Guys this is insane (18 watt tone match)

alphahot1

Member
I mean maybe you already have the Axe so it's nothing new... I just bought an Axe-Fx 2, I could say a million things but I wanted to recreate the tone of my hand wired (by me : ) ) 18watt amp with NOS tubes... I was almost sad thinking that I would not use it anymore because I love that amp.
I spent a good afternoon matching the tone with a reactive load box, and finally it's there. I played this amp a lot, I know how it responds, and the axe has the same feeling :D I'm amazed :D
I have some recordings but it's the tone out of the guitar cabinet that amazes me (I matched the raw tone)
I can share the patch if you like!
Glad to be part of this community finally!!
 
I'm glad this is of interest :D I built the 18 Watt Lite IIb (from the 18watt.com community) few years ago, it features 1 12AX7 pre tube, 1 12AX7 phase inverter and 2 EL84 for the power amp. It's a no-master volume amp. It's almost stock except for separated bias cap and resistors on the pre tube (one half is biased cold and the other hot). Also the power amp bias is hotter because the tubes I used are military spec.
There is a '59 pre tube and a '60 pi tube (they should be silvanya and rca). The power tubes are the mighty saratov from the '80s.
Here it is:
DSC01604_ps.JPG

For the tone match I used a reactive load box in the loop and I captured both the signal at the same time. After I tried pink and white noise I had the best tone match using chords on the guitar. I matched the raw signal from the amp so it sounds good with a real cabinet! (but with any IR too!)
I used a dr.z 38 which sounded almost identical already. The amp had its volume at half (12'), I think thats the best position, it cleans up beautifully with single coils.

Here is the demo, first it's neck splitted coil, then middle split coil with volume rolled off, in the end it's bridge humbuckers.
There are 2 phrases repeated, you guess which is the real amp :D



I didn't optimize the preset it to sound good, just to match the raw amp. I also used a mesa free ownhammer IR for the demo (which I didn't include in the preset of course). You can find it on axe-change, search for "18 watt" (I still couldn't post link in the forum)

On a side note, have you ever felt nostalgia because you know you are kind of abandoning your real amp? I know it's crazy but still... :D
 
On a side note, have you ever felt nostalgia because you know you are kind of abandoning your real amp? I know it's crazy but still... :D

Ey that first part of your sound clip reminds me of Link Wray. Would be a great tone for that kind of stuff!

I know what you mean about the amp. I've got my old partner in crime gathering dust in the corner - an AC-30 I bought new in LA a few years back. It sounds like sacrilege but I'm an Axe guy now. There are several AC-30s in the Axe plus some Vox-style factory IRs (and a third party Cab pack I bought). Plus the versatility of the Axe just put me in a whole other universe of sonic possibilities. It's everything I hoped it would be and more. ...I might have to dust off that Vox and put it on ebay!
 
Ey that first part of your sound clip reminds me of Link Wray. Would be a great tone for that kind of stuff!
Oh it was just the first riff in E that came out of my head! I have to check them!!
It sounds like sacrilege but I'm an Axe guy now.
I feel you :D I still thinking about putting up a minimal tube rig, 4 pedals and a amp head. After all my head weights only 6 kg it's lighter than the axe + power amp!

If i were to make a guess, it would be purely a coin flip. Sounds great, well done!
Thanks!! I agree, I can tell you now that the real amp is on the second take, you can hear more floor noise if you listen closely. Also I could add a bit more gain : ) I love how it sounds and plays!!!
 
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