watelessness
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- Joined
- Apr 26, 2012
- Messages
- 2,542
I used to think that I had all the amps that I needed. I was wrong, so very wrong....
Les' "Favorite" settings for the HXDA:
Note: I set the guitar to get a good semi-clean "edge of breakup tone" with the guitar volume on any of my PRSes at around 5-6. So that's where I start. That way I can roll up the volume for a great overdriven sound, and roll it down a touch for a nice clean sound.
These are the settings I use most often; I like to get an elastic, "Duane Live At The Fillmore With A Little More Crunch Up Top" tone.
Switches, left to right: DA, DA, HX
Knobs, left to right:
HXDA Gain: 10-12 o'clock, depending on the guitar
Bass Gain: 8-9 o'clock, depending on the guitar, cabinet and room
Treble: 10 o'clock (at relatively low volumes, more treble = too much scream, but at very high volume things can change).
Middle: 12 o'clock to 2 o'clock, depending on the guitar
Bass: 12 o'clock to 2 o'clock, depending on the guitar, the cabinet and the room
Presence: 10 o'clock-12 o'clock, depending on room
Master Volume: usually around 12 o'clock - 2 o'clock depending on whether someone comes to my door with a gun telling me to turn it down. Yes, it's loud this way. But vintage style amps like to be opened up (though the HXDA has a good master volume IMHO).
With hotter pickups I keep the gain lower, with less hot pickups, or if I split the pickups, I turn the gain up.
I don't do this song by song, because I write originals. So I'm not shooting for someone else's tones, except, as noted above I like the general overall sound of the Fillmore recording with this amp -- or at least what I think of as that sound in my mind's ear.
More notes:
I have an NOS early 70s Mullard in the V1 preamp tube position, and some cherry-picked-for-low-noise JJ ECC83S tubes in V2 and 3, however, I plan to install another NOS Mullard in V2 at some point (I have one on hand), along with a set of Siemens NOS EL34s made in Germany (probably by RFT). I'm waiting for the stock Winged Cs to wear out before I do that, however.
Final Note: These are settings I use with a PRS birch ply Big Mouth 2x12 with V-30s. These settings also worked with my old Mesa Recto 2x12 closed back. They might be different with other cabs.
I tried these settings Les along with my PRS McCarty 594.I was just noodling around trying to get a feel for the tone and I stumbled across the opening riff for Hells Bells by AC/DC. I've never played that song before but I feel like it just jumped out at me because that was the tone I was getting from the amp and guitar. Sounded really good!
That is a staggering amount of money to have tied up in something that I don't use that much (meaning they aren't my #1 preferred amps). So, the moral of the story is to just make sure that you REALLY, REALLY want one of these high end specialty amps like the Dallas or the HXDA before you buy one because the two of you are probably going to be living with each other for a very long time.
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