Headfirst Alta 100: And Now for Something Completely Different

  • Thread starter Thread starter hellzington
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hellzington

hellzington

Well-known member
Hey Team,

I have been meaning to make a video of the Headfirst Alta 100 for @burger but I slacked for so long that many other awesome rock demos of the amp came out already. (Most notably, Jason and Simon Hosford's excellent "12 Tones; 1 Amp" video.) So, I decided to do something a little different and show how flexible the Alta really is by making an original guitar-forward pop track.

This was all recorded with my Tom Anderson Drop Top (it's for sale in the classifieds, if you're interested) into the UA OX Box. I made sure to use every setting, switch, and knob on the amp across the various guitars you'll hear in the track. So this is a full representation of all the tones this amp can do. There is no post-EQ on the parts or on the track; it's raw audio. The delays, reverbs, etc. were added in post. The bass was recorded with the Axe-FX III using the Mesa Bass 400 model.

Headphones or studio monitors highly recommended!
I hope you guys enjoy and thank you to Jason for making such a killer amp! :rock:

 
The speakers used are mostly Marshall cabs loaded with V30s and Greenbacks.

The last big pitch up lead was a Lead 80, though. You can hear that classic mid-heavy sound with the top end rolled off. I also lowered the NFB, maxed the mids, and used diodes for a really huge lead sound.

This amp is a lot of fun to play with. It sounds great through a variety of speakers.
 
Cool track man. Not even sure I’d call it pop. Seems like it should be over a movie scene where a bunch of guys are getting ready to rob a bank.

What made you decide to keep the Alta?
 
Bxlxaxkxe said:
Cool track man. Not even sure I’d call it pop. Seems like it should be over a movie scene where a bunch of guys are getting ready to rob a bank.

What made you decide to keep the Alta?
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Haha, thanks man. That sounds better than how I phrased it, so let's go with that ?

Unfortunately, I did not keep it but that's not anything against Jason nor the amp. I have a personal rule that I will not go above 13 amps in the collection and I have many rare and vintage Marshalls and Marshall style amps so this one just got edged out by my desire to keep those. I'd rather sell a modern production amp that I can easily buy another of, rather than a rare or vintage Marshall style amp that will be difficult to find another of.

That said, I did just buy my third Headfirst amp from @SQUAREHEAD - A Headfirst MTL 100 Jason made himself. It's coming Friday so there will be more Headfirst content coming!
 
lespaul6 said:
didnt you already sell this amp?
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I did, but this was done before I even listed it for sale. I think I've had that track in the can for two weeks or so but was sitting on it because I'm getting married at the beginning of October and haven't had a lot of free time.
 
hellzington said:
Haha, thanks man. That sounds better than how I phrased it, so let's go with that ?

Unfortunately, I did not keep it but that's not anything against Jason nor the amp. I have a personal rule that I will not go above 13 amps in the collection and I have many rare and vintage Marshalls and Marshall style amps so this one just got edged out by my desire to keep those. I'd rather sell a modern production amp that I can easily buy another of, rather than a rare or vintage Marshall style amp that will be difficult to find another of.

That said, I did just buy my third Headfirst amp from @SQUAREHEAD - A Headfirst MTL 100 Jason made himself. It's coming Friday so there will be more Headfirst content coming!
Click to expand...
Totally get it with the letting go of modern production amps over the vintage stuff. Can always grab another pretty easily. Not so with the vintage stuff. Bet that MTL will be fun
 
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