the gain on the pedal and it still sounds good?

honestly i haven't pursued the vh sound with the amp past 4-5 with this pedal. i've done it in the past with a dynacomp/tonebone classic and amp at 7, pulling 2 tubes, and this is the result:
http://m.soundcloud.com/mentoneman/unchained-remix

i want to be able to get really clean and beyond 4 the amp breaks up too much and is just so friggin loud i get into tone suck territory with the hotplate to corral.

this was the stock plexitone with a badgerplex in front of it and the peacemaker treble volume on 3. looking back the amp could have been hotter and plexitone maybe could have used the boost function for soloing because i was giving up on the fast stuff due to non-legato level gain making my lead playing choppy and rushed