Mak4 gut shots

[Ventura]

Stick a SM57 in front of the speaker and record ONE track and leave it raw. That's a good representation of what the amp sounds like. All that other crap(double tracking, quad tracking, mic placement, eq, compression ect) is a representation of what the amp is capable of in a studio.

SM57 may do the trick, right now it's just a straight up H4n about 3 feet from the cab. I've tracked 1 hours worth already tonight, and I'll go in for a close mic set up after this next sesh...

No worries, there's SFA in the department of post recording production going on - it's very very f'n raw.

V.

 

[bubbastain]

Stick a SM57 in front of the speaker and record ONE track and leave it raw. That's a good representation of what the amp sounds like. All that other crap(double tracking, quad tracking, mic placement, eq, compression ect) is a representation of what the amp is capable of in a studio.

SM57 may do the trick, right now it's just a straight up H4n about 3 feet from the cab. I've tracked 1 hours worth already tonight, and I'll go in for a close mic set up after this next sesh...

No worries, there's SFA in the department of post recording production going on - it's very very f'n raw.

V.

 

[Ventura]

Straight up, mono, close mic, Fryette P50E, no effects, no double tracks (ugh!!), and no overdubbing (ugh!!)...
Makoplex channel doing its thing with mids high, treble backed right down, bridge pup, '68 Lester, BB2 pickup...

I did a lot of stuff last night, but getting the true sound of this channel was the hardest part - I have shitload of clips, but these 2 kinda sounded the most like what I'm hearing in my room, they certainly weren't chosen for my playing abilities Anyway, I'll hammer some more out on the Dorado (which definitely likes drop tunings over standard) and the Crunch when time allows. For now, this is the Makoplex channel - and it sounds really f'n good in my room and loud!! So I hope these 2 clips do it justice



Off to the office cats!! Have an awesome Sunday!!

V.

 

[bubbastain]

V. That Makoplex sounds sweet. Imagine that, Mono, single track, one mic, no effects or post production and it still sounds really good. Don't get me wrong, I love hearing killer and fine tuned(all that stuff I mentioned earlier) guitar tracks but to me, there is something about hearing a single raw track that gives me a better representation of what the amp itself sounds like. Now for some drop tuned Dorado.

 

[Ventura]

V. That Makoplex sounds sweet. Imagine that, Mono, single track, one mic, no effects or post production and it still sounds really good. Don't get me wrong, I love hearing killer and fine tuned(all that stuff I mentioned earlier) guitar tracks but to me, there is something about hearing a single raw track that gives me a better representation of what the amp itself sounds like. Now for some drop tuned Dorado.

Dorado requires a bit of work on the EQ, and I'll definitely post it up... I used my ESP in Drop C on it and the bass and magnitude of rawness and sheer "I'm PISSED OFF" coming from the amp was stellar. I completely agree with you on the tracking - keep it raw, I just HATE not having a little fat with a DD, and some ambience - not to mention - the backing tracks to add a foundation for this naked little sample. So it goes...

The Mak4 is fuckin' righteous. I don't care that it's a small board in a big box. This thing is so tasty!! No signature this or modded that, just pure gnarliness, and that's a pleasure for me to hear. The Makoplex channel has SO much terrain on it - hell, I think it'd take at least 4 clips of each channel to even touch the surface. Buy one - that's my only recommendation...just buy one.

Peace
V.

 

[threadkiller]

Good sounding clips. I'd record a few but I don't have any recording gear. Maybe I'll break out the camcorder.

 

[GuitarGuyLP]

Hearing about the few people who have had tube problems. I have had more problems with JJs 12ax7s then tung sol, or Shuguang. I put tung sols in a few positions, but mostly Shuguang 12AX7B, and I prefer the sound over the JJs. I always find that JJs seem to roll off the highs a bit, kind of like tung sols, which is great for some amps (like ENGL E530).

I have also seen a lot more JJs fail on me than the others. But I might just have bad luck with them.

I have downloaded the clips to listen to through my headphones when I get back to my hotel.

 

[Ventura]

Ya, JJ's don't really make me get all warm and fuzzy feeling... Straight up high-grade Shugs do, as to TAD7025s and several others. But for now, this thing sounds real good - and I'd magine it'd sound even better with better glass.

Andrew chose JJ's for the their QC, I understand that, some Chinese tubes pop pretty quick, but the ones that don't last a long time and sound awesome

V.

 

[GuitarGuyLP]

I bought a bunch from this guy

https://cgi.ebay.com/SHUGUANG-SILVER-DRA ... 2025wt_600

a while back, and they have been great. I put them in most of my amps, and it improved the sound. The only problem is that I sold most of the amps with those tubes in them, and now I have a lot of other tubes, but I need to place another order for a bunch. I will probably buy 10-15 at least at that price.

 

[jabberwocker]

I'm using my MAK4 with a Marshall EL34 50/50. The Dorado channel sounds absolutely killer with it -- destroys my Mark V . I don't like the Makoplex as much though. It's a bit too loose and flabby for me.

 

[Ventura]

I'm using my MAK4 with a Marshall EL34 50/50. The Dorado channel sounds absolutely killer with it -- destroys my Mark V . I don't like the Makoplex as much though. It's a bit too loose and flabby for me.

WHOA!!!! Hefty claims man, glad that's you saying it and not me

I agree though, this preamp is off the hook. I'll be posting more clips in a separate post once I go through them all... The clean is simply awesome with a touch of DD (sorry bubbastain, I have to add some delay to the clean to widen it up ).

Peace,
Mo/V.