Alembic Guitars Club
Alembic products => Dreaming... for now => Topic started by: 7string_thing on December 23, 2005, 01:03:43 PM
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hey guys im a soon to be father of an alembic, and i was wondering what amps you guys are using your alembics through. anyone using a Two Rock,Koch,Allesandro, or Acoustic Image? tell me whats the best with your alembics?
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Welcome to the joys of playing an Alembic! I play through a Mesa Boogie Mark III with a Theile bottom. I love it!
Bill, the guitar one
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Pat:
There are a few threads here on that very subject...I started a fairly lengthy one myself. Do a search.
Personally, while I currently have two Alembic basses, I haven't taken the plunge for an Alembic guitar. Having said that, I am a guitarist that dabbles in bass, so I have a bunch of (no-Alembic) guitars and some amps. You'll find it's the same relative answer as if you asked which amp goes with your Alembic bass: whichever one you like the sound of!
FWIW, for dirty I have a custom, hand-made, hard-wired Straub Cantus 50W all-tube hot-rodded Plexi-style head with a matching 2X12 Cab with 25W Celestion Greenbacks (both in Sappelle/Mahogany with flame maple fronts) and for clean I use a modded Fender Silverface 135W Twin Reverb in a custom Mahogany/Maple cab with new Weber VST JBL D-120 clones in it.
While I haven't played one, Two Rock's are great amps, but very pricey. Acoustic Image's are great clean amps and go great with Raezor's Edge cabs...the jazzer's choice and highly portable. Two completely different amps with two entirely different sounds.
Ultimately, whatever you choose to go with , remember this: You can make a clean amp play dirty, but you can't make a dirty amp play clean.
Cheers,
Kevin
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Pat - I play my Skylark through a Mesa Boogie Lonestar. It sounds super clean (Fender twin-like) with incredible headroom on the clean channel - and I can get a great saturated grind on the overdrive channel. I play it with 6L6s, but with EL34s it has a bit more of that British flavor and it overdrives a bit easier. I prefer it CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN - and in combination with my Alembic it is extremely touch-sensitive. It's a really fine mate for the Alembic.
I've also played the Alembic through a friend's Two Rock and it sounds amazing. It?s also exceedingly clean and touch-sensitive. If I could afford a Two Rock Custom Reverb Signature and a cab with a pair of Tone Tubbys I'd be in tone heaven. But with a custom Further under construction the Two Rock will have to wait.
I've been watching the development of your 7-string Balance K in the FTC - looks like a great project. Very nice cocobolo. My guitar is also fairly bright reddish-orange. What electronics are you getting?
Tom
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I'm playing mostly 70's AOR and some more modern non-heavy metal stuff. Run my Alembics through a Marshall DSL 100 with a 2x12 cab and love the sounds I can get. From squeaky clean to captain crunch, the Alembics can do it all!
Welcome.
Jonathan
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im gettin the spectrum electronics with different switches, its going to have 3 on/off toggles for the 2 singles and the hum, and a q switch, then one volume and one tone.
i am really interested in buying a two rock, im looking for the ultimate chimey open clean with tons of headroom. i want it to be sensitive to touch, but not break up even at extreme levels. ive thought about a fender blackface, and ive played through a friends silverface, but i think its too bright and overly loud, almost rude. i think those are good blues amps and thats about that. ive played a koch multitone, and it stays clean on the first channel no matter what volume. the amp is amazing from super jazz to massive gain, but i like the 2 rocks dumble sounds and slightly john mayerish tone. i would buy an acoustic image focus 2R and a raezerz edge extended range 12 inch cab. but im hasty about the solid state tone, although it is purely a straight ahead jazz amp and could be a damn good PA system! I also saw the Allesandro Italian Bulldog, but i dont know if that would be a good match for my style. I like to play funk jazz with some cool rock tones in it. I also do alot of blues. Lets not forget the metal man in me also. Im in a bind, i think i need to but one of each and have some fun. right now i play through a mesa maverick class A with a 4x10 jensen filled cab, and a custom made 1X12 oak pyramid cab i made with a celestion neo. im starting to think my amp sucks because when i crank it up clean, it plays fairly clean but when i get into the bass notes, it just farts out and becomes so muddy. i know its not the celestion because its an 80 watt speaker on a 35 watt amp. what to do, what to do?
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Pat,
If you like the Dumble sound, but are less than thrilled with the sticker price on a Two Rock, have you considered the Fuchs Overdrive Supreme? Great amp with, perhaps, the exact tones you're looking for. Quite Dumbly, so to speak.
Regards,
Jonathan
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ive played them, there clean is seriously lacking, it kinda farts out really fast, im looking for a chameleon with the ultimate tone. i sometimes think that the perfect tone just isnt out there, its the player, not the gear. Its hard to get too much guitar advice when everyone around here is focused on bass! rightfully so i suppose. i dont care about the price, as long as it does what i want it to do.
Super Clean - Jazzy joe pass to super clean chickin pickin
Bluesy Crunch - john mayerish tone on the album TRY! and the song Wheel on the album heavier things/ dumble /srv tone
Mid-High Gain - Ranging from a cranked Plexi type sound to a Recto sound
I think im going to have to build the amp myself. Good thing i got an electrical engineer in the family!
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Pat:
I too am a picky PITA when it comes to tone. I'm never quite satisfied with anything. As such, I've found there is no such thing as something that can do multiple tasks equally as exceptional (try using a Leatherman or Swiss Army Knife to get my drift, LOL!). Amps are no different. I use multiple amps because I can't get everything I want in one amp.
Having said that, you would be surprised at how versatile my Straub amp is. Ever hear a plexi or plexi-style amp play clean and with headroom? My Straub does! Then you crank up the gain and look out...it's Angus without the additional stage in the circuit and EvH with the boost knob pulled! In a pinch, I could get by with just this amp...it's that good and that versatile. Harry Straub knows his stuff and is anal about tube tone. The clean minimalist design, coupled with meticulous attention to detail and high-tolerance premium parts has resulted in a winner, IMHO...and all for the price of a mass-market GC head!!!
Even still, I have my Twin for the clean stuff. BTW, don't sell Fender's short...they need a little tweaking to sound good. You'd be surprised what a good cab and speakers will do for an overly brite, tinny Silverface twin. Remember, Garcia used a Silverface as his pre-amp, and actually preferred it to his back-up blackface twin. Of course, he used a Mac S/S power amp and a trio of JBL D-120's to clean-up the sound, as it were. He took the same approach as Gilmour, just using different equipment: clean amp with hi-headroom and get your dirt using effects. He happened to use Hiwatts with Fanes, but he had an Alembic F-2B (moddded Fender Showman tube circuit)as a pre-amp. Oh yeah...and those Pete Cornish custom pedalboards he uses (TENS of thousands each!) contributed a little too, LOL!
Regardless, I write too much, LOL!
The moral of the story:
Play EVERYTHING and make up your own mind! You may find one amp that is a good compromise for you. But if you're anal about tone, you may have to resign yourself to having to use multiple amps to get what you want. Just my $0.02
Cheers,
Kevin
BTW, SRV used multiple amps plus effects plus endless guitar tweaks and, oh yeah, he was a one-of-a-kind player with little, if any, equal. Also, ck out dozin.com for Jerry's rig and gilmourish.com for David's rig...you'll find they spent a LOT of time and money finding the MOUNTAINS of equipment it took to get their respective tones.
(Message edited by kmh364 on December 27, 2005)
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tried the two rock custom reverb signature, and i hated it, i think it was broken actually, so i kind of lost some faith in the amp. But i tried the artist version that happens to be 2 grand less and i loved it. it was super clean in the bass range on the clean channel. it did an awsome jazz tone and an great blues/rock tone. would be great with my fulltone pedals. i think i might get an artist in the 1x12 combo, nice and portable. the koch does those sounds too though and its 100 watts with a heavy channel too. i still have to try the acoustic image focus 2R with a raezer's edge cab all is well though, i just want a picture of my alembic being built, IM TOO EXCITED! i think ill be waitin a while considering is a 7 string, and from what i heard you can count on your hands how many 7 strings were made! im hyped!
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FWIW, Many years ago, Ted Nugent recounted a story (I think in Guitar Player Mag) where Van Halen and himself were on a bill together and he got a chance to try EVH's massive Bob Bradshaw-built guitar rig during the soundcheck. He figured that anyone could sound like EVH with all those electronics and speaker cabs (it MUST be the rig, right?) so he plugged in and started to wail....and sounded just like Ted Nugent!
Just some food for thought.
Cheers,
Kevin
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LOL!!
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Along those same lines, here's a quote from Steve Lukather - truly one of the best out there:
Lukather (June 2001): I'm afraid with any gear you won't sound like me, really even if you DID have the exact gear you wouldn't. People think it's the amp and guitar that get the sound... Well, it is not. It HELPS to have great gear but we all sound the same thru any gear. I have played thru EVH's amps, I played Jeff Becks Strats... I still sound like me playing thru their gear! Hahaha, that's the way it is. Just groove and sound like yourself and have FUN!!!
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Ed Zachary, er, um Exactly! LOL!
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Jon:
BTW, there's a relatively new DVD out with Luke and Larry Carlton live from the New Morning in gay Paree that's worth ck'ing out. Good jamming and decent interviews with both. I've never been a huge Luke fan, but I respect his playing...he comes from that magical group of 70's LA Sessions guys that are one better than the other (LC is the cream of the crop, IMHO):
http://www.deepdiscountdvd.com/dvd.cfm?itemID=MVD045379 (http://www.deepdiscountdvd.com/dvd.cfm?itemID=MVD045379)
Enjoy,
Kevin
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Like Tom Z, I play through a Mesa Lonestar. I'm still waiting for my Further to be completed, but for now I'm using a Lace-sensored Strat and it's never sounded better clean or distorted. I even ditched my effects unit (except for my trusty Discombobulator wah) because I can't get over how nice this amp makes the guitar voice straight through. I even get a killer growly overdrive (which, in my experience, Strats never quite get right, especially this simply).
I can't wait to hear my Further through it, although I'm sure it's going to take me a month to figure out the sweet-spot settings (the Strat took about 2 weeks, I didn't even bother with my Les Paul!).
Good luck -
Justin
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I'm using a Skylark through a Fender Bassman 4x10. I use it with a Line 6 PODxt Live, for better or for worse.
Ultimately I'd like an S-F2, an Alembic Preamp, a couple of hardwood 2x12 cabs made by Sultone, and a 50/50 Mesa power amp. With tax time drawing near my dream could become a reality...
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I found an interesting amp back in October that instantly became my main deal. It's a 45 watt, 2x12, Heritage Patriot. I was at Guitar X on Broadway in Denver and saw this amp, never having heard of Heritage. Turns out, Heritage Guitar Company brought in some amp makers from various other companies and started making these things. Their all hand wired, point to point with vintage celestions in them. For my style, think Bob Weir mid 70's, this amp is perfect. Those super bright glassy tones just pour from this thing. It's quiet enough for smaller venues and mikes well for the auditoriums. I'm really pleased. Check out Heritage.com. Also, not to start another thread, but I am interested to know if anyone has used Tone Tubby speakers? Weir uses them and I'm considering them for my Twin Reverb. They are hempcone speakers made by a Brown Soun (properly spelled) in San Rafael.
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Gil, I tried heritage.com and found a newspaper. I think you must have meant
heritageamplifiers.com (http://www.heritageamplifiers.com).
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In this thread (http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=21179) a club member reports that Two Rock amps match very nicely with Tone Tubby speakers. This is the only instance I can find of a club member stating an opinion about the speakers. Several members had heard of them, and one said he hoped to try them out.
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I use a fender twin but as this is a guitar not bass thread. Can you help please.
What overdrive/effects pedal do you recommend for an alembic orion. I am considering taking my new orion on the road with me this year and unless i can get a pedal that dirties up in the right way I will have to leave her at home and take my usual strat.
Any advice please but only for alembic guitars and not amplifiers as the back line can be anything from a JC120 to a Boogie.
I just need a pedal that I can put in my pedalboard and get the tone I want out of any amp.
I can do that with my strat and Pro-com rat but I really wanna get the alembic out there with me.
Any help would be great.
Jazzyvee
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Jazzy:
Here's two suggestions. For a basic pedal, I use an Ibanez Tube Screamer TS-9 that has been modified to silver specs by Analogman
http://analogman.com/ (http://analogman.com/)
For a little more versatility, I recently got a Tech21 Sansamp GT2 modeling pedal. You can set it for Fender, Marshall, or Boogie tone and then tweak mic placement and the gain levels. So far I like it.
http://www.tech21nyc.com/gt2.html (http://www.tech21nyc.com/gt2.html)
Bill, tgo
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Dave, thanks for the website correction and the Tone Tubby thread! Jazzyvee, I use an Ibanez TS-808 with my tribute and the overdrive is perfect for it.
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Gil - you've probably already checked out the Tone Tubby board, but just in case you haven't:
http://www.online-discussion.com/ToneTubby/ (http://www.online-discussion.com/ToneTubby/)
Also check out The Steve Kimock board. Steve uses them and you'll find some fairly interesting threads about Tubbys.
http://www.online-discussion.com/SteveKimock/ (http://www.online-discussion.com/SteveKimock/)
Tom
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JazzyVee,
I have an Orion as well and love the overdriven tone I get with my Fulltone OCD pedal.
Jonathan
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I have an ocd, its great if you want an amp to really show what it has naturally, its pretty much the closest thing to a real tube amp type break up etc. the super touch sensitivity is remarkable. i have the full drive 2 also but that is more tubescreamer esque since it gets its distortion from diode clipping instead of a tube like circuit. check out the fatboost also if you wanna drive your amp, it really makes an amp without it sound like it dosnt exist. i have 5 fulltone pedals, and i wouldent get rid of them for the world, the choralflange and clude delux are also pedals with no match!
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Pat,
I completely agree with your views on the OCD and Fulltone in general. I have to admit, though, that I bought a Distortion Pro without fully testing it out and was less than impressed. It seems quite tempremental and I had a lot of trouble getting the exact sounds I was looking for. I shelved it after a week. Any experience with it?
Jonathan
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Jonathan & Pat:
Sorry to hear about the two of you having OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). LOL Ever watch Monk, the OCD detective? Great show!
Bill, tgo
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Yeah having OCD is a habbit, it usualy always has to be on! Fulltone makes great stuff, ive been yearning for a TTE, a Supa Trem, and a Stereo Deja 2, although there coming out with a new rackmount unit with a chorus,vibe,tremolo in it and its true stereo in's and out's, check there custom shop link. I do have to say that im also not a huge fan of the distortion pro. Being a hardcore fan of fulltone, i would say that the Full Drive 2 is a better pedal. I think the problem is that it dosnt saturate as much as it should and it dosnt hold up to other distortion units like the Maxon Sonic Distortion, or the Emma Reezafratzitz. My only complaint with Fulltone is that if you run a few of thier pedals on in the chain, it could get alot of feedback in the mix. Once i get all the pedals in thier line that i want, im going to hard wire them together instead of using patch cables, so i get better results. Im going to put all the guts of each pedal in one larger sheetmetal box. Kind of like an all analog pedalboard fx unit. Think of it as a dream Line 6 had when they made the POD XT Live! accept, its the real thing!
Once i get all my great stuff, ill have the dream setup---->
Alembic 7 String (and eventually a series II)along with my other guitars, (Parker Fly Mojo Flametop, PRS CE 24 slightly customized, Breedlove Custom Acoustic, Strat.)
Custom Built Two Rock with a 2x12 Stereo Cab made of Mahogany
My custom analog pedalboard!
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Pat:
Once you finish that pedal board, you can change your name to Cornish and sell it for $10,000! I also have a PRS CE24. What kind of mods have you done to yours? (I'm guessing getting rid of the 5-way rotary maybe?)
Bill, tgo
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Two rock or not two rock, that is the question! Nice looking head - serious without all the gee gaws. Rock out, that is the answer! Enjoy it, Pat.
Bill, tgo
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Yum - sweet Two-Rock goodness!
I've been very interested in the CR Artist - nice price compared to the Signature. How's the reverb? I understand they have changed it.
Hope we get a full report of how your Alembic sounds through that baby.
Tom
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The speaker configuration right now is a 4x10 with jensen alnicos, but soon i should be getting the 1x12 matching cab with a eminence/two rock speaker. its a 100 watt speaker so it should be good. its pretty simple, although you can dial in super complex tones, its easy to get any good sound. the artist and sig are much much closer to each other now than when they first made them. they use the same parts, but they only do a few extra things for the sig. the reverb is super lush, like a fender reverb, but clearer is how i can think of it. it goes from very subtle to super surf style. just need to set it carefully with the gain controll or else it will really echo! i think im going to get a 4x10 cab with tone tubbies, and sell my mesa combo with the jensens,if anyone wants it,ill let it go for a grand. but i think the 1x12 and a 4x10 will rock, and mabee a sig cab 2x12.purely awsome!
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(http://club.alembic.com/Images/402/26215.jpg)
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PRS CE24, right? Don't you just hate the rotary pickup switch? What were they thinking!!!??? I was just about to get mine modified when I bought my first Alembic, an '83 Electrum. Funny how I never got around to modding the PRS.
Bill, tgo
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yeah the rotary can be a pain, i think im gunna get a 3 way with a tap.
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Nice, Pat!
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i was playing her today, and i just though, this sucker is louder than balls!
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Has anyone tried the Sheldon brand of hand made guitar amps with their Alembic guitars?
If so whats the verdict?
Jazzyvee
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Has anyone tried the mesa lonestar with 4 10s with their alembic?
For that matter, does anyone play through a traynor amp with their alembic? Any experiences?
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(http://club.alembic.com/Images/402/26480.jpg)
Heres my Mesa Studio Pre, 2:90 power amp, and EV cabs...... probably as close to boutique as I care to get...
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Jason - I play my Skylark through a Mesa Lonestar 1x12. I would think a 4x10 would kick a**! Both the Skylark and Lonestar are really versatile, so it takes a little bit of effort to dial them in - but once they're dialed in the tone is amazing. My sense of the Lonestar is it's a great old school Fender on steroids. With 4 10s it could definitely get that black face Super Reverb tone.
Tom
(Message edited by tom_z on March 22, 2006)
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Tom- Thanks, I've tried the 1x12 and it was quite the amplifier, and I can imagine the 4 10s would make it that much more enjoyable. Thanks for the help..
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I've been considering having the folks over at A Brown Soun build me a 2x12 cab with Tone Tubbys - but now you've got me thinking 4x10 might be nice instead.
As for the Lonestar, the 1x12 is incredibly flexible - so much so that I'm holding off on picking up a really great 60s Bandmaster (new caps and tubes and a vintage Fender transformer - the thing sounds incredible) at a bargain price because it would seem redundant.
Tom
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Tom
Grab the Fender. You ever try going stereo? I've been messing with my Boogie Mark III and a Riviera era Princeton Reverb II together. A VERY full sound.
Bill, tgo
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Bill, is going stereo just a matter of pluggin into two amps? I have a 65 Fender Twin and a Heritage Patriot (2x12 like the twin). I've actually never tried to use them both at the same time. Is there a trick, or is it that simple?
Gil
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There are a few ways to accomplish this. Of course if you have a stereo instrument, such as a Series 1 or 2, or a Rickenbacker with ric-o-sound it's just a matter of plugging the two channels into two different amps. (By the way, a ric-o-sound box works fine on a Series insrument). For a regular mono instrument you can:
1. Use an ab/y box. This way you can switch between the amps, or use both. You might want to try running your effects to one amp only and leaving the other signal dry. The really cool thing to do is put a slight delay on the signal to one of the amps;
2. Use a stereo chorus to split the signal to the two amps. This will also enhance the separation like using a delay as described above;
3. This is a system I'm experimenting with. I use an old Nady 201 wireless. It was made about 20 years ago, but it works. (In fact, last year I bought one of those guitar bug wireless systems, figuring my Nady must be obsolete by now. The expensive bug sounded like crap - the Nady was much better. Back went the bug). Anyway, I bought an extra receiver for a song on eBay. I set up my regular receiver on the floor by my pedal bord. I set up another on the Fender and go into it dry. So far this seems to work very well and I haven't encountered any ground loop or other noise problems that are commomn with a wired system.
WARNING: Once you try stereo, you may find it difficult to go back.
Bill, tgo
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Hmmmmm . . . Bill - you have me thinking about the Bandmaster again. I've been going back and forth on this amp so much I'm getting seasick.
Life is so simple right now - Lonestar combo + a couple guitars + Mu-Tron III = quick and easy. But, it looks like I may be getting involved with a studio project where I could probably leave some gear. Sooooooooo . . .
Tom
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Tom:
How often do you get a chance at a classic amp in good shape at a good price? You can always sell it down the line. I don't think 60's Fender amps will be going down in price any time soon. My (probably) '67 blackface Pro Reverb w/JBLs is worth upwards of $2000 these days! (I picked it up from a friend for about $200 25 years ago). I can almost guarantee that if you don't pick it up at some point in the future you'll be kicking yourself. Especially in another 10 years when you see 60's Bandmasters going for $10,000 on eBay.
Bill, tgo
(Message edited by lbpesq on March 23, 2006)
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I know what you mean Bill. I think the amp I'm looking at is more a player's amp than for collectors. It's a '68 silverface that is no longer close to original - but it plays and sounds exceptional. It would be a nice back up for my Mesa but I'd also need a good reverb unit and an OD.
Anyone getting rid of a Lexicon LXP-1??? Preferably with the Audio Upgrades mod?
Tom
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FWIW Tom, I'd buy the Bandmaster... I have an original '68 which I wouldnt trade for the world!! Its a different beast than the Mesa (less headroom, no reverb, etc etc..) but I love it to death!!!! sorry if my opinion sounds too subjective.... but seriously..... go for it!!!!!!
Does anyone know if Poor_Nigel sold that Dual~Shoman?!?!!?
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Alright folks - you (and my wife) talked me into it. As I mentioned above it's far from original (note - grounded power cord) but it sounds spectacular - very tight and sweet.
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/402/26559.jpg)
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/402/26560.jpg)
Tom
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Pace:
What kind of steel is that in the Mesa picture, and WHAT does it sound like through the clean side of that rig?
J o e y
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Hah!! I had no idea what that was! Never saw one upside down. Thanks Joey!!
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Yes, Dave, a doubleneck steel (e9, c6 necks). The four legs and pedal rack/rods screw into the four corners to right it and play. The shiny bars pointing to the ceiling are the knee levers. You rock your legs to the left or the right to actuate them. These along with the pedals and knee-lifts (like the levers, except you raise your leg to push them) all are keyed to raise or lower a given string to alter your tuning. The WHOLE thing is a B-Bender! There's no standard instrument as far as these go. You see some with only a few pedals and levers, then others you can't imagine how there's room for the guy's legs there's so many under there. All depends what you need and want.
I LOVE pedal steel. My brothers-in-law are terrific players, and of course you see them a LOT here in Nashville (duuhhhh!!). A good friend of mine is Doug Jernigan, one of the greatest steel players on the planet (www.digndoug.com (http://www.digndoug.com)), a wonderful player and educator, and a truly terrifying speed picker. Also plays wonderful jazz on it that sounds NOTHING like country music. Not a lot of steel players that have Charlie Parker in their set list!
And they are utter MONSTERS to learn to play: Fretless, the tuning must have been sorted out by roulette wheel, one pedal pulls one string one way, the next the other, it makes me dizzy to think about it. But in the hands of the right person, they make magic. Not just the tinny, whiny thing most people think. Gilmour and Garcia get LOTS of brownie points just for being able to play anything on one!
J o e y
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I've always been a big pedal steel fan too! Played with a pretty good steel player in the mid '80s. And I loved the Burritos and Poco. I tried playing one once a few years ago. It only had a single neck and just a few levers and pedals; but monster is a good description!
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I understand Buddy Cage gives pedal steel clinics and/or private lessons.
I'd love to try myself, but I already s*ck at two instruments and have spent a small mint on them, LOL! I did try my buddy's 60's-vintage double-neck Fender steel (like the one Steve Howe uses) with comical results, LOL!
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Where does Buddy Cage teach?
Bill, tgo
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I didnt mean to hi-jack the thread..... next time I'll take my gear to a photo studio.... lol....
Joey,
That's a MSA D-12 which I am changing the copedant on (still need to thread some more rods, and buy some bellcranks)..... When it's all done the E9 neck will havea couple of extra changes, and the lower neck will be an extended Sneaky Pete B6 tuning. Steels sound great thru the Mesa. Come to find out, Paul Franklin uses a Studio Pre, so it's a hot item among psg players!!
I envy your location, Joey!!! Aside from several psg conventions up here in the fall, there really isnt much of a scene or community. Doug & Herby Wallace are two of my favorite C6 players.... I never realized a steel could swing so hard until I heard them!
Bill & Kev;
Last time I sat down with Buddy was in June. He's been busy with all the NRPS stuff, but usually when he finds time, he e-mails all his students and does lesson tours within the vicinity of NYC.... He helped me out of a rut a couple of years ago & its kind of embarassing to listen to stuff I did prior to then!!!
OK.... back to amps & Alembics..... alright?!?!
-Mike
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I picked up a Shobud Maverick - 3 pedals, 2 knee levers. The tricycle with training wheels of the Pedal Steel Guitar world. Even this simple one is pretty overwhelming. I don't know how you guys do it!
Bill, tgo
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Mavericks shipped w/ one lever~ you're pretty lucky Bill!!! What changes are your levers set up for?!?
My first steel was a Maverick... if you need any help, let me know!!
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Thanx, Mike.
Buddy's site is lacking in info (other than a tuning and tab section) and hasn't been updated recently.
FWIW, he must have ten legs to work all the levers and pedals he uses (double-neck twelves!!!)
Regardless, Buddy is awesome. During the PLAF show last Nov, Barry Sless did his best on PS to conjure up the ghost of Jerry and mixed-in a healthy dose of Buddy to boot. He nearly brought a tear to my eye...another very underrated player, IMHO.
Cheers,
Kevin
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Mike:
My mistake - the Maverick has 1 knee lever. I wrote the above after driving 365 miles yesterday. Can you say wasted? Anyway a suggestion of good learning resources would be appreciated. Also, any suggestions of raising this thing up a little bit? I'm 6'2 with long legs. It's a little cramped under there.
Bill, tgo
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It wouldnt be too difficult to fabircate new legs and pedal rods. The legs are aluminum with no threads, or anything funky (cut them to desired length & drill holes for the pedal bar on two of 'em)... The pedal rods require threads on one side, and a bend on the other. Pretty simple stuff for a machinist to bang out during lunch break.... or if you're feeling lucky, go to a Lowe's and see what they have for stock ( i forget the diameters on a Maverick).
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L B P
Check Doug's site I mentioned above, he publishes quite a few method books, even a DVD and VHS/book courses (www.digndoug.com (http://www.digndoug.com)).
J o e y
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Surprisingly (to me, anyway), there appears to be quite a bit of PS sites out there, and a bunch of instructional vids/lit as well. The PS community appears to be rather close-knit, but they also are willing to share resources which are hard to come by in a very small musical niche. Do a search....it boggled my mind how much info is actually out there.
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Yeah Kev, When I picked up my first psg I was pleasantly surprised to see so many computer savy rednecks.... who wouldve thunk it?!?!? j/k
Bill, the hard part about lesson material for you will be the lack of additional changes on the Maverick~ a lot of books out there assume that you have E>F & E>Eb levers
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Good news folks, the week of the 17th i will be getting my gee tar shipped to good ole CT! i can finally play it through the new two rock! I just cant wait! anyone else using an old fender, tweed/blackface/silverface versions?
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I just got my Further today (!) and I'm running it through a Mesa Lonestar. I'm sort of bewlidered and lost trying to figure out the settings I like - there's so much variety and tweak (and control sensitivity) between the two. And the Further really cranks the overdrive channel even at low drive levels(MUCH more so than my Strat and my Les Paul). But it doesn't take too much to get great sounds...
Justin
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yeah the tribute electronics are so involved. its like having a rack unit in your gee tar! i like to keep things simple, one volume, one tone, and pickup select switches! i cant wait for mine, i know ill be trying to wrestle it for that sweet spot although no bad tone comes out! how are them bright switches? I could never have an effects loop and like 8 thousand knobs and switched on a guitar, im too simple minded and lazy! they sound fantastic tho!
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The electronics are amazing. I've had my Tribute for a year now and STILL I am learning new settings. Plus, dumb me, I went and bought another amp; so now, I have have a bazillion options with the Tribute going through a blackface Twin and now another bazillion options going through a Heritage Patriot.
[color=808080]moderator's note: resized picture a couple of posts down[/color]
(Message edited by mica on April 06, 2006)
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Justin - I completely understand your situation with respect to the Lonestar and an Alembic. Even my Skylark is amazingly versatile so it starts to become a bit of a chemistry experiment. Pat?s right about seeking out the sweet spots - on these guitars you don't just dime all the knobs and step on a bunch of pedals for tone. As far as amps go, I'm still tweaking my Lonestar looking for the sweet spots. I usually run it in the tweed setting at 50 watts for the OD channel - it has very nice sag and a great warm tone with my Skylark using a blend of neck and bridge pickups - filters somewhere in the middle - I use the bright switches for that little extra sparkle. On the clean channel I pretty much only use the neck pickup - it is sooooooo sweet with a little warm reverb. Having spent a little over a year with the Skylark, I think I'll have a bit easier time with the additional versatility of the Further when it arrives.
To comment on Pat's question about anyone playing through a Fender - I'll say that I've fired up the Bandmaster (pictured above) a few times and have to say that it's a great little amp. It's refreshingly simple and it's very responsive. It has a noticeably different feel from the Mesa and it's not as versatile but you can't get a bad sound out of it. Now the search for the right cab and speakers begins and I have my eye on a nice reverb unit.
Justin have you experimented much with different preamp tubes in your Lonestar? I'm kind of wanting something in the OD channel that is a little less grainy.
Anyway, have fun discovering the tone of your Further.
Tom
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Pat:
My main rig is a Boogie Mark III simulclass. I've been fooling around with a two amp set up. Among those I've been adding are a mid 60's Blackface Pro Reverb w/ JBLs (old K-120s). A GREAT amp that I've had for about 25 years. The JBL's really make a difference. Also an early 80's Riviera designed Princeton Reverb II - also a lovely sounding amp. My most recent experiment is with a Motion Sound Sidewinder - a 1 x 12 combo with a rotating baffle ala Leslie.
Bill, tgo
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Tom - I haven't tried changing the preamp tubes in my LS. I quite like the way it sounds in general, actually. I've only had it for a little while, so I figure I'll change them at some point for a little more variety. However, at the moment my variety plate is quite full!!
What reverb unit are you looking at? I have an Alesis MidiVerb but I haven't used it since I got the LS... I'm not a big fan of effects in general.
Justin
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Yeah - I love the reverb unit in the Mesa - it's spoiled me a bit. I'm looking at a Lexicon unit for the Bandmaster. The Fender has really nice a vibrato channel, but I don't have the RCA switch for it. No matter, I'm with you on the use of effects. The LS is ideal in that way with pretty much everything I need - great clean channel with hella headroom, nice OD, nice reverb. The only other effect I use is a Mu-tron III. I'm looking forward to putting it in the effects loop of the Further.
Tom
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I resized laytonco's picture to make it easier to read this thread since has a lot of posts.
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/402/26961.jpg)
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Thanks mica, I was getting scroll-a-vision. =)
Tom
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Oh yeah I forgot about my envelope filter - I have an Emma Discombobulator. I've never tried an authentic Mutron but I'm told they're very similar.
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The main Amp I use for my Skylark is a Carr Rambler. I also use a Carr Mercury and a 71 Princeton Reverb. The tone is amazing through the Rambler.
Gary(http://club.alembic.com/Images/402/29023.jpg)
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Bose L-1 with Bass cabinet. I'll never be miked, or or too quiet, again.
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sounds like everyone is having a blast, did anyone check out the pics of my new axe, the 7 string thing is done, what a beaut!
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No i kept the 5 way, although im going to do a different switch to it soon i think. I scalloped the last four frets for easier access, and i used super fine grit sandpaper to satinize the back of the neck. I made a block to block the tremolo, and i use flatwounds on it. The next things i do to it in question might be
Benedetto Jazz Pickups, Fralin Humbuckers, Phat Cat P90s, or the Fralin Split Singles, or maybee Alembicize it?
I also want a neck with a compound radius and an ebony fingerboard, so i might comission somone to make me and all macassar ebony neck with 2 maple pinstripes, and a macassar fingerboard. 10-12 radius and fully scaloped. whaddya think?
I think if i make that pedalboard ill put a huge fulltone sticker in the middle and sell it for 20,000 saying its one of a kind, serial number 001, custom built for some famous player in uganda or something!
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Does anyone know is sultone uses dovetails inthier cabinetry? they look so nice but i would never buy a hardwood speaker cab if it dosnt have dovetails!
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No, as far as I know, Bill doesn't use dovetails. He uses modified rabbets and other types of joints (like bevels). The cabinets are super strong and the joinery is first-rate. IF you look at my amp thread, you can see that the woodworking doesn't match. The Straub head cab, with woodworking done by Harry Straub, is square-edged and utilized dovetails. The speaker cab, with woodworking done by Bill Boekhoff @ Sultione, has rounded edges and use rabbets and other joints (like the beveled press-fit joints on the removable convertible back slats. Note that, while both pieces were finished concurrently by the same shop, they don't quite match due to the difference in woods.
What you may not be able to see is how much cleaner the joints look on the Sultone piece. The sappelle splintered when Harry cut the dovetails and he had to use wood filler (putty) to try and hide it. The Sultone cab has no such problems. With no disrespect to Harry intended, Harry's forte' is electronics, Bill's is woodworking. Harry's woodworking is good, Bill's is a work of art, IMHO.
REMEMBER: drawers are dovetailed for a specific reason. A dove tail has strength only in one direction, and is weak in all other axes. Note on a drawer that you have in your home which axis the dovetails lie in. Dovetails are strong only in the direction of the drawer pull. Take it out of it tracks and press on the drawer sideways (i.e, perpendicular to the drawer pull direction) and watch what happens...it can easily come apart.
My whole point in this is to recommend that you not get hung-up on specifications. If there's a stronger way to make a box's joints, Bill would be using it. He walks the line between strength and aesthetics, and does so deftly and with precision.
The only negative with Sultone is the wait. I'm waiting over a year for my Twin Cab and counting. If you order, don't make the mistake of paying up-front in full and, by all means, make a pest of yourself, LOL!
Cheers,
Kevin
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Have you guys seen the mongotone cabinets, all mahogany almost an inch thick with dovetails and a birch ply baffle along with a NITROCELLULOSE laquer finish. i think this is the cab for me! www.mongotone.co.uk (http://www.mongotone.co.uk)
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I'm currently having a custom vertical 2x12 built by Cas at Tone-Tools:
http://www.tone-tools.com/ (http://www.tone-tools.com/)
Cas seems very responsive, so far Alembic-like customer service. He worked with me on specing the cabinet for my needs. It will be made of Bubinga with a cane front to match my Boogie. At my request, he's making it convertible from closed to open back with a removable panel. In addition, it will have a switch so that I can run it at 4,8,16 ohms, mono or stereo. Reasonable price too! Check it out.
Bill, tgo
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Got tired of lugging the old Marshall half stack each time me and the guys got together and finally got a combo amp. I would have loved a little 1x12 but my co-guitarist still wants to lug his head and 4x12 cab, so I needed to be able to move a bit more air than a tiny amp would allow. The Marshall will remain a permanent fixture in my den. Since I do all of my modulation through my POD XT Live, I needed an amp with plenty of clean headroom. Also, I didn't want to shell out a lot of cash. Wound up getting a Fender Hot Rod Deville. 60 watts, all tube, 4x10 platform. Sticker was $799 at Guitar Center, but I got a discount from a guy I've done a fair bit of business with there. For the money, I don't think you can beat it. I give it two thumbs up!!!
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I've used those amps on many gigs when they have been provided in the backline rig and they are really very good.
Jazzyvee
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That's why I went with a 2X12 cab. 4X12's look the biz, but are tough to lug around. Even in a flight case, the 2X12 is light enough to handle easily by myself. If I ever need to move more air (doubtful), I can always add another 2X12.
It's actually easier to move the head and cab in flight cases than it is to move my Fender Twin reverb combo(85#-plus). My roadie has a bad back and knee(s), LOL!
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A guy I used to play with had a Hot Rod Deville. I thought he sounded much better through it than through his Deluxe Reverb; but he preferred the Deluxe.
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Dave,
I sound great no matter what I play through...yeah, I wish!
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dont you guys wish we started playing a simple instrument like the sax? all you need to carry is the sax and a mic, it could have been so simple haha! Ill be picking up a two rock very soon i believe, wish me luck
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But Pat, don't forget about reeds, the mouthpiece, cork grease, ligature, neck strap... Sure, they all fit in the case, but forget just one and a gig can become a heck of a lot more interesting...
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Nah, I don't like polishing brass and draining spittle, LOL! I'll stick to strings and frets.
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I think a shot of penicillin will take care of it if you drain spittle after you polish your brass!
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That's just wrong.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6565353951300176477 (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6565353951300176477)
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Well guys, the search is over, i bought a two rock. i custom ordered the 100 watter, with an effects loop , 1x12 cab with the two rock/eminence g12-65 etc, its gunna be sweet, should be here in about 2 or 3 weeks, hopefully my 7 string will arrive at the same time!
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Congrats Pat - I'm sure you'll love the combination of Alembic and K&M.
Tom
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Pat:
Congrats! Take pix (and post 'em here) and give us the low-down.
Cheers,
Kevin
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i will once it gets here, they started making it monday and they will ship it the following monday. hopefully i will have it for next saturday for another big band gig!
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Pat:
Looking forward to your pix and review(s)!
As an aside and just for sh*ts and giggles:
FWIW, The two guitarists for Donald Fagen's (Steely Dan) '06 tour, John Herrington and Wayne Krantz, were using Guytron and Bogner half stacks, respectively, and they both sounded great. The show was 3/1/06. I'd never heard of Guytron before, but both amps appeared to be Marshall-style, the Guytron being closer to the standard JCM-800 layout than the Bogner. Wayne had two different Bogner heads...one as a back-up...the main one was a channel switcher that he was constantly changing with a foot controller. Since I was in the front row (center), I got the 'Direct' stage sound as well as the PA sound. Both players has 2X12 cabs that sounded huge, even as back-line stand-alones. The sound crew used two studio-type mikes on each...one looked like a Neumann or Beyer condenser mike, the other looked like a tube- type vocal mike with the suspension. They were placed directly up against the cabs grille cloths at the drivers. While they both had pretty substantial pedalboards (and they used them fully and often...lots of footwork going on, LOL!), both amps got pristine clean jazz tones as well as good dirty tones. I have no idea what part of the dirt (if any) was attributable to the pedal board (all discrete individual stompboxes...no Pete Cornish or Bob Bradshaw stuff here, LOL!) and what part to the amps. All I know is they sounded good...and those guys can play whatever they want.
Anybody have experience with either amps or can anybody illucidate further into the aforementioned gentlemen's guitar rigs? Inquiring minds wanna know! LOL!
Cheers,
Kevin
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Any feedback from you very experienced guitar slingers regarding the CyberTwins or the EVH combo from Peavey? Certainly not boutique, but any experience with these two? Guitarist friend thinks he's GOT to have one or the other.
J o e y
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Unlike when I first started playing and you had a choice of 2-3 guitar amps (there were always more than that, but if it wasn't a high-line Fender or Marshall you got no respect, LOL!), the choice today boggles the mind. Besides the 100's of mass-market amps out there, you have dozens of boutique builders all competing for your hard-earned dosh.
BTW, Joey:
I don't mean to make you jealous, but my little brother just got a (red) KLR-650. Now I'm trying to get him to take the MSF course.
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bigredbass, I owned a Cybertwin for about a year, but traded it in for a 65 Twin. Cybertwin = no tubes = no tone. Okay, it has a small preamp tube, but still no tone.
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Most of the modeling stuff out there today is long on features, variety and bells/whistles, but short on tone, IMHO.
As I've said before, ad naseum, Just as good as seldom is, LOL!
Cheers,
Kevin
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I recently saw some friends playing, guitarist was using a cyber deluxe. They were doing Genesis, Yes, King Crimsom, Tull. He was nailing the tones from those bands.
G
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I have a Vox Valvetronix that sounds pretty good (not as good as my Mesa) and has a lot of nice models (Fender, Dumble, Soldano, Mesa, Vox) and effects. Since I picked up the Lonestar I don't really use the Vox anymore. If anyone is interested in a decent little modeling amp, make me an offer.
Tom
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Once had a Line 6 Vetta II and it was god awful. for such an expensive amp, it wasnt worth the gum underneath a desk. It was cool in the fact that it was midi capable and had 128 channels,you can set a million different ways, but talk about no tone. thats when i bought my mesa thats less than half the price and more than 100 times the tone, not to mention 10 times less power and seemed to have more presence, cut, and out and out balls. Immagine a 4x10 35 watt class a tube amp, against a 300 watt half stack, and the smaller winning, its kind of sad. if its too good to be true, it probably is, unless of course your using an ALEMBIC!
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(http://club.alembic.com/Images/402/26112.jpg)
Came in friday afternoon, and i played a gig with it last night. theres not a bad tone in the thing! I could easily say that i have heard nothing as good as this amp be it live or recorded. Its super loud but has a level controll on the back that does an awsome job. its pretty amasing what this beast can do. You can turn the bass and mids all the way down and crank the treble and flip the bright switch, max the presence and it still dosnt sound bad. its amasing. i dont think i will buy another amp for a long while, this thing does it all, the only other is either another TR or a Dumble, or a Trainwreck/Komet. Nothing else comes close. just utterly amasing. Im still waiting for the cab, but my 4x10s sound better than ever, and super loud! Soon to have 5 Telefunkens or RCA's in the preamp, and some Philips JAN NOS 6L6WGB's in the Poweramp. Im considering lowering the gain in the preamp and putting 12AU7's instead of 12AX7's. This amp goes from pure blackface to hyper funk clean, to stringy SRV, to Robben and Carlton, to all and out Heavy METAL! its amasing ive never seen such a chameleon. It is THE AMP!
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So I guess you like it then?
Congrats!
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Congrats, Pat! That's a real sweet piece. You're getting a TR cab? What driver config? What are you using for now (i.e., 4x10's)?
Cheers,
Kevin