Archon 100 Head & Good Low E sound

[MIke W]

Hello again. I just purchased an Archon 100 head. I'm trying to tweak my sound & I'm satisfied with everything but the Low E in standard tuning. No matter what I do it sounds too bassy. It sounds great in Drop D. I'm trying to get a sound similar to Metallica, Fates Warning, Scorpions, King Diamond, especially when palm muting. Even without muting it still has too much bass. I also have the same problem when I go clean. When I cut out bass, the other strings get too twangy. Any suggestion for settings? You can just say here is where I set everything by a clock such as depth at 9 am. etc. Thanks! Gracias & well you know what I mean. LOL!

 

[Dusty Chalk]

No idea. Honestly, it sounds kinda bizarrely specific, like a resonance. What happens while you fret to low E when tuned to drop D?

Try a different guitar? Just for diagnosis.

What cab(s) are you using? Try lifting them off the ground?

 

[László]

You've probably simply excited a room mode. When a cab is on the floor, it causes what's called half-space bass doubling at specific frequencies. If it's against a wall on the floor, it's quarter-space bass reinforcement, which makes the low end even stronger, and in a corner, you have eighth space bass reinforcement, which is stronger still.

Moving the cab away from walls and corners helps. Raising it off the floor helps.

In addition, you could be exciting a resonant vibration in the room itself; this is a structure-borne vibration, and can also reinforce a particular note. You solve this by isolating the cabinet with various types of isolation risers. Though it's not highly likely that this is your cause, it's possible.

Finally, the cabinet itself may have an internal resonance and reinforce that note. Just as a guitar has resonances at certain notes, a wooden cabinet also reinforces certain notes. Speakers do, too.

So, lots of possibilities, and you can possibly drive yourself insane worrying about this, or you could get a graphic EQ rack unit with the ability to cut that specific frequency. Low E is 82 Hz.

 

[MIke W]

No idea. Honestly, it sounds kinda bizarrely specific, like a resonance. What happens while you fret to low E when tuned to drop D?

Try a different guitar? Just for diagnosis.

What cab(s) are you using? Try lifting them off the ground?

When I have drop tuned to D and to C# I get the sound I pretty much am looking for. I have also tried all nine of my guitars 3 different Deans, 2 American Fender Strats, Epiphone Les Paul Standard, Ibanez & two Jacksons, Active pickups and various different high quality others. Using my 2 older Marshalls (solid state) I get exactly what I want but not with the new Archon. I give lessons and have played for over 30 years and everyone tells me I have a "good ear for music" and they love my tones and emulate them. I can really nail classic, metal, & hard rock tones. Am I just expecting something the Archon cannot deliver? Using high quality Monster cables, both speaker and Instrument. The cabinet is the 240 watt PRS Stealth with vintage 30's. I'll try the lift when I get someone to help (bad shoulder) me and let you know if it helps.
Thanks very much for your reply.

 

[elvis]

Were you running the Marshalls through the same cabinet in the same place when you compared?

Also, The Archon has WAY more low-end than the Marshalls. I can't imagine comparing the two.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

I give lessons and have played for over 30 years and everyone tells me I have a "good ear for music" and they love my tones and emulate them. I can really nail classic, metal, & hard rock tones. Am I just expecting something the Archon cannot deliver? Using high quality Monster cables...

Ah, there's your problem right there, Monster cables...kidding.

No, sorry, wasn't trying to question your ear or anything. It's just that we established early on not to dismiss the obvious, so was just brainstorming things to try.

Is it possible that you're just not used to tube sound?

I'm mostly having trouble wrapping my head around how drop tunings sound fine, but regular tuning yields bloat. Any possible solution or even diagnosis gets discredited by that. I'll stop talking now, elvis and Les have much more experience in this area.

G'Luck.

 

[Kazz]

I'm mostly having trouble wrapping my head around how drop tunings sound fine, but regular tuning yields bloat.

Lower tunings create different notes/frequencies from the "E" string, so if it's that particular frequency that is causing problems then it will sound better if you raise or lower it.

Especially because of that, I think Les has it right. It may just not have been a problem with the other amps because they had less low end or they were placed differently. Or it could have to do with the cab.

 

[vchizzle]

Les probably has it nailed here. It is weird that that drop tunings are cool, but....
The monster cable thing....when I got rid of mine, it sounded like I took a blanket off my cabinet. Just something to consider. I still have one lying around that occasionally use at home and the difference between my mogami and and monster of the same length is very noticeable.

 

[László]

Les probably has it nailed here. It is weird that that drop tunings are cool, but....
The monster cable thing....when I got rid of mine, it sounded like I took a blanket off my cabinet. Just something to consider. I still have one lying around that occasionally use at home and the difference between my mogami and and monster of the same length is very noticeable.

Ah, the magic of capacitance high frequency roll-off.

I used to use Monster cables for bass because they rolled off the high end a bit. Because, bass.

 

[elvis]

I have always been surprised by the way Monster managed to get their reputation. In the early days they were quite low-quality cables, and now they are OK, but at a huge premium. There are much better brands available without the premium.

 

[László]

I have always been surprised by the way Monster managed to get their reputation. In the early days they were quite low-quality cables, and now they are OK, but at a huge premium. There are much better brands available without the premium.

They actually made their reputation in the hi-fi market, where for a while, they were the only high quality cables in the game. And they did sound different than the early hi-fi cables that came with gear.

They also had a studio line that was well-regarded in its era.

This included a line of very heavy-duty studio microphone cables that were very good - I don't know if they still make them or not, but I still have several from the early 90s that were a cut above what else was out there at the time, with the exception of Mogami and Gotham, that were pretty similar in quality but not as heavy-duty. In fact, I still use them. They've lasted me for what, 25 years? Not too shabby, and they sound great.

 

[MIke W]

Ah, there's your problem right there, Monster cables...kidding.

No, sorry, wasn't trying to question your ear or anything. It's just that we established early on not to dismiss the obvious, so was just brainstorming things to try.

Is it possible that you're just not used to tube sound?

I'm mostly having trouble wrapping my head around how drop tunings sound fine, but regular tuning yields bloat. Any possible solution or even diagnosis gets discredited by that. I'll stop talking now, elvis and Les have much more experience in this area.

G'Luck.

Sorry I've not replied yet. I was busy with the amp. I didn't want you to think i was being an A** toward you.I appreciate your suggestions. Since then, I've had three other people listen and play the amp with various guitars again; different cables, on and off the floor and hours of knob turning LOL! They also arrived at the same conclusion. I think I was just expecting a different low end sound and there is no problem with the head.at all. It does sound better in the drop tuning genre, I guess because I don't go there much. I like classic/hard rock of what I still call hair bands of the 80's. I guess one of my favorite guitarists is Buck Dharma of BOC. I think I just had visions of being able to get those sounds out of a head that seems to clearly be designed for more modern rock to me. I also have to restate that this is my first tube amp experience as far as owning one so my "ear" is only used to solid state LOL!. Maybe I need to listen with my other ear. LOL! I have much to learn, obviously I have lived a sheltered 30+ guitar years. LOL! I appreciate all the answers I have got from various people trying to help me about several topics. Thanks to all of you. Warning! There may be more to come. LOL!

 

[MIke W]

Les probably has it nailed here. It is weird that that drop tunings are cool, but....
The monster cable thing....when I got rid of mine, it sounded like I took a blanket off my cabinet. Just something to consider. I still have one lying around that occasionally use at home and the difference between my mogami and and monster of the same length is very noticeable.

After reading this post and several others, Again guys, you're dealing with a forum newbie here and I didn't even realize all this had been posted in response to my question. I retried using my old cables in a quite atmosphere all by myself and it does seem help some with the low end sound. Unfortunately my cables make the high end sound like a Barney Fife solo performance. I get a almost chimey sound from them. If I only knew what I was doing aftyer thirty years. LOL! I'll try to find a Mogami cable and try them both (instrument and speaker). Thanks.

 

[elvis]

The speaker cable won't matter. It can be lamp cord, it just needs to be designed for high current.