POLL: the single amp channel for set-and-forget

Which amp channel for "set-and-forget"?

  • PLEXI 50W 6CA7

    Votes: 46 40.4%

  • KOMET 60

    Votes: 1 0.9%

  • ODS-100 HRM

    Votes: 9 7.9%

  • WRECKER EXPRESS

    Votes: 9 7.9%

  • PRINCE TONE 5F2

    Votes: 4 3.5%

  • SHIVER CLEAN

    Votes: 7 6.1%

  • DIRTY SHIRLEY

    Votes: 8 7.0%

  • RUBY ROCKET

    Votes: 3 2.6%

  • BRIT 800 2203 HIGH

    Votes: 23 20.2%

  • SUHR BADGER 18

    Votes: 4 3.5%
  • Total voters
    114
Extending my tangent here...

I've long been a thick-ish "57" or "59" neck guy, and even the Pattern Regular on my PRS Singlecut is basically a '59 profile on the thinner side of the spectrum.

When I got my 1998 Navigator Explorer I quickly realized it wasn't so much a 50's Gibson replica (like my Navigator LP-380) but rather an ESP MX-220 in 50's clothes. And the slightly-wide slightly-slim neck had this crazy way of playing itself!!

So in my changeup from traditional LP's and Strats I also wanted to try some smaller neck profiles out on the cheap.

And I bought two PSR's!! (PoSeuR's)

They're 1995 Fernandes APG-100's that were built in Japan only for that initial model year, and also only for that initial year had full thickness deeply-carved maple tops with thick, 1-piece mahogany backs. I got both because I couldn't decide on the vintage yellow versus the very very dark transparent brown (my friend said it looked like a cockroach shell, and she wasn't wrong!) and they were only $400/ea!!!

The vintage yellow is definitely the "right" one in every way. Looks much better in person, is much louder and more lively, and the neck has significantly more meat and roundness on it with a nicely rounded fretboard. The dark brown neck was awkwardly thin and D-shaped for me.

It's a remarkable guitar, especially for $400. Like a Custom 24 with a tune-o-matic, maple neck, and 24.75" scale. In PRS terms I guess that'd stick it somewhere in between a CE, a 594 model and a Custom 24, but of course it's still it's own thing.

Super nice hand-built attention to detail. I especially like that they went through the trouble to do scraped maple "binding" on the edges of the headstock.
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Another one that I could play all night long: The Supremo Trem, with the Vibrato Lux 1x12. Man, what a magical combination that is....

Stack a couple drives in front, set to match the dry guitar volume decently, and you have a wonderful palette of tones.

PRESET LINK WITH SUPREMO TREM AND VIBRATO LUX 1x12
As usual, one pedal (FC1-P2) gets you through the basic stuff - Clean Dry ->blend-> Clean Chorus ->blend-> Clean Rotary, with Dirty (by classic rock standards) Lead at toe-down. There are momentary and latching switches for various fun stuff like momentary panning flange and delay runaway and latching "Led Dly" that sets up the delay on the lead or lets you give it to them dry. I even have duplicates of the latching Input Boost on/off, Griddle Cake on/off, and Klone on/off set up as momentary, which is useful in situations where you want to punch a single phrase or fill a bit. Comes in at 78% on standard non-Turbo FM9.... :)

Anyhoo, try not to get stuck playing that one all night.... :D
 
Joe Bfstplk said:
Another one that I could play all night long: The Supremo Trem, with the Vibrato Lux 1x12. Man, what a magical combination that is....

Stack a couple drives in front, set to match the dry guitar volume decently, and you have a wonderful palette of tones.

PRESET LINK WITH SUPREMO TREM AND VIBRATO LUX 1x12
As usual, one pedal (FC1-P2) gets you through the basic stuff - Clean Dry ->blend-> Clean Chorus ->blend-> Clean Rotary, with Dirty (by classic rock standards) Lead at toe-down. There are momentary and latching switches for various fun stuff like momentary panning flange and delay runaway and latching "Led Dly" that sets up the delay on the lead or lets you give it to them dry. I even have duplicates of the latching Input Boost on/off, Griddle Cake on/off, and Klone on/off set up as momentary, which is useful in situations where you want to punch a single phrase or fill a bit. Comes in at 78% on standard non-Turbo FM9.... :)

Anyhoo, try not to get stuck playing that one all night.... :D
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Thanks! I’m definitely going to try that out.
 
Never found it satisfactory to set-and-forget with real amplifiers or the Axe FX, when performing live or recording in multiple venues. That’s why these things have controls. A great amp (and Fractal gear) should clean up relatively, using the guitar controls.

I have multiple guitars, mostly Gibsons, Fenders, and PRS, and a few others. All span from 1957 to 2016-ish. I don’t set and forget these either.

This thread somehow took a tangent into modern, 50’s, and treble-bleed wiring. Depends upon how you use your guitar. I’ve tried all three, and eventually gravitated and settled the problem with 50’s wiring. I constantly use my volume and tone controls. “Fifties” wiring preserves the natural high frequencies at low volume, and doesn’t emphasize unnaturally shrill treble at full volume.

Not suggesting any of this is best for others. This is some sort of survey, so these are my answers.
 
For me I have landed on this and have been very happy with it and how I use it.

PLEXI 50W HIGH 1 (1967 50W Marshall Plexi)
I voted for "PLEXI 50W 6CA7"

I have my EV-1 expression pedal control these at the same time:
Input trim from .3 to 1.3 (this give me a nice wide range of gain!)
A sight reduction in Treble in the last 25% of pedal travel
A volume boost of 3.3 in the last 25% of pedal travel.

I use to really struggle trying to set up scenes to do this, really years of experimenting.

I recently added CS1 to activate the Mid Boost @ 3 in the amp block. It really adds another flavor!

I use treble bleed on all my guitars, along with custom vintage taper CTS pots from MojoTone.
 
Sixstring said:
Yes but I think it leans more toward the JTM series with the warmer lows when you roll back whereas a Plexi thins out somewhat and that what I like most about the Dirty Shirley!
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Ah, I totally had not thought of it that way. Yes, I think you're right. The Dirty Shirley was the first amp that really hooked me in on the Axe-FX III. I used it for a while, but I left it alone for too long. I'm about to set up a guitar I haven't played in a few years, and this is piquing my interest now to see how it pairs with this amp again. Tonal adventure!
 
State of Epicicity said:
Ah, I totally had not thought of it that way. Yes, I think you're right. The Dirty Shirley was the first amp that really hooked me in on the Axe-FX III. I used it for a while, but I left it alone for too long. I'm about to set up a guitar I haven't played in a few years, and this is piquing my interest now to see how it pairs with this amp again. Tonal adventure!
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I started a thread in the FM9 section Anyone else digging the Dirty Shirley 2 that didn't get much traction so I guess there aren't many that like it that much :rolleyes: but to be fair I'm using it in for a different type of music (P&W) that works very well!
 
It’s an interesting survey. I voted for the Ruby Rocket. I have basically the same preset tailored for my guitars and they’re the only presets I don’t tweak. Everything else I constantly screw with but the Ruby presets are just done. 4 channels of successively higher gain and I can stay on any of the 4 for hours working the guitar controls.

I have treble bleeds on all but one guitar. Going to try the 50’s setup on that one. It’s a Junior with a single P90.
 
Sixstring said:
As of late I have been playing the DS2 I really like the way it cleans up in the neck position. The Plexi is always a good go but to it's pretty hard to pick just one as there are so many great NMV sims.
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For whatever reason I’ve never bonded with a plexi model. I’ve never really played a real one so I don’t know what I’m missing.
 
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