my high end amp sounds bad :(

[JKae]

ive got a od100 std+ that i think have some problem, it doesnt sound like a ~3k dollar amp at all.. and everywhere i read everyone says how good it sounds and thats its amazing. But my brothers engl screamer 50 combo sounds way better than this

sometimes its way to bassy and sometimes way to thin and harsh and got a weird character on the clean channel, almost sounds like im playing on plastic strings.., dynamics feel weird also, big E string has a bit less volume than the others

when asking suhr support all they say is that 99,9% of the amp problems are from tubes,

ive changed tubes 4 times now and trying different preamp tube combinations but still cant get any good sound (sounds decent though)

could it be that these amps dont like mesa 2x12 cabs (V30S)?
or could there be any component failures that change the sound just a bit?

 

[Chris6870]

ive changed tubes 4 times now and trying different preamp tube combinations but still cant get any good sound (sounds decent though)

Did you change power tubes and make sure bias is set correctly?

 

[maddnotez]

sometimes its way to bassy and sometimes way to thin and harsh and got a weird character on the clean channel, almost sounds like im playing on plastic strings.., dynamics feel weird also, big E string has a bit less volume than the others

Spend a little more time tweaking the knobs. Are there controls or any eq buttons or anything on the back that may need to be engaged?

The volume issue may be the guitar? Active pups? Checked all cables?

could it be that these amps dont like mesa 2x12 cabs (V30S)?
or could there be any component failures that change the sound just a bit?

Very well could be the cab, or could also be the head itself.

Try a different cab, guitar and cables.

If its still messed up and you have already replaced the tubes bring it back. Thats way too much to drop on a faulty amp.

 

[thiswaythatway]

Sell it and get the PT100.

 

[jcj]

I don't dig the gain side of the amp too much, but the fact you can't get a good clean surprises me; one of the best cleans I've ever heard.

Have you had a tech take a look?

 

[Gainzilla]

Id say give them a call, John Suhr is an awesome dude and stands behind his stuff big time...

 

[fearhk213]

I've never played the OD100 Std+, but I had a regular OD100 Std for a while & I venture to say they're in the same ballpark. I found it to be a very tricky amp to dial in. I had similar complaints about it either being too bassy or too thin/harsh. Once I figured it out I got some pretty cool tones. It's been so long I can't remember how I ran mine, but I do remember running the bass unusually low & the mids pretty stinking high. I found it also sounded a little better using a patch cable in the loop, balancing the the clean & od channel volumes, & using the fx return as the overall master.

In the end it wasn't my bag and if you're looking for ENGL tones you won't find it in the OD100. I really depends on what kind of tones you want, but I found the OD100 Std to have a very distinct sound & delivery you're either going to like or not. Oh, it needed volume to shine as well. In other words, not a bedroom amp.

I know the OD100 Std was not voiced with V30s (greenies I believe). The SE+ was voiced with V30, so maybe the Std+ is too, but I don't know.

Whether or not there is something mechanically wrong I can't say. Like I said the od channel can be very tricky, but the clean channel I never had issues getting a killer sound so like the guy above me said that surprises me too.

 

[JKae]

yep ive tried 3 different sets of powertubes all biased correctly and 2 different preamp tube sets.

right now when i played some the amp changed sound in realtime, becoming more dull and buzzy, before ive noticed that the amp sounds a bit different than last time played etc.. but now was first time in "realtime" while playing.

So i guess there has to be some component problem?


to bad i live in europe and suhr is in the us, shipping for repairs will be expensive and a hassle and take a very very long time

 

[jcj]

yep ive tried 3 different sets of powertubes all biased correctly and 2 different preamp tube sets.

right now when i played some the amp changed sound in realtime, becoming more dull and buzzy, before ive noticed that the amp sounds a bit different than last time played etc.. but now was first time in "realtime" while playing.

So i guess there has to be some component problem?


to bad i live in europe and suhr is in the us, shipping for repairs will be expensive and a hassle and take a very very long time

See if John will recommend someone local; he can help walk them through any trouble shooting.

 

[steve_k]

yep ive tried 3 different sets of powertubes all biased correctly and 2 different preamp tube sets.

right now when i played some the amp changed sound in realtime, becoming more dull and buzzy, before ive noticed that the amp sounds a bit different than last time played etc.. but now was first time in "realtime" while playing.

So i guess there has to be some component problem?


to bad i live in europe and suhr is in the us, shipping for repairs will be expensive and a hassle and take a very very long time

did you just get the amp shipped?

new/used?

where are you located?

any hum/buzz associated with the amp?

does it have the thump and resonance controls on the back?

the FX loop is not engaged is it?

all the preamp tubes lighting up when it is on?

 

[Gainzilla]

yep ive tried 3 different sets of powertubes all biased correctly and 2 different preamp tube sets.

right now when i played some the amp changed sound in realtime, becoming more dull and buzzy, before ive noticed that the amp sounds a bit different than last time played etc.. but now was first time in "realtime" while playing.

So i guess there has to be some component problem?


to bad i live in europe and suhr is in the us, shipping for repairs will be expensive and a hassle and take a very very long time

See if John will recommend someone local; he can help walk them through any trouble shooting.

This...

 

[JKae]

yep ive tried 3 different sets of powertubes all biased correctly and 2 different preamp tube sets.

right now when i played some the amp changed sound in realtime, becoming more dull and buzzy, before ive noticed that the amp sounds a bit different than last time played etc.. but now was first time in "realtime" while playing.

So i guess there has to be some component problem?


to bad i live in europe and suhr is in the us, shipping for repairs will be expensive and a hassle and take a very very long time

did you just get the amp shipped?

new/used?

where are you located?

any hum/buzz associated with the amp?

does it have the thump and resonance controls on the back?

the FX loop is not engaged is it?

all the preamp tubes lighting up when it is on?

got it used a while ago,

noise level is pretty high when using the boost mode on ch2, wouldnt use sinlgecoils with it

on the back theres presence and depth, and a efx loop activation button and when activated theres a master volume knob
i allways keep it activated to be able to use the master volume (but i dont use any pedals in the loop since its line level and my pedals are instument level)

all tube lighting is good

 

[Gainzilla]

did it ever sound good to you? Did you get to demo it before you bought it?

 

[EXPcustom]

I think the problem is that people assume "high end" or expensive gear is supposed to sound good all of the time but I find that not to be the case most of the time.

Sorry for the derail, carry on and I agree its all in the knob settings... sometimes.

 

[VESmedic]

Maybe it's possible you just don't like the amp?


I mean you see posts like this all the time, and I would bet, 99 percent of the time, there is nothing wrong with the amp, especially a high end model like this, where the build quality is probably superb. If you've changed tubes and you still don't like it, maybe you just don't like it, period. There is nothing wrong with that. Tone doesn't always equal high price tag, however it does often. What sounds good to some people, sounds horrible to others. Some people may hate my rig. Some might say both of my amps are dry, sterile, and generally not toneful to them. To me, them together, is the best in the room tone I have ever heard in my life. So keep that in mind. I am not a fan of bogners generally for what I do, however I love them for leads, and clean stuff. I have no desire to own an uberschall however...Get my drift?

 

[Gainzilla]

Maybe it's possible you just don't like the amp?


I mean you see posts like this all the time, and I would bet, 99 percent of the time, there is nothing wrong with the amp, especially a high end model like this, where the build quality is probably superb. If you've changed tubes and you still don't like it, maybe you just don't like it, period. There is nothing wrong with that. Tone doesn't always equal high price tag, however it does often. What sounds good to some people, sounds horrible to others. Some people may hate my rig. Some might say both of my amps are dry, sterile, and generally not toneful to them. To me, them together, is the best in the room tone I have ever heard in my life. So keep that in mind. I am not a fan of bogners generally for what I do, however I love them for leads, and clean stuff. I have no desire to own an uberschall however...Get my drift?

LOL, I was getting to this...

 

[JKae]

ye probably dont like it enough to keep it, not as how ive experienced it atleast,

but i cant sell it if it keeps beeing weird like this... tried to change tubes ones again to sed winged c this time, and the amp still changed the sound in realtime, could loop a riff and get the tone to be one time decent and one time worse than my roland micro cube

 

[JakeAC5253]

There is a certain distinct point where buying a piece of gear designed by a single person has less to do with build quality and attention to detail and more to do with that person's taste in tone.

In your case though, it sounds like there is something wrong with the amp. It sounds like it is not catastrophic in any way, so I would look for shorts in the signal path, perhaps early on near the input jack.

 

[VESmedic]

For what it's worth, I completely disagree....The chances are sky high you just don't like the amp, and that the amp is fine....seriously

 

[Wizard of Ozz]

For what it's worth, I completely disagree....The chances are sky high you just don't like the amp, and that the amp is fine....seriously

+10000

I've owned both the CAA OD100SH/SE, OD100SE+, and currently now I have the PT100. The older OD100 amps are definitely darker, and smoother sounding. Some might say "Bogner-ish" with the presence set low. They just don't have a lot of high end cut and the mids are different than say a Marshall.

If you like the basic Engl tone, the OD100 series is not for you. The Engls have a very tight, compressed, focused, brighter tone that many term hi-fi, sterile, or processed. Not very warm, woody, organic, or 3-D if you see the difference.

The PT100 is completely different from all of the previous OD100 variants. It's basically a Fender Twin Blacface on channel 1 and channels 2 & 3 are modified Marshall 2203 to over the top modern tones on channel 3 depending how you set the power amp hi & low controls. It's really altogether a different animal, and best sounding amp Suhr has made to date IMHO.

You might want to check out an Engl Savage 120. For the money, that was my favorite Engl and it had the most Marshall-esque mid voicing of the bunch.