Sonic Blue 55
New Member
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2018
- Messages
- 161
I am in three different bands. One is all acoustic. The other two are a blues band and a Dead uncover band mixed with Western swing, Buck, Merle, Byrd’s, Stones, Kinks, just a wild and eclectic mix.
The DeadCo band gets great tone with a Tele into a Tweed Deluxe with a Boss ‘63 Fender Reverb Pedal. It nails the tone.
The Blues band has been a struggle to get it just right. I have been using the Tele and a Custom Strat into the Tweeds and a 1980 Black face Deluxe Reverb. Sounds good at rehearsals indoors and recording in the studio, but live, especially outdoors, it wasn’t working for me.
After years of searching, I found a gold Top Double Cut McCarty with Soap Bars. A year later I came across a 50 watt H head with Paisley Tolex for a great price. Luckily, I have spare cabinets. My local shop had two Dan Armstrong ultra light cabinets with Cerwin Vega speakers, a closed back with a 12” and an open back with a 15”. My son preferred the open back and gigged with it. Like any smart son, he threw pedals and cords in the back and perforated the cone. I am sticking with the 12” cab for now. My other cabinet has a 12” Jensen MOD, their version of a Celestion. I use that cabinet pointing at the drummer.
I tried using the Tele and Strat through the H, but my tone was thin and not to my liking. Switching to the McCarty, I get a fatter bottom end, choosing to stick with the neck pickup for more beef. The bridge pickup is Tele like with spank and tonk. It gets used sparingly.
We played yesterday in my front yard under the shady Liquid Amber trees with a neighbor recording it all.the crowd said,”Turn up the guitar” so I did. I used both channels depending on the song, keeping the master volume at 1 o’clock and the pre amp about the same. I use the pots on the PRS quite a lot. When I replaced the Duncan’s with Harmonic Design, the tech installed new pots as well, very dynamic and sensitive, I have far more control than I used to.
The pairing of the McCarty and H gives me exactly the tone I’m after, whether playing an Albert King, Clapton, Taj Mahal, or many other artists tunes.
Thanks for reading.
Cheers from Bakersfield, CA.
Matt
The DeadCo band gets great tone with a Tele into a Tweed Deluxe with a Boss ‘63 Fender Reverb Pedal. It nails the tone.
The Blues band has been a struggle to get it just right. I have been using the Tele and a Custom Strat into the Tweeds and a 1980 Black face Deluxe Reverb. Sounds good at rehearsals indoors and recording in the studio, but live, especially outdoors, it wasn’t working for me.
After years of searching, I found a gold Top Double Cut McCarty with Soap Bars. A year later I came across a 50 watt H head with Paisley Tolex for a great price. Luckily, I have spare cabinets. My local shop had two Dan Armstrong ultra light cabinets with Cerwin Vega speakers, a closed back with a 12” and an open back with a 15”. My son preferred the open back and gigged with it. Like any smart son, he threw pedals and cords in the back and perforated the cone. I am sticking with the 12” cab for now. My other cabinet has a 12” Jensen MOD, their version of a Celestion. I use that cabinet pointing at the drummer.
I tried using the Tele and Strat through the H, but my tone was thin and not to my liking. Switching to the McCarty, I get a fatter bottom end, choosing to stick with the neck pickup for more beef. The bridge pickup is Tele like with spank and tonk. It gets used sparingly.
We played yesterday in my front yard under the shady Liquid Amber trees with a neighbor recording it all.the crowd said,”Turn up the guitar” so I did. I used both channels depending on the song, keeping the master volume at 1 o’clock and the pre amp about the same. I use the pots on the PRS quite a lot. When I replaced the Duncan’s with Harmonic Design, the tech installed new pots as well, very dynamic and sensitive, I have far more control than I used to.
The pairing of the McCarty and H gives me exactly the tone I’m after, whether playing an Albert King, Clapton, Taj Mahal, or many other artists tunes.
Thanks for reading.
Cheers from Bakersfield, CA.
Matt
