ZoSoRose Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Currently I'm doing sound recording tests, I'm unhappy with the results I achieved previously.Today I was testing the Vintage Modern just fooling around (not a real song, I recorded the riffs and then added midi bass and drums) and it came like this, what you think of the tone? That's Marshally as fuck! Sounds good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OmarBradley Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Yeah I do envy the "size" of the sound, can't think of a better word for what I'm trying to describe. My recordings with an SM57 never come out as loud/clear, though I don't do any post production or even have a proper interface. Yeah Klay, I definitely hear the Slashy tone in that, I know you're in Europe, but if you're interested I can give you Frank Levi's e-mail address. He's still doing mods, and is very open to discussion regarding customization, very reasonable prices when compared to most other modders. And I think shipping to NY would be easier for you than LA. Just figured I'd mention, I know you're pretty set on amps right now though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klay Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Thanks ZosoRose!Omar, I'm not really after Slash's tone or any other tone. The Vintage Modern is my voicing,distinct Marshall grainy tone! On top of that, it has great sustain and all the gain you could wish, no need for pedalswhich I never used anyway - actually it has too much gain so I replaced a pre-amp tube to lower the gain.My problem is capturing the right representation of the tone I hear in the room, which is just great.I do like trebly tones and I set my amps like that; I think that the lower frequencies should all come from bass and kickdrum, the guitar should be all upper mids and treble to make a nice contrast and don't overlap. But you are right,frequently and with different amps I hear comments that my tone is trebly (even on live shows), it seems like only I enjoythese tones!For hard rock tones I like George Lynch's Dokken tones from the 80s (some recorded with the same original Marshall AFD ampas used in Appetite) , Brian May (Rangemaster treble Booster + AC30) and Mick Mars Motley Crue Girls Girls Girls album(modded Plexi) - they're all upper mids ad treble.Above all of that is Peter Green; he played Fenders, Marshall's, Oranges and always sounded amazing; some say it was theout of phase pickups but Gary Moore bought him his Les Paul and never sounded anywhere as good. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OmarBradley Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Yup Mick's was a Jose modded, and George was the Levi one. So it makes sense. What did you do with the VM? Put a 12AT/AU7 in V1? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klay Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 The Vintage Modern is a single channel with 2 modes, much like the AFD100:- in Low Dynamic Range (LDR) mode you only have 1 pre-amp tube for gain stage (first tube, V1)- in High Dynamic Range mode (HRD) a aditional pre-amp tube is added to the circuit signal (first V1 and second V2 pre-amp tubes are used for gain) All controls including the gain knobs are shared. Due to this design when you change from LDR to HDR you have a big jump in gain and volume.Some people use a single mode and then either in LDR with a boost pedal for lead playing or in HDR adjusting the volume knob for playing rhythm when needed. I love both modes so I want to use them both when needed. I like to have LDR with maximum gain, it's still low overdrive and gives you perfect and dynamic/responsive plexi tones from the 70's (Led Zep, Aerosmith, Fleetwood Mac, ....); but then when I switch to HDR it's too much gain and would have to reduce it to 6/10. What I did was remove the stock ECC83 pre-amp tube in V2 and put a lower gain ECC81 which has around 40% less gain; however with the gain on 10 it's still to much in HDR so I'll swap it with a ECC82 which has around 80% less gain than the stock ECC83. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OmarBradley Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 The Vintage Modern is a single channel with 2 modes, much like the AFD100:- in Low Dynamic Range (LDR) mode you only have 1 pre-amp tube for gain stage (first tube, V1)- in High Dynamic Range mode (HRD) a aditional pre-amp tube is added to the circuit signal (first V1 and second V2 pre-amp tubes are used for gain) All controls including the gain knobs are shared. Due to this design when you change from LDR to HDR you have a big jump in gain and volume.Some people use a single mode and then either in LDR with a boost pedal for lead playing or in HDR adjusting the volume knob for playing rhythm when needed. I love both modes so I want to use them both when needed. I like to have LDR with maximum gain, it's still low overdrive and gives you perfect and dynamic/responsive plexi tones from the 70's (Led Zep, Aerosmith, Fleetwood Mac, ....); but then when I switch to HDR it's too much gain and would have to reduce it to 6/10. What I did was remove the stock ECC83 pre-amp tube in V2 and put a lower gain ECC81 which has around 40% less gain; however with the gain on 10 it's still to much in HDR so I'll swap it with a ECC82 which has around 80% less gain than the stock ECC83.The Vintage Modern is a single channel with 2 modes, much like the AFD100:- in Low Dynamic Range (LDR) mode you only have 1 pre-amp tube for gain stage (first tube, V1)- in High Dynamic Range mode (HRD) a aditional pre-amp tube is added to the circuit signal (first V1 and second V2 pre-amp tubes are used for gain) All controls including the gain knobs are shared. Due to this design when you change from LDR to HDR you have a big jump in gain and volume.Some people use a single mode and then either in LDR with a boost pedal for lead playing or in HDR adjusting the volume knob for playing rhythm when needed. I love both modes so I want to use them both when needed. I like to have LDR with maximum gain, it's still low overdrive and gives you perfect and dynamic/responsive plexi tones from the 70's (Led Zep, Aerosmith, Fleetwood Mac, ....); but then when I switch to HDR it's too much gain and would have to reduce it to 6/10. What I did was remove the stock ECC83 pre-amp tube in V2 and put a lower gain ECC81 which has around 40% less gain; however with the gain on 10 it's still to much in HDR so I'll swap it with a ECC82 which has around 80% less gain than the stock ECC83.Yup, ECC81 is the European name for 12AT7, and ECC82 is 12AU7. V2 seems to make sense since you're targeting the HDR mode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klay Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Here's the original guitars recording just like they were captured, without any post-EQ / processing: Here's the version with the high end presence enhanced: -with-post-eqWhich do you prefer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OmarBradley Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 I think I slightly prefer the first (does need some post-prod polishing though), but they both sound really good. Much better than what I'm getting with my set up. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZoSoRose Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Ohhhh, I'll listen to those later. Anyways, selected my next guitar. This will be years in the future lol Which do you guys prefer? http://www.guitarplayer.com/Portals/0/StandardImage/teye-apache-el-toro-main.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAR™ Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Ohhhh, I'll listen to those later.Anyways, selected my next guitar. This will be years in the future lolWhich do you guys prefer?http://www.guitarplayer.com/Portals/0/StandardImage/teye-apache-el-toro-main.jpgI prefer the one on the right Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chewbacca Posted June 11, 2015 Author Share Posted June 11, 2015 Ohhhh, I'll listen to those later.Anyways, selected my next guitar. This will be years in the future lolWhich do you guys prefer?http://www.guitarplayer.com/Portals/0/StandardImage/teye-apache-el-toro-main.jpgRight for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klay Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 The right one looks better to me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OmarBradley Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Played a few guitars/amps at GC the other day to kill some time.When judging a guitar, I take these items into consideration, in this order: 1) How it sounds, 2) How it feels, 3) How it looks. All being important though.I played an Epi LP Classic Custom, which looked great, felt okay, and sounded okay.Played a Gibson SG Standard, 2015, sounded great, but felt terrible - and I still cannot figure out how to use Min E Tune.And some ESP or Shecter thing with EMG's, which felt great, but sounded okay.Played a Line Six Spider just to see if they're still terrible..... yup they are.Settled on a small Fender Champ 20, which wasn't bad, passable. It was funny, the SG actually sounded a lot better for heavy stuff/metal than the active pick up guitar did. Active pick ups have never done it for me, sounding a bit too processed rather than organic. I did enjoy playing that guitar though, it felt nice to play. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rovim Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 (edited) Purchased a few cool toys yesterday. Got a Strat that just felt right and sounded great and a Vox amp that sounded the best with that strat in the store.5 Years since I bought my Les Paul standard. I'm gonna rock the shit out of it in my room today. (the strat) Edited June 12, 2015 by Rovim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OmarBradley Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 Was browsing Craigslist out of boredom yesterday..... found a deal that was too insane not to look into...... looks like I'll be picking up another nice boutique head tonight. Stay tuned for the reveal. 10PM EST. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZoSoRose Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 Keep us posted, Omar!Holy fuck, what a deal here http://detroit.craigslist.org/mcb/msg/5100366324.htmlThat is a steal, wish I had money Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Słash Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 You people have some cool stuffI have a Greg Bennet Electric GuitarBoss ME-20 Processorand a Cheap Marshal amp, I guess it costed me around $100 when I bought it 8 years ago Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OmarBradley Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 (edited) Alright.... without further adieu:I'm calling this the tone tower! It's a Soldano Avenger, 100 watt. I didn't great a lot of time to play with it, just 30 minutes or so, but it's awesome. Single channel, dual input, no FX loop. Bare bones. The seller told me it was the 50 watt version, but I opened the back to inspect the state of the amp, and there were 4 5881's, so it's definitely the 100 watter. And the fact that on the back of the amp it has a "100" written next to the serial number.Not sure if I want to retube, currently it's all Tung Sols in it, 5881's and 12AX7's. I did not like Tung Sols with my Marshalls, but this is a different beast. It sounds freaking great though, great high gain tone, it's my first Soldano, but I can hear the Soldano sizzle and sweetness. It doesn't really need any pedals for tone shaping/more gain, but I did use a TS9 a bit as a clean boost to get it into serious metal territory.The best part, I paid 3 digits for it..... the guy needed it moved fast! It was a fair bit under $1000, which is a sick deal for this head in this condition. Not sure what year it is and I don't think Soldano's serial numbers follow a specific formula, but I'm going to call tomorrow to find out what year it is, and whether it has the Mercury, O-Netic, or DeYoung output transformer.I'll try to get some clips next week of this head and the Old Bitch, proper SM57 clips. Though no fancy interface, just a Tascam handheld connected to the SM57. Edited July 6, 2015 by OmarBradley 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OmarBradley Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 You people have some cool stuffI have a Greg Bennet Electric GuitarBoss ME-20 Processorand a Cheap Marshal amp, I guess it costed me around $100 when I bought it 8 years agoNice the ME20 seems like it has some cool stuff in it. I only have nice gear because I put gear above food, shelter, clothes, etc. in my list of expenses. Seriously though.But I still love my Roland MicroCube, they're $125 new, I've had mine for 10 years, and I still haven't played a solid state amp I like better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klay Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Nice score! I never played a Soldano but all the demos I've heard sound great, a different flavor of the Marshall tone. Many great players used the SLO100 (Lynch, Gary Moore, Mark Knopfler...) which is an amp I keep an eye on.Bring those demos! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OmarBradley Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Nice score! I never played a Soldano but all the demos I've heard sound great, a different flavor of the Marshall tone. Many great players used the SLO100 (Lynch, Gary Moore, Mark Knopfler...) which is an amp I keep an eye on.Bring those demos!Yeah the Avenger and Hot Rod circuits are both supposed to be slightly different versions of the SLO lead channel. There's some debate though as to how much overlap there actually is, especially considering the SLO uses custom transformers, which are rarely found in the Avenger and HR, which usually have Mercury. Not that those sound bad. Just less SLO-like, which I don't really care about, as long as it sounds awesome I'm cool with whatever's in it.I can't say I like it better than the Old Bitch, but I really think I like it just as much. We'll see after the honeymoon phase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rovim Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 Replaced the Black Strat I've bought 3 weeks ago for a 60 years anniversary Tele. The twang and tone of this thing is remarkable, i've never really thought I'd want one and it looks cool. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klay Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 Alright.... without further adieu:I'm calling this the tone tower! It's a Soldano Avenger, 100 watt. I didn't great a lot of time to play with it, just 30 minutes or so, but it's awesome. Single channel, dual input, no FX loop. Bare bones. The seller told me it was the 50 watt version, but I opened the back to inspect the state of the amp, and there were 4 5881's, so it's definitely the 100 watter. And the fact that on the back of the amp it has a "100" written next to the serial number.Not sure if I want to retube, currently it's all Tung Sols in it, 5881's and 12AX7's. I did not like Tung Sols with my Marshalls, but this is a different beast. It sounds freaking great though, great high gain tone, it's my first Soldano, but I can hear the Soldano sizzle and sweetness. It doesn't really need any pedals for tone shaping/more gain, but I did use a TS9 a bit as a clean boost to get it into serious metal territory.The best part, I paid 3 digits for it..... the guy needed it moved fast! It was a fair bit under $1000, which is a sick deal for this head in this condition. Not sure what year it is and I don't think Soldano's serial numbers follow a specific formula, but I'm going to call tomorrow to find out what year it is, and whether it has the Mercury, O-Netic, or DeYoung output transformer.I'll try to get some clips next week of this head and the Old Bitch, proper SM57 clips. Though no fancy interface, just a Tascam handheld connected to the SM57.So, where's your demo of the Soldano beast? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OmarBradley Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 Alright.... without further adieu:I'm calling this the tone tower! It's a Soldano Avenger, 100 watt. I didn't great a lot of time to play with it, just 30 minutes or so, but it's awesome. Single channel, dual input, no FX loop. Bare bones. The seller told me it was the 50 watt version, but I opened the back to inspect the state of the amp, and there were 4 5881's, so it's definitely the 100 watter. And the fact that on the back of the amp it has a "100" written next to the serial number.Not sure if I want to retube, currently it's all Tung Sols in it, 5881's and 12AX7's. I did not like Tung Sols with my Marshalls, but this is a different beast. It sounds freaking great though, great high gain tone, it's my first Soldano, but I can hear the Soldano sizzle and sweetness. It doesn't really need any pedals for tone shaping/more gain, but I did use a TS9 a bit as a clean boost to get it into serious metal territory.The best part, I paid 3 digits for it..... the guy needed it moved fast! It was a fair bit under $1000, which is a sick deal for this head in this condition. Not sure what year it is and I don't think Soldano's serial numbers follow a specific formula, but I'm going to call tomorrow to find out what year it is, and whether it has the Mercury, O-Netic, or DeYoung output transformer.I'll try to get some clips next week of this head and the Old Bitch, proper SM57 clips. Though no fancy interface, just a Tascam handheld connected to the SM57.So, where's your demo of the Soldano beast?Bad news....... I got hit with a few unexpected bills (IRS said I still owed quite a bit in taxes from 2014).I had to sell the Soldano. I'm so pissed I never got a decent clip of it. I put it up for sale last week - and I was literally on my way to play a show with it Friday night when someone made an offer on the head on Reverb.com. It was a really really good offer, I ended up profiting around $500 from the price I paid, to the selling price. But yeah, I played the show Friday night, and shipped it out Saturday morning. I've sold 4-5 amps over the last year or so, this is genuinely the only one I was quite saddened to part with. But, they are not hard amps to find, and they sell fairly reasonably for ~$1000, I was lucky to find a steal much lower than that, and to get an offer a decent ways higher than that.I will still get a clip of the Cameron for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klay Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 That's bad but if you let it go than it's because you still prefer the Cameron.I'm keeping an eye on the Engl E606 Ironball, it's small, portable and it's 20 watts are loud enough to gig: On the other hand, EVH is about the launch the lunchbox head version of the 5150 III which should be real cool if it's like it's big brothers: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.