HX/DA, MDT and pedals

[aristotle]

I had been gigging the HX/DA or the MDT as part of a 2-head setup using a radial headbone to switch heads. We do cover stuff, and using guitar volume alone to clean things up leaves you either too soft on one end of the spectrum or too clean on the other for the material we do. So, the head switcher is ideal (since I happen to have the heads to do this). The PRS head is always set to be the dirty head.

Well, that's all fine and dandy, but laziness got the best of me. Lugging the extra head isn't the big deal since I usually take a backup anyway, but the extra cables behind the amp ( the switcher is remoted) and the extra 5 minutes to set it up just doesn't appeal to the slacker in me.

So, the last couple of times I used the HX/DA or the MDT, I used it solo with a Rook OD pedal. It certainly sounds fine with the pedal. Really good actually....but in the end, I think that I'm going back to the 2-head setup. The amps themselves (both of them...really...) have such good and useable gain tone that you just know what you're missing when you set the amp clean and then use an OD pedal. For the places we play (roadhouse sorts of places) and the stuff we do, it's overkill for sure, but so what...

Anyway, here's clean with pedal, pretty much set at gig volume and settings. The clean parts at the beginning and end of the clip are as agressive as I need the clean to be, and it goes cleaner from there if you roll back the guitar volume.

and here's the 2-head setup. Posted this before, but not here. It's the ultimate in flexibility.

I guess if we stuck with a single genre, I could set the amp up by itself to cover most of the range but we don't. I'd be interested in the gigging experience of others who use either the MDT or HX/DA.

 

[László]

Nice clips, everything sounds great! I set up more like Bob does with his rig for my sessions, but I also use a Fulltone '69 fuzz when I want to do something more on the nasty side.

Dunno why, I'm more of a fuzz than OD guy, like to get the OD from the amp. But there are also some ODs I like and occasionally use.

 

[László]

I love Fuzzes too but they are hard to use live for me...the germanium ones with the PRS amp have been picking up radio waves...sometimes they sound really thick and amazing and other times I get swallowed up when the band kicks in...very touchy.

Hmmm...haven't had any problems with the '69 pedal. I also really like the Robin Trower Overdrive, it's a great-sounding pedal, and sounds good with both 6L6 and EL34 amps.

 

[aristotle]

Keep meaning to check out some fuzz's. It's been since high school since I tried one. Back then, Big Muff's seemed like they were everywhere. I think that mine had seen better days by the time I got hold of it, and it sounded like a creepy violin. Hadn't thought about that until this moment, but it's probably why I haven't been to quick to try one out.

 

[László]

Keep meaning to check out some fuzz's. It's been since high school since I tried one. Back then, Big Muff's seemed like they were everywhere. I think that mine had seen better days by the time I got hold of it, and it sounded like a creepy violin. Hadn't thought about that until this moment, but it's probably why I haven't been to quick to try one out.

I'm so old that my first fuzz was one of the early semi-pyramid shaped Maestros. Between that and my '65 SG Special with P-90s, the was a noise-fest of major proportions! But the sound...mmmm...

 

[aristotle]

Haha! I forgot about that one. I inherrited an ancient Maestro Fuzztain at one point in my youth. It was the weirdest fuzz tone ever. It also had a sustain mode with the most un-natural attack imagineable. What it lacked in tone, it made up for in appearance. It was wedge shaped, with super cool foot controlable dials on either side that lit up like a christmas tree. You must have been a real he-man to tame that beast.

 

[]-[@n$0Ma☩!©]

My 25th Annie amp arrived back at the Mother Ship in Stevensville this morning. I can't wait to hear it with the HX/DA switches.

 

[László]

Haha! I forgot about that one. I inherrited an ancient Maestro Fuzztain at one point in my youth. It was the weirdest fuzz tone ever. It also had a sustain mode with the most un-natural attack imagineable. What it lacked in tone, it made up for in appearance. It was wedge shaped, with super cool foot controlable dials on either side that lit up like a christmas tree. You must have been a real he-man to tame that beast.

Yup...it was the wedge shaped fuzz Keef used on "Satisfaction". I was a skinny teenager. I didn't know it needed to be tamed.

I also used it with a wah and a combo organ (yes, I did get some crazy tones on In A Gadda Da Vida with that organ, fuzz and wah, and it is incredible that I didn't lose my hearing).

My 25th Annie amp arrived back at the Mother Ship in Stevensville this morning. I can't wait to hear it with the HX/DA switches.

I think you'll love it! Actually, make that, "I hope you love it," since I've been saying what a great thing the HX/DA is. LOL

 

[aristotle]

Yup...it was the wedge shaped fuzz Keef used on "Satisfaction". I was a skinny teenager. I didn't know it needed to be tamed.

Really? I figured that it was much more contemporary than that. I can say for sure that I wasn't getting any Keef tones out of that thing! Think I'll prowl ebay and see if I can find one for old time's sake.

 

[László]

Really? I figured that it was much more contemporary than that. I can say for sure that I wasn't getting any Keef tones out of that thing! Think I'll prowl ebay and see if I can find one for old time's sake.

I think there were several versions. I had the original brown one with the knobs on the end of the pedal. I found a link to pictures of a few models here, mine was the one on the far left:

http://johannburkard.de/blog/music/...fects-maestro-fuzz-tone-fz-1-fz-1a-fz-1b.html

 

[Keaulana]

I had been gigging the HX/DA or the MDT as part of a 2-head setup using a radial headbone to switch heads. We do cover stuff, and using guitar volume alone to clean things up leaves you either too soft on one end of the spectrum or too clean on the other for the material we do. So, the head switcher is ideal (since I happen to have the heads to do this). The PRS head is always set to be the dirty head.

Well, that's all fine and dandy, but laziness got the best of me. Lugging the extra head isn't the big deal since I usually take a backup anyway, but the extra cables behind the amp ( the switcher is remoted) and the extra 5 minutes to set it up just doesn't appeal to the slacker in me.

So, the last couple of times I used the HX/DA or the MDT, I used it solo with a Rook OD pedal. It certainly sounds fine with the pedal. Really good actually....but in the end, I think that I'm going back to the 2-head setup. The amps themselves (both of them...really...) have such good and useable gain tone that you just know what you're missing when you set the amp clean and then use an OD pedal. For the places we play (roadhouse sorts of places) and the stuff we do, it's overkill for sure, but so what...

Anyway, here's clean with pedal, pretty much set at gig volume and settings. The clean parts at the beginning and end of the clip are as agressive as I need the clean to be, and it goes cleaner from there if you roll back the guitar volume.

and here's the 2-head setup. Posted this before, but not here. It's the ultimate in flexibility.

I guess if we stuck with a single genre, I could set the amp up by itself to cover most of the range but we don't. I'd be interested in the gigging experience of others who use either the MDT or HX/DA.

What are the difference in tone between the MDT and HXDA for you?

I interested in getting one of those 2 but by listening to demos on youtube is difficult to make a choice. I like that black crowes sound.

 

[aristotle]

Not sure about Black Crowes tone specifically. I've seen them with everything from mic'd tweeds to 65Amps (Royal Albert I think....)

My take...and it's only my take... is that the HX/DA is definitely more flexible. The MDT, evidently from the name, goes from Tweed to Dumble (with marshall in the middle) depending on the gain setting, but I don't see it that way. At lower volume (gain) settings, it's certainly more tweed-like than at higher settings, but I'm not sure I'd call it tweed. Similarly, the high gain settings don't respond all that similar to a Dumble ODS for example. The mid-gain settings do resemble Marshall, more or less. Personally, I think PRS does a disservice to the MDT by implying the similarites to other brands though, because I think that it has a personality all its own at all gain settings. It's a great single channel amp, that has just enough clean headroom for most people's needs, and a really nice smooth gain tone. It responds particularly well to boosts up front. I see the MDT as a gainier, hot-rodded JTM45, but even that doesn't do it justice. It's really its own thing.

The HX/DA on the other hand really is modelled towards a Marshall plexi, both according to my understanding, and my experience. The three HX/DA switches, along with the EQ settings, let you get most of the vintage Marshall tones that one would recognize.

If I had to pick (and fortunately, I don't) I'd pick the MDT. It can't do as much, but it does what it does so well, that it stands out to me. Having said that, I'm pretty sure that a majority of people would prefer the flexibility of the HX/DA.

Did this a while back, trying to set the two amps as close as possible by ear, for what it's worth (which is not much...youtube videos stink for this sort of comparison...particularly the way that I do them...)

I'll say this for either of them though... For you modders out there, these are a tweaker's dream. Super easy to work on. Really great construction and layout for those of us who like to monkey around with the circuits....

 

[László]

For the Black Crowes sound, I think the original MDT with 6L6 tubes comes a little closer. I don't know about the Paul's Amp version, as I haven't heard it.

I love my HXDA and don't have an MDT, by the way.

 

[FJ4]

Not sure about Black Crowes tone specifically. I've seen them with everything from mic'd tweeds to 65Amps (Royal Albert I think....)

My take...and it's only my take... is that the HX/DA is definitely more flexible. The MDT, evidently from the name, goes from Tweed to Dumble (with marshall in the middle) depending on the gain setting, but I don't see it that way. At lower volume (gain) settings, it's certainly more tweed-like than at higher settings, but I'm not sure I'd call it tweed. Similarly, the high gain settings don't respond all that similar to a Dumble ODS for example. The mid-gain settings do resemble Marshall, more or less. Personally, I think PRS does a disservice to the MDT by implying the similarites to other brands though, because I think that it has a personality all its own at all gain settings. It's a great single channel amp, that has just enough clean headroom for most people's needs, and a really nice smooth gain tone. It responds particularly well to boosts up front. I see the MDT as a gainier, hot-rodded JTM45, but even that doesn't do it justice. It's really its own thing.

The HX/DA on the other hand really is modelled towards a Marshall plexi, both according to my understanding, and my experience. The three HX/DA switches, along with the EQ settings, let you get most of the vintage Marshall tones that one would recognize.

If I had to pick (and fortunately, I don't) I'd pick the MDT. It can't do as much, but it does what it does so well, that it stands out to me. Having said that, I'm pretty sure that a majority of people would prefer the flexibility of the HX/DA.

Did this a while back, trying to set the two amps as close as possible by ear, for what it's worth (which is not much...youtube videos stink for this sort of comparison...particularly the way that I do them...)

I'll say this for either of them though... For you modders out there, these are a tweaker's dream. Super easy to work on. Really great construction and layout for those of us who like to monkey around with the circuits....

Aristotle, PM sent.

 

[aristotle]

Hi FJ4.... Never received the PM.

 

[FJ4]

Hi FJ4.... Never received the PM.

Thanks! sent again.