Tone Chasing (help)

jlynnb1

jlynnb1

Axe-Master
I'm not usually one that chases certain tones, I know what I like and usually have no issue getting it, but this very simple tone is giving me a bit of a struggle in the Axe. Very simple EL84 Matchless Spitfire but I just can't nail it down. I can get in the ballpark, but there's just something around the notes themselves that I'm not replicating. Anyone have any ideas? I've tried the typical suspects but can't quite get it there. There are other videos of similar Matchless type tones but are usually just camera mics in the room, which can be misleading, picked this one because I love the tone and it's a mic'd cab, so it should be closer to what the Axe would get.

[video]https://youtu.be/lk-uFfnxzck?t=1m13s[/video]
 
Maybe the AC15, but not a 1x12 Blue IR? Hmm, not sure where to start with that. G12H maybe?

Nice, chewy single coil tone. Makes me wonder if he has the tone control rolled back a bit.

Lance's demos are always good. His fingers sell gear.
 
I'm not familiar with the Matchless Spitfire, but you might try amp #136 MATCHBOX D-30 (based on Matchless DC-30), or maybe amp #18 AC-20 DLX 12AX7 (based on Morgan AC20 Deluxe). The only Matchless I've tried in real life was based on a Vox AC30, so you might try the AC30's in the Axe FX also.
 
+ 1 on the AC15 as a template also sounds like he is also running a drive pedal of some kind pretty heavy on the gain, you can hear him step on it at 2:33 in the vid. Speaker looks looks like some sort of Celestion knock off and would agree on the G12 type then baste it in some verb and you should be real close.
 
I hadn't thought about the Morgan AC20 models. That might be worth a try too.

The drive sounds he's getting in that video almost sound like a nice, lower wind PAF, not single coil and not quite a P90, but still with the tone control rolled back. Even the clean sound has a nice smooth quality. So maybe he's using hotter singles, with tone rolled back a little, and the fingers.

Went back and watched the vid. Yeah, no way that's not a pedal. Knowing what pedal would help tremendously (probably some kind of tube screamer-type).
 
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Playing with fingers and has GraphTech Saddles and for all we know, maybe are Ghost Saddles bleeding piezo into the mix!
 
Wow loved that sound, what a great guitar player .. very tasty ..if you guys come up with a preset for the axe II I would very much want to dl it and try .. really liked it ..
 
All the times were great, but the basic clean time through the first half is really what I'm trying to nail down.
 
yeah, like I mentioned, I've tried all the EL84 amps and haven't been able to nail it, and it might just be a unique tone, that when you add his guitar to the mix it might be tough to match without. he's def a very good player, but style and touch wise isn't very different from how I play sometimes, so I'm taking the fingers aspect out of it.
 
Out of curiosity - have you tried the Mesa Mark V 25? It's getting good reviews here so I'm wondering if it's a cut above in this respect or still "just another" EL84 amp.
 
I'm not a Mesa person at all, never been able to vibe with them. Not really where I'd go for this kind of tone, personally. This is an AC type circuit into 84's.

Don't get me wrong, some of my fav players play Boogies and make them sound fantastic, I just can't make them work for me.
 
Wow! Here's to hoping someone can get it really close because that clean sound in the beginning is pure chocolatey goodness! Mmmm, mmm.
 
He has Ron Ellis pickups in the guitar. That makes a huge difference. And his hands really are that good. He sounds like that through anything. He did a Morgan's demo a while back that was insane. To me it definitely sounds like there is some room in there.
 
If you love this you should check out Duke Levine's discs. A trove of killer tones.

The reverb on this is awesome.
 
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