Joe Holmes' modded Marshalls

L

loudgtr

New member
Besides sounding killer, I know that they are/were 100W Marshalls modded by Jose.

What I'm really wondering is did he boost them at all? I'm guessing he did but who knows!?

What else can some of you guys contribute? Can some of the guys who know or think they know how Joe ran his set-up give us some insight.

Killer tones for sure!!
 
Everyone knows I'd be the first one to this party :rock: Joe's tone was absolutely sick everytime I saw him. From the clubs of LA to the arena's with Ozzy. One of if not THE best live tone I ever heard.

I had a friend who worked with Matt Bruck (Eddie's tech) when they were transforming Joe's club rig into an arena rig. I have never heard of there being any sort of boosting going on with Joe's amps. His pickup isn't that high output either. It's a Jackson model pickup that he worships called a J-80 that has an alnico 5 magnet and is about 12.5k. It's like a slightly underwound Duncan Custom 5. I have a couple of the J-80's and don't really think they are that special. I think it is just what Grover put in Joe's guitars back in the day and Joe built his tone around those guitars with that pickup. You can pick those pickups up for like $20 on ebay if you want to try them. Again, I'd just go with a Duncan Custom 5 to be right in Joe's ballpark but a little beefier.

Joe's modded Jose's are the sickest sounding modded Marshalls I have ever heard and I would sell all five of my amps for Joe's number 1 Marshall. I think it's a '72 Super Lead. I understand he has 6 Jose modded Marshalls and LA amp techs say they are the best Jose's they've ever heard.

There's a longer thread about Joe at Huge Racks:

http://www.hugeracksinc.com/forum/viewt ... sc&start=0
 
Hey Chubtone, thanks for the link. In that thread there's some more links to some Japanese interview Joe did and some of the few english word I came accross are : PCM 41?80`s?LA and
H/H V800???SDE-3000 aren't these some sort of effects or boosts. Not trying to be smart I really don't know. I suppose I could google and finish the Huge Racks thread, I'm still on page 1.

Some more are:ghs/Boomers?09-42 (strings cool!) and ?Vintage 30s??25W I'm guessing he mostly used V30 loaded cabs and some Greenback loaded cabs.

I just copy and pasted these from the article. Some nice vid clips in that thread :thumbsup:
 
loudgtr":2i9md53g said:
Hey Chubtone, thanks for the link. In that thread there's some more links to some Japanese interview Joe did and some of the few english word I came accross are : PCM 41は80`sのLA and
H/H V800１台とSDE-3000 aren't these some sort of effects or boosts. Not trying to be smart I really don't know. I suppose I could google and finish the Huge Racks thread, I'm still on page 1.

Some more are:ghs/Boomersの09-42 (strings cool!) and のVintage 30sにの25W I'm guessing he mostly used V30 loaded cabs and some Greenback loaded cabs.

I just copy and pasted these from the article. Some nice vid clips in that thread :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

The SDE-3000 is a Roland Delay unit, and the PCM-41 is another delay unit made by Lexicon. Both units were discontinued years ago, but they aren't hard to find on eBay :thumbsup: They both sound quite similar to each other IMO, they both have really good modulation/chorus on the repeats.

H/H V800 is the poweramp Joe used, its the same poweramp EVH used for a while in the 80's. Very cool poweramp :rock:
 
Lexicon PCM-41 and the Roland SDE-3000 provided some of the hugest, warmest choruses you ever heard. When I think about it, people complain about digital choruses, but my PCM-41 has a warmer chorus than any of my analog pedal choruses.
 
As many here know, I am not into 80's metal very much.

BUT, around 1999/00 I saw Ozzy @ Ozzfest and Joe Holmes was playing guitar. His tone still to this day was one of the most rippin' tones I have ever heard live. It was so clear, huge and amazing.

One of the other favorite hard rock/metal tones was the female guitarist from Nashville Pussy.
 
Chubtone":1k8rpk5k said:
Lexicon PCM-41 and the Roland SDE-3000 provided some of the hugest, warmest choruses you ever heard. When I think about it, people complain about digital choruses, but my PCM-41 has a warmer chorus than any of my analog pedal choruses.
Click to expand...

Hey Curt,

I have an SDE-1000 which i use similarly to how the guys back in the 80's did... 26ms Delay with the repeats on zero, and with the mod kicked in. So you get that super lush warm chorus coming through one side of your rig, and the other side dry. Gets that huge wide tone, almost like double tracked tone.

I agree, those old Roland SDE and Lexicon PCM delays had the best chorus/mod section :rock: My SDE is actually one of the only FX i ever bother to use anymore!
 
MrDan666":dbf4au18 said:
Chubtone":dbf4au18 said:
Lexicon PCM-41 and the Roland SDE-3000 provided some of the hugest, warmest choruses you ever heard. When I think about it, people complain about digital choruses, but my PCM-41 has a warmer chorus than any of my analog pedal choruses.
Click to expand...

Hey Curt,

I have an SDE-1000 which i use similarly to how the guys back in the 80's did... 26ms Delay with the repeats on zero, and with the mod kicked in. So you get that super lush warm chorus coming through one side of your rig, and the other side dry. Gets that huge wide tone, almost like double tracked tone.

I agree, those old Roland SDE and Lexicon PCM delays had the best chorus/mod section :rock: My SDE is actually one of the only FX i ever bother to use anymore!
Click to expand...

That's how we did it. 26ms is the exact setting on the PCM-41 since it goes up in increments, 13, 26, 52 etc. The PCM-41 has an input for an expression pedal with a sweep that at max was X2 what it was set at. So during a lead, you could kick the expression pedal all way up and it was at basically 52ms and was just the wettest, hugest chorus ever. It sounded good on slow bends and double stops. For fast playing you had to kick it back down to the down position on the pedal. One of the main things with the "right" chorus for that tone was that when you did a slow bend that the chorus could track correctly and not flutter. Most chorus units would flutter in an unmusical way when you did that. Not the Lexicon or the SDE-3000. Another great chorus was that Rockman Stereo Chorus/Delay. That sounded huge too.
 
Chubtone":r317f15f said:
That's how we did it. 26ms is the exact setting on the PCM-41 since it goes up in increments, 13, 26, 52 etc. The PCM-41 has an input for an expression pedal with a sweep that at max was X2 what it was set at. So during a lead, you could kick the expression pedal all way up and it was at basically 52ms and was just the wettest, hugest chorus ever. It sounded good on slow bends and double stops. For fast playing you had to kick it back down to the down position on the pedal. One of the main things with the "right" chorus for that tone was that when you did a slow bend that the chorus could track correctly and not flutter. Most chorus units would flutter in an unmusical way when you did that. Not the Lexicon or the SDE-3000. Another great chorus was that Rockman Stereo Chorus/Delay. That sounded huge too.
Click to expand...

I know exactly what you mean about that chorus flutter, yeah the SDE's and PCM's work great as they don't have that problem :) Just an awesome sounding delay with a great chorus built in too!

Never had a chance to check out the Rockman Stereo Chorus/Delay, but i bet its great if its similar to the SDE/PCM units!
 
Guess I have some settings to try ;)

DSC_0023.jpg
 
Thanks guys! Lots of great info here. I listened to a few more Ozzy/Joe vids on youtube last night and what a killer sound he's got going on. I hope he gots his new project out soon that the thread in Huge Racks mentions.

The Cali mod I played from Fortin awhile back did remind me of Joe's massive yet clear tone; I'd guess there are many other ways to get close but it seems it always starts with a Marshall or somethng Marshall inspired.

Like so many around Rig-talk, whenever you want us kiddies to gather around the fire and listen to ol' gain stories from yester' years Chubtone, we are there with bells on baby! :rock:

Cheers boys!
 
Hahhaha !! I knew Chubtone would lay down the goods!!! :rock:

Well since Ive been reading how much of a hype man I am..... I'm going to continue to do so LMAO. The Fortin can get that sound for sure and the real secret IMHO is the Jose type master in conjuntion with the slave rig and effects. The way Joe hooks up the effects is key. The Slaved rig with the PCM-41 with a stereo spread (the way Curt explained.) is a DEADLY combination and almost anyone who has used that Live has killed it!! :rock:
 
Gainfreak":2zxmg99v said:
Hahhaha !! I knew Chubtone would lay down the goods!!! :rock:

Well since Ive been reading how much of a hype man I am..... I'm going to continue to do so LMAO. The Fortin can get that sound for sure and the real secret IMHO is the Jose type master in conjuntion with the slave rig and effects. The way Joe hooks up the effects is key. The Slaved rig with the PCM-41 with a stereo spread (the way Curt explained.) is a DEADLY combination and almost anyone who has used that Live has killed it!! :rock:
Click to expand...

+1

I have a signal diagram of Joe's rig from an old magazine, i think it may have been Young Guitar. On the Ozzy tours he was using 2 x Roland SDE-3000's that were fed off a line out from the main Jose mod Marshall head. one SDE-3000 feeding the left wet cab and the other feeding the right wet cab. Dry cab in the center.

The PCM or the SDE will do the same job IMO, either will get you scary close to that sound. I'm only using an SDE-1000 and it does a fantastic job for that tone. The Cali Mod gets very very close to Joe's Jose modded Marshall tone when you run it that way :rock:

Funnily enough, Doug Aldrich does the exact same thing with his live rig except he dials the modulation on the delay lower than Joe Holmes does.
 
MrDan666":1o92sz16 said:
Gainfreak":1o92sz16 said:
Hahhaha !! I knew Chubtone would lay down the goods!!! :rock:

Well since Ive been reading how much of a hype man I am..... I'm going to continue to do so LMAO. The Fortin can get that sound for sure and the real secret IMHO is the Jose type master in conjuntion with the slave rig and effects. The way Joe hooks up the effects is key. The Slaved rig with the PCM-41 with a stereo spread (the way Curt explained.) is a DEADLY combination and almost anyone who has used that Live has killed it!! :rock:
Click to expand...

+1

I have a signal diagram of Joe's rig from an old magazine, i think it may have been Young Guitar. On the Ozzy tours he was using 2 x Roland SDE-3000's that were fed off a line out from the main Jose mod Marshall head. one SDE-3000 feeding the left wet cab and the other feeding the right wet cab. Dry cab in the center.

The PCM or the SDE will do the same job IMO, either will get you scary close to that sound. I'm only using an SDE-1000 and it does a fantastic job for that tone. The Cali Mod gets very very close to Joe's Jose modded Marshall tone when you run it that way :rock:

Funnily enough, Doug Aldrich does the exact same thing with his live rig except he dials the modulation on the delay lower than Joe Holmes does.
Click to expand...
:rawk:
 
MrDan666":x483cf6s said:
Gainfreak":x483cf6s said:
Hahhaha !! I knew Chubtone would lay down the goods!!! :rock:

Well since Ive been reading how much of a hype man I am..... I'm going to continue to do so LMAO. The Fortin can get that sound for sure and the real secret IMHO is the Jose type master in conjuntion with the slave rig and effects. The way Joe hooks up the effects is key. The Slaved rig with the PCM-41 with a stereo spread (the way Curt explained.) is a DEADLY combination and almost anyone who has used that Live has killed it!! :rock:
Click to expand...

+1

I have a signal diagram of Joe's rig from an old magazine, i think it may have been Young Guitar. On the Ozzy tours he was using 2 x Roland SDE-3000's that were fed off a line out from the main Jose mod Marshall head. one SDE-3000 feeding the left wet cab and the other feeding the right wet cab. Dry cab in the center.

The PCM or the SDE will do the same job IMO, either will get you scary close to that sound. I'm only using an SDE-1000 and it does a fantastic job for that tone. The Cali Mod gets very very close to Joe's Jose modded Marshall tone when you run it that way :rock:

Funnily enough, Doug Aldrich does the exact same thing with his live rig except he dials the modulation on the delay lower than Joe Holmes does.
Click to expand...

IS the line-out pre or post power section?
 
Digital Jams":wk535ihz said:
IS the line-out pre or post power section?
Click to expand...

Well i had good results using a Line-Out tapped off the Speaker Output (same as the Suhr box). I think it works best for this tone :thumbsup:
 
Ok Joes amp is a Jose mod with a insert loop right before the cathode follower in the amplifier. When I worked with him he use to use the pcm41 in this loop and the setting would be 0 ms but what he would do with it is boost the output knob so the unit would act like a extra gain stage. This is the whole secret of his tone. He then would take a line out to 2 sde3000's and then to a h&h power amp. So he had a wet dry wet rig. Thats all.
 
RACKSYSTEMS":engr5nix said:
Ok Joes amp is a Jose mod with a insert loop right before the cathode follower in the amplifier. When I worked with him he use to use the pcm41 in this loop and the setting would be 0 ms but what he would do with it is boost the output knob so the unit would act like a extra gain stage. This is the whole secret of his tone. He then would take a line out to 2 sde3000's and then to a h&h power amp. So he had a wet dry wet rig. Thats all.
Click to expand...


:rawk:
 
RACKSYSTEMS":gid1usbk said:
Ok Joes amp is a Jose mod with a insert loop right before the cathode follower in the amplifier. When I worked with him he use to use the pcm41 in this loop and the setting would be 0 ms but what he would do with it is boost the output knob so the unit would act like a extra gain stage. This is the whole secret of his tone. He then would take a line out to 2 sde3000's and then to a h&h power amp. So he had a wet dry wet rig. Thats all.
Click to expand...
So it was a true W/D/W as opposed to Wd/D/Wd...no dry signal blended in with the Wet like you've setup systems for EVH and Pete Thorn?
 
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