The Tone Thread

[Greg_L]

I know you like this too - you stick every knob on 5 and the amp just sounds good... then you can just make small adjustments from there.
One of the things I struggled with the Blackstar was that I was using quite extreme EQ settings to get close to where I wanted to be.

That JCM 800 2210 is the same way. You have to do all kinds of EQ knob shenanigans just to make it passable. Fuck that. If I can't put all the knobs somewhere around 5-7 and have it sound great all by itself then either something is wrong or the amp just isn't right for me.

[Greg_L]

Quick directionless tone test with the new reverb pedal.

Gibson Les Paul - Muttbucker PAF bridge
TC Electronic Drip Spring Reverb
Marshall 1987x 50w Plexi
Presence - 4
Bass - 7
Mid - 7
Treb - 5
Volume - 4
PPIMV - about 70%
Marshall 1960B 4x12 Celestion Vintage 30
Senn MD421 center + Shure SM57 just outside dust cap
Both mics about 2" off grill, on axis, 50/50 blend
No FX or EQ

This is truly directionless dicking around. Starts out as amp only, then I kick the pedal on, play a few shitty licks, and tweak pedal knobs between licks.

TCDrip.mp3

[JD01]

That pedal doesn't sound bad at all... especially considering you've done a punk version of the Munsters theme in the past.
It certainly sounds suitably twangy and 50s!

[Greg_L]

That pedal doesn't sound bad at all... especially considering you've done a punk version of the Munsters theme in the past.
It certainly sounds suitably twangy and 50s!

Yeah it's not terrible. It's not as good as the real tube reverb in my kit build, but I think this is certainly passable for a drippy spring sound from other amps.

[JD01]

Those bargain TC pedals are about 35 quid I think... which isn't bad at all.

[Greg_L]

Those bargain TC pedals are about 35 quid I think... which isn't bad at all.

Two things I don't like about it:
1) It's bigger than the average stompbox
2) The button doesn't 'click' on and off.

[Lt. Bob]

sounds pretty good ...... kinda sounds like the reverb in old Silvertone amps.
A quick decay at the end of its trails.

[WhiskeyJack]

Quick directionless tone test with the new reverb pedal.

Gibson Les Paul - Muttbucker PAF bridge
TC Electronic Drip Spring Reverb
Marshall 1987x 50w Plexi
Presence - 4
Bass - 7
Mid - 7
Treb - 5
Volume - 4
PPIMV - about 70%
Marshall 1960B 4x12 Celestion Vintage 30
Senn MD421 center + Shure SM57 just outside dust cap
Both mics about 2" off grill, on axis, 50/50 blend
No FX or EQ

This is truly directionless dicking around. Starts out as amp only, then I kick the pedal on, play a few shitty licks, and tweak pedal knobs between licks.
TCDrip.mp3

Nothing at all wrong with that man. if you are using it on dirt tones it just works. I like the quick decay. it has a very old vintage sound to it. next time i sit with my amps i'll have to do a tone test with my mini holy grail. I don't think that i ever did one of those for you dudes.

[Lt. Bob]

I've been curious about that Holy Grail.

[WhiskeyJack]

I've been curious about that Holy Grail

i just have the little nano one. I got it to add to my tone but the AD30 doesn't have an effects loop so it just kind of sounded shit in my chain. But i got that little traynor that does have an effects loop and it isn't so bad. it's fun. I guess i'll do a demo of it in the coming weeks for you turkeys.

[Lt. Bob]

For amp verb I have a Mesa Blue Angel and according to Mesa one of their prime design goal was the reverb and it has an absolutely glorious reverb.

I have a TC Hall of Fame which is nice and besides the digital stuff in the studio I have one of these:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Fostex-Reverb- ... 0005.m1851

[Greg_L]

Nothing at all wrong with that man. if you are using it on dirt tones it just works. I like the quick decay. it has a very old vintage sound to it. next time i sit with my amps i'll have to do a tone test with my mini holy grail. I don't think that i ever did one of those for you dudes.

sounds pretty good ...... kinda sounds like the reverb in old Silvertone amps.
A quick decay at the end of its trails.

I think it's pretty good for what I need it for - the "drip". It's not a good overall reverb. But it is good for that slapback drippy spring reverb sound. That's the only kind of reverb I like on guitar.

[Minerman]

Okay last tones with this thing and it's going back to it's rightful owner.

Max gain!

Same setup as before. Cut some of the woofy muck out of it.
Marshall JCM 800 2210 - lead channel
Presence - 6
Bass - 3.5
Mid - 6
Treb - 7
Gain - 10
Channel and master vol - 5


Max gain, plus Boss SD-1 set as clean boost. Max level, no drive, tone @ 10:00



And this amp has a normal channel. Most people call it a "clean channel" but it's not fucking clean at all. Normal is a better word for it. It's more like a classic Marshall than the lead side of the amp. No mid control though. Weird.
Bass - 7
Treble - 7
Volume - 5

And the amp has reverb, but I didn't bother with it because it truly sucks. I don't know how Marshall fucked up a tube driven spring reverb, but they did on this amp, or it just doesn't work properly which wouldn't be surprising.

So there it is, the less-mighty split-channel JCM 800 2210. My 2203 and 2204 are over here laughing at this thing.

Doing some catch-up here...I think these tones are a little better than the previous, but they still aren't up with your 2204/2203 tones IMO...WTF did they (Marshall) do to this amp dude??? Seems to me, they had it "right" with the 2203/2204, but fucked it all up adding the "extra" stuff, when they should've just left it the fuck alone...

This narrows any kind of search I'd ever do for a JCM 800 & will definitely be remembered if I ever decide to seriously consider finding an old/original 800...

[Minerman]

Quick directionless tone test with the new reverb pedal.

Gibson Les Paul - Muttbucker PAF bridge
TC Electronic Drip Spring Reverb
Marshall 1987x 50w Plexi
Presence - 4
Bass - 7
Mid - 7
Treb - 5
Volume - 4
PPIMV - about 70%
Marshall 1960B 4x12 Celestion Vintage 30
Senn MD421 center + Shure SM57 just outside dust cap
Both mics about 2" off grill, on axis, 50/50 blend
No FX or EQ

This is truly directionless dicking around. Starts out as amp only, then I kick the pedal on, play a few shitty licks, and tweak pedal knobs between licks.

More catch-up here...

Not something I'm used to hearing from the Gerg, but this pedal does sound kinda like the old reverb sounds I remember from my gigging days...At times the 'verb is just way over the top, but I get it, Gerg was just dicking around...

Sounds pretty natural at times dude, so I'd say that pedal is a winner for you, & even more so because it was cheap...

[Greg_L]

Doing some catch-up here...I think these tones are a little better than the previous, but they still aren't up with your 2204/2203 tones IMO...WTF did they (Marshall) do to this amp dude??? Seems to me, they had it "right" with the 2203/2204, but fucked it all up adding the "extra" stuff, when they should've just left it the fuck alone...

This narrows any kind of search I'd ever do for a JCM 800 & will definitely be remembered if I ever decide to seriously consider finding an old/original 800...

Yeah the amp is a weird animal. Some people love them. I'm not one of those people. Joey Santiago of the Pixies uses one and he sounds awesome. He's also an effects guy, so maybe he's masking the bad with effects.

I also strongly believe that something is not quite right with it. I know it's got some kind of issue because it was cutting out the other day at practice. The volume was fading up and down. So that could definitely contribute to it's shit tone.

More catch-up here...

Not something I'm used to hearing from the Gerg, but this pedal does sound kinda like the old reverb sounds I remember from my gigging days...At times the 'verb is just way over the top, but I get it, Gerg was just dicking around...

Sounds pretty natural at times dude, so I'd say that pedal is a winner for you, & even more so because it was cheap...

Yeah I'm liking it. It'll do what I need it to do.

[Minerman]

Ok, here's a mix clip with the Phase 95 on the lead guitar...Probably not what you guys are used to, or expect, so I'll post the raw tracks later tonight....

Signal chain:
Strat bridge HB > Phase 95 (lead gtr only) > Chupacabra > attenuator > G12H > SM57

• Resonance...: 2
  Presence.....: 6
  Bass..........: 6
  Middle........: 3
  Treble........: 6
  Master........: 8
  Gain 2........: 2.5
  Gain 1........: 2.7
  ERA...........: modern
  Bright 2.......: L
  Bright 1.......: off
  Focus..........:off

***Lead guitar only***Phase 95: 3 - 4 (speed) blue led (Phase 45 mode), script off

Same settings & mic placement for all the guitars except the lead part, I just turned Gain 2 up to "5"

Attenuator on "10" (this little thing attenuates a little, even when the volume is dimed, which it was for these tracks)...

There are effects on all the guitars (reverb on rhythm, reverb/chorus/delay/phase on lead), but again, I'll post the raw tracks later tonight...

Phase 95 MIX 9-14-2019.mp3

Lemme know what you guys think, not only the guitars, but the whole mix...

[Minerman]

Ok, here are the raw tracks from the little mix clip I just posted...No effects on 'em other than the lead/slide, which has the Phase 95 that was ran straight into the front of the amp...All the other jibberish in the mix clip was added in the daw, so here's what the mic actually captured with no trickery...

Signal chain:

Strat Hard Head Bridge HB > Phase 95 (lead gtr only) > Chupacabra > Bugera PS1 attenuator > G12H > SM57

• Resonance...: 2
  Presence.....: 6
  Bass..........: 6
  Middle........: 3
  Treble........: 6
  Master........: 8
  Gain 2........: 2.5
  Gain 1........: 2.7
  ERA...........: modern
  Bright 2.......: L
  Bright 1.......: off
  Focus..........:off

***Slide guitar only***

• Phase 95:
  Speed (Phase 45 mode): 3-ish
  Script.....................: off

Same settings & mic placement for all the guitars except the lead part, I just turned Gain 2 up to "5"

Attenuator on "10"

GTR 1 - Strat _ Chupa _ G12H _ SM57 - 9-14-2019.mp3

GTR 2 - Strat _ Chupa _ G12H _ SM57 - 9-14-2019.mp3

SLIDE GTR - Strat _ Chupa _ G12H _ SM57 - 9-14-2019.mp3

The Bugera PS1 attenuates a little, even when the volume is dimed, which is kind of a pain if I wanted to A/B the non-attenuated tone vs. using the attenuator, but, really for what I paid for it ($100 brand new), I can't complain...It seems to work well & doesn't color the tone very much if any at all...We'll have to wait & see how durable it is, but as long as it doesn't fuck an amp up if it were to shit the bed, it's cheap enough not to matter, to me anyway...

The MXR Phase 95 Mini is a cool little pedal...It has 4 modes: Phase 90, Phase 90 "script", Phase 45, Phase 45 "script" & is actually pretty versatile...The Phase 45 mode is more subtle than the Phase 90, & the "script" button makes it a little more subtle...Overall, I'm happy with it, it's basically 4 phasers in one, tiny little package...It even came with it's own power supply, which I thought was stellar...Highly recommended...

I have found a glitch in my setup though, something I was leery of when I pulled the trigger on it: the One Spot daisy chain power supply...Granted, it was only $30 & I kinda noticed it all those months ago, but it became crystal clear a few days ago that I'm gonna have to buy a proper, isolated power brick to run all these pedals...Right now, I'm just using one at a time, but if I hook 'em all up, there's some pretty bad noise that ain't there without the One Spot...Oh well, nothing that can't be taken care of...

[rayc]

The slide isn't paying nicely in my neck of the woods - the other two were fine.

[Minerman]

The slide isn't paying nicely in my neck of the woods - the other two were fine.

It plays fine for me, but let's try another upload here in another post...Sometimes the uploads go wonky for reasons unknown...

SLIDE GTR - Strat _ Chupa _ G12H _ SM57 - 9-14-2019.mp3

Let's see if this works better Sir Ray...

[Minerman]

The slide isn't paying nicely in my neck of the woods - the other two were fine.

Is the other clip I uploaded any better Ray????

FWIW, the Phase pedal sounds kinda like a univibe on this clip, it kinda "warbles" for lack of better explanation...I thought that may be what you were hearing, but not sure...