December 12th, 2010 Austin Ampfest…

My first “full blown” amp fest… there were plenty of awesome high gain amps to go around, that was for sure. There were four Mills Acoustics cabs, two Marshall 1960BV (edit) cabs, a Port City 2x12 cab with Scumback H75(?) that sounded huge for a 2x12 and a 4x10 cab.

Please chime in with the details of your cabs Matt and Paul…

We did a test between the Mills v30 loaded cab and the Marshall 1960AV v30 loaded cab and all I can say is the Mills (in my opinion) sounded thicker/meatier and much louder… the Marshall 1960AV sounded as if the “volume” was being dispersed in all directions as if the sound was “bleeding” in all directions… whereas the Mills was thick and very focused sounding cab. I never realized how much the cab itself makes in the overall “tone” and “feel” using the same exact speakers. The scumbacks definitely sounded better though...

I got there a bit late so I didn’t get a chance to hear the 5150 in the room to have a sense of how it compares to the other amps…

Evil Pumpkin Marshall (NATAS prototype I only heard this amp for about 30 seconds and it sounded great going into the Marshall 1960BV (edit) cab… but it wasn’t turned up as loud as I would have liked to have heard it.

Fortin NATAS: Great “marketing” on the 6irth, 6rind, 6gain & kill… first things first. This amp was the best looking amp in attendance hands down… of course this is just my opinion. They plugged in the Natas into the Mills v30 cab and it sounded thick with a lot of low end and high end distortion that sounded very dry. They plugged it into the Marshall 1960BV (edit) cab and it was a lot more “level”… but for me it just sounded as if the low end and high end were “cut off”… The Mills cab just sounded better. It did sound a bit “harsh” but that was because it’s pretty much brand new and hasn’t really been broken in.

Cameron CCV-100: The CCV going into one of the Mills cabs sounded great… it had everything the Fortin didn’t have. Saturated mid and high distortion… each noted being played sounded great… it almost sounded as if each note was being doubled with distortion… very cool. The lows were lacking a bit compared to the Natas for sure… I’m thinking the best combination would have been these two run together! There is a clipping type switch on the Cameron of off, mid or high and it sounded best with the clipping off.

I left the room for a bit after this so I’m sure I missed something…

Matchless into a 4x10 cab… it sounded pretty good driven by the PRS but it didn’t “right” until the Tele and Gibson were running through it… that setup sounded phenomenal for classic rock, rock to country style… very nice.

Diamond Spec OP: We really only heard this amp for about 5 minutes… very nice rock n’ roll sounding amp… again, this sucker was dialed perfectly for the Tele/Gibson guitars. Very nice.

Bad Cat: Into the 2x12 Port City cab sounded pretty good… we didn’t hear it for very long.

Mojave Peacemaker (? into the Marshall 1960BV (edit)… this amp sounded sooooooo thick in the low-mid and mid area… had almost no sizzle in the high end whatsoever. I’m sure it was just dialed that way but I must say that I liked it for the Billy Gibbons style and blues riffs that were being played on this amp.

Marshall (edit: Mercury OT and Choke added) JVM: This was the best overall sounding amp of the entire bunch… I don’t know if my ears were fried by this time or what but that sucker sounded great. Great low end, great mids/highs… and great saturated distortion.

Then finally my…

Axe-fx Ultra Power by Peavey PV1500: I was expecting great things from my setup and so was everyone else… but sad to say that the Axe-fx had no “dynamics” or “feel” when compared to every amp there… It was pushing 300 watts per side (at 8ohm) into the Mills cabs… Let’s keep in mind that the Axe-fx followed the best sounding amp (modded JVM) in the whole room, so this may have played a part in the overall opinion we had of the Axe-fx setup… I initially thought it had to be that there wasn’t “enough juice” going into the cabs so I bridged it at 1000 watts (8 ohm) and it still didn’t have the “dynamics” or “feel”… we tried a couple of different amp sims… 5150, Das Metall, Brit 800 and HBE. The HBE sounded the “worst” of the bunch, very “honky” sounding… the best was the Brit 800. The same patch that “killed” at the last “mini amp fest” sounded decent but lacked any depth or mid-range “body”. The thing everyone immediately noticed was how “quiet” the Axe-fx was… almost little to no noise when compared to every other amp. But that same “noise” is what I think “filled” in every other amp’s overall sound. I really need to look into getting the Fryette 2/90/2… very disappointing.

When I had my Axe FX with Mesa 2:90:2 the other guitar player had an Elmwood M60, a VHT Sig X and a Cameron modified Marshall that was amazing to me. We were able to get the Axe FX to sound just as good as each of those amps. Only issue I had was cutting in the band mix. However that is probably not the Axe FX's fault as I had only had it for about 2 weeks and had hardly touched the surface of it. I found the Axe FX more liquid like and easier to play than the Sig X however the Cameron Marshall and Elmwood both felt about the same as the Axe FX to me. I do think it lacked a bit of the overall dynamics but it did really well I though.

Just to clarify, the Marshall cabs were 1960BV cabs not AV cabs and the JVM was not Jose modded it had a Mercury OT and Choke added. No change to the circuit other than the choke.

I don't really agree with the cabinet assessment in that post, though! Mills cabs are no doubt built well and sound great, but I have never thought they are the be all end all. I prefer the more focused sound of a traditional sized cab. Different strokes for sure!

Nice meeting you Mo!

Did you ever play the Mills Classic cab Allen (then me, then Cesar) had, Jason? That'd probably be more to your liking.

As far as speakers in the Mills..... Scumback H55/H75-LHDC was used for the CCV, JVM and Nitro and briefly for the Natas - didn't sound as good with that amp. All v30s for the Natas. 2 cabs had all GK100s - used for the Natas, 5150 and Axe FX.

As Jason said, no special mod on the JVM. Just the Mercury OT and Choke. Stock power transformer. It does have NOS Tesla black eagle el34s though - which definitely add a little tonal sweetness.

killertone":b6v28h00 said:

Just to clarify, the Marshall cabs were 1960BV cabs not AV cabs and the JVM was not Jose modded it had a Mercury OT and Choke added. No change to the circuit other than the choke.

I don't really agree with the cabinet assessment in that post, though! Mills cabs are no doubt built well and sound great, but I have never thought they are the be all end all. I prefer the more focused sound of a traditional sized cab. Different strokes for sure!

Nice meeting you Mo!

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Thanks for clearing that up... it was definitely a pleasure meeting you too Jason.

Don't get me wrong... the Fortin Natas, Evil Pumpkin on it's own would have been the "be all, end all" for me with some tweaks (and even without the tweaks they kicked ass) to my liking for sure. I'm only making the comparison to how each amp was dialed in at the time.

Also, only reason I said "Jose Mod" was because I could have sworn I heard Matt say that... I have no clue when it comes to who mods what... thanks for clarifying that for me!

Can't wait for the next amp fest!!!

If that CCV was lacking bottom, it was broken. Seriously

jcj":hyn5tm4f said:

If that CCV was lacking bottom, it was broken. Seriously

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I think he meant in comparison to the way the Natas was dialed in. Not sure I'd agree though. The CCV isn't quite an Uber or a Herbert, but it definitely doesn't lack for bottom end.

mhenson42":2hvinssh said:

jcj":2hvinssh said:

If that CCV was lacking bottom, it was broken. Seriously

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I think he meant in comparison to the way the Natas was dialed in. Not sure I'd agree though. The CCV isn't quite an Uber or a Herbert, but it definitely doesn't lack for bottom end.

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Ahhh...gotcha.

mhenson42":1xirjl1e said:

jcj":1xirjl1e said:

If that CCV was lacking bottom, it was broken. Seriously

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I think he meant in comparison to the way the Natas was dialed in. Not sure I'd agree though. The CCV isn't quite an Uber or a Herbert, but it definitely doesn't lack for bottom end.

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The CCV had plenty of bottom for sure.

killertone":11ujrvb4 said:

Just to clarify, the Marshall cabs were 1960BV cabs not AV cabs and the JVM was not Jose modded it had a Mercury OT and Choke added. No change to the circuit other than the choke.

I don't really agree with the cabinet assessment in that post, though! Mills cabs are no doubt built well and sound great, but I have never thought they are the be all end all. I prefer the more focused sound of a traditional sized cab. Different strokes for sure!

Nice meeting you Mo!

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I feel the same way, we have tried 2 different Mills cabs and they were both unplugged pretty quick after several minutes. One was loaded with k100s and the other had v30s and yes there were guys there galloping away tuned to A so yes not just the 80s guys felt that way AS a matter of fact the Larry clips that came out of one fest were through the Mills and Larry was pissed We are lucky that we have guys with stupid good vintage marshall cabs that they just throw in the backs of their pickups.

I could see why some like that more open room sound though, just not for me as I like focused and hitting. They are very well built cabs.

Somebody brought an Engl cab loaded with v30s and that thing was insane and this is coming from someone that does not like engl cabs. May have been lolzgreg's cab, hammer focused and pounding while the mills stuff just sounded too open and spread the sound too much if that makes sense. Guess it goes to show you that you really have to go in with an open mind while demoing stuff.

Can't wait for mine with the final transformers, take it up one notch and that is what I am getting. If you are ever in my area again you BETTER make plans for dinner and wailing on some shit

I wish we recorded Gainiac while he was in the zone on the natas and the engl cab, it was tone and attitude for the books

Digital Jams":p0whtegu said:

killertone":p0whtegu said:

Just to clarify, the Marshall cabs were 1960BV cabs not AV cabs and the JVM was not Jose modded it had a Mercury OT and Choke added. No change to the circuit other than the choke.

I don't really agree with the cabinet assessment in that post, though! Mills cabs are no doubt built well and sound great, but I have never thought they are the be all end all. I prefer the more focused sound of a traditional sized cab. Different strokes for sure!

Nice meeting you Mo!

Click to expand...

I feel the same way, we have tried 2 different Mills cabs and they were both unplugged pretty quick after several minutes. One was loaded with k100s and the other had v30s and yes there were guys there galloping away tuned to A so yes not just the 80s guys felt that way AS a matter of fact the Larry clips that came out of one fest were through the Mills and Larry was pissed We are lucky that we have guys with stupid good vintage marshall cabs that they just throw in the backs of their pickups.

I could see why some like that more open room sound though, just not for me as I like focused and hitting. They are very well built cabs.

Somebody brought an Engl cab loaded with v30s and that thing was insane and this is coming from someone that does not like engl cabs. May have been lolzgreg's cab, hammer focused and pounding while the mills stuff just sounded too open and spread the sound too much if that makes sense. Guess it goes to show you that you really have to go in with an open mind while demoing stuff.

Can't wait for mine with the final transformers, take it up one notch and that is what I am getting. If you are ever in my area again you BETTER make plans for dinner and wailing on some shit

I wish we recorded Gainiac while he was in the zone on the natas and the engl cab, it was tone and attitude for the books

Click to expand...

I will most definitely be up there again so don't invite me over because I will actually show up!

No doubt the Mills cabs are killer. I am not disputing that. I just have never been a fan of the oversized cabs. Never really liked the Mesa Recto cabs, I much preferred the traditional Recto cabs (now Stiletto?) because they were not so boomy. Flavatrocious had a guitar tuned to drop F# for God's sake! I can see why he likes the bigger cabs because you physically need the room to create the sound of that guitar.

I have played a Mills traditional sized cab, but it is actually a fair bit smaller than a Marshall cab. Sounded good, though.

The Natas through the Mills V30 was sick, though. Dug that for sure. However, it just sounded "right" to me when it was plugged in to my beer-soaked 10+ year old Marshall V30 cabs. Shea agreed.

We also tried the Scumback loaded Mills cab but I much preferred the V30 and even the G12K100s over that one. I'd like to hear that cab again because I played a Marsha through a Scumback cab with Scumback speakers in it at Dave Friedman's and it was killer.

killertone":2owd07we said:

Digital Jams":2owd07we said:

killertone":2owd07we said:

Just to clarify, the Marshall cabs were 1960BV cabs not AV cabs and the JVM was not Jose modded it had a Mercury OT and Choke added. No change to the circuit other than the choke.

I don't really agree with the cabinet assessment in that post, though! Mills cabs are no doubt built well and sound great, but I have never thought they are the be all end all. I prefer the more focused sound of a traditional sized cab. Different strokes for sure!

Nice meeting you Mo!

Click to expand...

I feel the same way, we have tried 2 different Mills cabs and they were both unplugged pretty quick after several minutes. One was loaded with k100s and the other had v30s and yes there were guys there galloping away tuned to A so yes not just the 80s guys felt that way AS a matter of fact the Larry clips that came out of one fest were through the Mills and Larry was pissed We are lucky that we have guys with stupid good vintage marshall cabs that they just throw in the backs of their pickups.

I could see why some like that more open room sound though, just not for me as I like focused and hitting. They are very well built cabs.

Somebody brought an Engl cab loaded with v30s and that thing was insane and this is coming from someone that does not like engl cabs. May have been lolzgreg's cab, hammer focused and pounding while the mills stuff just sounded too open and spread the sound too much if that makes sense. Guess it goes to show you that you really have to go in with an open mind while demoing stuff.

Can't wait for mine with the final transformers, take it up one notch and that is what I am getting. If you are ever in my area again you BETTER make plans for dinner and wailing on some shit

I wish we recorded Gainiac while he was in the zone on the natas and the engl cab, it was tone and attitude for the books

Click to expand...

I will most definitely be up there again so don't invite me over because I will actually show up!

No doubt the Mills cabs are killer. I am not disputing that. I just have never been a fan of the oversized cabs. Never really liked the Mesa Recto cabs, I much preferred the traditional Recto cabs (now Stiletto?) because they were not so boomy. Flavatrocious had a guitar tuned to drop F# for God's sake! I can see why he likes the bigger cabs because you physically need the room to create the sound of that guitar.

I have played a Mills traditional sized cab, but it is actually a fair bit smaller than a Marshall cab. Sounded good, though.

The Natas through the Mills V30 was sick, though. Dug that for sure. However, it just sounded "right" to me when it was plugged in to my beer-soaked 10+ year old Marshall V30 cabs. Shea agreed.

We also tried the Scumback loaded Mills cab but I much preferred the V30 and even the G12K100s over that one. I'd like to hear that cab again because I played a Marsha through a Scumback cab with Scumback speakers in it at Dave Friedman's and it was killer.

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A friend of Terry's is always welcome Let me know when so I can call the butcher, I was a suez chef years ago so I have some skills.

The v30 Mills was better, huge room filling sound but just not for me after 10-15 minutes.

Yeah my boy Shea has good taste, Dave's marshall cabs are off the hook good. His cameron stuff explodes from them. I need to try some scumbacks sometime, Danyeo seems to like them with fortin marshalls but 5 cabs is too much already

YOu guys had some killer stuff there!