The V30's: Trying to stay strong...

[dkilpatrick]

To decouple the cab from the floor, the Gramma foam stuff works pretty well. So if you want true decoupling, and the elimination of structure-borne low frequency vibration, which does cause noise, the Auralex Gramma is a good product.

I just picked up a gramma to put under my lonestar special 1x12. Definitely reduces the bass transfer to the floor.
It's still there but now it's not overpowering and I can get a better eq balance. Good product for what it does, I would recommend

 

[László]

I just picked up a gramma to put under my lonestar special 1x12. Definitely reduces the bass transfer to the floor.
It's still there but now it's not overpowering and I can get a better eq balance. Good product for what it does, I would recommend

Yeah, it can't do everything, like reduce half-space bass reinforcement simply by virtue of the amp being so near the floor. But it does pretty well at what it's designed to do, which is reduce structure borne vibrations from the bass. And that isn't a bad thing, and it helps.

 

[andy474x]

Made the switch back to stock today. Turns out mother... err, Paul, knows best when it comes to speakers. Although the break in period on the V30's probably wasn't complete, I could just tell they limited what I could do with the amp. To be fair, I did get some really nice tones. But they lacked the versatility of the stock speakers. Specifically, I could hardly turn the mids and treble up past 10:00, no matter what I tried. I do think that would have improved some with time, but again, I could just tell they would never do everything the old speakers did. I did get some very smooth and sexy lead tones with that high mid push, there was nice definition without needing any top end sizzle. And some velvety clean tones as well. The V30's also had the best tone when my amp was absolutely cranked on the master, taming a very broad and bellowy midrange that this amp has, but I've come to the conclusion that real world opportunities for me to do that with this amp will be rare. Someday, when I find a volume-sensible drummer, I'll be very happy to have this amp in its current configuration.

The stock Eminence drivers are more tolerant of a wide range of eq settings, and get a mix of top sizzle like that of a Greenback, while still having a slightly modern sound too. A little "fuller" overall. My best guess is they're a close relative of a G12H30. Might still hold on to these V30's though, never a bad thing to have in the parts closet. Maybe even home brew a 1x12 and throw one in for a recording cab, because they do have their place.

I repeated my earlier clip with the stock speakers. Slightly different amp settings, but not much - it's all about getting the best tone, right? Although I don't think either of these are bad sounds.

https://soundcloud.com/6stringthunder/vintage-30s-lead-channel

https://soundcloud.com/6stringthunder/prs_e50s

 

[László]

It's of course all a matter of preference. The V30s have a fuller lower midrange, the Eminence, less of that and more balance toward the upper midrange. So they sound quite different.

In the clips you made side by side, I prefer the V30s, because they're a tiny bit less "dry" sounding, but not by much. And I do like the other clip just fine.

It's all a matter of getting where you want to go with it. I can't be critical of either choice. It'd be like saying, "You shouldn't have gotten a gray suit, I like blue suits better."

I mean, ultimately, they both sound good. What's not to like?

 

[andy474x]

It's of course all a matter of preference. The V30s have a fuller lower midrange, the Eminence, less of that and more balance toward the upper midrange. So they sound quite different.

In the clips you made side by side, I prefer the V30s, because they're a tiny bit less "dry" sounding, but not by much. And I do like the other clip just fine.

It's all a matter of getting where you want to go with it. I can't be critical of either choice. It'd be like saying, "You shouldn't have gotten a gray suit, I like blue suits better."

I mean, ultimately, they both sound good. What's not to like?

They really do both have their good qualities. The stock speakers let the amp do a little more, in terms of versatility. But some of the things the V30's did were things that I can only approximate with the Emi's. When everything was dialed in just right, the V30's got a really full, present, but not piercing lead tone. And the rhythm tones can be quite good too, it's just a question of what sound I'm after for a particular song. The idea of a 1x12 to use for recording is growing on me, it would allow me to turn the amp up a little more (vs the 2x12), and almost give me the sonic effect of having another amp.