R.D.
Power User
With just about everyone else working on a V.H. I & II preset, I thought I’d take my turn …. I don’t have the ability to record either an audio track or video ( sorry ! ), so you’ll have to load it up and try it for yourself ….
Here’s a block-by-block description of what’s in the preset !
Finally …, almost daily I go back ‘n’ forth between the 1959SLP Jump and the Plexi 50W 6550 for the AMP Block as to which one is the closest to Eddie’s V.H. I / II tone ? To my ears, the 1959SLP has a little more mid-range push, but 50W 6650 is just a little smoother …. But truthfully, they BOTH have a very similar character, especially once you’ve made these changes: "edit" - I forgot to mention the 50W 6550 is channel B in the Amp block if you want to try it !
Oh one more thing, my guitar is an Alder body Strat w/a Roasted Maple neck. The bridge pickup is a humbucker ( hot PAF ), but it's also slanted ... !
Have fun with it, and I hope it translates to your guitar/playback system like it does to mine !
Here’s a block-by-block description of what’s in the preset !
- Wah – I didn’t try to match any of Eddie’s Wah settings/sounds ! Truthfully …, I just never learned any of the riffs from songs where he used it …, so I’m not even able to make a judgement ! I just like a throaty sound from my wahs, so that’s what I went for …. The pedal is set up for Pedal 2 plugged directly into the Axe-Fx III ( you’ll probably need to re-set that for whatever pedal position you’re using …..
- Phaser – from @guitarnerdswe ! This is absolutely Brilliant work …, very chewy just like the original pedal ! I think it’s the most up-to-date version from him as well …. fixed Phaser Preset below ....
- Flanger – also from @guitarnerdswe ! More brilliant work ! I couldn’t even come close to this with just my ears ! In fact, I can’t imagine the amount of work that went into matching this, as well as the Phaser !
- IR Player – no disrespect to @Admin M@ …, but the FET Preamp in the Drive Block doesn’t seem anywhere close to James Santiago’s IR of the EchoPlex EP-3 Preamp section ! At least not to my ears ( ? ) …. Matt said that if it were properly dialed-in, the Drive Block could probably perform even better than the IR …, but my 60 year old years just aren’t up to the task I guess ! "edit" I just attached James Santiago's IR of the Echoplex preamp to the post ! It's in Axe-Change, but now you don't have to search for it ....
- AMP – 1959SLP Jump …, just like “the man” used to set it up back in the day …, everything dimed ! Except the Bass …, probably because my guitar is pretty warm sounding to begin with …. YMMV !
- CAB – Here’s where it got interesting ( as well as frustrating ) …. Like almost everyone, I like to blend IR’s. I go for a combination of an SM-57 & R121 whenever I can, so that’s where I started …. I think I auditioned almost every Greenback cab in the Axe-Fx III ! I came up with three combinations, all with varying degrees of high-end fizz.
- Channel A – Factory 2 Cabs # 516 & 522 ( 4x12 70s GB 575A & 121A ). These produce the most-high end. The hi-cut is set at 10,K …, if the highs are too much just lower the Hi-Cut.
- Channel B – Factory 2 Cabs # 703 & 704 ( 4x12 Fractal GB 57 & 121 1 ). These have less high-end, but don’t ‘bark’ quite as hard. The Hi-Cut is set at 12,K …, you can try to open that up even more, but because it’s already pretty high, it doesn’t have much more effect.
- Channel C – Factory 2 Cabs # 757 & 759 ( 4x12 MAR-CB LYN 57 OH & 121 OH ). These have the least high-end. To the point that I needed to raise the Treble in the Preamp section of the Cab block to get it closer to what I was hearing with the other cabs ….
- Also, I set the preamps on FET II …. No ‘real’ reason other than I read somewhere that the console at Sunset Sound had FET preamps in the channel strips ?
- PEQ – I lifted this from @phil92 ( his 1978v2 preset ), it’s subtle but very effective ….
- Pitch – Simple Dual Pitch Detune -11 / +11 hard panned left & right. I actually like chorusing wo/ any of the ‘swoosh” ! This gets pretty close to the sound of Pretty Woman ( Diver Down ) !
- Comp – I’ve got it set to an Optical Compressor w/ very little actual compression. Basically it’s just “there” to even out my erratic technique ( and I’ve read that Donn Landee used an LA-2A on Eddie’s guitar ? ). You’ll most likely need to adjust the threshold to fit your own playing style ….
- Reverb – I used the Sun Plate. I always thought this was meant to be a recreation of the Reverb “room” at Sunset Studios ( ? ), plus it’s a little brighter than the other plate reverbs and the reverb in the recordings sounds pretty darn bright to me !
- Delay 1 – this is from @guitarnerdswe too ! All I did was to turn down the Feedback 1 to approx. 10%. It cleans it up for me. But if you want the original, it’s in Channel D !
- Mixer – I got this idea from @phil92 too ! I hard-pan the effects ( 100% right ), but not the guitar ( it’s only -60% or so left ), if you hard-pan the guitar it starts sounding really “metallic” to my ears ….
- Enhancer – You don’t really need it …, but I like how it widens the stereo image ( in my headphones anyway ), and brightens up the tone just a bit too. If you like what it does, but it’s too bright, try backing off the depth to your taste.
- Filter – I just use this to drop the volume by -3.0 dB for rhythm playing, then disengage it for leads ….
Finally …, almost daily I go back ‘n’ forth between the 1959SLP Jump and the Plexi 50W 6550 for the AMP Block as to which one is the closest to Eddie’s V.H. I / II tone ? To my ears, the 1959SLP has a little more mid-range push, but 50W 6650 is just a little smoother …. But truthfully, they BOTH have a very similar character, especially once you’ve made these changes: "edit" - I forgot to mention the 50W 6550 is channel B in the Amp block if you want to try it !
- Pwr Supply ( Variac ) = 72% - to simulate 90V ….
- Pwr Supply ( Supply Sag ) = 5.00 on the 1959 SLP and 3.20 on the Plexi 6550 ( basically I just double the sag ).
- Sepaker Imp. Curve = 4x12 Basketweave – seems to emphasize the mid-range just a little bit more ….
- Out Comp ( Gain Enhancer ) = 2.00 – without this …, it doesn’t seem like the amps have enough gain, this brings it up to sound much more like the recordings.
Oh one more thing, my guitar is an Alder body Strat w/a Roasted Maple neck. The bridge pickup is a humbucker ( hot PAF ), but it's also slanted ... !
Have fun with it, and I hope it translates to your guitar/playback system like it does to mine !
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