How does a boosted Marshall JCM800 2203 sound on low volume? (Deadweald Duality DX Red Channel)

[Simon Dorn]

Hi there.
I tried to get it as simple as possible...
Minimalistic approach. Basic EQ on Drums. 1 Mic per Instrument. 2 on the Snare. Might reduce that to 1. A bit of Plate Reverb on the top mic. 2 Guitar Tracks, 1 Bass Track, No EQ. A few Mastering Plug-Ins.
Regards,Simon

 

[Bardagh]

Yeah you have to dial it in differently but you can definitely get a good lower volume sound out of an 800. Still I don’t think my EQ would ever end up quite like that, but I don’t have a Duality up front either. Sounds brutal!

 

[Simon Dorn]

The 2203 is pretty versatile. I found lots of usable EQ-Settings, but that's the same EQ setting i would use loud. With the mids on 4 i would have to reduce the gain on the Duality. It's very mid heavy in this setting. With treble and bass on zero on the TC-Style Preamp it's basically just a mid boost. Very nice pedal.

 

[JackBootedThug]

I got a great sound out of my old one. It was a love/hate relationship. When I was younger I bought my 1st one. However I went overboard and bought the zakk sig halfstack. Could not wait to get home and fire it up. Finally got home-got it set up and....WTF? surf music? country? No gain and sounded like ass compared to my tverb. Called my dealer and said this pos is broke. Of course he's laughing at my noob ass. He asked me if I Kranked(lol) it? I say no....then he asks me what I'm boosting it with....of course I'm like huh? He gave me an sd1 or an Ibanez ds and said boost it. When I fired it up again I was like fuck yeah. When I ran it in stereo with the tverb I was like FUCK YEAH....so anyway...I got great tones at lower volumes...little bit of air opens it up though....

 

[Bardagh]

The 2203 is pretty versatile. I found lots of usable EQ-Settings, but that's the same EQ setting i would use loud. With the mids on 4 i would have to reduce the gain on the Duality. It's very mid heavy in this setting. With treble and bass on zero on the TC-Style Preamp it's basically just a mid boost. Very nice pedal.

Well I always find at low volume I dial in more gain to fill things out, but up around where I usually stop for playing loud (around 3 or so I guess on the MV depending on what I’m playing) I don’t go past 7 on the gain knob. I find the power section starts to add some thickness and saturation to the sound once you get around 2 on the MV and honestly for a tighter metal sound going past 3 probably starts to get a little too fat and loose. This is a 2204 though, and I usually boost it with an MXR M77. I am really interested in the Duality.

It’s of course very dependent on your cab/speakers too. If I switch from a 1960 w/greenbacks to a mesa w/v30’s I have to change pretty much everything.

 

[JackBootedThug]

fuck that sounded evil....and your avatar freaks me the fuck out....

 

[Simon Dorn]

I got a great sound out of my old one. It was a love/hate relationship. When I was younger I bought my 1st one. However I went overboard and bought the zakk sig halfstack. Could not wait to get home and fire it up. Finally got home-got it set up and....WTF? surf music? country? No gain and sounded like ass compared to my tverb. Called my dealer and said this pos is broke. Of course he's laughing at my noob ass. He asked me if I Kranked(lol) it? I say no....then he asks me what I'm boosting it with....of course I'm like huh? He gave me an sd1 or an Ibanez ds and said boost it. When I fired it up again I was like fuck yeah. When I ran it in stereo with the tverb I was like FUCK YEAH....so anyway...I got great tones at lower volumes...little bit of air opens it up though....

My first real amp as a kid was a Stramp Marshall 1959 clone. I needed a Distortion pedal. So i went to the store and said i need one. He put 2 or 3 Stomp Boxes on the table and i chose the DS1. I don't think i even tried it. After the Clone broke i replaced it with a new Marshall 1959SLP and later traded that in for a 2x12 Traynor Transistor Combo which was the worst trade EVER.

 

[Simon Dorn]

Well I always find at low volume I dial in more gain to fill things out, but up around where I usually stop for playing loud (around 3 or so I guess on the MV depending on what I’m playing) I don’t go past 7 on the gain knob. I find the power section starts to add some thickness and saturation to the sound once you get around 2 on the MV and honestly for a tighter metal sound going past 3 probably starts to get a little too fat and loose. This is a 2204 though, and I usually boost it with an MXR M77. I am really interested in the Duality.

It’s of course very dependent on your cab/speakers too. If I switch from a 1960 w/greenbacks to a mesa w/v30’s I have to change pretty much everything.

Nothing to add. Except for with the master on 2 my amp is pretty much cranked. You need the gain on this level. It really cleans up again, after a certain volume level. But in between that you have a lot of choices. Lower (still high-) gain works too. I like the amp. Sometimes i hate it.
The Duality replaced 3 pedals. I had an OD9, ST9Pro+ and an IPS Decimator 2 before. Unfortunately they have supply issues...

 

[Simon Dorn]

fuck that sounded evil....and your avatar freaks me the fuck out....

Awesome Thanks!