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Blue Raider posted:idk if any of you guys are into boutique pedals or whatever but if you are definitely give walrus audio your business. i ordered a power supply from them last week and it took a few days longer than i thought to get the package. when i got it, there was a note that was super apologetic and an additional pedal that they threw in as a mea culpa, which was unnecessary for like a 2 day delay drat, that's pretty awesome. one of the guitarists in my band uses that janus pedal with the joysticks. has the unfortunate side effect of him being super-obsessive about twiddling with them, but it's a good pedal for sure.
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Aug 4, 2015 19:12
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Dirt posted:JCM800's though Never really liked JCMs compared to plexis, but that'd be an acceptable addendum to the flowchart I guess
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Aug 4, 2015 19:20
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I like the sound of Plexis, a lot. Still, I am content to model them, because the few Marshalls I would want to own are comically expensive.
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Aug 4, 2015 19:45
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unlawfulsoup posted:I like the sound of Plexis, a lot. Still, I am content to model them, because the few Marshalls I would want to own are comically expensive. ...and don't forget require buttfuckingly loud volumes to really get the best sounds from.
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Aug 4, 2015 19:54
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GreatGreen posted:...and don't forget require buttfuckingly loud volumes to really get the best sounds from. I always assumed severe hearing loss was part of the Marshall experience.
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Aug 4, 2015 20:09
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GreatGreen posted:...and don't forget require buttfuckingly loud volumes to really get the best sounds from. I've got a JTM45 clone that runs 6v6s, so I'm only pushing about 25watts. Toss in the EL34s and up to 50watts.
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Aug 4, 2015 20:25
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GreatGreen posted:...and don't forget require buttfuckingly loud volumes to really get the best sounds from.
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Aug 4, 2015 20:29
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unlawfulsoup posted:I always assumed severe hearing loss was part of the Marshall experience. Well Jim Marshall was a drummer after all. Guess he wanted to bring the joys of hearing loss to all of us. Marshall is pretty much the Gibson of amps now, except they don't overcharge quite as much, relatively speaking.
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Aug 4, 2015 20:30
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GreatGreen posted:Well Jim Marshall was a drummer after all. Guess he wanted to bring the joys of hearing loss to all of us. Yeah, Marshall has always been about loud. They happen to have a pretty nice sound for a lot of rock though, but I mean everyone knows that. Totally agree that Marshall suffers from the same thing a lot of the big brands (hi Gibson) do, living off of name. They make some good products, but a lot of their stuff at least in the US is horribly inflated price wise because Marshall script on the front. I have a Mustang III v2 which I am using for practice. If I am alone I literally cannot stand anything beyond 2 on it or it feels like I am shattering my ear drums. When playing with friends I got up to around ~5, and that was with a non-crazy drummer. I can't imagine going to 10 on this thing. Digital poo poo can get stupidly loud too.
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Aug 4, 2015 20:34
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White Dog Eggs posted:Tube amps are brutal too, my little 5watt tube amp is louder than my 30watt solid-state stereo.... I added a pre-stage gain to it so I can get some grit without pissing the neighbours off, is there any reason you couldn't do this for larger tube amps? Some of those big bastards sound like mud on the lower volumes Yeah, tube amps are like that due to the way watts are rated. Basically, a watt is always a watt, anybody who says different is retarded. However, watts are rated based on how loud an amp will get before it distorts. This combined with the fact that tube power amps are specifically built to distort means that the actual output wattage, where the amp is distorting like crazy, will always be a lot higher than the rated output. Most 100 watt tube amps are likely actually able to push something like 200-250 watts in reality, it's just that they're rated at the point which they start to distort, which is nowhere near their total output capabilities. I wouldn't doubt a tube amp rated at 5 watts can actually push something like 20-25 or so. And about the other thing, yes you can do this with larger tube amps, guitar amps do it all the time. It's called the Gain knob, and up loud it will distort the preamp tubes that feed into the power tubes. That's where most modern amps get their crunchy tones actually. The power tubes on most modern amps aren't really doing near the work they used to back when there were no PA systems to mic everything up to. GreatGreen fucked around with this message at 20:47 on Aug 4, 2015 |
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Aug 4, 2015 20:43
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GreatGreen posted:Yeah, tube amps are like that due to the way watts are rated. I think I've been inhaling too much varnish today... What I actually meant was a... honestly I can't even remember the name now, it's like a power dial at the pre-stage (before the volume) that stops the amp sounding muddy without having to have it turned up stupidly high.
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Aug 4, 2015 20:52
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An exception is the Carvin TS100. It's rated at 100watts, has four power EL34 and a pair of phase inverter 12AX7s. It only produces 100watts maximum from the factory as it's not designed to distort. Audiophile home theatre guys use them 
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Aug 4, 2015 20:59
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White Dog Eggs posted:I think I've been inhaling too much varnish today... What I actually meant was a... honestly I can't even remember the name now, it's like a power dial at the pre-stage (before the volume) that stops the amp sounding muddy without having to have it turned up stupidly high. that's an attenuator, I've always wanted to get or make one for my tube amps but I never do it City of Tampa fucked around with this message at 21:08 on Aug 4, 2015 |
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Aug 4, 2015 21:03
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White Dog Eggs posted:I think I've been inhaling too much varnish today... What I actually meant was a... honestly I can't even remember the name now, it's like a power dial at the pre-stage (before the volume) that stops the amp sounding muddy without having to have it turned up stupidly high. So you're saying the amp sounds muddy unless you turn it up? I usually see the exact opposite. Would you be able to describe exactly what you mean when you say muddy here?
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Aug 4, 2015 21:03
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http://oklahomacity.craigslist.org/msg/5144696385.html "It's my baby and I love it, but I'm having a weak moment and really wanting a guitar with a Bigsby right now." Tbf, his location is across the street from the state's largest Cancer Treatment Center so he could be having a random radiation moment.
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Aug 4, 2015 21:56
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White Dog Eggs posted:I think I've been inhaling too much varnish today... What I actually meant was a... honestly I can't even remember the name now, it's like a power dial at the pre-stage (before the volume) that stops the amp sounding muddy without having to have it turned up stupidly high. I think you're thinking of a power soak or attenuator, but technically that needs to come after the power amp and before the load. If it's before the power amp it's acting like a master volume. I used to have a Marshall JMP combo and I tried so hard to like it. It was stiff and clean and too heavy and too loud and entirely unsuitable for everything I used it for. I traded it on and as soon as the next guy plugged in he sounded like God and I wished I'd kept it, but sometimes an amp just doesn't work for you. I played through Fenders for a few years after that and they just suited me so much better it was unreal.
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Aug 4, 2015 22:04
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GreatGreen posted:Yeah, tube amps are like that due to the way watts are rated. i thought wattage measured differently in the 70s, in the case of receivers anyway. idk how or why but as i understand it, however they were measured lowered the number, like 5 watts then would be 20 watts now and so on idk, you clearly know 100% more about this than i do and its just something i read once
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Aug 4, 2015 23:56
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City of Tampa posted:that's an attenuator, I've always wanted to get or make one for my tube amps but I never do it Could be, honestly I modified it about 8 years ago and I've totally forgot, I just followed some instructions on a forum. It was pretty major surgery though, spent a fair amount on components. GreatGreen posted:So you're saying the amp sounds muddy unless you turn it up? I usually see the exact opposite. Would you be able to describe exactly what you mean when you say muddy here? I thought it was common knowledge that tube amps sounds muddy until the volume is turned up far enough. I could very well be wrong, I know guitar electronics but anything more complicated than a 9v pre-amp is beyond me. darkwasthenight posted:I think you're thinking of a power soak or attenuator, but technically that needs to come after the power amp and before the load. If it's before the power amp it's acting like a master volume. When I modified it I added a pre-stage switch and all other sorts of nonsense at the same time (fairly sure I swapped most of the power-components out) so I've honestly forgotten what I did. If it helps they were fairly common mods for the amp (Epiphone Valve Jr 2 clone). Mr. Mambold posted:http://oklahomacity.craigslist.org/msg/5144696385.html Speaking of musicians, I've got a guys guitar in for a new nut. Nice guy but his guitar smells exactly like him and he smelled of piss, BO and shitbreath. Gave it a clean with lighter fluid and it still reeks.
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Aug 5, 2015 02:37
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White Dog Eggs posted:Speaking of musicians, I've got a guys guitar in for a new nut. Nice guy but his guitar smells exactly like him and he smelled of piss, BO and shitbreath. Gave it a clean with lighter fluid and it still reeks. is every guitarist in the uk just really disgusting or something? or are you really unlucky because it seems like every story about your customers revolves around a poo poo-caked instrument left in a drainage ditch fed by a sewage treatment plant
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Aug 5, 2015 02:41
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based on his accent i think wde lives in one of the like mud birthing pit parts of england
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Aug 5, 2015 02:43
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White Dog Eggs posted:Could be, honestly I modified it about 8 years ago and I've totally forgot, I just followed some instructions on a forum. It was pretty major surgery though, spent a fair amount on components. I was thinking about something like this: http://www.guitarnewsdaily.com/diy-wattage-attenuator-box.html because I have a few small tube amps that definitely sound better dimed, but I live in a condo and I don't want to anger the neighbors more than necessary. It looks easy enough.
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Aug 5, 2015 02:49
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White Dog Eggs posted:I thought it was common knowledge that tube amps sounds muddy until the volume is turned up far enough. I could very well be wrong, I know guitar electronics but anything more complicated than a 9v pre-amp is beyond me. Hifi tube stereo systems might work differently, but tube power sections for guitar amps always lose treble response as they get louder. Also, too much bass fed into the power section can cause the whole sound to turn into a wooly, garbled mess, since distorted bass frequencies tend to take over the whole sound, whereas distorted treble tends to be more controllable, or at least more usable. Guitar amp makers know this, so if anything, they tend to tune amps to sound a bit brittle/thin/stiff/harsh when they're dialed to be quiet, so that when they're turned up loud, the power amp can mellow and round out that thin sound into a more well balanced tone.
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Aug 5, 2015 02:58
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comes along bort posted:is every guitarist in the uk just really disgusting or something? muike posted:based on his accent i think wde lives in one of the like mud birthing pit parts of england ^Pretty much. Honestly 90% of my customers are pretty good, however because I can undercut most places on price I tend to get the weirder end of the spectrum, like the twat who showed up 3 hours late to pick his guitar up then tried to pay for his pickup swap with a loving tesco bag full of busted danelectro pedals who I had to march to the local cashpoint/atm to get my money (think I've mentioned him before).
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Aug 5, 2015 03:03
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City of Tampa posted:I was thinking about something like this: http://www.guitarnewsdaily.com/diy-wattage-attenuator-box.html because I have a few small tube amps that definitely sound better dimed, but I live in a condo and I don't want to anger the neighbors more than necessary. It looks easy enough. Looks about right to be honest. I might take the amp apart to inspect my work at some point, I'm kind of curious what I did now. GreatGreen posted:Hifi tube stereo systems might work differently, but tube power sections for guitar amps always lose treble response as they get louder. Also, too much bass fed into the power section can cause the whole sound to turn into a wooly, garbled mess, since distorted bass frequencies tend to take over the whole sound, whereas distorted treble tends to be more controllable, or at least more usable. Guitar amp makers know this, so if anything, they tend to tune amps to sound a bit brittle/thin/stiff/harsh when they're dialed to be quiet, so that when they're turned up loud, the power amp can mellow and round out that thin sound into a more well balanced tone. Isn't there a difference between Class A and Class B or something? Honestly, I've no idea, I just wanted a nice tube amp for customers to play with that wasn't too expensive, turns out the best way was to buy a Harley Benton GA5 (Epi Valve Jr Clone, the mainboard is even stamped "Epiphone") and mod the poo poo out of it, got a pretty good amp for something like £150.
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Aug 5, 2015 03:09
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Apologies for the triple post, but a facebook friend just made his own trem-unit and it's pretty mad 
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Aug 5, 2015 03:11
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White Dog Eggs posted:Apologies for the triple post, but a facebook friend just made his own trem-unit and it's pretty mad That's dang nice and i'm drawing a total blank on what kind of wood he used there....
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Aug 5, 2015 03:28
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White Dog Eggs posted:Apologies for the triple post, but a facebook friend just made his own trem-unit and it's pretty mad don't let him put it on a steampunk guitar
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Aug 5, 2015 03:44
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White Dog Eggs posted:Isn't there a difference between Class A and Class B or something? Honestly, I've no idea, I just wanted a nice tube amp for customers to play with that wasn't too expensive, turns out the best way was to buy a Harley Benton GA5 (Epi Valve Jr Clone, the mainboard is even stamped "Epiphone") and mod the poo poo out of it, got a pretty good amp for something like £150. There is a difference between Class A and Class AB amps, but it doesn't really apply to the kind of muddiness or overdrive we're talking about necessarily. Class AB amp designs are used in most Marshall, Fender, and MESA Boogie Circuits (which are themselves mostly just hotrodded Fender circuits). Class A amp designs are what you find in most Vox amps. It's an easy concept to visualize, but it's kinda hard to explain, if that makes sense. Picture a minigun like you find in most shooter games. You know how you can choose to walk around with it all the way off, but then you have to wait for it to spin up before you start shooting... or you can hit the secondary button and keep it spun up so that pressing the fire button makes it shoot instantly the moment you pull the trigger? Class AB amps are basically amps where the power tubes act like the minigun when it's completely off. There's no current applied to the tube plates when you're not playing, and when you hit a note, everything hits the tube at once so it has to wake up and go from basically almost off to full power in an instant. It's not binary though, the current going through the tube is basically relatively equal to the signal your guitar puts through the amp at any given time, so it's constantly fluctuating as you play. Also, guitar tube amps aren't "perfect" Class AB amps, so the tube "off" state is closer to "mostly off." Class A amps are amps where the power tubes act like the minigun that is always pre-spun up, whether or not any signal is being sent through the amp. Maximum current is always applied to the power tubes even when you're not playing, so notes have a different, more immediate kind of attack characteristic, and the amp's "bloom and swell" as notes change volume are a bit different. Incidentally, the process of "biasing" a tube amp is basically the process of dialing in the way the tubes behave on the spectrum between Class A and Class AB operation. In other words, to "bias" an amp is to dial in the specific amount of current that is applied to the tubes when no signal is going through them. GreatGreen fucked around with this message at 05:38 on Aug 5, 2015 |
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Aug 5, 2015 05:25
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Mr. Mambold posted:That's dang nice and i'm drawing a total blank on what kind of wood he used there.... I want to say Bubinga looking at it, I'll ask him. shiksa posted:don't let him put it on a steampunk guitar It's going on a pine telecaster I think. Here's an expanded view;      It's all hand-made using a lathe and other metal working tools which is pretty impressive, I might ask him to make me one. GreatGreen posted:There is a difference between Class A and Class AB amps, but it doesn't really apply to the kind of muddiness or overdrive we're talking about necessarily. Class AB amp designs are used in most Marshall, Fender, and MESA Boogie Circuits (which are themselves mostly just hotrodded Fender circuits). Class A amp designs are what you find in most Vox amps. That analogy is nerdy as hell but it works really well, thanks! I should learn more about amps really, I get asked about them quite often but I've got a head-full of guitar nonsense and adding amp nonsense to that mix might cripple me.
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Aug 5, 2015 14:11
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White Dog Eggs posted:I want to say Bubinga looking at it, I'll ask him. GBS: Nerds explaining concepts to other nerds using nerdy analogies.
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Aug 5, 2015 14:22
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Hollis Brownsound posted:GBS: Nerds explaining concepts to other nerds using nerdy analogies. First google image result for "Guitar Nerds" 
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Aug 5, 2015 14:27
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Lol. Yeah, I tried to get extra goony with that one. The more common analogy is to picture class AB amps where hitting a note is like a car at a stoplight going from fully stopped to moving again when it turns green, versus a class A amp where hitting a note is like the car going full speed and just happening to go through the intersection the moment the light turns green. Of course that explanation wouldn't have made anybody roll their eyes nearly as much though.
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Aug 5, 2015 14:31
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White Dog Eggs posted:I want to say Bubinga looking at it, I'll ask him. Ah, the old brass reinforcement trick. I knew it would have been a one-time use, otherwise. Very impressive. White Dog Eggs posted:First google image result for "Guitar Nerds" ffs.....F-F-Faustus?
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Aug 5, 2015 14:35
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Mr. Mambold posted:That's dang nice and i'm drawing a total blank on what kind of wood he used there....
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Aug 5, 2015 14:49
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Mr. Mambold posted:Ah, the old brass reinforcement trick. I knew it would have been a one-time use, otherwise. Very impressive. Here's what he said when I asked him about it; quote:I just used X/Y milling table on a solid block O brass for the chassis. The crude artsy poo poo in the middle, I cut with my jewelry hand coping saw. Then everything was sanded n buffed. I no longer have that lathe/milling machine, I'd have to come up with another way to build it if I wanted to sell them. I've thought about it though. Yeah, it is bubinga. It's backed by a brass plate and the mounting screw head rides in a brass inserted cup. The thing seems really strong. A little heavy though.
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Aug 5, 2015 14:56
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Mr. Mambold posted:ffs.....F-F-Faustus?
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Aug 5, 2015 15:49
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White Dog Eggs posted:Here's what he said when I asked him about it; I reckon if he could get that milling machine back and a CNC, he could go to town with god knows what, celtic designs, family crests, bubinga, rosewood, padauk.... a worthy goon kickstarter if there ever was one.
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Aug 5, 2015 16:06
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The minigun analogy owns and I'm using that in the future
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Aug 5, 2015 16:25
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Mr. Mambold posted:ffs.....F-F-Faustus? No, that guy looks self-aware. I'm fairly sure in some version of Tony Hawk Pro Skater, I made a guy that looked exactly like that.
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Aug 5, 2015 17:27
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GreatGreen posted:Lol. Yeah, I tried to get extra goony with that one. The more common analogy is to picture class AB amps where hitting a note is like a car at a stoplight going from fully stopped to moving again when it turns green, versus a class A amp where hitting a note is like the car going full speed and just happening to go through the intersection the moment the light turns green. It was a good post and I learned something new.
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Aug 5, 2015 17:35
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