Musicians???

[Mr. Satchmo]

I always replace my tubes with EHX tubes, don't know why, I just prefer the tone I get. The Celestion speaker in the combo is fine, it's one of their lower end models but it does the job until you want to upgrade it.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I'd probably look at a tube or speaker upgrade after playing it a while to see how I get on with the sound.

Haha, I'm drooling my own self! Need to get over to Guitar Center and plug into this bad boy :guitar: I will definitely post some stuff up at whatever point I go for it, but it will probably be a few months, since I have to pay up for #TheKing here pretty soon. I'm thinking tax return time, as long as I get money back (and my girlfriend doesn't put the kibbosh on it...), I'll be pulling the trigger.

 

[Mr. Satchmo]

Great post! This is why I chose to record with small wattage amps, it allows me to drive the tubes as hard as I want without making anyone's ears bleed, also for some smaller gigs, they are ideal as well. The reason I love my small 20w blackstar is that it has the capability to fill a small room for practice, as well as a large auditorium by plugging in a 4x12 cab. I am very happy with it and many of my stacks have sat at home haha.

Wattage doesn't necessarily dictate how loud your amp gets. For our purposes, wattage is all about headroom and driving tubes. It's easier to run out of headroom and drive those tubes HARD. Hook it up to enough speakers, it'll still get wicked loud. So using a 5W stack lets you get loud and real gritty overdriven tone a lot easier than, say, a 100W head in a 2x12. A 100W head with a 2x12 will be real clean and have great tone, but won't get gritty without getting painfully loud.

 

[Haggis]

Don't overlook the Egnater Tweaker 112 combo amp. By adjusting toggle switches you can get the amp to range from a Marshallish to Voxish to Fender Blackfaceish sound. Amp opens up with the Master volume at 1:00. From there, season to taste. Great amp for $600 new and probably $400 used.

 

[Mr. Satchmo]

I went ahead and also bought the ehx od gloves to mess around with, can't wait to see how they turn out

 

[Haggis]

Just bought a used Fender ec Tremolux. Can't wait for it to arrive. Should fit well with my Fender deluxe strat.

 

[Mr. Satchmo]

Musicians???

I got my hot tubes in today, and I am very happy with it, it reminds me of a tube amp that has been cooking with the power section driven, it really colors the notes and adds a ton of sustain, one thing I hate about many overdrive pedals, is that they are very top heavy with the tone, this one is different and it has a nice balanced tone at 12 a clock. I can't wait for the next pedal to come tomorrow .

 

[Trout Bum]

We're going to need some recordings with those babies, I've been anxious to her they sound

 

[Mr. Satchmo]

We're going to need some recordings with those babies, I've been anxious to her they sound

I'll see what I can do once the other one comes, the you tube reviews do not do it justice. I've always used ehx tubes and have always been impressed by the tone they give, the ridiculous thing is the price, this thing is made in the USA, and the price is $58. This thing rivals the boutique pedals I've tried and even the OCD by full tone

 

[Mr. Satchmo]

Sometimes I think I should have waited a year to buy the boosta grande, this years model is way smaller!

Mine is like twice the size

 

[Mr. Satchmo]

I got my od glove in, it's perfect!

I'm slowly converting to all analog, and it's made a huge difference in my tone. Like I was saying earlier, my biggest gripe against recent overdrive pedals is that they often lack bottom end (especially with a simple circuit) my recent ehx purchases have been exactly what I've been looking for. The glove reminds me of an old amp with el34 tubes that drive hard. It's sweet, and warm and massive

 

[Trout Bum]

After reading an interview with Tom Scholz I am definitely going back to all analog, I've always thought it sounded better and he just confirmed it for me. I'm going to go back to tape too, the warmth I undeniable. Nice job Satch, EL34 are and have been my tube of choice in amps for the last 25 years, they have some bottom end and a tight rumble that the 84 just can't get close too.

 

[Grins]

I hope nobody takes this the wrong way, because I have tremendous respect & admiration for anyone who can play an instrument decently. But listening to you guys describe the aural qualities of various tubes in amps reminds me of the time (years ago) I went into a high end stereo store in Chicago with my girlfriend. I was in the market for a new turntable, & they did a series of A-B comparisons, and raved about the virtues of this one model with a glass patten (er, top spinny part). My GF swore she could hear the differences they were describing, but I could not hear any discernable difference.

I was bummed at first. I thought - "Maybe I'm just a low-Fi guy". Then I consoled myself with the fact that expensive equipment would be wasted on me, & I would be just as happy with cheaper stuff!

Do you think it takes time to develop that trained ear, or are some people just born with a better ability to appreciate thes subtle differences?


Oh - and don't stop the conversation - I think it's interesting as hell & amazing! I would love to hear you play sometime Satchmo (and you others)!

 

[touji]

It does take some time to develop the trained ear, but at the same time, there are limitations to ones hearing. It's funny though. People begin with the ability to hear those subtle differences, gig the hell out of their ears and dont protect them. Then they lose it. They'll still swear to you they can hear them when they cant

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

 

[russtopher]

If I can, later today I'll post a sample of the raw 5w Blackstar tone with the stock tubes/speaker so interested parties can hear it mic'd up.

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk

 

[CharlieMoy]

Amazing

TTing

 

[Trout Bum]

I think tone is quite subjective just like the feel in golf, some can hear harmonic overtones in a $3000 dollar acoustic while many think the $295 dollar epiphone sounds the same. I have no idea how it is formed but I'd venture to say it comes from years of experience playing many different pieces of gear and fine tuning your individual tone. I know for a fact that I can hear things or parts in the background of a song that my wife can't hear and once pointed out she is ably to identify subtle nuances. I know it's not for everyone but one of the best analog albums for hard rock was Judas Priest British Steel, if you listen to the way it was recorded and hear all the different guitar, drum, vocal, and bass parts its almost a heavy metal masterpiece lol. Some can hear things that some cannot as in golf some can feel things that others cannot lol if that makes and sense.

Satch will probably be able to explain it a little better.

 

[EaglevsFalcon]

I think tone is quite subjective just like the feel in golf, some can hear harmonic overtones in a $3000 dollar acoustic while many think the $295 dollar epiphone sounds the same. I have no idea how it is formed but I'd venture to say it comes from years of experience playing many different pieces of gear and fine tuning your individual tone. I know for a fact that I can hear things or parts in the background of a song that my wife can't hear and once pointed out she is ably to identify subtle nuances. I know it's not for everyone but one of the best analog albums for hard rock was Judas Priest British Steel, if you listen to the way it was recorded and hear all the different guitar, drum, vocal, and bass parts its almost a heavy metal masterpiece lol. Some can hear things that some cannot as in golf some can feel things that others cannot lol if that makes and sense.

Satch will probably be able to explain it a little better.

I think it depends on what kind of ear training you do. Some are more tuned to guitar tones (not me), while some are more tuned spectrally (me). I developed my ear by critical listening for learning recording techniques. The result is that I can analyze a sound spectrum and map each intrument's location without any technological assistance, but not until very recently could i tell the difference between a fender and a gibson.

 

[EaglevsFalcon]

Sometimes I think I should have waited a year to buy the boosta grande, this years model is way smaller!

Mine is like twice the size

Is that SD-1 stock? I have a Monte Allums modded SD-1 and it frickin screams. Really close to a vintage tube screamer. I can get anything from fuzz tones to Marshall sounds to chicken pickin twang with that thing. Great mod at a pretty low price (30 bucks, I think)

 

[Mr. Satchmo]

Is that SD-1 stock? I have a Monte Allums modded SD-1 and it frickin screams. Really close to a vintage tube screamer. I can get anything from fuzz tones to Marshall sounds to chicken pickin twang with that thing. Great mod at a pretty low price (30 bucks, I think)

Yeah it is stock and it's very close to a tube screamer that I use to have, it's too bright for me though.

 

[EaglevsFalcon]

Yeah it is stock and it's very close to a tube screamer that I use to have, it's too bright for me though.

If you can solder, look in to the Allums mod for it. It will really improve that pedal by leaps and bounds. It also adds a toggle switch that changes the break up between standard Boss and classic TS. I dont think Ill ever get another OD. Its that good, IMO.

The rhythm tones in the tunes at the following link is my LP -> Allums Mod SD-1 -> Peavey Classic 30. I was going for a beefy fuzz like OD and that pedal delivered it.

www.reverbnation.com/eaglevsfalcon

Might make that pedal useful to you going forward.

 

[Trout Bum]

If you can solder, look in to the Allums mod for it. It will really improve that pedal by leaps and bounds. It also adds a toggle switch that changes the break up between standard Boss and classic TS. I dont think Ill ever get another OD. Its that good.

That's pretty cool, I'm going to check that mod out myself, I've been looking for something like that.

 

[Mr. Satchmo]

I think tone is quite subjective just like the feel in golf, some can hear harmonic overtones in a $3000 dollar acoustic while many think the $295 dollar epiphone sounds the same. I have no idea how it is formed but I'd venture to say it comes from years of experience playing many different pieces of gear and fine tuning your individual tone. I know for a fact that I can hear things or parts in the background of a song that my wife can't hear and once pointed out she is ably to identify subtle nuances. I know it's not for everyone but one of the best analog albums for hard rock was Judas Priest British Steel, if you listen to the way it was recorded and hear all the different guitar, drum, vocal, and bass parts its almost a heavy metal masterpiece lol. Some can hear things that some cannot as in golf some can feel things that others cannot lol if that makes and sense.

Satch will probably be able to explain it a little better.

Trout bum said it pretty well, it's all subjective to one' ear and preference. Every guitarist has some sort of tone they desire, some want a warm singing tone, others want a harsh high gain tone. For me what a tube amp gives me is sustain, warmth and a nice consistent breakup. I've played several solid state amps and hybrids in the past and they didn't give me what I wanted, then I started playing through tube amps and saw a huge difference. I've played hand wired boutique amps as well as affordable tube amps from blackstar to vox etc and have developed a preference for amps that run el34 tubes, they offer what a lot of amps with el84 tubes don't offer, and that is well defined low end, tight mids and smooth highs and sustain.

As far as what type of el34 to use, every manufacture makes their own type of tube with different characteristics, I use ehx el34 because they offer a deep and tight bass, sweet and well defined mids, and highs are detailed and extended. Every preamp tube also can affect the overall tone, some people like pre amp tubes that give high gain, others lower gain.

Anyone who has hit the world of tune amps has a hard time going back to solid state amps, because it's hard to replicate the warmth, sustain and response. A dirty tube amp will easily clean up with a simple roll of the guitar's volume knobs. Many guitarists do not know how big of an instrument the guitar volume knob can be.

 

[Mr. Satchmo]

If you can solder, look in to the Allums mod for it. It will really improve that pedal by leaps and bounds. It also adds a toggle switch that changes the break up between standard Boss and classic TS. I dont think Ill ever get another OD. Its that good, IMO.

The rhythm tones in the tunes at the following link is my LP -> Allums Mod SD-1 -> Peavey Classic 30. I was going for a beefy fuzz like OD and that pedal delivered it.

www.reverbnation.com/eaglevsfalcon

Might make that pedal useful to you going forward.

Thanks for the info! I'll check it out. I have 3 od pedals, one boost to push the tubes harder, usually for leads and solos, my new hot tubes to color the tone a bit and a some light hair, and the of glove which USA great alternative to the full tone OCD, the ehx has a 9 and 18 volt mode as well.

 

[Grins]

Trout bum said it pretty well, it's all subjective to one' ear and preference. Every guitarist has some sort of tone they desire, some want a warm singing tone, others want a harsh high gain tone. For me what a tube amp gives me is sustain, warmth and a nice consistent breakup. I've played several solid state amps and hybrids in the past and they didn't give me what I wanted, then I started playing through tube amps and saw a huge difference. I've played hand wired boutique amps as well as affordable tube amps from blackstar to vox etc and have developed a preference for amps that run el34 tubes, they offer what a lot of amps with el84 tubes don't offer, and that is well defined low end, tight mids and smooth highs and sustain.

As far as what type of el34 to use, every manufacture makes their own type of tube with different characteristics, I use ehx el34 because they offer a deep and tight bass, sweet and well defined mids, and highs are detailed and extended. Every preamp tube also can affect the overall tone, some people like pre amp tubes that give high gain, others lower gain.

Anyone who has hit the world of tune amps has a hard time going back to solid state amps, because it's hard to replicate the warmth, sustain and response. A dirty tube amp will easily clean up with a simple roll of the guitar's volume knobs. Many guitarists do not know how big of an instrument the guitar volume knob can be.

Thanks Satchmo, Trout Bum & EaglevsFalcon for the info! All this discussion makes me regret not learning how to play guitar when I was young! Still - lookingforward to learnng & having fun.

 

[Trout Bum]

I don't think you're ever too old to learn how to play, it's a wonderful release from all the daily doldrums of life and it's a wonderful expression of what you want to say sometimes.