Expressive high-gain tone - your favorite

Wildwind

Experienced
I'm a melodic pop/rock style player. Think Lukather and Schon (both big influences), etc. Phil Keaggy also.

Strat player. Big requirement is that pickup changes need to be very audible. Not looking for insane amounts of gain obviously. I have three Strats I rotate - all have DiMarzios, including Virtual Vintage and Areas. Fairly modern- voiced guitars, if you will.

Presently I've been experimenting with Mark IIC+ (used to own one) and Dumble (50 years of gigging and touring and never seen). The Mark model is Cliff's recommendation - deep/brite. The Dumble is the ODS Clean with gain coming from overdrives, which sound better to my ears than the lead channels (please set me straight at need).

If any of you have favorite tone tricks to this end, I'd love to hear about them! And any other amps that hit your ear just right.

One more background detail - I'm not trying to cop anyone's tone, so no help there. I want some nice sing, sustain, and enough transparency to take advantage of pickup changes. All pickups are fairly low output, nothing hotter than a Thornbucker.

All thoughts and opinions welcome! I hope this can be a fun thread.
 
Hmmm...hadn't tried that one. Will do so tonight! Thanks!

Question - what are GB's? Sorry, brain is fried from working. It will come to me as soon as I hit "post."
 
If you are into Lukather, I would definitely try out the CA3+. The lead channel is very liquid and compressed, but if you find it to be too much go with the rhythm channel, it is very articulate.
 
Thanks BBN. Wasn't even thinking Greenbacks.

And thanks for the suggestions. Firing up now! I have tried the Tucana and Triptick, will revisit. I have not tried the others. Should be fun!
 
I'll second the Corncob. I keep coming back to it over and over. At higher gains, it sounds like buzzy annoyance at low volume levels for some reason, but once you start moving some air it really comes to life. I use it mostly with HB pickups though and it really sings.

I find that Strat pickups get fizzy with a lot of models. The Nuclear Tone doesn't do that, so that would be my "go to" model for SC pickups.
 
Triptik Modern, Tucana and CA OD2 all have something that works well for me... Funny that they are all Carol Ann amps. I also like the Bludojai LD better than the ODS lead models.

However, most of my leads are using the AC Boost into clean amps already on the edge of breakup. May not be quite enough gain for you... The Ruckus drive has more juice.
 
I'm really liking the Euro Blue with the Blue cab at the moment. It's great with a bit of detune, rich hall reverb and dual delay.
 
Interesting...never tried any of the Euros. And had not considered a Plexi, though I am quite enamored of the Friedmans for certain things. That class of amp is one I never embraced in all these years for no good reason. Your preference?
 
I find humbuckers are easily dialed in, but my strat is a nightmare for rock. Too bassy...too much treble or end up with cocked wah tone. Still trying. My perfect tone would be the Lifeson Limelight tone...yeah I know the preset, but sounds nothing like it on my setup with QSC K12 as speaker
 
I find humbuckers are easily dialed in, but my strat is a nightmare for rock. Too bassy...too much treble or end up with cocked wah tone. Still trying. My perfect tone would be the Lifeson Limelight tone...yeah I know the preset, but sounds nothing like it on my setup with QSC K12 as speaker
Time for new pickups!
 
Time for new pickups!
Fair enough comment but when I had collection of 30 guitars ranging from Fender USA, SD, Dimarzio, custom oxygen free wired..you can see my point. Clean is a dream on the Axe, slight break up beautiful but go into hard driven on bridge can't nail it. I keep taking out middle range to bypass quack tone though. Cheers though mate
 
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