making clean amps dirty

clarky

clarky

Axe-Master
been having a lot of fun of late dirtying up the low gain / clean amps [without a drive block]..

some of the tones have been surprisingly good..
amps like the 5153Green, Herbert ch2-, VH4ch2, 65 Bassman to name but a few..
just really crank them and turn the boost on..

of course they don't get all friendly and compressed like the natural hi-gainers…
so you really have to 'make it happen'..
but there's something really interesting with this type of gain that I've never explored very much before..

ok.. so I'm guessing this is old news to a lot of you guys..
but for a mindless shredder like me, this is a whole tone space to explore..
and I'm having so much fun with it..
 
Great stuff Clarky! I'm guessing that you're cranking Power Amp supply sag and maybe doing a bit of transformer mismatch here.
Nice to get back to the basics and get great tones THEN maybe add effects etc for different songs.
Kinda reminds me of Bernie Marsden .... Player + nice old guitar + any Marshall type amp/cab ...........result......Magic:)
 
i have been also getting great results just using the amp block, as jazz1956 mentioned xformer match helps alot...some low cut in preamp and lot of mids. for me the essential part is also to set the EQ page in amp block to pre power amp and cut the lows and add some mids. its not only great distorion but also right away mix ready tone with ac30s, marshalls or fenders.

last days i have been thinking it even sounds better than using a drive block.
 
interesting… so far I've not touched anything with these amps beyond the basic page and the GEQ page….
just dialling in hot combinations of input-drive, tone stack EQ and MV with the boost switch on..

sounds easy don't it.. but finding that sweet spot combination can take a little time..
what I'm looking for in the basic page is the right characteristic of the tone's gain even if the EQ isn't quite right..
cos then I'll fix up the EQ after - dialling in what's missing / cutting what's in excess - in the GEQ page
generally this has meant boosting the lowest 2 bands and the 2k and 4k bands..
and making a little cut in the 500 band

fx wise I've just been using the 'room' in the cab block..

the result I've been looking for is the sort of tone that'd make you deaf if this was a real amp making it… lmao
 
I completely agree- that boost switch can really turn a clean, pretty amp into a beast- Any time I play around with my Strat, I end up landing on a low to medium gain amp with the boost turned on. Give the Hiwatt or the Dr. Z Rt. 66 a try with it. They don't compress too much, but it's a really juicy, tactile feel and tone. It's great stuff!!!
 
I have a preset with a Prince tone rev with gain set around 5-6, B~3.5 T~7 and I hit it with a rat with the gain around 7. Sounds killer.
 
just finished recording the rhythm guitars for this session I'm working on..
it's not metal.. certainly rock though.. and really quite a powerful piece..
it's a big fat rock ballad with a full orchestra, acoustics, electrics.. and the kitchen sink…

in the left corner we have the boosted Herbert ch2-
and in the right corner we have the boosted 5153Green

holy mother of fk ! !
just listened to the whole piece and it made my hair stand on end…
 
frankyandreas said:
No joke, I did this with a blues junior/4x12 Basketweave and no other blocks today. Actually sounds fairly metal.
Click to expand...

judging by what I've been stumbling upon over the last couple of weeks..
I absolutely believe you..
when you mix things up and do the unexpected, some surprising gems pop up..

this takes me back to my core mantra..

stupidity is the path to innovation.. lol..
it's never let me down yet.. lmao
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom