Who makes the nastiest gained Plexi tones?

[midnightlaundry]

Do all of those amps have Diode Clipping in them to get that sound?

 

[FourT6and2]

I think we all know what the OP meant. Yeah Plexis, by definition, don't have a lot of gain. But that's really not what we're talking about here.

If it were, then the only real answers would be a Plexi + a variac or a Plexi + some sort of plug-in device that goes in a tube socket. Or an OD pedal out front.

 

[FourT6and2]

Do all of those amps have Diode Clipping in them to get that sound?

Not all of them. But some of them.

 

[Anonymous]

Do all of those amps have Diode Clipping in them to get that sound?

Mine sounds great with the clipping circuits off and still has plenty of gain. It's just another option... Some of the stuff JerEvil did had the clipping off...

Steve

 

[Luca79]

Do all of those amps have Diode Clipping in them to get that sound?

Not all of them. But some of them.

Do you know which have the diode?

 

[harsh59]

I may be wrong , but isn't the Jose mod on a Marshall the addition of clipping diodes ?

 

[FourT6and2]

I may be wrong , but isn't the Jose mod on a Marshall the addition of clipping diodes ?

Yeah

 

[mdc1mdc11]

agree with the plexi comments earlier, many choices here are not plexi iconic voicing. Even the holy grail plexi differs from the super lead 1959 circuit with respect to chassis material (aluminum) and transformers versus the metalface SLs. great to have many of these choices.

 

[ejecta]

With all that gain they're no longer Plexis

Truth!

 

[Anonymous]

I may be wrong , but isn't the Jose mod on a Marshall the addition of clipping diodes ?

Yeah

This isn't the case. There is much more to any Jose Mod I've ever seen than just clipping diodes. Even the original mods that Jose did had more changes - different master volume placement, different component values in the gain stages... The amp will sound different and gainier even without the clipping circuits enables.

To everyone saying these amps are not plexis anymore - well, of course, they are not, but the platform is, hence why people still use plexi in descriptions. The OP asked about the "nastiest, gained Plexi tones". Seems to me he was talking about added nasty gain to a plexi platform. The amps mentioned certainly qualify.

Steve

 

[psychodave]

Regarding real plexis...

The most gained out STOCK plexi I've heard was at Chris Merrens (guy who makes amazing plexi transformers) house. Late 1967 plexi through a pin strip cab loaded with 20 watt celestions. Cranked the plexi and it was godly sounding. Massive, yet had compression and gobs of gain. I'd say it was in JCM800 territory with stock values. Something I will never forget.

 

[LP Freak]

IMO there is a "Plexi" tone though which is brighter and has that great chime when you roll back the volume. When you add 5 gain stages to that it tends to loose the Plexi-ness.

 

[FourT6and2]

I may be wrong , but isn't the Jose mod on a Marshall the addition of clipping diodes ?

Yeah

This isn't the case. There is much more to any Jose Mod I've ever seen than just clipping diodes. Even the original mods that Jose did had more changes - different master volume placement, different component values in the gain stages... The amp will sound different and gainier even without the clipping circuits enables.

Steve, I didn't mean to imply diodes are the ONLY thing in a Jose Master. But every Jose Master I've seen has had diodes, among a few other components. The most basic of Jose Master Volumes is pretty simple. But there are indeed other versions with additional parts.

I guess I should've been more specific. Jose "mod" vs Jose "master."

 

[FourT6and2]

IMO there is a "Plexi" tone though which is brighter and has that great chime when you roll back the volume. When you add 5 gain stages to that it tends to loose the Plexi-ness.

That's why—sometimes—the addition of diodes or zeners or whatever you want to use can be nice, instead of using a billion gain stages. Because when you roll the volume on your guitar back, the amp will clean up to the same point as if the diodes weren't there.

On my Chupacabra, regardless of what era mode you have the master in, the amp will clean up with the guitar's volume the exact same (normal plexi mode, 80s mode, modern mode). Once the input signal drops below a certain threshold, the diodes don't clip the signal and you get a cleaner sound.

 

[Anonymous]

I may be wrong , but isn't the Jose mod on a Marshall the addition of clipping diodes ?

Yeah

This isn't the case. There is much more to any Jose Mod I've ever seen than just clipping diodes. Even the original mods that Jose did had more changes - different master volume placement, different component values in the gain stages... The amp will sound different and gainier even without the clipping circuits enabled.

Steve, I didn't mean to imply diodes are the ONLY thing in a Jose Master. But every Jose Master I've seen has had diodes, among a few other components. The most basic of Jose Master Volumes is pretty simple. But there are indeed other versions with additional parts.

I guess I should've been more specific. Jose "mod" vs Jose "master."

Cool - makes sense!

The basic Jose Master is very simple - basically the placement of it and the clipping circuit(s) (sometimes switchable, including clipping circuits "OFF"). The changes to other components for the original Jose Mod (and others) are in the gain stages and a few other places.

Steve

 

[SFW]

Add Splawn to the list.

 

[Bloodrock]

BLADES!!!! No wait, those are the nastiest looking..

 

[Jayy]

IMO there is a "Plexi" tone though which is brighter and has that great chime when you roll back the volume. When you add 5 gain stages to that it tends to loose the Plexi-ness.

That's why—sometimes—the addition of diodes or zeners or whatever you want to use can be nice, instead of using a billion gain stages. Because when you roll the volume on your guitar back, the amp will clean up to the same point as if the diodes weren't there.

On my Chupacabra, regardless of what era mode you have the master in, the amp will clean up with the guitar's volume the exact same (normal plexi mode, 80s mode, modern mode). Once the input signal drops below a certain threshold, the diodes don't clip the signal and you get a cleaner sound.

I have a Chupacabra 100 on order now and am anxious to get it. It will be my first Ceriatone. From the clips and reviews I have seen people seem to really like them. I'd like to pick your brain on your thoughts on the Yeti and Chup, but don't want to hijack the thread.

Back on topic (sort of) the highest level of gain without any boosts, diodes, cascading preamps, etc., that I have been able to achieve with my project plexi amp that I built is VHII level of gain. That is running the amp on a variac at 90 volts, tubes biased to 60% MPD at that voltage from the variac, and running with the PPIMV wide open (so it is out of circuit) and using a roughly 14K DCR pickup. The amp is basically just voiced as a 69 plexi with a 5000pF bright cap and Sozo Nexgen caps throughout. Filtering is also a little stiffer than what most Plexis were known to have in 69. It is FUCKING LOUD running it that way, but does sound good at high volume. That is part of the funny thing with an unaltered, unmodded plexi. At really brutally high volumes they have so much bright cutting drive and power they can sound vicious as hell without over the top gain. The trick is can you stand to play one putting out about 60,000 decibels?

 

[FourT6and2]

I have a Chupacabra 100 on order now and am anxious to get it. It will be my first Ceriatone. From the clips and reviews I have seen people seem to really like them. I'd like to pick your brain on your thoughts on the Yeti and Chup, but don't want to hijack the thread.

Send me a PM anytime. The Chupa is my all-time favorite amp.

Back on topic (sort of) the highest level of gain without any boosts, diodes, cascading preamps, etc., that I have been able to achieve with my project plexi amp that I built is roughly VHII level of gain. That is running the amp on a variac at 90 volts, tubes biased to 60% MPD at that voltage from the variac, and running with the PPIMV wide open (so it is out of circuit) and using a roughly 14K DCR pickup. The amp is basically just voiced as a 69 plexi with a 5000pF bright cap and Sozo Nexgen caps throughout. Filtering is also a little stiffer than what most Plexis were known to have in 69. It is FUCKING LOUD running it that way, but does sound good at high volume. That is part of the funny thing with an unaltered, unmodded plexi. At really brutally high volumes they have so much bright cutting drive and power they can sound vicious as hell without over the top gain. The trick is can you stand to play one putting out about 60,000 decibels?

Ok, I suppose I'll play. While not a "Plexi," the highest level of gain I've heard from a stock Super Lead 1959 circuit is Adam Jones' rig here. This is before he used anything else along with it like a Rectifier or Diezel. It's all stock Super Lead.

Start at like 5:00

 

[ericsabbath]

Bray
others may even sound better, but not as plexish

gotta mention this guy, though
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=184791