The Tone Thread

[Greg_L]

I don't think I listen to any bands that use 5150s actually. Most of them use Marshalls

Maybe live. No telling what happens in a studio. The 5150/6505 is a really versatile and popular studio amp across a bunch of rock genres.

[JD01]

I don't think I listen to any bands that use 5150s actually. Most of them use Marshalls

Maybe live. No telling what happens in a studio. The 5150/6505 is a really versatile and popular studio amp across a bunch of rock genres.

Did they do a 20W 5150? I think they did and I seem to remember looking for one to try before I got my H&K, but I know that I didn't find one and didn't try one out.

[JD01]

Maybe live. No telling what happens in a studio. The 5150/6505 is a really versatile and popular studio amp across a bunch of rock genres.

Did they do a 20W 5150? I think they did and I seem to remember looking for one to try before I got my H&K, but I know that I didn't find one and didn't try one out.

This is the one I was thinking of - seems really cheap too:
https://www.andertons.co.uk/peavey-6505 ... r-amp-head

[Greg_L]

Did they do a 20W 5150? I think they did and I seem to remember looking for one to try before I got my H&K, but I know that I didn't find one and didn't try one out.

The 6505/5150 line up are not bad amps. One's a Peavey and one's linked directly to EVH, but if you can get past those things, you got a good solid amp. I've plugged into bunches of them and they always sound and work well for gained up rock tones. And metal dudes seem to love them.

[Greg_L]

Ok here's a terrible OD shootout with the EVH 5150. As always, I do none of this stuff justice, but this is how I do it.

Gibson Les Paul Traditional - Muttpup PAF bridge
Marshall JMP 2204
Pres - 5
Bass - 6
Mid - 7
Treb - 5
Master Vol - 6
Preamp vol - 6
Marshall 1960A 4x12 - Celestion Greenbacks
Shure SM57 on axis, on grill, just outside dustcap.
No FX or EQ

First the baseline, amp all by itself

2204 baseline.mp3

Boss SD-1. Output Level 3:30 - Drive 8:00 - Tone - 12:00

2204 + SD1.mp3

Tube Screamer TS-9. Drive 9:00 - Output Level - 3:00 - Tone 12:00

2204 + TS9.mp3

EVH 5150. Output 1:00 - Bass 12:00 - Mid 11:00 - Treb - 11:00 - Drive 9:00

2204 + EVH5150.mp3

Have I ever mentioned how much I fucking hate pedals?

[WhiskeyJack]

Ok here's a terrible OD shootout with the EVH 5150. As always, I do none of this stuff justice, but this is how I do it.

Gibson Les Paul Traditional - Muttpup PAF bridge
Marshall JMP 2204
Pres - 5
Bass - 6
Mid - 7
Treb - 5
Master Vol - 6
Preamp vol - 6
Marshall 1960A 4x12 - Celestion Greenbacks
Shure SM57 on axis, on grill, just outside dustcap.
No FX or EQ

I can't say i love really any of them in contrast to your baseline tone, in a rhythm-always-on overdrive tone kind of way. I think of the ones you posted the TS9 would be my favorite always on OD sound. Having said that i REALLY like the 5150 and what it did to your bend / lead sounds. The right amount of drive sustain and feedback. That was pretty impressive. I liked the 5150 for that.

[Minerman]

Bass Tone Check! I don't know if you guys want to break out bass tones into their own thread or not but speak up if you do ?

The last bunch of songs i ever did the bass was always just DI and chuck a sim on it and call it a day becasue who really cares? no one is listening to the bass. But i kind of want it to sounds good now. I treat my bass like an ugly step child that lives under the stairs.

Today i spent pretty much all afternoon playing with my amps and some mics and i got this. I won't bore you with all the settings because i can promise none of you care. Except maybe @rayc I think he would care? He seems like a bass dude. Even so i am not going to bother. Keep in mind this is going into mostly punk rock , rock and roll up tempo songs.

Fender P-Bass> GK MBS-III > Traynor 2x10 >

I have the cab on it's side upper Eminence speaker is miced with an Apex- D1 mic on the seam of the cone and cap, and the lower speaker of the same species is miced with the e906 mid way up the cone 45deg off axis pointed toward the cap. this was the best results i got.

[mention]WhiskeyJack[/mention]
Going back a couple pages to catch up with you guys....Good bass tone Shan, impressive it's an actual mic'd bass, & even more impressive you got that much low end from a 10" speaker...Greg does great with his guitar cabs, so I'm convinced I gotta get on that train with you guys, this clip just reinforces it that much more...I usually go the ampsim route, but it's time to jump into this like you guys...
Well done...

Ok here we go. Some Recording Challenge #2 stuff! Also some feedback on the issue i had going on here in this thread.

Left:
LpJr>AD30>V30
Master 5
Treb 6
Mid 7
Bass 6
Gain 4

This track also features the Hantaun. It's cute little blue LED is on all the time.
Gain 0
Treble 1 o'clock
Output 2:30

Right:
Ibanez PF350 Bridge Humbucker>AD30>V30
Master 5
Treb 6
Mid 7
Bass 6
Gain 5

Both channels are mic'd exactly the same, but each is blended differently.

Unidyne 544: half a cm off grill and about 1cm Northwest of the seam of the cap and cone,
e906: mostly (idfk where the capsule is?) over the seam of cap and cone just shy a cm off the grill
57: halfway out the cone and a little more than a cm off the grill.

For the left channel i sort of aligned the SM57 phase with the 544 and then in the right i aligned it up with the e906 and things sounded a lot less nasaly then it did the other day. other than that there is no EQ applied to any of it is just fader blending.

[mention]WhiskeyJack[/mention]
Doing some more catch up here...Nothing at all wrong with these tones Shan, I'd be proud to pull these off man...IMHO, you sweat this stuff too much, kinda like the way I obsess over all this...It's all good dude, just keep on keepin' like you are & you'll be fine...

Is the p'up in your LpJr a P90??? If so, wanna thank you for giving me GAS for another guitar...I think one of the new double-cut Jr's in blue with P90's would look really good next to my strat & SG...

Great tones man...

Ok here's a terrible OD shootout with the EVH 5150. As always, I do none of this stuff justice, but this is how I do it.

Gibson Les Paul Traditional - Muttpup PAF bridge
Marshall JMP 2204
Pres - 5
Bass - 6
Mid - 7
Treb - 5
Master Vol - 6
Preamp vol - 6
Marshall 1960A 4x12 - Celestion Greenbacks
Shure SM57 on axis, on grill, just outside dustcap.
No FX or EQ

Have I ever mentioned how much I fucking hate pedals?

[mention]Greg_L[/mention]
The baseline clip is my pick out of 'em all dude, looking at the settings I'm gonna assume that was stupid loud, but that's how it's done, sounds a lot like Ace Frehley to me man...

It's a toss up for 2nd prize between the SD-1 & TS9, both are good, & both add their own thing, pretty much standard pedals for years...If I had to pick one over the other, I'd go with the SD-1 just because I'm partial to mine...I got a mini TS9 a few months ago & it's good, but I like the SD-1 better, that's just me though...

The EVH 5150 has it's own thing, but I'm not crazy about the "fuzzy around the edges" thing (I'm terrible at describing sounds), but I'm gonna bet you can dial that out with some time/tweaking...Just to be honest I expected it to sound a lot different than the other pedals, but again, time/tweaking could probably do that...Nothing at all wrong with the tone/clip, I'm not even sure you'd hear what I'm talking about in a full mix, & again, this is just a hillbilly's opinion over here...

BTW, you just upped the GAS level for a baby 800...Well done...

[JD01]

I like your bassline tone and I like the SD1, the SD1 is probably my favourite here actually.
The TS is alright, but there's something I don't like about it on this, nothing massive.

Don't like the 5150 at all - its got a real low scratchiness to it.

[Minerman]

I like your bassline tone and I like the SD1, the SD1 is probably my favourite here actually.
The TS is alright, but there's something I don't like about it on this, nothing massive.

Don't like the 5150 at all - its got a real low scratchiness to it.

That's what I was trying to say but I ain't worth a fuck at describing sounds...

I still think in a mix it wouldn't be as noticeable...

[JD01]

I like your bassline tone and I like the SD1, the SD1 is probably my favourite here actually.
The TS is alright, but there's something I don't like about it on this, nothing massive.

Don't like the 5150 at all - its got a real low scratchiness to it.

That's what I was trying to say but I ain't worth a fuck at describing sounds...

I still think in a mix it wouldn't be as noticeable...

Yeah - they'd probably all be fine. The 5150 might create a bit of muddiness but it would probably be fine.

[Greg_L]

Thanks [mention]WhiskeyJack[/mention] [mention]Minerman[/mention] [mention]JD01[/mention]

I really hate the EVH. Hate it. It sounds like ground up ass. All that harsh scratchy dirt and compression aggravates me. That right there is what I hate the most about Distortion/OD pedals. It doesn't sound too bad to me for the leads, but on rhythms it's pure garbage. And this is after trying to find a nice setting for it. Any more up the gain knob and it just gets worse. The TS9 and SD1 are true overdrives. They just push an already dirty amp into a sweet spot. I'm fine with both the TS9 and SD1, but the EVH just adds too much crap to the signal. It's too much for my liking.

I'll give it one more try into purely clean amp setting and see how it does for being the only dirt in the sound. Then it's back in the box for this stupid thing.

[JD01]

Thanks @WhiskeyJack @Minerman @JD01

I really hate the EVH. Hate it. It sounds like ground up ass. All that harsh scratchy dirt and compression aggravates me. That right there is what I hate the most about Distortion/OD pedals. It doesn't sound too bad to me for the leads, but on rhythms it's pure garbage. And this is after trying to find a nice setting for it. Any more up the gain knob and it just gets worse. The TS9 and SD1 are true overdrives. They just push an already dirty amp into a sweet spot. I'm fine with both the TS9 and SD1, but the EVH just adds too much crap to the signal. It's too much for my liking.

I'll give it one more try into purely clean amp setting and see how it does for being the only dirt in the sound. Then it's back in the box for this stupid thing.

I generally use my overdrives with either zero or very little gain. Pretty much always lower than 9 O'Clock. But then that's what I want - overdrive - I want them to overdrive the front end of the amp while adding a little bit of character.

[Greg_L]

I generally use my overdrives with either zero or very little gain. Pretty much always lower than 9 O'Clock. But then that's what I want - overdrive - I want them to overdrive the front end of the amp while adding a little bit of character.

Yes I know. That's how they should be used into an already dirty amp IMO. Just a boost. I've never heard a stompbox do anything good with it's gain turned up into an already overdriving amp. I occasionally use mine live during a lead or something, but never always on. Sometimes I don't even bring them to the gig. I never record with one always on. Ever. I've never heard one improve the tone of an amp that already sounds good. To me, my baseline clip murders the others. The lead bit sounds okay with the pedals boosting, but the rhythm section is best just amp by itself. I have all these standard ODs here and I really don't much like any of them.

But I have heard dirtboxes sound good into a clean platform. Maybe that's what the EVH is best suited for. I'll see later.

Or maybe I'm just not wired to get the best out of them. My bias and unwavering disdain for idiotboxes might be screwing me up!

[JD01]

I generally use my overdrives with either zero or very little gain. Pretty much always lower than 9 O'Clock. But then that's what I want - overdrive - I want them to overdrive the front end of the amp while adding a little bit of character.

Yes I know. That's how they should be used into an already dirty amp IMO. Just a boost. I've never heard a stompbox do anything good with it's gain turned up into an already overdriving amp. I occasionally use mine live during a lead or something, but never always on. Sometimes I don't even bring them to the gig. I never record with one always on. Ever. I've never heard one improve the tone of an amp that already sounds good. To me, my baseline clip murders the others. The lead bit sounds okay with the pedals boosting, but the rhythm section is best just amp by itself. I have all these standard ODs here and I really don't much like any of them.

But I have heard dirtboxes sound good into a clean platform. Maybe that's what the EVH is best suited for. I'll see later.

Or maybe I'm just not wired to get the best out of them. My bias and unwavering disdain for idiotboxes might be screwing me up!

I think it just depends what you want from your tone.
The inbuilt character (seems like its basically an EQ curve with extra tricks) of an O/D pedal tends to shelf off a bunch of lows to give you that tightened bottom end sound. I tend to chug away on powerchords with little bit more gain than you - I find that chugging away on powerchords with the gain level I like but no OD to tighten the bottom end can result in it sounding flubby.

Either way, that 5150 sounded hanging. It seemed to add a scratchy gain quite low down which doesn't sound like it would be good for anything.

[Greg_L]

I think it just depends what you want from your tone.

I want good clear open harmonically textured tone that blooms and breathes. Pedals take away from that every time. The EVH pedal outright kills it.

[JD01]

I think it just depends what you want from your tone.

I want good clear open harmonically textured tone that blooms and breathes. Pedals take away from that every time. The EVH pedal outright kills it.

The EVH seemed to be worst of all worlds in that respect.

[Greg_L]

The EVH seemed to be worst of all worlds in that respect.

I need to have a little talk with my buddy that raves about this thing. I should have known that anything made "in close cooperation with Eddie Van Halen" would be poop.

I must be using it wrong. I bet it has to be used in front of a clean amp.

[JD01]

I must be using it wrong. I bet it has to be used in front of a clean amp.

If its a Distortion pedal as opposed to an O/D pedal then its probably supposed to be used over a clean amp-in-a-box style. Like that pedal Revv released recently - that sounded great for a pedal when placed over a generic clean tone.

[Greg_L]

If its a Distortion pedal as opposed to an O/D pedal then its probably supposed to be used over a clean amp-in-a-box style. Like that pedal Revv released recently - that sounded great for a pedal when placed over a generic clean tone.

It's both. It's got output, gain, a boost, full EQ, and even a fucking gate on it. It can be either an OD or amp-in-a-box over a clean tone. Which is probably why it will be no good at either.

[WhiskeyJack]

I haven't touched the gain knob on that HanTaun i just got. When i played with it the gain doesn't sound overly great. Generic mushsquash gain sound that can be gotten from any Distortion Pedal. The magic on that thing is the blend of output and treble. If i possessed the ability to shred like all the youtube guys when they review stuff i might engage some gain on there, or if i ever want to get creative with some feedback i might dial it up a little bit. but i agree with who ever mentioned just leaving the gain at 0 and just bump the front end a little.

I find it really adds a little spit polish to my Jr avec le P90's without getting shitty.