The Tone Thread

[Greg_L]

But really, all we want to know is how the music sounds coming out of that new purple box of yours...

Lol. It will probably sound pretty much like all the other shit I do.

[Bubba]

Or really good.

Can you think of an example? Surely it just sounds like out of tune chaos... and not in a good way.

Joey Santiago -everything
John McGeoch - lots of stuff but particularly "Permafrost" solo

[Tadpui]

Its not a fast or tricky lead - I think the only reason I double tracked it originally was 'cos I hadn't yet discovered sticking delay on lead guitar - and now I've kind of got used to it being double tracked. No bends in it either - inaccurate bending is great for making double tracked guitar sound comically bad!

I've always loved the dual solo from No More Shoes by Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks. It's a very loose extended solo with 2 guitars that bounce between unison and doing their own thing. Actually there are 2 extended solos in that song. They're definitely not tightly doubled, and I like them a lot.

In some of Elliott Smith's later studio stuff, he did a lot of double/triple/however many tracked rhythm and solo stuff. He actually liked to tune one guitar a little sharp when doubling and panning. I think it works on his stuff, but I'm not brave enough to intentionally start knocking things out of tune. I'm thinking Coast To Coast and Amity are songs where he does that, but I'll have to go back and listen to remember for sure.

[JD01]

Its not a fast or tricky lead - I think the only reason I double tracked it originally was 'cos I hadn't yet discovered sticking delay on lead guitar - and now I've kind of got used to it being double tracked. No bends in it either - inaccurate bending is great for making double tracked guitar sound comically bad!

I've always loved the dual solo from No More Shoes by Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks. It's a very loose extended solo with 2 guitars that bounce between unison and doing their own thing. Actually there are 2 extended solos in that song. They're definitely not tightly doubled, and I like them a lot.

In some of Elliott Smith's later studio stuff, he did a lot of double/triple/however many tracked rhythm and solo stuff. He actually liked to tune one guitar a little sharp when doubling and panning. I think it works on his stuff, but I'm not brave enough to intentionally start knocking things out of tune. I'm thinking Coast To Coast and Amity are songs where he does that, but I'll have to go back and listen to remember for sure.

Elliott Smith was pretty much the definition of acoustic home recording genius... he could get away with that shit.

[Greg_L]

Okay fuckers, here's the very first round of what I assume will be many many exploratory sound clips of the AB763 Deluxe Reverb kit build....which I will hereby officially name the Deluxe Retard.

This is pretty much the first that I've fired up and really pushed it.

This set of clips will feature just the "Normal Channel". No reverb or tremolo on this channel. It's just a basic no-frills channel.

This first sound clip is five little sections spanning from 2 to 10 on the volume, going by twos. First riff is on 2, second riff is on 4, third on 6, etc.

Gibson SG - My signature Mutt G90 bridge pickup
Deluxe Retard - Normal Channel high input - bright switch on
Volume - varied
Bass - 5
Treble - 5
Marshall 1960B 4x12 - Celestion G12H30
Senn e609 on axis, on grill, dustcap/cone seam - Shure SM57 on axis, on grill, halfway across cone
50/50 mic blend
No EQ or FX in DAW

(Clip is too big for the site upload - just right click and save as or listen in the dropbox window)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/4v1aqeh1zwa29 ... 7.mp3?dl=0


And here, because why not, is a clip with a.....Strat? Fuck. It was just sitting here.
Volume on 5 for both of these clips, used low input on first clip, high input on second. Same setup as above.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/69lvro7j1oe38 ... 7.mp3?dl=0


So there's the first run through of the Normal Channel. See what you think.

[JD01]

Well that was suitably epic, I really liked volume 6, but liked 8 more! By the time it got to 10 it sounded like it was starting to get a bit too mushy! Like it was properly going into meltdown.
You've gotta be really pleased with that! Sounds amazing. I reckon volume on 7 with a boost will be my favorite!

[Greg_L]

Well that was suitably epic, I really liked volume 6, but liked 8 more! By the time it got to 10 it sounded like it was starting to get a bit too mushy! Like it was properly going into meltdown.
You've gotta be really pleased with that! Sounds amazing. I reckon volume on 7 with a boost will be my favorite!

Thanks dude. Yeah I kind of like it best around 6-ish myself. I'm most pleased that even on 10 it behaved normally. Nothing bad or weird happened with it giving all it's got. That was pretty cool. I like the crunch in it. I didn't expect to like the Normal Channel this much. Pretty cool.

I'm gonna grab the Hallmark Mosrite clone and do the other channel next. That's what this amp is really all about.

[JD01]

Well that was suitably epic, I really liked volume 6, but liked 8 more! By the time it got to 10 it sounded like it was starting to get a bit too mushy! Like it was properly going into meltdown.
You've gotta be really pleased with that! Sounds amazing. I reckon volume on 7 with a boost will be my favorite!

Thanks dude. Yeah I kind of like it best around 6-ish myself. I'm most pleased that even on 10 it behaved normally. Nothing bad or weird happened with it giving all it's got. That was pretty cool. I like the crunch in it. I didn't expect to like the Normal Channel this much. Pretty cool.

I'm gonna grab the Hallmark Mosrite clone and do the other channel next. That's what this amp is really all about.

Yeah - I couldn't decide between 6 and 8... 8 just edged it for me 'cos it was a bit more saturated without starting to flub... and I prefer The Damned.
It didn't sound bad on any of the other settings though, even on 10, while it sounded like an amp going into meltdown it didn't sound horrible like my Blackstar when I really pushed it.

[Greg_L]

Yeah - I couldn't decide between 6 and 8... 8 just edged it for me 'cos it was a bit more saturated without starting to flub... and I prefer The Damned.

That was a Buzzcocks song.

[JD01]

Yeah - I couldn't decide between 6 and 8... 8 just edged it for me 'cos it was a bit more saturated without starting to flub... and I prefer The Damned.

That was a Buzzcocks song.

haha, of course it was! I was singing along with it but somehow called it Elouise in my head!

[Minerman]

Okay fuckers, here's the very first round of what I assume will be many many exploratory sound clips of the AB763 Deluxe Reverb kit build....which I will hereby officially name the Deluxe Retard.

This is pretty much the first that I've fired up and really pushed it.

This set of clips will feature just the "Normal Channel". No reverb or tremolo on this channel. It's just a basic no-frills channel.

This first sound clip is five little sections spanning from 2 to 10 on the volume, going by twos. First riff is on 2, second riff is on 4, third on 6, etc.

Gibson SG - My signature Mutt G90 bridge pickup
Deluxe Retard - Normal Channel high input - bright switch on
Volume - varied
Bass - 5
Treble - 5
Marshall 1960B 4x12 - Celestion G12H30
Senn e609 on axis, on grill, dustcap/cone seam - Shure SM57 on axis, on grill, halfway across cone
50/50 mic blend
No EQ or FX in DAW

And here, because why not, is a clip with a.....Strat? Fuck. It was just sitting here.

Volume on 5 for both of these clips, used low input on first clip, high input on second. Same setup as above.
So there's the first run through of the Normal Channel. See what you think.

Sounds good so far dude, I know you're still learning what the amp will/won't do, but I think it suits your style pretty good...I say damn good job on the build man, seems like it's pretty quiet even when the volume is jacked up...

It doesn't have the bark & bite your other amps have, but that's the whole point of this one, right???

I say mission accomplished...

[Greg_L]

Sounds good so far dude, I know you're still learning what the amp will/won't do, but I think it suits your style pretty good...I say damn good job on the build man, seems like it's pretty quiet even when the volume is jacked up...

It doesn't have the bark & bite your other amps have, but that's the whole point of this one, right???

I say mission accomplished...

Ha thanks man. No, this is not a cranked Marshall. Different animal. And this won't be a use-all-the-time amp either, but it was a good project and one I've always wanted. I'm just thrilled that it works and sounds like it should.

[muttley]

I cant count but it definitely starts to get my interest tone wise from around 2.55.....

[Minerman]

Ha thanks man. No, this is not a cranked Marshall. Different animal. And this won't be a use-all-the-time amp either, but it was a good project and one I've always wanted. I'm just thrilled that it works and sounds like it should.

Yes, a different animal was the whole point, right??? Mission accomplished dude...

To me, the Fender clean/slight breakup is just an iconic sound as the cranked Marshall roar...I bet you could throw a drive pedal in front of it & it'd sound great too...Pretty impressive watching you take all the parts out of the box, assemble it, & have tones like this...
Good job dude...



I threw my EVH head & 4x12 on the chopping block again, but haven't gotten any bites on either of 'em...If I can sell both of 'em, I could get another Chupacabra, but the cab is gonna be a problem to sell IMO...It just costs so much to ship the damn thing, I don't think anyone will bother...Time will tell I suppose...I'd thought about calling a couple shops that are about an hour or so drive to see how much they'd give me for 'em, but I'd say they'd rape me like Guitar Center, so I'm not sure about doing that...

I've also been looking pretty hard at the Ceriatone Son of Yeti...From what I can tell, it's basically the Chupa pre-amp (with the era & gain switches) with 6V6 power tubes...It's also about $5-600 cheaper, but, it's a little amp...

Time will tell I suppose, but the EVH rig is basically collecting dust...I do use the cab, but I still have my Bastard 4x12, so I don't think I'd miss it, but I know I wouldn't miss the EVH head...

[rayc]

The 1st set sound pretty cool - tones that anyone recording would be happy with if they weren't a Marshall addict. Fallin' In Love sounded spot on - and not of the FYC version.
Strat set - my that is spanky bright. That would be great for some songs.

[Greg_L]

I cant count but it definitely starts to get my interest tone wise from around 2.55.....

Yeah that would be "8" on the dial. I like it too. I think I liked 6 just a little better, but these are early tests. I'm really pretty happy with it all right now. It fucking works.

Yes, a different animal was the whole point, right??? Mission accomplished dude...

To me, the Fender clean/slight breakup is just an iconic sound as the cranked Marshall roar...I bet you could throw a drive pedal in front of it & it'd sound great too...Pretty impressive watching you take all the parts out of the box, assemble it, & have tones like this...
Good job dude...

Thanks bud.

I threw my EVH head & 4x12 on the chopping block again, but haven't gotten any bites on either of 'em...If I can sell both of 'em, I could get another Chupacabra, but the cab is gonna be a problem to sell IMO...It just costs so much to ship the damn thing, I don't think anyone will bother...Time will tell I suppose...I'd thought about calling a couple shops that are about an hour or so drive to see how much they'd give me for 'em, but I'd say they'd rape me like Guitar Center, so I'm not sure about doing that...

I've also been looking pretty hard at the Ceriatone Son of Yeti...From what I can tell, it's basically the Chupa pre-amp (with the era & gain switches) with 6V6 power tubes...It's also about $5-600 cheaper, but, it's a little amp...

Time will tell I suppose, but the EVH rig is basically collecting dust...I do use the cab, but I still have my Bastard 4x12, so I don't think I'd miss it, but I know I wouldn't miss the EVH head...

Man if you didn't live in the asspit of nowhere your shit would sell fast. Just hang in there man.

I've heard good things about the Son of Yeti. I think it's maybe a little darker than the Chupa? Maybe? Maybe that's the 6V6s at work. I don't know. But if it's got the same preamp as the Chupa, that's most of the battle right there.

The 1st set sound pretty cool - tones that anyone recording would be happy with if they weren't a Marshall addict. Fallin' In Love sounded spot on - and not of the FYC version.
Strat set - my that is spanky bright. That would be great for some songs.

Thanks Ray. Yeah pretty happy with it so far. I'm even okay with the Strat clip...but it's back on the stand now for another year of neglect.

[liv_rong]

I will listen once get some time in front of my monitors. Maybe this evening I hope, I want to hear this thing.

[Lt. Bob]

quick observations.

I liked high input on 5 best ..... because the point of this is a Fender type sound right?
That's what sounded most like a Fender to me.
Put a nice 'verb on that and you're squarely in blackface territory.

The clips with it being driven harder sound like someone driving a Fender hard to try and get a more marshally rock sound because they don't own a Marshall.
I can't see why anyone with all the marshalls you have would ever want that flubby Fender sound instead.

The high input on 5 though ...... that's tight up my clean alley

[Greg_L]

quick observations.

I liked high input on 5 best ..... because the point of this is a Fender type sound right?
That's what sounded most like a Fender to me.
Put a nice 'verb on that and you're squarely in blackface territory.

The clips with it being driven harder sound like someone driving a Fender hard to try and get a more marshally rock sound because they don't own a Marshall.
I can't see why anyone with all the marshalls you have would ever want that flubby Fender sound instead.

The high input on 5 though ...... that's tight up my clean alley

Yup, this thing could never replicate or replace my Marshalls. That's not what it's for. I'm just showing what it does on that channel.

[Greg_L]

Alrighty then....time for the business side of this amp. This is why I wanted to build this amp.

Not much direction or organization in these clips. I just stood in front of it and twiddled the dials on the Vibrato channel.

Hallmark 60 Custom - Fat Pig bridge pickup
Deluxe Retard - Vibrato channel - bright switch off
Bass and Treble - mostly around 5
Volume - all over the place
Reverb - pretty much everywhere
Tremolo - comes and goes
Marshall 1960B 4x12 - Celestion G12H30
MXL R144 ribbon mic dead center about 6" off grill
No EQ or FX in DAW. All amp, cab, mic, ears.

This first one starts pretty timid and gets a little more ridiculous at the end.

Hlmrk DR vibch G12H30 R144 1.mp3

This one goes full retard. Max reverb, a bit of big volume, and back to kind of normal.

Hlmrk DR vibch G12H30 R144 2.mp3

This one introduces the amp tremolo. Fast, slow, intense, mild...and more reverb.

Hlmrk DR vibch G12H30 R144 3.mp3