Transitioning to my new home in RT: my latest gear story

[neilrocks25]

Just get a Marshall JCM 2000 DSL, it would suit you down to a T.

 

[Draelyc]

AT least you know what you what works for you. Many just play the look at me with my (fill in the blank) even though they dont know how to use it.

Right on, mang. Yeah, I've got to look at it as a major learning experience, or I'll start to feel horrible about the waste of time/money...

You have just gone through an experience we all share at one time or another.
I totally understand you desire to move the tone up a notch.
I know this may sound biased (and why shouldn't it?!), but you need an amp with about 30 watts and the ability to deliver the tones you desire whether they eminate from the preamp section, or the power amp section, or both ( my fave).

Although they are expensive, if you get to a store that happenes to carry a Diezel Schmidt, you need to try that amp out. I have gotten so many compliments on my tone since switching from a higher wattage Diezel to the lower powered Schmidt.

I believe you would simply love what you heard from playing one.
Happy hunting and don't give up the quest for upping the tones a notch... or more.

I would love to check out a Diezel, tbh. I've really been digging the lower-powered thing with the 20 watt Studiotone; I just need more control over the volume. I've heard/read really good things about Diezels (& Bogners, too, for that matter), but alas, no chance to try one out in person yet.

And thanks for "getting" the whole "next level of tone" thing .... it's not something that "normal" folks (say, like, wives...) often understand.

 

[Draelyc]

Just get a Marshall JCM 2000 DSL, it would suit you down to a T.

Now, I *have* tried the 50 watt DSL in the store, and I know I could get along quite well with that amp. But here's my thing: would that be a trade up, tone-wise, or more of a lateral move from the Speed Twin? My impression (and I'm going only from memory here) is that the DSL & the ST are in about the same league, tone-wise, but with a couple different features...

But I'd love to hear other folks' thoughts on that...

 

[Thurston]

Now, I *have* tried the 50 watt DSL in the store, and I know I could get along quite well with that amp. But here's my thing: would that be a trade up, tone-wise, or more of a lateral move from the Speed Twin? My impression (and I'm going only from memory here) is that the DSL & the ST are in about the same league, tone-wise, but with a couple different features...

But I'd love to hear other folks' thoughts on that...

I'd personally be much more interested in something that sounds good and works for me than being sure you're making a "trade-up". What does that even mean?

 

[jerrydyer]

AT least you know what you what works for you. Many just play the look at me with my (fill in the blank) even though they dont know how to use it.

Right on, mang. Yeah, I've got to look at it as a major learning experience, or I'll start to feel horrible about the waste of time/money...

if I actually thought about the gear ive had and sold, I would get depressed. Its all relevant to where you're at now. I should have kept the mark III. thats all. everything else Im glad I sold.

 

[rsm]

Maybe I misunderstood your tone goals, but is what you're after in a vintage tone something like a Marshall Plexi or JTM? Hiwatt?

A few people around here have had Fortin mod Marshalls for them (not sure if he still does this?). If you like modern controls, you may want to have a look at Fortin amps?

FWIW, if I was still doing metal today, I would likely have some kind of Fortin.

 

[Draelyc]

Now, I *have* tried the 50 watt DSL in the store, and I know I could get along quite well with that amp. But here's my thing: would that be a trade up, tone-wise, or more of a lateral move from the Speed Twin? My impression (and I'm going only from memory here) is that the DSL & the ST are in about the same league, tone-wise, but with a couple different features...

But I'd love to hear other folks' thoughts on that...

I'd personally be much more interested in something that sounds good and works for me than being sure you're making a "trade-up". What does that even mean?

Well, on the one hand, it could refer to trading up in the sense of internet cred...

But more realistically, I think what I've got in mind here is not just good tone, which I've got, but that magical kind of GREAT TONE that makes you feel tingly in unmentionable places, y'know?

 

[Draelyc]

Maybe I misunderstood your tone goals, but is what you're after in a vintage tone something like a Marshall Plexi or JTM? Hiwatt?

A few people around here have had Fortin mod Marshalls for them (not sure if he still does this?). If you like modern controls, you may want to have a look at Fortin amps?

FWIW, if I was still doing metal today, I would likely have some kind of Fortin.

Hey thanks, mang ~ that definitely sounds like something I should check out. I've found that most of my favorite vintage gain tones came from some flavor of Marshall (Plexi), but yes, I want the conveniece of a good master volume/modern controls ... I'm definitely *not* a purist! Thanks for the recommendation!

 

[Draelyc]

AT least you know what you what works for you. Many just play the look at me with my (fill in the blank) even though they dont know how to use it.

Right on, mang. Yeah, I've got to look at it as a major learning experience, or I'll start to feel horrible about the waste of time/money...

if I actually thought about the gear ive had and sold, I would get depressed. Its all relevant to where you're at now. I should have kept the mark III. thats all. everything else Im glad I sold.

Indeed, sir. Indeed. ... ...

 

[D/FW XJ'er]

Chris...

Have you tried running the pre-amp knob around 1/2 way, running the master up a bit higher, and using a dirt pedal in conjunction with the slight gain from the amp? You'll get a nice chimey clean tone with just a bit of hair, then hit it with a dirt pedal to "finish it off". Don't rely on one or the other, and this way your master won't be clogging the whole thing up, by relying on it for all of your volume control.

Try a ZVex Box of Rock along with the amp, or any of your current dirt pedals.

 

[pioneerprogress]

if preamp gain is your deal, and you like the marshall flavor, go with the blackstar HT-dual. Then you can keep the amps you know and love and spend a (relatively) small amount of cash.
If you haven't played through one yet, you're more than welcome to come over to our band space one day and give it a whirl.

 

[Draelyc]

Chris...

Have you tried running the pre-amp knob around 1/2 way, running the master up a bit higher, and using a dirt pedal in conjunction with the slight gain from the amp? You'll get a nice chimey clean tone with just a bit of hair, then hit it with a dirt pedal to "finish it off". Don't rely on one or the other, and this way your master won't be clogging the whole thing up, by relying on it for all of your volume control.

Try a ZVex Box of Rock along with the amp, or any of your current dirt pedals.

I have... Y'know, it may be what some folks have already suggested ~ just that running a rig that way is really outside my comfort zone ... Or it may be that the dirt pedals I have on hand aren't really the best ones for that application. I've had much better results with my current pedals using them to boost an already-pretty-crunchy amp (where's the smiley for that? ) than I have with the Maz (or my other amps) running them into a "just a bit o' hair/breakup" amp. It's pretty petty, I guess, but I'm kinda leary of investing in additional pedals, after what I paid for the amp, y'know?

I don't mean to sound ungrateful ~ I do appreciate the suggestions. I'll mess with it some more running it clean-ish, but I'm really leaning towards letting this one go...

C

 

[Draelyc]

if preamp gain is your deal, and you like the marshall flavor, go with the blackstar HT-dual. Then you can keep the amps you know and love and spend a (relatively) small amount of cash.
If you haven't played through one yet, you're more than welcome to come over to our band space one day and give it a whirl.

Very cool of you, mang. And that would be fun to do anyway, just as a sort of mini-amp-fest. Tell you the truth, if I were going to run a pedal-into-clean(ish) amp setup, the first place I'd start (pedal-wise) would be the HT-Dual, from what I've read & clips I've heard. Hell, I've almost picked one up a couple times, just on principle, even though I currently get my primary gain from my amps.

 

[D/FW XJ'er]

Werd, brutha. Sorry to hear it didn't work out

if I remember right your tones with the Speed Twin were pretty fat and fuzzy, which unfortunately is the opposite of that Z unless you crank the snot out of it. The Z will also tend to be more focused sounding in my experience. Not sure how your other amps are in the room but the Z tends to be more Vox-y. What pedals are you using? I just realized I should have asked

Dave (Ricky Ron Nutz)

 

[Draelyc]

Werd, brutha. Sorry to hear it didn't work out

if I remember right your tones with the Speed Twin were pretty fat and fuzzy, which unfortunately is the opposite of that Z unless you crank the snot out of it. The Z will also tend to be more focused sounding in my experience. Not sure how your other amps are in the room but the Z tends to be more Vox-y. What pedals are you using? I just realized I should have asked

Dave (Ricky Ron Nutz)

I knew it was you ... or should I say, you all.

Your description of the Z's sound is, I think, spot on. Thing is, it's so transparent at those lower volumes (when it's cleaner) that when I run a pedal for gain, all I really hear is the pedal & not the amp, if you follow what I mean. On the cheaper end, I've got a Bad Monkey & a Keeley-modded SD1. On the nicer end, I've got a Banzai Fireball II od and a Banzai New Rising Sun II clean boost. It sounds good with the Fireball, but that od was never meant to be terribly high gain on its own. For adding some gain to an already-crunchy amp, the Fireball sounds amazing... Into a cleaner amp, like the Z at lower volume, the Fireball's great for blues, but that's about it. To go that route, I'd prolly have to do as Pioneerprogress suggested & pick up an HT-dual.

But even then, I want to hear/play the *amp*, not the pedal, y'know? I think if I were primarily a blues guy, who *occasionally* forayed into rock, the Z would be perfect. As a rock guy who fakes a lot of blues , I think I need a different amp...

Glad to see you're here, btw, Daverickyronnutzetc.

 

[* velcro-fly *]

I don't mean to sound ungrateful ~ I do appreciate the suggestions. I'll mess with it some more running it clean-ish, but I'm really leaning towards letting this one go...

C

My Maz 18 NR into the matching Z-Best cab was bar none one of the coolest rigs I've ever owned. It excels at the clean edge of breakup tones and is a Tele twanging crunchy dream. The cleans with a hint of dirt are just to die for. But for the life of me I can't get into the broken up EL84 distortion spitting nails sound though - and if its saturation you're looking for (at any volume) this is probably the wrong amp as you're finding. I'm not a fan of needing to hit anything with a pedal in order to get it to sing and / or grind - there's way too many choices out there that can accomplish this. I think for me its just the EL84 thing in general - god I want to love them but cant get past the drive tones...experienced basically the same thing with the Suhr Badger. It was better but still spitting nails when driven - but awesome on the edge of breakup tones with pretty much any guitar. Moral of the story for me and something that may work for you is to run two amps and switch them if in fact you gotta have a Maz. At some point I would love to get another Maz 18 but have pretty well settled into my Carol Ann for a channel switcher that has killer cleans and killer drive tones at reasonable volumes. Got to love the Maz for what it does and not try to coax it into something else, but I totally get where you're coming from.

 

[Draelyc]

I don't mean to sound ungrateful ~ I do appreciate the suggestions. I'll mess with it some more running it clean-ish, but I'm really leaning towards letting this one go...

C

My Maz 18 NR into the matching Z-Best cab was bar none one of the coolest rigs I've ever owned. It excels at the clean edge of breakup tones and is a Tele twanging crunchy dream. The cleans with a hint of dirt are just to die for. But for the life of me I can't get into the broken up EL84 distortion spitting nails sound though - and if its saturation you're looking for (at any volume) this is probably the wrong amp as you're finding. I'm not a fan of needing to hit anything with a pedal in order to get it to sing and / or grind - there's way too many choices out there that can accomplish this. I think for me its just the EL84 thing in general - god I want to love them but cant get past the drive tones...experienced basically the same thing with the Suhr Badger. It was better but still spitting nails when driven - but awesome on the edge of breakup tones with pretty much any guitar. Moral of the story for me and something that may work for you is to run two amps and switch them if in fact you gotta have a Maz. At some point I would love to get another Maz 18 but have pretty well settled into my Carol Ann for a channel switcher that has killer cleans and killer drive tones at reasonable volumes. Got to love the Maz for what it does and not try to coax it into something else, but I totally get where you're coming from.

Wow, mang. Spot on. Thanks for posting this ~ it's good to feel like I'm not crazy, lol. Or at least not the only one. I agree that the Maz is great for its thang ... unfortunately, its thang don't seem to be my thang.

But it does have some of the most godly edge-of-breakup blues tones I've *ever* heard, fwiw. The Cool Rails in my Hamer Mirage never sounded so good...

 

[* velcro-fly *]

it does have some of the most godly edge-of-breakup blues tones I've *ever* heard, fwiw. The Cool Rails in my Hamer Mirage never sounded so good...

and thats where it shines and pretty well stomps all others claiming to do that tone...the only other amp I can think of that will hang with it, and one you may really like, is a Swart Atomic Space Tone. That amp fricken RULES. 6V6's and crunch and grind to die for in a small combo, but wants to be turned up. Zero nail spitting there though, just creamy drive tones...I will own another, guaranteed, before another Maz.

Check out the Greg V. clips

http://www.swartamps.com/
http://www.swartamps.com/swart_atomic_space_tone.htm
http://www.swartamps.com/sounds-AST_greg_v.htm

 

[D/FW XJ'er]

Werd, brutha. Sorry to hear it didn't work out

if I remember right your tones with the Speed Twin were pretty fat and fuzzy, which unfortunately is the opposite of that Z unless you crank the snot out of it. The Z will also tend to be more focused sounding in my experience. Not sure how your other amps are in the room but the Z tends to be more Vox-y. What pedals are you using? I just realized I should have asked

Dave (Ricky Ron Nutz)

I knew it was you ... or should I say, you all.

Your description of the Z's sound is, I think, spot on. Thing is, it's so transparent at those lower volumes (when it's cleaner) that when I run a pedal for gain, all I really hear is the pedal & not the amp, if you follow what I mean. On the cheaper end, I've got a Bad Monkey & a Keeley-modded SD1. On the nicer end, I've got a Banzai Fireball II od and a Banzai New Rising Sun II clean boost. It sounds good with the Fireball, but that od was never meant to be terribly high gain on its own. For adding some gain to an already-crunchy amp, the Fireball sounds amazing... Into a cleaner amp, like the Z at lower volume, the Fireball's great for blues, but that's about it. To go that route, I'd prolly have to do as Pioneerprogress suggested & pick up an HT-dual.

But even then, I want to hear/play the *amp*, not the pedal, y'know? I think if I were primarily a blues guy, who *occasionally* forayed into rock, the Z would be perfect. As a rock guy who fakes a lot of blues , I think I need a different amp...

Glad to see you're here, btw, Daverickyronnutzetc.

Brutha, try out a Zvex Box of Rock, or that Fulltone Fuzz pedal that's also a distortion pedal. You'll get that nice fat, nasty tone, but without the farty low end that you have to control on a true fuzz pedal. I would side with the Box of Rock personally, as it's meant to compliment any amp it's in front of, instead of taking over.

 

[D/FW XJ'er]

Nevermind, Chris. Make your way up to Guitar Center and try out the Dunlop re-issue Way Huge pedals. Specifically the Fat Sandwich and the Swollen Pickle. I bought an SP for my Vox tonight, and dude, with my Telecaster it gets freakin' fat, snarly and warm. I think you'd really dig one with the similar Dr Z, as it's so touch sensitive. I don't lose any of the dynamics of my Vox, compared to say a Rat...

But if the Pickle doesn't clean up enough with your humbuckers, try the Fat Sandwich. It seemed to max out where the Pickle picked up. They're also extremely high quality, and a tiny bit cheaper than the Vex stuff.