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I'm getting a few new things. I'll post stock photos now, and when they get in I'll take some of my own pictures. First, a new guitar - the Agile Ghost III Natural Mahogany Finish:  Some people don't like Rondo guitars, but I'm obviously not one of them. I've wanted an Explorer type for awhile, and I've wanted a 24-fret guitar for even longer, so when they lowered the price to 199 from 299 (presumably because the natural finish isn't selling as well as the black and white ones) I jumped on it. However, I'm not a big fan of Agile's electronics, so I got a new set of pots, etc., and some new pickups: Guitarfetish.com Crunchy Rails and Dream 180. I've never used either of these, but I have a pretty specific idea of what I want this guitar to do, and I'm pretty sure (after reviewing the specs) that I'll get what I want out of them. If not, I'm sure the legendary customer service folks at GFS will take care of me for a swap-out. I wanted the neck pickup to be jazzy and laid back when you roll the tone off, and the bridge to be crushingly heavy and even a little bit ice-picky. Crunchy Rails:  Dream 180:  And finally, I'm getting a new amp. I went into a lot of detail about this one in a post in the Rondomusic appreciation thread. Basically, I had saved up around 800-1000 bucks for a new amp, and went to the music store prepared to spend that much on a high-gain capable tube combo. I ended up being blown away by, of all things, the Randall RG100 G3. It's a hybrid amp using Randall's solid-state preamp and a tube-integrated power amp (sort of like Vox's Valve Reactor technology, but differently implemented). It had a great feel to it, and the sound was just awesome. Very unique distortion options, but still quite versatile for those times when you want to play a cover and have it sound like the real thing. If you want to see my full opinion on it, go to the rondo thread. Here's a pic (I personally love the understated look of it - no nonsense, just all amp):  I actually ended up only having to pay $1.70 and shipping on that amp after trade-in. It was a tough choice between the 200w version and the 100w version, but frankly the 100w is already louder than God if God yelled and with an extension cab it will get as loud as I could ever conceivably want it to be and if I play somewhere that 200W might get put to full use I'll likely be mic'd and running through the PAs anyway.
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Oct 4, 2007 15:51
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Capitan Dad posted:The logo symbol thing on it looks like a dildo. Dildawesome I think is the term you're looking for.
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Oct 5, 2007 14:08
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I've used it before and loved it then, too, but I just bought (and will keep) a Metal Muff with Top Boost (full-size one with the foot switch). Seriously, what a pedal. High gain done right.
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Oct 19, 2007 19:40
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Swollen Member posted:Too much. The Strat was ~$850-$900, the Jazzmaster was $1375 and the Les Paul was $2700. My stock has gone absolutely through the roof in the past three months, so I sold a few shares, paid off my student loan debt and treated myself to some new toys. Good for you, man. Hell of a catch in gear. Yowza.
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Oct 24, 2007 15:06
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Concatenation posted:Seconding, jesus that's a sexy Les Paul. I recently replaced the stock AL-HOT pickups in my Agile Ghost III with a set of GFS Dream 180 (neck) and GFS Crunchy Rails (bridge). I have used rail pickups before and never really liked them except for the sheer gain available (Dimebucker and Hot Rails, specifically). The Crunchy Rails blows me away. Much better tonal balance than the Dimebucker, but just as capable of driving the poo poo out of an amp. You might want to check it out, only $33 at https://www.guitarfetish.com. Their construction is at least as good as Seymour Duncan pickups and much better than most house-brand stock pickups - rock-solid housing, high quality winding, impregnated with enough wax to make a candle, and taped nice and tight. The wiring is just like Seymour Duncan's, and they can be wired up any way you please. It looks like they've got a bit of a backlog on the bridge position Crunchy Rails, but they're worth the wait. Of course, if you don't like any rail-style pickups, they may not be for you. I will say that they are unimpressive on their own when playing clean (though they blend beautifully with the Dream 180 using the middle position of the guitar's three-way switch), so if you're looking for a pickup with more versatility you might want to go with something else. Agreed fucked around with this message at 18:45 on Oct 24, 2007 |
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Oct 24, 2007 18:38
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Uncle Caveman posted:drat, those Alumitone pickups look scientifically rad. Though you say "really clean," do they sound sterile at all? That was the only thing I didn't like about the Strat Lace Sensors. I hear this criticism leveled at Lace pickups all the time, and I think it might come from an underestimation of exactly how precisely they have to be adjusted regarding string height in order to sound their best. They don't respond like traditional 6-pole pickups and they need a great deal of attention to get the most out of them. I mentioned this to someone recently on the forums and he spent some time adjusting a Silver he had and was much, much happier afterwards. They're not so fire-and-forget, but they can have a sound that is just as organic and lively as standard Fender pickups.
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Nov 16, 2007 19:47
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FlossMan posted:They don't sound sterile at all. Not to my ears, at least. If you want, I can record a couple quick clips. My blue in the neck of my strat, I keep pretty close to the strings in general but closer to the treble side, very slightly, than the bass strings. For the red in the middle I have it adjusted very nearly flat, just a slight favoring of the treble, and a little farther from the strings. The way that Lace Sensor pickups work relies on a weaker, but more compact magnetic field that is also more definite in its shape, so they tend to sound better when you've got less string clearance than with traditional pickups. There's not any secret or magic to it, you just basically fiddle with it 'til it sounds right to you: you just have to keep in mind that they like to be closer than most pickups because of their construction and technology.
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Nov 17, 2007 01:22
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Engine Fortegue posted:My Ibanez PF5ECENT(i think?) has an XLR output and I absolutely love it to death. I've always wondered why they don't put them on electrics and use phantom power to power active pickups instead of 9 volts? Aren't most phantom jacks like 48V?
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Nov 19, 2007 15:24
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So I still haven't taken any pictures of my new poo poo, but I will. In the meantime, my fiancee just ordered this combo for me, for $99. The mics alone are usually $99, so the Audio Buddy is free - which is good, since it's kind of a piece of poo poo. But a free piece of poo poo, and I like how the mics sound for micing a guitar cab. I'll get some use out of the preamp 'til I pick up a better one, and I'll keep using the mics (probably in combination with the Sennheiser E609 that I'm drooling over right now, anyone had experience with it?). She's such a sweety. I was having an awful time trying to record a riff with a laptop's onboard omnidirectional mic last night, and this morning she ordered that for me. What a girl! The preamp there has a bit of a problematic "feature" - the phantom power is actually only about 44V with one mic, and drops to about 30V with two mics, meaning it's completely useless for any serious work. Still sounds good with dynamics, of course, and 44V is technically within the +/-4V phantom power spec, but I will definitely need to invest in a better preamp sooner rather than later. Anyone used the Art USB tube preamp? Agreed fucked around with this message at 18:39 on Nov 27, 2007 |
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Nov 27, 2007 18:37
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Engine Fortegue posted:I used these two exact mics and the pre-amp RSPsych0 posted a few posts up to record my last EP and for the money I was very, very impressed. I can post some clips if you're interested when I get home this afternoon I would definitely be interested, especially in vocals and guitar cab mic'ing. That would be great. The Huntsman posted:E609 in my opinion is (for the money) the ultimate dynamic mic for guitar cabs. I love mine. However the first chance I get to replace it with a Sennheiser MD441... thats happening. Well, I'm a Sennheiser nerd from the headphones angle (HD650 represent), and I really, really like the design of the mic, so I definitely want to pick one up as soon as cashflow allows. Think you'll be selling yours eventually, or is it one of those mics that's always good to have around even when replaced?
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Nov 28, 2007 00:04
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Engine Fortegue posted:Here's the a pretty good vocal example, unfortunetally I didn't do any cab micing so I can only really give you vocal and acoustic-through-preamp examples Sounds good. I can't wait for these to get in. Very pretty song, by the way.
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Nov 28, 2007 15:08
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Susano-maku da! posted:I am a total idiot who just killed most of his bank account for this: I didn't know what to think of it when I saw the first post, but this time, I have decided it's gorgeous. How does it play? Or have you not had an opportunity to use it yet?
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Dec 5, 2007 21:36
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Susano-maku da! posted:Not yet. Wow, that's priced like an Agile. Very nice deal. I wonder how it will feel? Definitely update when it gets in.
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Dec 5, 2007 21:53
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kamapuaa posted:I finally replaced the 4x12 Peavy cabinet I got years ago from a musician's swap meet with this: Hell yeah. I love 2x12 cabs, and Mesa makes some GREAT ones... although honestly the one I'm lusting after now, if I can find one, is the George Lynch signature Genz-Benz ported cab. Holy bass response batman.
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Dec 12, 2007 17:34
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Hello new tonal direction!  Now I can send the G9.2tt to the shop (two switches going out, a problem they've fixed past serial number 8000, and which is covered by an extended 3-year warranty since they've acknowledged the problem with earlier units) and still be able to record. Also, anyone want to buy an M-Audio Audio Buddy? Not that you should, it's a completely worthless piece of poo poo, but if someone needs a paperweight or something to shoot at let me know. If anyone is looking for pedals, I might be selling my whole pedalboard to go Damage Control pretty soon. I've checked out the specs for the Glass Nexus and it's amazing. The DSP chip in it is really technologically advanced, and the way it is implemented is cool as hell. I think it could replace my delay, reverb, and modulations. I might be selling a Wasabi Overdrive, Guv'Nor 2+, Zoom Tri-Metal (though I've promised a HC forum member first whack at it), and a EHX Metal Muff in distortions... and a Dan-Echo and G9.2tt in effects. But I might not, who knows. It's hard for me to get rid of pedals I love (though I don't seem to have any problem getting past pedals I hate), and every one of those was found after a lot of searching for the sound it gives. Edit: Fixed. Nothing to see here, folks... Agreed fucked around with this message at 17:13 on Jan 1, 2008 |
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Jan 1, 2008 16:35
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Exploded posted:hey guys, any chance of some sound clips out of those damage control pedals? Absolutely. I'll demo the two pedals with the mic preamp. It'll be a metademo.
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Jan 1, 2008 18:48
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kenthebear posted:Upon recommendation of Agreed: Did you ever check out the thread I made on cabinet impulse responses? The Zoom cab sim is fine for live, but for recording you could use IRs to get a more realistic sound than any hardware modeler outside of the AxeFX and other very high-end units offer.
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Jan 8, 2008 00:11
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So, got all my stuff in, and it's time for some preliminary clips! I apologize for general sloppiness, but as usual I was recording in a rush and improv'ing everything so there's very little structure and direction to it. I did, however, try to fully demonstrate the pedals' capabilities. I gotta get a better mic for guitar cabs, though - I've got a pair of condensers that are great for vocals and acoustic instruments, but they've got a low midbass hump that makes everything boomy even if I've got them dead on-axis. Proximity effect like wow. Since I don't have a real studio, I built a fort around my amp and the mic with pillows, blankets, a mattress, etc. to deaden room noise (otherwise all you'd hear would be the cockatiels and parakeets in the background, and conversely they'd be deaf and so would I). It ain't an isolation booth by any means, but it worked surprisingly well given the limitations I was facing  Necessity is the mother of covering your amp and cab with a bunch of dampening poo poo, as they say.Without further ado: Setup: Agile Ghost III w/ GFS Crunchy Rails in the bridge, GFS Dream 180 in the neck (you can tell when I switch 'em), plugged into a Morley George Lynch Dragon Wah, going into the Liquid Blues, going into the Solid Metal, then into a Dan-o Fish n' Chips EQ, then into my Dan-Echo delay, then into a Korg AX3G for its great bang-for-the-buck reverbs and for its tuner function. Finally, into my Randall RX120RH, driving a Trace-Elliot 4x12 with V30s. Recorded by an Art Tube MP Project Series w/USB (this thing rocks) powering an MXR condenser (the smaller one from the $100 bundle). Like I said, this is the part I don't like so much - it's awesome for vocals, can't get a better deal than that, but frankly though it works for guitar there are much better mics for that application. Liquid Blues Regular  Liquid Blues Nuclear  Solid Metal (This is the sloppiest of the lot, and I really regret not having time to re-record it because I think the SM on its own is a great, clean high gain sound with tons of definition and clarity - expect a better demo of this soon)  Solid Metal Nuclear Boost (This one was fun to do, just trying to demonstrate that even with all of the gain engaged, and reverb and delay on, full chords are still defined and lead licks don't lose any of their edge)  Liquid Blues into the Solid Metal, both in normal (non-nuclear) mode. In this clip, they are left on the entire time and no settings are changed.  The tonal options are quite deep with this pair and an EQ. I have already boxed up my old pedals in their original packages. Debating whether or not to sell them - the collector in me is the only part that wants to keep them, because they definitely don't sound as good as these. The high gain clips didn't translate quite as well as the lower gain ones, which I blame on the condenser mic which doesn't have any kind of db pad and is sensitive enough to need one and which has a frequency response tailored to vocals and acoustic instruments. Before anything else is added to the pedalboard, a SM57 or e609 will be added to my recording setup. And so will a mic stand - I fashioned one for this recording out of a regular guitar tripod stand and some Gorilla tape. Works okay, got a pretty good off-axis canted mic thing going on, but I really, really need a mic stand (preferably a decent boom stand) for ease of adjustment and flexibility. Oh, and so I can set my guitar back down 
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Jan 8, 2008 00:28
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The first switch in dynamics is me going from Crunchy Rails to the Dream 180. I had pre-adjusted the volume knob to show off the dynamic range. It stays Dream 180 through the gain swell and then a bit into the riff. The second one, where I turned the volume knob down too far and had to bring it back up, is the Crunchy Rails. All of the other clips are strictly Crunchy Rails, no Dream 180. I recorded this partly to demonstrate the Damage Control pedals and also because a guy in another thread wanted a Crunchy Rails demo, figured I could kill two birds with one stone and still get some Dream 180 action in there too. I will be recording some more demo clips of it with more planning put into them soon.
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Jan 8, 2008 01:11
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Raze posted:In the Solid Metal ones, how high do you have the Scoop turned up? Also, in person does it have a nice bass "thump" and good low end most of the time without much tweaking? On any of them with the solid metal involved, the scoop is turned nearly to max. Maybe at max. Treble is all the way up, too. Bass to taste - it's a great control, doesn't color the sound just adds punch and thump (to answer your second question). I have my Dan-O EQ after it altering the mids quite a bit too, though. And I boost the mids on my amp to compensate - guitar is an alto instrument, after all. But the scoop control sounds great throughout its whole range of motion, and the Liquid Blues is very non-scooped if you get my drift. On it, I have the treble control nearly maxed as well, which also seems to affect the upper midrange. With the Dan-o and my amp's EQ on the output and the Liquid Metal on the input, it's more like a notched scoop than a full scoop. I don't like the way a huge mid scoop sounds, but notching the mids can get some great results. Wish you guys could hear it in person - the clips do a pretty good job of demonstrating its capabilities and its fundamental character, but they don't capture its full feel and sound. Maybe with a better mic? kenthebear posted:I did, and I'll be giving it a shot now, it looks very useful. I bought the M-Audio Uno to use with it, and it works fine. Careful, though, the cabling (which is not user servicable, read: is attached to it permanently) is really flimsy compared to commercially available midi cable. I'd go for a 1X1 full-on midi interface. I think M-Audio makes one which is priced almost the same as the Uno, called the Midisport. It's a much better buy, and a much more solid unit. The Uno has worked fine for me (if you've got XP, don't install the included drivers, it's the path to endless headaches - just plug it in and it'll be recognized, then select it as your default midi controller in the "Sound and Audio Devices" in your control panel)... but it appears to be extremely fragile.
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Jan 8, 2008 23:12
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mofolotopo posted:I got a clarinet and my wife got a violin a couple of weeks ago. I got the clarinet because it was cheap and about as different from any of the instruments I know how to play as it possibly could be, which is cool. I've just ordered a softer reed for it because I've been hurting my face and hyperventilating so far. Exciting! That is cute as can be. My fiancee and I (marrying on the 25th!) jam guitar and bass sometimes. Right now, we're trying to budget for one of the newer compact electric uprights which can be bowed, because that's her training - she can play electric, but it's just not the same for her.
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Jan 10, 2008 02:41
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hamaien posted:
Whaddup  So, I'm currently unloading all my prior distortion pedals in anticipaton of...  The Damage Control Glass Nexus. Dual 12AX7@250V tube buffered digital effects unit. Does several great reverbs, delay, and another effect of your choice - several types of chorus, flanger, phaser, vibrato, etc. I don't know why they've got the tubes there, or why they're biased at amp levels, because it isn't a dirt pedal, but whatever - the specs on this thing are great, and I've done a bit of research on the chip they're using in it and I'm very impressed. Going to retire my Dan-Echo and my little Korg unit (supplying reverb and a tuner, and effects when needed), and then apart from my Danelectro Fish-n'-Chips equalizers and my Morley GL Dragon Wah, I'll have an all Damage Control signal chain. At least until I buy a new tuner. Might do that at the same time. I've been thinking about a Strobostomp 2, anyone used one? Or other tuner recommendations? I'd prefer to avoid the TU-2 or its Behringer or Fender equivilents, but other than that I'm open to suggestions.
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Jan 15, 2008 16:14
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the wizards beard posted:I just looked these up on a few European sites and they're going for €533.82 (about $800). How much is this costing you? Is this another example of stuff being cheaper in the states or this just a really loving good effects box? Well, it is a really loving good effects unit, supposedly Eventide-quality effects... but it's only going to run me $400 shipped. It is cheaper here because it is manufactured locally (well, in California), but they're putting the screws to European buyers big time apparently. Sorry man.
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Jan 15, 2008 20:00
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Forget the Glass Nexus (for now), I'm getting this: The guitarist in my dad's band is a great guy, and he uses this little amp. Through a 1x12, it'll get pretty loud for jamming, but through a 4x12 it'll go over the drums. Not to mention it mics excellently and has all the flexibility you could ask for. He's letting me borrow it to see what I think, and I'm going to be buying one for myself soon because I think so highly of it. It is an amazingly versatile amp which can achieve, on its own, tones and textures from jazzy cleans to dirty blues to saturated rock n' roll, even into hard rock with the right tubes... but one of my main considerations, of course, is how well it works with my ever-growing pedalboard. I have never heard an amp which takes pedals as well as this one. It's almost magical. Lets the Damage Control preamps shine through beautifully, responding to its voicing and adding two additional channels to the amp. I set it up for a singing, harmonically-rich clean sound (at the hardest strum, just at the edge of breakup - you know the sound, that lovely thing that started rock n' roll), and then kick in the gain with the Liquid Blues and Solid Metal. It also voices the G9.2tt better than any other amp I've used. So it's my next purchase, for sure. I don't know whether to thank the guy who is letting me use his Univalve or curse him, because it's inspired me to spend more money... I don't know if I'll be selling my Randall - it's definitely louder, and sounds quite good. If I can get away with keeping it I will, but if I need the money it'll be one of the first things liquidated.
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Jan 25, 2008 06:38
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Raze posted:Hooray for EMG! I just had an 81 put in my old Ibanez and it sounds better than it ever has. I've also got one of these: Glad to have helped. The coolest thing about them is how well they work regardless of which amp you're using. The voicing of the amp determines their sonic character, rather than having an overpowering sound of their own... and yet they don't sacrifice single-amp flexibility due to their powerful tone-shaping options. The guys at DC really know what they're doing. THD Univalve is in the mail, can't wait!
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Jan 26, 2008 21:10
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Holy poo poo, the guys at Avatarspeakers.com ship things FAST. They must have overnighted it to me, because my THD is here. Or, rather, a sticker on my door saying I had to have been there to sign for my THD to be here is here. An hour of headache-generating phone goose chases later, they'll be coming by to deliver again it around 4. Sweet. I'll borrow my wife's digital camera and snap some photos of my gear, long overdue.
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Jan 28, 2008 20:59
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CmdrSmirnoff posted:Which THD? Hotplate or one of the amps? The Univalve. Got the last one from the blowout at Avatarsspeakers.com. Those guys are great, they discounted it another $40 or so and overnighted it as a wedding present because I mentioned that I was getting married in an hour. That's right, I ... slightly and, I hope, transparently held up my wedding to get the order in. Took me all day to get the funds together, and my wife put up $250 in lue of me having to go pawn my unused gear at a loss to nab it. She basically bought the stuff I'm selling right now, so that I could use the money on that deal rather than have to save up another $300 later for the same thing. What a gal! I'll be giving her the profits from the sale of my excess gear entirely, which ought to let her get something nice for herself, as a thank-you for sealing the deal on the amp. Depending on what you're trying to do, choosing a footswitchable two-channel amp probably wasn't a bad move. The Univalve is an amazing amp, but if you need the versatility of channel A and channel B then the two inputs on the Univalve wouldn't cut it... even though they seem, to my mind, to constitute individual channels in their own right since one uses one tube and the other uses both, resulting in a clean input and a dirty input, but which can't be footswitch'ed or even changed with an A/B box... I don't know, I can't criticize the designer because as great as everything sounds I'm sure there's a real balance of features versus tone going on and I wouldn't want to sacrifice the sound. I will take full advantage of its many capabilities when recording, but most of my play will be adjusting my Solid Metal and Liquid Blues to be its high gain and low gain channels, and configuring it for a just-at-the-edge-of-breakup clean sound, when the harmonics get going and a bit of compression and very slight clipping starts to bubble up around your stronger notes and chords. Not exactly the same thing as a 3-channel amp, but it'll do what I want it to. I love the amp's everything. Great sound all-around. Like I said, I'll be using it to full effect, but a big part of why I bought it is because the "Roll" input (which uses one of its two 12AX7s) is pretty much the best clean-side-of-overdrive sound I've ever heard, recorded or in person, and because it makes my pedals sound better than any amp before, inclusive. Col.Kiwi posted:Hey I know it hasn't been all that long since I last saw you write "my fiancee", so congratulations. Thank you, it was Friday! We honeymooned at a cabin by a river here in Arkansas, beautiful this time of year... It was great, we had a blast. I'll give a full report on the Univalve soon, though I've already used it for some time before ordering it. My dad's bandmate, the guitarist, has one and was letting me mess with it since he was going to be leaving it at their practice space anyway. A week later, I knew I had to have one. Excellent is a good start but doesn't tell the whole story, and even Awesome is leaving some important facts out. More on the Univalve tomorrow when I have time. I'll try to include some clips so that it's not just hot air (so to speak...)
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Jan 29, 2008 01:15
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Well, I still can't find the usb cable for my wife's camera, but I nabbed a Peavey Windsor head for $180 new from the local Guitar Center on ultra clearance. And it sounds great, by the way - sort of like a cross between the JCM 800 and JCM 900, but with a Peavey flavor to it that I quite like. With my Solid Metal in front kicking it in the nuts, it absolutely screams - not exactly like a heavily boosted JCM800, but in that same territory but with more razor-cut to it and not QUITE as British a flavor. Definitely the best deal I've ever got on a new head. Peavey's 5-year warranty on it doesn't hurt either. I'm thinking I'll sell my Randall half stack because I like the Peavey Windsor's (boosted) high gain dirt better than the Randall's (boosted) high gain dirt, and I like the THD Univalve's cleans and mid-crunch sounds better than the Randall's as well. I didn't think I'd see the day when I stepped out of the solid state amp arena, but it might be here. I just don't need that amp anymore. I might not lose my rear end on it either since I got a good deal on it new and the company has since raised the price $100.
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Feb 2, 2008 01:04
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Col.Kiwi posted:poo poo, I didn't think I'd see the day you'd buy two tube amps one after another. That's a stupidly great deal on that head though, sounds nice from the description and I love Peavey heads - have a Valveking myself. Yeah, I really dig Peavey too. Their SS stuff is solid gold this generation (XXL), though I don't see them making any more since they can put out kick rear end tube amps at these prices now and the XXL costs over $600. As I've said all along, tone is the end in itself to me. Gear of any variety is the means to an end. For a long time, I was getting good results with SS gear. Lately, from the bottom to the top I've been more and more into tube stuff. That has been partly from an expansion of my disposable income lately, but also because I've had a change of direction in my own music making which seems to be less well accomodated by SS gear in my pricerange (though there's a $1400 SS head I've been drooling over for some time now. I am not at the end by any means, but I've got a clear idea of how I want to sound "now" that is well met by my current setup and which, I think, largely deprecates the Randall half stack. Powerglove posted:
I'm just glad I have a very understanding lady. Although she is encouraging me to sell the Randall since we're going to need the space
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Feb 2, 2008 01:54
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Agreed you just can't help yourself with buying gear can you, you've got to stay out of music stores!
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Col.Kiwi posted:Especially cause you sound like you haven't yet had your chance to try one yet, let me be sure to say this delicately. 100W tube heads are really, really, really loving loud. Hell, that 15W THD Univalve I got is really, really, really loving loud. If it didn't have a Hot Plate built in I'd never be able to use it above 1/5th volume without going deaf. I know the Windsor, which is also a master volume amp which supposedly has a power section pretty similar to the Valve King, can do well at any volume but requires a VERY careful turn of the knob to get it down low, since just a bump more is really, really loud (and it just goes really, really louder from there).
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Feb 2, 2008 04:12
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Pirateparty posted:Yep! I have Peavey Parts Direct in my phone - 601-486-1128 - and you're right, they're amazing. Really takes customer service to a new level. They stock parts for amps they haven't made in 15+ years. It's one of the reasons I'm not afraid to buy a used Peavey, like a Butcher or 5150, if a good deal comes up - warranty or not, you can fix 'em and Peavey will help. I also have their customer service line - 601-483-5365 - and once again they're industry-leading in my opinion. Good numbers to keep around if you have older Peavey products, or to know in a pinch if something should happen to a newer one. I'm still amazed that they've got a pretty comprehensive 5-year warranty on the Windsor. It's a Chinese head that, outside of clearance ultra-deals, costs a relatively low $400, so you'd think there would be corners cut somewhere, but they put a 5-year warranty behind it, and they've got authorized repair centers everywhere should something go wrong that you can't fix yourself.
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Feb 3, 2008 05:16
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New Found Power posted:That thing is gorgeous, and I'll kill any man who says different Definitely agreeing on this point. I love that color, and Gretsch guitars are just beautiful. Really good players, too, especially once you get into the $1000+ guitars.
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Feb 4, 2008 15:55
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Exploded posted:I like my hot rod deville a lot but have decided in the next year i am going to step up to some kind of tube marshall with a 4x12 cab. It isn't that current production models are terrible, as such, it's just that their classic stuff sounds absolutely phenomenal and their current products range from downright bad to mediocre to decent. Possible exception the JVM410, which has at least two great channels (Clean and Crunch, which remind me of a not-quite overdriven Plexi's chimey and saturated cleans, and of the excellent JCM800 respectively). I don't care for its high gain channels, kind of ice-picky if you ask me... but some folks really like them. Some of the DSL heads and combos are nice, too, though the TSL are pretty bad. Your best bet if you want to get a Marshall is to park it on Ebay and pick up an older one. A JCM800 can be had for as little as half the price of some of their current gen heads, and if you want that well-reputed Marshall hard rock sound, that's what it is.
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Feb 6, 2008 04:27
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ColonelJohnMatrix posted:Ok for the last 2 years I used a Hot Rod Deville 212, with mainly Les Pauls. I never could get the distortion I wanted with my pedals and the hot rod. Great clean though. The JCM800 is pretty much perfect for what you're after. It has less gain and, in my opinion, a better tone than the 2000. CERTAINLY a very different one. It's the quintessential hard rock head, and can be heard on some of your favorite albums from the 1980s. It's been in everything from rock n' roll to alternative to death metal and it does it all, though for the latter two you often see a pedal used with it. If you don't like the JCM800's crunch, you probably just don't like the characteristic Marshall sound.
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Feb 6, 2008 22:37
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Still no pictures of the Univalve or the Windsor, but who cares, here's some clips. I'm just going to crosspost from the HC forums, no point remaking the wheel. Alright, I've got it together. I'd like to make it clear that I am not posting these to demonstrate technical mastery of the guitar - if you're looking for Joe Satriani demonstrating the univalve for you, I've got nothing but apologies to give The goal was rather to show the depth and breadth of its tonal capabilities, and to demonstrate the effectiveness of its technology without going overboard. As such, I've tried to keep within one style for all of the clips so that you can get an idea of how it sounds on its own, rather than what I can do when I'm in the studio. All of these clips leave the amplifier alone. Any changes in volume and/or level of dirt you hear is strictly from the guitar, either altering my playing intensity or rolling back the volume on the guitar.You will hear what sounds like clipping at some points. Unfortunately, this was not avoidable. My mics are not very well suited to recording guitar - they're too sensitive and they can't very well handle the signal levels of a cranked guitar amp at the close proximity required for micing a cab. What you're hearing isn't digital clipping - at no time during the recordings did my interface clip, and to ensure that I was using a FET limiter on top of keeping the signal level within the appropriate range. It's just the mic doing its thing. A SM57 is next on the list, I promise. On that note, the mic that I am using is not frequency optimized for guitar, so if you think the sound is a little off that might explain it. I promise it sounds lovely in real life. I wouldn't be posting these clips if I hadn't monitored them and felt that they at least reasonably represent my setup's sound, but I do think that a better mic could help capture the full capabilities more effectively. This is a demo of the THD Univalve, which I have tubed with Groove Tubes JJ-made ECC83 preamp tubes and a Grove Tubes JJ-made 6L6. Adjust your tonal expectations accordingly, because its sound (and especially its level of distortion and distortion character) changes with a good EL34. I've tailored the sound to my tastes, and tastes of course differ. That's the beauty of this amp's design - you have the flexibility to get your sound, whatever that might be. I go on and on. Here's the clips! THD Univalve demos: *Roll Channel, wide open, no attenuator or noise reduction etc.  *Rock Channel, wide open, no attenuator or noise reduction etc.  *Rock Channel, wide open, noise reduction but no attenuator  *Rock channel, wide open, noise reduction and substantial attenuation (after all, I wanted to show that you could bring the level down significantly without suffering too much tone loss!)  *Roll channel, noise reduction on, damage control pedals  And just for fun, here's a high-gain clip from my Peavey Windsor. Figured I might as well fire it up while I've got the cab mic'd and my recording gear in place This is the Peavey Windsor, boosted with my Damage Control Solid Metal into its Low Gain input, amp gain on 5. EQ options to taste, texture knob on full Class A/B.Peavey Windsor: 
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Feb 7, 2008 19:03
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Nobody seems particularly interested in these clips, so I apologize if I'm just cluttering up the place, but here are two more Peavey Windsor clips. These are the final "macro-level" changes to my high-gain tone from the Windsor. I've got my preferred mic placement down and levels adjusted like I want them on my preamp, and all hardware settings (that is, my boost pedal, my two graphic EQs, and my amp's various tonal options) are essentially finalized. I didn't do any studio tricks with these clips (even the studio trick of properly level matching my guitar and drums track... d'oh), so please excuse the utter lack of production values. Peavey Windsor Lead Tone  Peavey Windsor Rhythm Track Rough Cut  Both of these were recorded with my Agile Ghost III with GFS Dream 180 in the neck and GFS Crunchy Rails in the bridge, through my Peavey Windsor head into a Trace Elliot cab loaded with four English-made Celestion V30s. I'm using my Damage Control Solid Metal on Nuclear mode into the Windsor's low gain input. The Windsor's preamp gain is below halfway, and master volume is set in this clip to the lowest level which eliminated the presence of string noise in the recording. I was also helped in that by the fact that the new method I'm using to mic my cab sits the mic right up on the speaker, so there's less environmental bleed through. I'm also finally taking advantage of the Windsor's excellent effects loop in this clip to run my reverb and delay - it is a low-level effects loop, thank goodness, and doesn't clip my pedals. Hooray! The second clip is actually the preliminary rhythm track idea for a song I am working on, so any thoughts would be appreciated on that - granted that it's a very rough draft, but the basic structure is there. Once again, if all I'm doing is hurting the signal:noise ratio in this thread I apologize, but I think that it might help prospective buyers to hear clips of gear rather than just reviews, no matter how in-depth they might be.
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Feb 9, 2008 06:22
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CmdrSmirnoff posted:I've been listening to the clips and appreciate it, since I'm still shopping around for an amp. I had a H&K 20 ordered, it went out of stock, I cancelled it and had my credit card ready to order a Peavey JSX, but now there's a possibility of financial problems down the line so I'm holding off on spending any more major money. Glad you like the Windsor clips That's just one example of its sound. I've had some mixed reactions to it in a metal forum, they seem to think there's too much crunch going on. Whatever, I'm digging it. I did fatten it up a bit and changed where I was knotching the midrange, I think it sounds even better now than it did, same fundamental tone though. Wouldn't have suspected that an amp which looks like it does could sound like it does. One thing, the Windsor is HUGE. Like, absurdly big. I have an oversized 4x12 and the head just fits within its dimensions. On my Randall 4x12, which is a compact cab, it dwarfs the cab. Still sounds good through it, though - the Randall Jaguars are darker speakers with less of an upper mid peak than the English V30s in my Trace Elliot. If you prefer a darker sound and don't mind a somewhat off appearance, you could get a head and a 4x12 for a real steal by going with the Randall Jaguar 4x12 8ohm cab and the Windsor head. I'm going to re-record both of my amps tomorrow if my back stops hurting long enough for me to pick up the guitar. I have everything mic'd up completely differently than in the previous clips (the most recent Windsor clips, that you quoted, are an example of the new mic'ing method, but the previous set were with an old method which, on reflection, sucks, overloads my too-sensitive compressor mics, etc.). I think the Univalve will give a much more impressive demo with the new method than with the old. However, it still may not be your idea of a good sound - like you say, it is pretty much the most versatile amp around and you can change everything by changing three tubes. I've got JJ ECC83s and a JJ 6L6 (both courtesy of Groovetubes) in it right now, and changing from the stock Chinese EL34 to the GT/JJ 6L6 was night-and-day. My dad, who is a drummer, picked up the difference in sound immediately. And he's a drummer. (I kid, I'm a drummer too, baby...)
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Feb 10, 2008 19:45
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Col.Kiwi posted:I've found these interesting too. The univalve ones were a bit unimpressive I thought, I'm reserving judgement because of what you said about mic technique. Well, there were a lot of problems with the Univalve clips. If I weren't recording it as basically a dynamics demo I wouldn't have thrown them up - I put them together in a hurry for a guy on the HC forums asking some specific questions. For example, those clips were constantly hitting my preamp's FET limiter, which really choked the sound in general. They were also clipping my mics because of where I had placed them, once again ruining the tone. Finally, the mic placement was really bad for this cab, as I now know (and as ought to be apparent comparing the old Windsor clip and the newer Windsor clips) If you still don't like the Univalve after the next clips, then avoid it, because they will be representative of its sound - but please don't base your assessment off of the clips I already posted. I don't know if I'll be able to crank the Windsor really, because the mics I'm using have no pad and are too sensitive (as already demonstrated by the cruddy Univalve clips) for 15W getting juiced, let alone 100W. But I can try to get it as close as I can. The Windsor is like JCM800 meets 5150, with plenty of Peavey in the mix - it isn't a Marshall, it just has a voicing reminiscent of that amp. I quite like it, I think it's better for high gain than the JCM800 boosted. I'll let you decide when the clips come in, I suppose. Agreed fucked around with this message at 19:46 on Feb 11, 2008 |
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Feb 11, 2008 19:43
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bisticles posted:Did some trading and ended up with this: That's badass. Post up some clips?
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Feb 12, 2008 23:44
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| # ¿ May 6, 2024 06:40 |
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bisticles posted:ooh... Rat love seems to run hot and cold, but I love 'em. It sounds a little odd by itself, but when you get it cranking at band volumes, that's when it really shines. drat I've been thinking about expanding my tube head collection by trying to find a used V3, and I'd like to get an idea of the Carvin sound outside of some Vai recordings I have. Assuming he ever used it in them.
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Feb 13, 2008 16:44
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