M90

[steve_k]

I have had the Elmo for about a couple weeks now and can easily say out of all my arsenal this is my favorite amp. Got to use it is practice this week at gig volume and I am so blown away with the growl, punch and articulation of this amp. No pedals, just guitar, cord and amp. I ran it through two cabs - my Diezel FL 4x12 and my Bogner Uber Cab. This amp has so much depth with the KT88's with well defined bottom end using drop B and drop A tunings, and searing leads on the other end. Nothing got lost in the mix. It handles both active and passive pickups great and it very quiet even with the gain/drive dimed out.

Got 3 weekends of gigs in a row and now the dilemma, where does it go in the road case - the Uberschall's lot or the VH4's slot? Easy, it will replace the Uberschall. The VH4 actually compliments the Elmo fantastically. But, I think I will run the Elmo through the Bogner Cab and one side of the Diezel cab and the VH4 through one side of the Diezel cab as taking 3 cabs isn't too practical.

Yeah, I am excited as hell about the M90 and it really is a pleasure to play and easy to dial in. If you have a chance, give one a go.

Anyone here have an Elmwood 4x12 cab? Are they front loaded or rear loaded cabs?

Steve

 

[MadScientist]

What brand of tubes are you using in it (preamp and power)?

I picked up a used one with the Elmwood KT88s and ENGL 12AX7s and it has not really impressed me so far, but I'm planning to retube it and give it a chance.

 

[steve_k]

Still got the stock tubes that shipped in it. Not sure what tone you are trying to get out of it. But, I a, all about gain and grind. Kick the channel 2 gain all the way up, set the bass/treb about 3:00 and I keep the mids down around 9:00. One the back, I bring the edge to about 3:00 and the fat to about noon. Through 2-4x12's, it cannot be beat.

Steve

 

[Hard&Heavy]

Glad your digging the elmo. I love mine,your setting's are almost like what I Use. I am thinking of putting a set of gold lion kt-88's in it,from what everybody tells me it's the cats meow...

 

[steve_k]

Top Shelf!

I haven't even looked to see what's under the hood yet or what Elmwood is rebranding. I am pretty satisfied with with these, so I will just play them till destruction....

Steve

 

[Hollywood]

What brand of tubes are you using in it (preamp and power)?

I picked up a used one with the Elmwood KT88s and ENGL 12AX7s and it has not really impressed me so far, but I'm planning to retube it and give it a chance.

I had one of mine that had to be re-biased when I got it the biased setting had it running to cold. Also, I am pretty sure they don't come with pre-tubes 12ax7's labeled ENGL. The ones I have gotten are Sovteks12ax7wa's and the power tubes are Shuguangs that are Labeled Elmwood. Check the bias and maybe that is all that is wrong. Email Jan and he will send you the manual on the Elmwood bias procedure. He did that for me. Cool guy. Good luck and let us know what happens.

 

[steve_k]

What brand of tubes are you using in it (preamp and power)?

I picked up a used one with the Elmwood KT88s and ENGL 12AX7s and it has not really impressed me so far, but I'm planning to retube it and give it a chance.

I had one of mine that had to be re-biased when I got it the biased setting had it running to cold. Also, I am pretty sure they don't come with pre-tubes 12ax7's labeled ENGL. The ones I have gotten are Sovteks12ax7wa's and the power tubes are Shuguangs that are Labeled Elmwood. Check the bias and maybe that is all that is wrong. Email Jan and he will send you the manual on the Elmwood bias procedure. He did that for me. Cool guy. Good luck and let us know what happens.

Yep, had a look. Same in mine (Sovtek/Shuguangs). Wish it had external bias points on it - but no...easy to bias though. Pull the chassis. There is a small secondary PC board. Remove the screw and flip it over to expose the trim pot. For plate voltage of 470-500, bias each tube for about 50ma.

Steve

 

[Capulin Overdrive]

the stock tubes were great in mine!


and really took some work to find any tube combo i liked better than what came stock?



the M90 has by far been the best sounding amp straight out of the box, out of any amp i've ever owned!

 

[steve_k]

the stock tubes were great in mine!


and really took some work to find any tube combo i liked better than what came stock?



the M90 has by far been the best sounding amp straight out of the box, out of any amp i've ever owned!

Big Bump +1

 

[Keld]

I've been using the Gold Lions recently and they sound great.

Interesting that you've scooped out the mids. I've gone the opposite route and totally bumped the mids and backed out on the highs and bass. I'll have to try your settings though.

 

[steve_k]

I've been using the Gold Lions recently and they sound great.

Interesting that you've scooped out the mids. I've gone the opposite route and totally bumped the mids and backed out on the highs and bass. I'll have to try your settings though.

That's just what seemed to work for me and usually my starting point on an amp. We have an outdoor gig this weekend and I will be running it together with the VH4. The VH4 Ch.3 will be pulling mid duty and the Elmo covering the rest. They compliment each other well. But, if I had to go with just one amp, it would be the Elmo right now. The EQ probably has a lot to do with the cabs too as I am running it through a front loaded Diezel 4x12. It is so punchy anyway and brings out the mids/highs that normally get lost in the mix. By bringing them down on the amp, it sounded best to my ears anyway. Still, all the pictures on the walls tend to come off center!

Maybe we can start us an Elmo settings thread. I find with the global fat/edge controls, you can really find those sweet spots.

Steve

 

[IS350xtrm]

Can't imagine anyone not liking an M90 much. I've had two and both had different tubes. These amps are insanely nice. If it was my only amp, I might wonder...., but my last one was sitting between a VHT UL and an Egnater MOD100. This one was sitting between a Diezel Herbet and a Bogner Uberschall and soon I'll also be able to compare it to an Engl SE. So far, it has more than held its own against any of those amps.

 

[Tone Merchant]

were the gold lions a dramatic difference?

 

[Hard&Heavy]

were the gold lions a dramatic difference?

Thats a good question. I would like to know if the gold lions make that big of a differance before I buy a set..

 

[nbarts]

Is Elmwood's power amp as mean as Herbert's?

All the Elmwood clips I can hear are kind of low gain. Anywhere I can hear them recorded professionally cranked?

 

[Keld]

were the gold lions a dramatic difference?

Thats a good question. I would like to know if the gold lions make that big of a differance before I buy a set..

Hmmm - dramatic, no. Unfortunately, the stock tubes went out, so I never had a chance to do a comparison. Wish I could give a more definitive comparison, but the time gap was too much to go off of anything other than memory.

Very pleased with the Gold Lions overall though. Really nice clarity and definition, with lovely growl; though that could be as much due to the Elmwood itself as the tubes.

 

[flyangus]

were the gold lions a dramatic difference?

Thats a good question. I would like to know if the gold lions make that big of a differance before I buy a set..

Hmmm - dramatic, no. Unfortunately, the stock tubes went out, so I never had a chance to do a comparison. Wish I could give a more definitive comparison, but the time gap was too much to go off of anything other than memory.

Very pleased with the Gold Lions overall though. Really nice clarity and definition, with lovely growl; though that could be as much due to the Elmwood itself as the tubes.

I agree, I tried the Gold Lions back to back and there was a difference although not dramatic. I think the lows went a bit deeper and the highs a touch higher.

 

[steve_k]

Is Elmwood's power amp as mean as Herbert's?

All the Elmwood clips I can hear are kind of low gain. Anywhere I can hear them recorded professionally cranked?

The clips on Elmwood's site are a little lame, as well as stuff on YouTube. I will try and get some done up this week which will be just guitar and amp. Not sure if it has as much gain as the Herbert. But, it is voiced somewhat different from the Herbert clips I have heard. It has far more gain than Ch3 or 4 on your VH4. Of course, there are only 2-KT88's compared to the 6 power tubes in the Herbert though. They even put a little fan in the back of this puppy to cool those 88 jugs.

Steve

 

[MadScientist]

What brand of tubes are you using in it (preamp and power)?

I picked up a used one with the Elmwood KT88s and ENGL 12AX7s and it has not really impressed me so far, but I'm planning to retube it and give it a chance.

Update: I went to rebias the amp and found that the stock KT88s were very mismatched (43ma vs 58ma). I bought some Gold Lions from Tube Depot and dropped them in, rebiased, and changed out all the preamp tubes and the amp sounds much better now. I didn't even really bother moving the tone controls after that, it sounded great where it was at and I just enjoyed playing for a bit. Rebiasing the M90 is a real pain by the way because there is a board with a capacitor directly above the bias pot. Unfortunately, I still can't answer the question of whether or not the Gold Lions are worth the extra $ over other KT88s because my stock KT88s were so mismatched that it was probably causing the underwhelming sounds I was getting before.

 

[nbarts]

Is Elmwood's power amp as mean as Herbert's?

All the Elmwood clips I can hear are kind of low gain. Anywhere I can hear them recorded professionally cranked?

The clips on Elmwood's site are a little lame, as well as stuff on YouTube. I will try and get some done up this week which will be just guitar and amp. Not sure if it has as much gain as the Herbert. But, it is voiced somewhat different from the Herbert clips I have heard. It has far more gain than Ch3 or 4 on your VH4. Of course, there are only 2-KT88's compared to the 6 power tubes in the Herbert though. They even put a little fan in the back of this puppy to cool those 88 jugs.

Steve

I don't really care about preamp gain, power amp brutality is what really interests me. As a reference the vh4 is pretty damn good when you get it above 12:00, but still not nearly as mean as Herbert, especially in the lows & low mids. I find Uber's power amp pretty weak for my taste.

BTW Floyd in drop C is excellent, you gonna love it. First time setup is a little irritating, but once you have it going it kicks. Overall you may find it somewhat irritating if you change the strings as often as I do. Try an ESP Horizon if you can, I prefer it over LPs with Diezels, the combination sounds really amazing.