Consummation of a Plan

However, ubiquitous though the V30 may be, I can't imagine Mr Paul Reed Smith being anything less than utterly through in the specification and play testing so I would expect that PRS amps have been totally tuned to sound perfect with the V30s.

Thanks for the kind words about the cab, Tolm!

You raise an interesting point about the use of V30s in the cab, too. There's a video from last year's PRS Experience where David Grissom and Doug Sewell are talking about how they spent several years working back and forth on the design of the amp and cab. At one point, Grissom says that they tried nearly every speaker on the market with the cabinet. He thought he wouldn't want to use V30s, but when they tried them, they liked the result more than anything else.

Grissom says he tried the Creambacks, thinking they'd be better, but that when they started to break in after a few shows, he preferred the V-30s. I think I understand why -- the DG cab is very warm and somewhat loose sounding to begin with. An amp that needs a tighter sounding cab (like my HXDA) sounds really weird with it, for example.

On the flip side, the DG30 is a very tight sounding head that doesn't sound near its potential with a tight sounding cab, like the Mesa 212 closed back I had in the studio. This is why I went with the DG cab. When I bought the head my dealer told me that it would need the cab to sound like it's supposed to sound, and he was right. I do like the sound of a pine cab, though, and plan on getting one for the HXDA; however it will be the closed back PRS cab for a tighter sound.

One thing Doug Sewell mentioned about both cabs is that the Grissom cab is essentially the Stealth cab with some of its internal bracing or baffling removed, along with the ports. This was done during the experimentation with the DG head. It's all really interesting!
 
Rant moral: trust your initial instincts...if you really loved something once, chances are it will endure, despite being fickle in the future. And one man's (or amp's) panacea is another man's pile-o-poo. :D

So very true!

My problem was simply this: I honeymooned with the amp with a completely different sounding guitar, and the novelty of having a very tight sounding amp I mainly used clean, compared to the loose, heavier, and warmer sounding HXDA, was interesting and fun. However, dialing it in with a guitar whose attributes easily blended well with the looser amp, proved more difficult with the DG30.

It's easier to become less enamored with a piece of gear in that circumstance. So I got a bit itchy to cut my losses.

Oh, and I'm scared to try the DG50. Scared sh*tless would be a more accurate statement. I can feel my AmEx shaking in my pocket in fear...at least I hope that's what that sensation is.

I thought about trying one before buying the DG30, but my thinking was that I have a 50 watt EL34 amp with the HXDA, that need is covered, go for something different.

So for me it wasn't a consideration. I guess I like very clear cut choices. That's one reason I got the McCarty Singlecut -- there's no overlap between it and the 408, they clearly and obviously do different things. Simpler, less nuanced choices really help me make decisions related to my work.

If I'm going to be stuck deciding between guitar sounds, I want the choice to be clear so I don't waste time.

I realize that for other players, "going to be stuck deciding" would be replaced with "having the opportunity to decide." But we're all different when it comes to creativity! I like to have a few things all dialed in and ready to record, so I can spend my time deciding what notes to play, instead of what tones to use.

In fact, when I have a project I put one mic up on each cab, so everything's just ready to go, and I roll with that until the project's done.
 
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For me (and I know that your ears are waaaay more sophisticated than most, so take this with a grain of salt...) the Exotic BB is the perfect boost / gain supplement to the DG30. For some bizarre reason, I find myself wanting to compare the DG30 to the DG50....

I sense that despite your wide array of guitars and amps, the Exotic BB is almost always in use. If that is true, I must get one without undue delay.
 
I sense that despite your wide array of guitars and amps, the Exotic BB is almost always in use. If that is true, I must get one without undue delay.
If I was not already happy with my Marshall-esque tone, I'd be right there with you. But if cornered during a moment of weakness, it could show up on my board anyway. ;)
 
If I was not already happy with my Marshall-esque tone, I'd be right there with you. But if cornered during a moment of weakness, it could show up on my board anyway. ;)

I have a new pedalboard plan:

After giving it some thought, my new starting point will be the acquisition of a high end buffer box. There's no point in looking at effects boxes until I've optimized the integrity of the signal coming out of the guitar going into the pedalboard. I've invested too much time and resources into my rig to tolerate a compromised audio signal this round of pedalboard rebuilding!

Right now the Suhr buffer looks like it has a lot of potential; it uses very high quality parts and isn't prohibitively expensive. I plan on checking one out ASAP.

From there (not including the tuner) I'm finding that the Fulltone Secret Freq works as well as anything I've used for OD with the DG amp. Its frequency range seems to tuck in under the natural overdrive of the amp and it sounds very natural (I use very little of the mid or high boosts on the device). The HXDA needs no OD pedals at all.

For clean boost, I really need to see what's going to work best with the buffer. Hard to speculate at this point, since it's anyone's guess what the buffer will do in my rig.

As for fuzz, a Fulltone '69 might go on the board, or a Catalyst. We'll see. That will be the only addition for distortion boxes.

I'll run modulation and delay in a true bypass looper box I have. I like 99% of the features and 100% of the tone of the Eventide stuff, but I have an issue with how the Eventides select presets with their footswitches (they go only up, not down, which means you have to tap through 50 banks of presets to go back to where you started, or you have to use an external momentary switch, or MIDI, something I find to be a pain). So I do want to take a long look at the TC Nova or G-system, and/or one of the Line6 Multi-effects boxes that I think might be underestimated out in guitar land.

From there, the output will go into the Lehle splitter and into both amps. I might fiddle with a good EQ. That's still to be decided.

Anyway, that's my plan. And of course, the PRS Stealth closed back cab for the HXDA.

All this may take me a bit of time to complete, but doing the research is half the fun, no? ;)
 
I have a new pedalboard plan:

After giving it some thought, my new starting point will be the acquisition of a high end buffer box. There's no point in looking at effects boxes until I've optimized the integrity of the signal coming out of the guitar going into the pedalboard. I've invested too much time and resources into my rig to tolerate a compromised audio signal this round of pedalboard rebuilding!

Right now the Suhr buffer looks like it has a lot of potential; it uses very high quality parts and isn't prohibitively expensive. I plan on checking one out ASAP.

From there (not including the tuner) I'm finding that the Fulltone Secret Freq works as well as anything I've used for OD with the DG amp. Its frequency range seems to tuck in under the natural overdrive of the amp and it sounds very natural (I use very little of the mid or high boosts on the device). The HXDA needs no OD pedals at all.

For clean boost, I really need to see what's going to work best with the buffer. Hard to speculate at this point, since it's anyone's guess what the buffer will do in my rig.

As for fuzz, a Fulltone '69 might go on the board, or a Catalyst. We'll see. That will be the only addition for distortion boxes.

I'll run modulation and delay in a true bypass looper box I have. I like 99% of the features and 100% of the tone of the Eventide stuff, but I have an issue with how the Eventides select presets with their footswitches (they go only up, not down, which means you have to tap through 50 banks of presets to go back to where you started, or you have to use an external momentary switch, or MIDI, something I find to be a pain). So I do want to take a long look at the TC Nova or G-system, and/or one of the Line6 Multi-effects boxes that I think might be underestimated out in guitar land.

From there, the output will go into the Lehle splitter and into both amps. I might fiddle with a good EQ. That's still to be decided.

Anyway, that's my plan. And of course, the PRS Stealth closed back cab for the HXDA.

All this may take me a bit of time to complete, but doing the research is half the fun, no? ;)

Your quest findings will be very interesting, i am looking forward to see how all develops.

GOOD LUCK!!
 
So, if you like to have your rig settled before tackling a job, do you fit the work to the rig setup? If you're in love with your fuzz box that week, is Dodge getting fuzz? Don't get me wrong, I totally get that and, honestly, do the same thing. But we play such a diverse mix of music that I can't bring myself to unify my tone that much. Bouncing between Seven Mary Three, Petty, ZZ Top, Georgia Satelites, and Stones (in one set) shouldn't be done with a boy, his guitar, a fuzz and his amp. :p It can be done but, you know what I mean. Usually only one guitar is used the entire night, so maybe my logic is flawed?

But, in my mind, having MY sound du jour for MY original material sounds totally perfect. No need for fancy switching systems, just connect the chain as necessary and play. Take a bunch of photos documenting your sound. There's nothing more frustrating than revisiting a recording only realizing you have no idea how you got there. I'm in the habit of verbally documenting the rig at the end of the clip.

Ok, list of pedals I need to try...Secret Freq and BB Preamp. Check.
 
So, if you like to have your rig settled before tackling a job, do you fit the work to the rig setup?

Generally I know where the project is headed before I start recording, but two amps are connected to the same pedalboard, and two mics are set up in front of the cabs.

So all the sounds I have on tap in hardware are available anyway.

I also often run a separate line out to a direct box, so that if I want to use a take with software amp modelers (or for that matter, reamp) I can.

Notwithstanding anything mentioned herein above to the contrary, and for purposes of clarity and avoidance of doubt, if I'm into fuzz that week, hell yeah, Dodge gets fuzz. ;)

Though Dodge might also tell me to get rid of the fuzz if that's not what they want. This stuff is fairly malleable.
 
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So, if you like to have your rig settled before tackling a job, do you fit the work to the rig setup? If you're in love with your fuzz box that week, is Dodge getting fuzz? Don't get me wrong, I totally get that and, honestly, do the same thing. But we play such a diverse mix of music that I can't bring myself to unify my tone that much. Bouncing between Seven Mary Three, Petty, ZZ Top, Georgia Satelites, and Stones (in one set) shouldn't be done with a boy, his guitar, a fuzz and his amp. :p It can be done but, you know what I mean. Usually only one guitar is used the entire night, so maybe my logic is flawed?

But, in my mind, having MY sound du jour for MY original material sounds totally perfect. No need for fancy switching systems, just connect the chain as necessary and play. Take a bunch of photos documenting your sound. There's nothing more frustrating than revisiting a recording only realizing you have no idea how you got there. I'm in the habit of verbally documenting the rig at the end of the clip.

Ok, list of pedals I need to try...Secret Freq and BB Preamp. Check.

Actually (and I know it's selfish....) no, I don't match the rig to the job. My pedal board is quite simple actually. It's the Exotic BB, an OCD, a TC Flashback, and a Creation Mark 4:23 clean boost. All in front of the amp because I'm too lazy to run cables back and forth to the loop if the amp has one. If an amp has a clean channel, the pedal board gets me most tones I need for the job (and the material you listed is pretty much exactly what I need to cover...) If it's a single channel amp (like the DGT, MDT or HX/DA) I typically set it on the dirty side of clean and I accept the fact that I'm not going to get sparkle that night...and use the pedal board to push it over the edge. Lately though, I've been having a bunch of fun with the Archon live. The gain tones really aren't very close to the classic stuff we do....but it works out great. Same goes with the couple of Two Rock's I have (they are very different than the Archon of course, but still not a cop of classic Marshall tone.) The last gig I did was with my vintage Gibson GA40 with a Badcat Unleash through a Two Rock 2x12 and it was epic. Not even close to the original tones for the material we were doing, but it sounded great and was super fun.
 
Actually (and I know it's selfish....) no, I don't match the rig to the job. My pedal board is quite simple actually. It's the Exotic BB, an OCD, a TC Flashback, and a Creation Mark 4:23 clean boost. All in front of the amp because I'm too lazy to run cables back and forth to the loop if the amp has one. If an amp has a clean channel, the pedal board gets me most tones I need for the job (and the material you listed is pretty much exactly what I need to cover...) If it's a single channel amp (like the DGT, MDT or HX/DA) I typically set it on the dirty side of clean and I accept the fact that I'm not going to get sparkle that night...and use the pedal board to push it over the edge. Lately though, I've been having a bunch of fun with the Archon live. The gain tones really aren't very close to the classic stuff we do....but it works out great. Same goes with the couple of Two Rock's I have (they are very different than the Archon of course, but still not a cop of classic Marshall tone.) The last gig I did was with my vintage Gibson GA40 with a Badcat Unleash through a Two Rock 2x12 and it was epic. Not even close to the original tones for the material we were doing, but it sounded great and was super fun.

Yeah, this is the way we did it back in the early days anyway. You didn't try to cop the various tones on records because you couldn't. You had one amp, one guitar, and maybe a wah and fuzz. That was it. If you were working a lot, or super lucky, maybe you had a tape echo.

I've always worked with what I had (starting in 1967 on guitar), and honestly, it's not all that hard to make anything you have sound pretty darn good with any song.
 
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