Curious, what's your amplifier of choice?

[gush]

The brown sound was the result of Eddie running it in the 90s. That was a plexi though, not a JCM 800

I just wanted to be more clear. I'm not really seeking EVH brown sound.

I thought the variac part of the video was interesting and when explained, made sense. Why wouldn't you run your amp at the recommended input voltage?

I absolutely intend to experiment with running it on lower voltage just to see what happens.

Angus Young rig run down was interesting too. They use a device that keeps their old marshalls running at optimum voltage.

They choose to stay at 240 VAC 60Hz so their amps can stay consistent no matter where they are globally.

Amp tech said that 234 volts is where the old marshalls like to be but they opt for 236 volts because that's where Angus likes it.

 

[AP515]

...The amps and switcher live in a small nook on the left in the recording area of my studio. Left to right: PRS HXDA, Mesa Fillmore 50, PRS DG30, Mesa Lone Star 100 W.

I have that exact same Lone Star. Even the wicker screen and alligator leather. It's my favorite amp. I don't use the speakers though. I run it through a 4x12 facing the wall. Such a smooth sound but still overdrives nicely.

 

[JasonE]

I'm in a serious amp funk. Got a lot to figure out but for now my jcm800 studio head is just acceptable.

Been playing with a variac. Watched a video of a couple guys using one to help get EVH brown sound.

They explained that the variac can help get your outlet voltage to a level recommended by the amp manufacturers. For instance, fender stuff was designed to run at 117 VAC. My jcm800 calls for 120 VAC.

My house is 123 VAC and bringing it down to 120 seems to help tame the harshness I hear.

I also I ordered a new prs 18 foot cable as my intex cable is damaged.

I bought some new 14 ga wire today and I'm going to rewire one of my cabs but I'm going to twist the wire like marshall used to and make sure my solder joints are solid.

I'm doing this because I have some weird stuff going on that's really pi$$ing me off.

I've been through quite a few amps as of late and the most common complaint I have is "too harsh".

I also have this weird thing going on where a single note starts to fade away and at the end I hear this distortion or maybe static?

So once my new cable arrives and I have cab rewired THEN I will go guitar new cable amp short speaker cable cab and see where I am.

The two things that have me so frustrated is getting good tone shouldn't be this hard AND if a component of my setup has caused my issues then I've unfairly disqualified a lot of amps. UGH

I have been talking with a few on the forum about this and I really think before I spend another dime on another amp I need to be 100% certain what is causing my dissatisfaction.

I would think if what you are hearing is part of your setup, on your guitar, you would hear something when you play the guitar unplugged.

 

[JasonE]

Very cool!

Both my Marshall Studio JTM and Fender Chris Stapleton amp are hand-wired.

One is PCB tube socket board integrated, the other is eyelet board. Then I have a few other tube amps and solid state amps. One thing I've learned over the years is that hand-wired and non-wired doesn't make much a difference in quality, as Psionic pointed out, just as vintage or modern doesn't.

Anyway,
It's all about component quality, my Marshall JTM Studio which just came out last year is PCB and yet I'd pit it against any vintage Marshall for durability and sound quality. It shouldn't shock anyone that today's pcb amps are on par in quality as yesteryear vintage amps but engineering today is done with affordability in mind as well as attenuation. Hence why this year's winner at Namm was Donner's Jack White pedal and why it's now common for amps to have a low wattage mode built in.

PCB should never be considered to be a bad word. It can many times mean higher quality and less noise. Josh Scott, JHS Pedals, had a video where he discussed this. He said that the PCB versions of his pedals sound exactly the same as the hand wired versions and they didn't have the noise issues that the hand wired versions have. PCB is just a different way of running from one point to another in a more efficient manner.

The real difference is the design. For example, the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe is a great amp. I have one. (I have more amps than I need.) The design on the amp has some weak spots. There are a few components that get hot when the amp is used and they mounted them right down on the PCB. That causes them to burn the board over time and that eventually causes some traces to stop working. You can fix it by replacing those components and mounting them higher, off of the board, before any damage is done. It can still be fixed after a board is burned but it can be a PITA to fix if you have to start cutting traces and splicing wire into them.

 

[JasonE]

I just wanted to be more clear. I'm not really seeking EVH brown sound.

I thought the variac part of the video was interesting and when explained, made sense. Why wouldn't you run your amp at the recommended input voltage?

I absolutely intend to experiment with running it on lower voltage just to see what happens.

Angus Young rig run down was interesting too. They use a device that keeps their old marshalls running at optimum voltage.

They choose to stay at 240 VAC 60Hz so their amps can stay consistent no matter where they are globally.

Amp tech said that 234 volts is where the old marshalls like to be but they opt for 236 volts because that's where Angus likes it.

I have thought about getting a variac a few times. I have had issues a few times with bad power at some gigs. It definitely makes the amp sound different. I started down the rabbit hole on finding a way to control the voltage, up and down, as well as clean/filter the power. I didn't have the issue enough times to keep going with it. If I were playing in a bigger band, I would definitely consider something I could put in a rack that would take care of the power to keep things consistent.

 

[RickP]

I guess you could say I have a favorite rig, as opposed to a favorite amp.

The amps and switcher live in a small nook on the left in the recording area of my studio. Left to right: PRS HXDA, Mesa Fillmore 50, PRS DG30, Mesa Lone Star 100 W.

They’re all connected to an amp and cab switcher so any amp can play through any cab at the flick of a switch or via MIDI. Lots of different combinations can be switched on the fly when recording under tight deadlines. It's a pretty slick rig that way.

All four amps do different things, and feel necessary for different projects' needs, so while the HXDA and DG30 see a lot of action, and are certainly my two favorites - they always feel like higher-end beasts - the Mesas get used quite often, too, and I like the Mesa sound in general. Always have.

The two PRS amps are hand wired. The Mesas are not, but with the NOS tubes they’re very satisfying to play through, and I like the way they sound almost as much. I get tone compliments from clients - lots of ad creatives play guitar and notice good tone - so that’s a plus.

All four were improved by installing NOS tubes (the DG30 was one of the Experience "First 20" when the amp was introduced, and came with NOS glass).

The switcher in the equipment rack is by the Swiss company KHE, is dead silent when switching, and doesn’t affect the tone at all. There's also a Furman power supply with a 45 Amp reservoir that works as advertised. The reservoir makes an audible difference to the performance of the amps.

The amps and cabs are wired up with PRS/Van Damme audio and speaker cable, except the DG30 amp's speaker output and cab input are wired into the switcher with DH Labs T-14, a cable my vendor thought would work really well (it does).

The amps were bought between 2014 and 2019. They’re well beyond the honeymoon phase, and I still love working with them as much as when they were new, if not more, which is good since I tweaked the amps with tube experiments and I can't get that time back!

Love that concept… like an Eric Johnson rig in your workspace. Cool!

 

[bodia]

Purple Archon 50w head through an Avatar 1x12 and a Kemper Stage with a Kemper Powered Kabinet

 

[László]

I have that exact same Lone Star. Even the wicker screen and alligator leather. It's my favorite amp. I don't use the speakers though. I run it through a 4x12 facing the wall. Such a smooth sound but still overdrives nicely.

I'd love to see a pic of yours. That sounds like it'd look really sweet. It's hard to see in that iPhone pic; mine is the ostrich leather. They didn't have a tan alligator leather choice when I ordered it; that would have been very tempting!

As with the embossed alligator, the surface is very tough and any marring wouldn't even be noticeable (though mine has only seen studio use, so it's experienced no road wear).

People think a leather covering would be fragile. Quite the opposite! It's much more roadworthy than tolex.

That's why the material of choice for a shoe or boot is leather. It's a tough material. If it gets scuffed, a little shoe polish or leather dye fixes it. You don't get tears with the material coming apart as with Tolex.

The Fillmore on the left in my pic is covered in black leather, and was ordered with a matching leather covered face plate. Mesa screwed up and made it with their black jute. They offered to replace it, but I didn't want to go through the process of sending the amp back, since it looks fine.

 

[László]

Love that concept… like an Eric Johnson rig in your workspace. Cool!

It's great when I'm looking for the right sound for a part. I don't have to plug and unplug and lose the idea or the vibe. Flick a switch or press a midi control and I can try each amp with a different cab, and compare how the guitar sits in the mix with the various combinations.

Instant gratification with real amps works great, but I wouldn't want to take the whole rig on the road without roadies!

 

[phillybri]

Bugera V22 loaded with an EVH Celestion speaker

 

[DreamTheaterRules]

Yes sir!

I won't bore you with stories you already know, but IMO, it's really interesting how he did that solely to control volume, but discovered the added apparent gain of reduced voltage and a legendary tone was born. (Even though he later preferred to just have more gain in the pre-amp).

 

[DreamTheaterRules]

I absolutely intend to experiment with running it on lower voltage just to see what happens.

I'm all for running any amp at a consistent voltage, as even in one location it varies constantly. So running it at the same voltage every time gives much more consistent sound.

Running reduced voltages is a whole different thing. Even if not going for the brown sound, it will reduce volume/headroom and add apparent gain as you turn it down. While various forms of power scaling offer the ability to do it to various stages of an amp, doing it with a Variac scales the whole thing at once. (I know you know that...) but that reduces headroom and output of the power stage, the PI stage, and the pre-amp stage all at once and lowing the rails makes all those phases clip sooner.

I have had amps with various forms of power scaling, but have not tried a variac. Since I now have a plexi type amp (the HDRX 20) I might try one some time. Eddie felt the amp sounded it's best completely dimed but that was way too loud. I find the HDRX sounds best with most of the controls dimed, but needs bass tamed some. I can't dime it completely even through the Power Station because of squeal. I really want to try a variac with it and not JUST for brown sound, but to see what lies in between brown sound and 120v.

 

[toothace]

1: HXDA 30 watt 1 x 12 combo
2: Archon 25 watt 1 x 12 Combo
Either with an added Bogner 212C

 

[SteveGlitch]

1: HXDA 30 watt 1 x 12 combo
2: Archon 25 watt 1 x 12 Combo
Either with an added Bogner 212C

I considered the HXDA 20 head for a bit. I love Hendrix type clean and overdriven tones in general (not so much the fuzz type stuff) but yeah, I thought PRS's take on a Marshall era of sound was very interesting!

 

[Prina]

1: HXDA 30 watt 1 x 12 combo
2: Archon 25 watt 1 x 12 Combo

Killer combination of combos!

Recently got, and love, an Archon 25w 1x12 combo and I'll bet that (unobtanium) HXDA 30w combo must be the perfect compliment to get the edge of breakup sounds that the Archon really doesn't want to do.

 

[FatFingerBlues]

PRS Archon 50w played through a Marshall Full Stack

adequately displays all of my fumbles and mistakes

 

[dmatthews]

PRS Custom 50 paisley combo, and Kemper using Fender, Marshall, BE-50, and Dumble.

 

[SteveGlitch]

adequately displays all of my fumbles and mistakes

Wouldn't have it any other way!

 

[markd21]

Hmm, as far as tube amps go my favorites over the years are either Rivera or Bad Cat. I used Rivera from 1990 to about 2015, then I got into Bad Cat in 2018.

With Rivera I used the M60, M100 and S120. I was super blessed that Paul Jr sold me a variety of empty cabs - (2) empty head shells, 1x12 combo box, 2x10, (2) 1x12s and a 4x12. All I would need to do was swap chassis' into what I needed for the gig.

With Bad Cat, I bought one of the first Cub IVR combos. The reverb was DOA. I called the company and John Thompson answered!! We had a good, long chat. I told him about the Cub and the HC30R I was using. He asked if I gigged. Told him yes, and right then he gave me a "local artist discount"!! Forty percent off. Only stipulation was that I had to keep it private. We never even met!! Cool dude. We talked a few more times after that about the "new" PCB Player Series amps they were about to release.

Ironically, it was the Helix that led me toward trying the Bad Cats. I was loving the Matchless model and wanted a tube amp version. I couldn't afford Matchless, so I went Bad Cat...

 

[Greywolf]

Les ...You have the cleanest , coolest room .. . For me it is what fits the gig . For electric I bring my 30+ yr old Mesa Studio 22+ , for acoustic depending on which instrument it's usually the Fender Acoustic 100 . The Steve Fischers like the Mesa Rosette better or need a para EQ.

I don't gig my PRS amps due to size and value. For Bass , I have a Mesa 800w with thier 2x15 , or a DSM &Humbolt bass station DI
for smaller bass gigs , an '99 Sovtek Mig 50 head( Tony Bruno era) into a 2x12 w horn Bergantino cab .