NPAD...New Plum Amp Day!

T

Trea

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Mar 24, 2013
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So I did a thing today. Man this thing is a fire breather. I'm definitely not used to having a high gain amp but after a few minutes of messing around I'm pretty sure there are some good sounds in there. It's going to take me a while to figure out where I like it. I traded my 2 Channel H for it, mostly because the H was too loud to get a nice sound out of in the bedroom and the weight difference. I have a permanent back issue that made it tough to haul around. This one is a breeze to carry. At half power this amp is great for the bedroom too. So far I'm liking it. May try a few pedals into the clean channel for lower gain type stuff as the lead channel just doesn't seem to do lower gain at all.
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Clean + OD808 is a great low-gain combo for an Archon. You might also swap the speaker for weight/tone adjustment. The lead channel can also do low gain, but will have that sweet toothy bite at any gain.

Fantastic amp, and great looking with plum/tan. I'm sorely tempted myself.

Rock on!
 
If you want fat and/or smooth, try a Barber Gain Changer for low to mid gain OD tones. Hard to beat! But like E says, the gain channel CAN do lower gain tones, you just have to turn the gain down lower than you think would make sense... I've run my for 2-3 days without turning it UP to 9:00 . Seriously, sat between 8:00 and 8:30 for probably three nights, trying it out.

Also, the lower power mode really doesn't make it "better for low volumes" necessarily. It makes it sound differently and it may or may not be what you're after. Hoping not to insult your amp knowledge here, but when you switch from Pentode to Triode you do get lower power. You also usually LOSE some top and some bottom, and definitely lose some punch. So if you are going for a smoother bluesier or more vintage tone, you might prefer it in lower power mode even if you're cranking it. But if you think it loses too much punch or life at low volumes, leave it in high powered mode and just turn the masters down.

Both tones are awesome and different and cool but don't chose the modes just on volume, choose them based on punch, feel and tone.
 
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I'll echo what Elvis and DTR have said. You can get some killer low gain tones out of that thing.
 
Congrats! As has been said, the Archon is an amazing amp! Tweak away, add a pedal, or don't! It'll all sound crazy good!
 
Thanks for the advice and congrats guys. I had some time to play with it last night and made a few observations. I like the half power mode for quieter practice. You do lose some of the brightness but using the bright switch and turning up the presence brings it back. At lower volumes the Depth knob doesn't seem to do much but I don't seem to need it anyway. As I am not really a pedal guy I tried the one OD pedal that I have (OCD) in front of the clean channel and was able to get some decent tones. Good enough for practice anyway. The clean channel is pretty good I must say. I do prefer the clean on my old 2 channel H but there's nothing wrong with this one. It's just a different clean if that makes sense. A bit less Fendery I think. However I have only tried the amp with one of my guitars so far, a Paul's Guitar. Tonight I will see how it sounds with other guitars. As far as the gain goes I've left it around 9 or a bit lower for my tastes so far. It's still more than I normally use but turning it up sure can be fun.

Do any of you guys know what tubes these come with? I have a box of tubes and may get around to some tube rolling at some point.
 
Thanks. After spending some more time with the amp and reading through the great advice given by the folks in this thread I am really digging the amp. I'm confident that I made a good trade for my needs. One thing I really like is how much it reacts to the controls on the guitar. Most high gain amps I've ever tried do not do this at all, in fact most just get muddy as you turn the volume down on the guitar. This one cleans up nicely and there are some really great tones to be found in that range. This is a very versatile amp.
 
I guess brittle was not the best choice of adjectives. More like flat, not harsh. Really flat and kind of dead to my ears. Hi-fi if you will. Turning up the gain a bit stays clean but adds some life.
 
I found two distinctly different tones between master dimed and gain at 9-10 o'clock, vs. gain dimed and master at 9-10 o'clock. And there are shades in between. Sounds like for the most part, you and I preferred the "gain up" one. I do for my style. Not that I have a style. But for someone seeking a high headroom, great tone, super clean tone, the volume dimed one was awesome as well.

After Pete Thorns latest demo of the Wampler Tumnus Deluxe, I want one of those to push the clean channels on the C50 and Archon. Gain up a little, master as far as your ears can stand, and kick that thing on... ahhhhh. (Side note, the best tones I heard in the Jmod/Two Rock demo in the other thread was when he stepped on the Klon clone, whatever one it was that he used. THAT was AWESOME tone! hmmm, time to dial the Gain Changer a bit and see how close I can get.
 
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A Klon in front of a pushed clean channel is a marvelous thing. And a vintage style speaker with that Archon will tame that top end.
 
There’s more than one Creamback though, so which one you choose will be a big deal. I haven’t tried an H type speaker with my Archon. Could work. I like M type and V type and mixing both. I’d like to try the H/V mix and maybe H/M mix.
 
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