Mrdan666 cali mod mini ampfest

[druckpig]

saturday this week , flyangus darrcooper and myself were invited by dan gower also known on the forum as Mrdan666 to his visit him in london

some of the board members here know dan and what he is about , for those who dont....

dan gower is co designer collaborater with mike fortin for the cali mod ,he is also the uk and european vendor of the cali mods

two cali mods were there to test play, a 100 watt jmp cali mod and a jcm800 50 watt cali mod
other amps there were a soldano slo 100 a bogner xtc and an axefx ultra along with various processors including an eventide eclipse... nice !

the slo 100 the xtc and axefx were all really great , but.... I went specifically to listen to the cali mods

holy shite ... the cali mods are simply fantastic sounding amps both of them !!!
really absolutely bloody amazing amps..

to my ears the cali mod amps are capable of copping a wide range of eighties stuff right up to current day modern tones...
both amps have a ton of gain on tap and are very fluid articulate and easy to play ...

awhile back I spent half a day playing a mark cameron ccv thats a killer amp for sure .. for comparison the cali mod covers very very similar territory, if anything I think the cali is a better sounding amp but is also much much easier to play...

I bought the jcm800 50 watt cali mod

dan was an outstanding host and it was a really great day out, dan is also a killer guitar player as were flyangus and darrcooper

If anyone in uk or europe is interested in the cali mods then dan gower aka Mrdan666 is your man to contact he is a top notch bloke and his amps are outstanding

thanks dan for a really great day ...

 

[thiswaythatway]

 

[MrDan666]

Hey Ian,

It was great having you guys over on Saturday, i had a fantastic time and i'm glad you all did too You're welcome over here anytime!!

Getting to test out those amps, all hooked up to the Wet/Dry/Wet setup was amazing, the tones were so huge that my ears were ringing for a while after you guys left haha

The Cali Mods were great fun to play, and i'm glad that you guys enjoyed both the 100w and 50w versions. They can cover a lot of tones and i think there is something in that mod for everybody Still without question my fav amp to date!

The Bogner and the Soldano both sounded huge! I didn't get a chance to plug into the Soldano but it sounded killer, and its super loud.. loudest amp i ever heard Very upfront tone, it has a very huge sound that's totally in your face! Clean and Crunch channels were fantastic too!

The Bogner XTC 101B was another great amp which was so easy to play, particularly on the Red Channel. I definitely enjoyed that a lot and would love to spend more time with the XTC.

The AxeFX was a big shocker for me.. The clips online never did much for me at all, but when i played it in person it was just awesome. If i had done a blind test where i wasn't told already... i wouldn't have known that it was a modeller. The latest firmware sounds brilliant and it feels spot on to a real amp. FX were easily on par with Angus's Eventide Eclipse too.

The best part of the day was getting to meet you guys, it was great to just hang out and talk guitars/amps and jam together. All of you guys were awesome players and it was fun getting to listen to each other play through the different amps Thanks for coming along and i can't wait til next time!!

 

[flyangus]

Guys, I had a great time on Saturday

It was great to meet up with everyone and have a blast! Big thanks to Dan for arranging this

All the amps sounded just top notch, all of them had there own thing but I would have been happy with any one of them. The cali was super easy to play and very inspiring because of it, it also had stacks of gain and variable compression (very cool btw) as well as spongy/tight settings. I'll seriously be looking to get Dan to do one of these for me. I also loved the SLO, it was not as easy to play but had a very bright forward sound, very punchy and articulate - definitely not an amp you can hide behind!

Here is a short iPhone clip of the SLO run W/D/W. Wasn't sure whether to post it because there's a lot of background noise but thought you guys might like to see anyway! Excuse my playing, it was just some off the cuff noodling! This was the first time I've tried W/D/W and it sounds amazing. We also had an Eventide running a Micro pitch in so it has that VH vibe to it with plenty 'o' sauce!

This is the only clip of the day unfortunately, it would have been great to get a clip of the Cali up too.

 

[yngzaklynch]

Guys, I had a great time on Saturday

It was great to meet up with everyone and have a blast! Big thanks to Dan for arranging this

All the amps sounded just top notch, all of them had there own thing but I would have been happy with any one of them. The cali was super easy to play and very inspiring because of it, it also had stacks of gain and variable compression (very cool btw) as well as spongy/tight settings. I'll seriously be looking to get Dan to do one of these for me. I also loved the SLO, it was not as easy to play but had a very bright forward sound, very punchy and articulate - definitely not an amp you can hide behind!

Here is a short iPhone clip of the SLO run W/D/W. Wasn't sure whether to post it because there's a lot of background noise but thought you guys might like to see anyway! Excuse my playing, it was just some off the cuff noodling! This was the first time I've tried W/D/W and it sounds amazing. We also had an Eventide running a Micro pitch in so it has that VH vibe to it with plenty 'o' sauce!

This is the only clip of the day unfortunately, it would have been great to get a clip of the Cali up too.

The SLO sounds great. Were guys boosting it with that Fulltone pedal?

 

[flyangus]

The SLO sounds great. Were guys boosting it with that Fulltone pedal?

Yes, that was Darrens Fulltone going into the SLO. Just made it a bit easier for me to play, there was no OD or EQ just a clean boost I think - Darren might chime in and explain what the settings were.

 

[Darrcooper]

Guys..

saturday was fantastic!!..

had such a blast over at dan's place..a BIG thankyou to him and his wonderful family for putting up with us all!!..

the cali modded marshalls were without doubt the easiest amps i've ever played..period!!..

ive had a lot of amps as some of you guys know..inc the much wanted cameron ccv..now im not slating the ccv by any means but i personally think the cali modded marshall's play and sound every bit as good as a ccv..well in my opinion i think it sounded better..

i was playing a ccv on thursday and still had the tone and feel fresh in my mind..and i prefered the cali mods i played on saturday..
1 was a jcm800 50w and the other was a jmp 100w..both sounded and played superbly!!..

also the axe fx ultra for me was the biggest surprise of the day..i was very shocked with just how the unit sounded..angus had pre dialled in an SLO-100 patch and it sounded great..

it didnt sound exactly like my SLO..kinda had more of the bogner XTC red channel going on..we ran the axe fx mono and it still sounded huge in the room!!

The SLO sounds great. Were guys boosting it with that Fulltone pedal?

Yes, that was Darrens Fulltone going into the SLO. Just made it a bit easier for me to play, there was no OD or EQ just a clean boost I think - Darren might chime in and explain what the settings were.

the slo was set at : gain 1 oclock..bass 11 oclock..mid 12 oclock..treble and presence 2 oclock
the fulltone was set for a clean boost..volume full..tone at 1 oclock and both gain and boost set to 0

Fantastic day guys!!..

 

[MrDan666]

Dan,

Can you tell us your slave wet/dry/wet set-up? I made a thread about how I do mine...and I am curious how you do it....

Hey Dave,

Sure man, here's the basis of the Wet/Dry/Wet rig that i would use.

Cali Mod into dry 4x12 (H30 blackbacks). Lineout which i built into the Cali Mod, which does the same as your Suhr ISO box. Signal fed straight into FX unit (we used the Eventide Eclipse on Saturday), then the left and right outputs go into the L/R inputs of my Peavey Classic 60/60 poweramp. Then one side of the poweramp goes to a 4x12 with RI Greenbacks, the other side goes to a 4x12 with original G12-65's.

I saw your thread and im wondering if its the Solidstate poweramps which are making the Wet cabs sound different. I had that issue and when i switched to a tube poweramp, the wet cabs sounded closer to the dry cab than before. Also sometimes you'll find you'll get a much more balanced tone if you use all 3 cabs with the same speakers in them. Worth experimenting with if you can

 

[MrDan666]

It was great having you over guys, my pleasure!! Can't wait to do it again soon!

Darren, it was great to catch up with you again and this time we got to play some great gear unlike the Denmark Street trip haha i'm still gobsmacked at how loud the SLO is. It sounded twice as loud as my 100watt Cali Mod... Scary hahah!! Thanks for bringing it along, it was killer and sounded massive!!!
Also you're right about that patch on the AxeFX nailing the Red Channel XTC tone, it was super close and the feel was all there too

Angus, thanks for bringing along all that gear on Saturday, it was great having ya there with us! I loved your EBMM EVH guitar, got me GASing for either an EVH or an Axis now Also the Bogner was so much fun to play, really thoroughly enjoyed that amp on the red channel. Same goes for the AxeFX, what a great little rig that is!

I wish i had gotten some video footage of you guys playing through the Cali Mods.. you were all wailing big time on them when i set them up for robogain haha

 

[Digital Jams]

Oh HELL YEAH!!!!!!

Nothing better than seeing that sexy bitch Angus 3' from a w/d/w rig bringing the heat Made my night!

Everyone knows my stance on the Cali mod, it has ended all gas for anything Marshall in the hotrod catagory, some know my past jonesing for a Cameron and that is over..............well unless Danhops sells his and the dibs list gets to me The best thing about the cali is that I have no reason to boost that amp, very easy to play after spending some time with it and the tone is already there.


Awesome day for you all that is for sure!

 

[Darrcooper]

Oh HELL YEAH!!!!!!

Nothing better than seeing that sexy bitch Angus 3' from a w/d/w rig bringing the heat Made my night!

Everyone knows my stance on the Cali mod, it has ended all gas for anything Marshall in the hotrod catagory, some know my past jonesing for a Cameron and that is over..............well unless Danhops sells his and the dibs list gets to me The best thing about the cali is that I have no reason to boost that amp, very easy to play after spending some time with it and the tone is already there.


Awesome day for you all that is for sure!

I agree with you scott..they certainly don't need any boosts infront!!..without doubt its the easiest amp ive ever played..
it sounded huge!!...amazing amp!!

i just wish i could have done the amp some justice..Dan-Ian and Angus are all killer players!!

it was a superb day..not long enough though!!..

 

[stephen sawall]

Sounds like fun .....

 

[MrDan666]

Scott, you're right the Cali feels like it's already boosted, it's just super easy to play!!

The 2 Cali's were every bit as easy to play as the XTC 101B, if not maybe a bit easier IMO. Thing is, even though they are easy to play, its not super compressed at all. The tone can be really open if you dial it in for that kinda thing, or you can make it as compressed as you want. Tight and Spongy modes on the Feel switch can do that without even touching the EQ

Darren, you sounded absolutely killer through the amps! I always enjoy listening to you play guitar

 

[Digital Jams]

Scott, you're right the Cali feels like it's already boosted, it's just super easy to play!!

The 2 Cali's were every bit as easy to play as the XTC 101B, if not maybe a bit easier IMO. Thing is, even though they are easy to play, its not super compressed at all. The tone can be really open if you dial it in for that kinda thing, or you can make it as compressed as you want. Tight and Spongy modes on the Feel switch can do that without even touching the EQ

Darren, you sounded absolutely killer through the amps! I always enjoy listening to you play guitar

That is the cool part, most amps that are easy to play are compressed like the MK IV and JVM that I have but the Cali is way more open sounding and less compressed!

I find the Cali to be very percussive as well.......starting on the low E palm mute while playing a major scale over the E and A accending and decending...

1-3-5
1-3-5
5-3-1
5-3-1

You get this killer percussive thing going on and due to the amp being tight and fast tracking it sounds killer!!!! Gilbert would rule with this amp

 

[MrDan666]

That is the cool part, most amps that are easy to play are compressed like the MK IV and JVM that I have but the Cali is way more open sounding and less compressed!

I find the Cali to be very percussive as well.......starting on the low E palm mute while playing a major scale over the E and A accending and decending...

1-3-5
1-3-5
5-3-1
5-3-1

You get this killer percussive thing going on and due to the amp being tight and fast tracking it sounds killer!!!! Gilbert would rule with this amp

Haha its funny you should mention that because when i hooked Angus up to the amp, set for tons of gain but in the Tight voicing, he mentioned about it having that Gilbert-style percussive snap even on the low notes That percussive attack on the notes is very cool, a lot of my fav players have that happening. Obviously Paul Gilbert is known for it, also Blues Saraceno gets that vibe spot on too!

 

[Digital Jams]

That is the cool part, most amps that are easy to play are compressed like the MK IV and JVM that I have but the Cali is way more open sounding and less compressed!

I find the Cali to be very percussive as well.......starting on the low E palm mute while playing a major scale over the E and A accending and decending...

1-3-5
1-3-5
5-3-1
5-3-1

You get this killer percussive thing going on and due to the amp being tight and fast tracking it sounds killer!!!! Gilbert would rule with this amp

Haha its funny you should mention that because when i hooked Angus up to the amp, set for tons of gain but in the Tight voicing, he mentioned about it having that Gilbert-style percussive snap even on the low notes That percussive attack on the notes is very cool, a lot of my fav players have that happening. Obviously Paul Gilbert is known for it, also Blues Saraceno gets that vibe spot on too!

Woah...........I am floored that I would be on the same page as a monster like Angus! I was reading what Chubtone Curt was looking for in his marshalls so I went home and was messing around with that and after a while I was laughing my balls off how killer it sounded

 

[rocker]

Live in the wrong country when it comes to music, should be cool join in on an ampfest like this.

 

[MrDan666]

Woah...........I am floored that I would be on the same page as a monster like Angus! I was reading what Chubtone Curt was looking for in his marshalls so I went home and was messing around with that and after a while I was laughing my balls off how killer it sounded

Haha i know that feeling For what i go for, there's nothing the Cali Mod can't do for me tone-wise/feel-wise.

Try out that setting that i PM'd ya, and prepare to laugh your ass off at how much fun it is to play

 

[MrDan666]

Live in the wrong country when it comes to music, should be cool join in on an ampfest like this.

It would be great to have ya join in Arild! Shame we don't live closer!

I feel the same way when i see the ampfests the USA guys have, i wish i could be everywhere to join in

 

[Digital Jams]

Woah...........I am floored that I would be on the same page as a monster like Angus! I was reading what Chubtone Curt was looking for in his marshalls so I went home and was messing around with that and after a while I was laughing my balls off how killer it sounded

Haha i know that feeling For what i go for, there's nothing the Cali Mod can't do for me tone-wise/feel-wise.

Try out that setting that i PM'd ya, and prepare to laugh your ass off at how much fun it is to play

I have both of the settings that you gave me printed out for use this Saturday