The HDRX 20 watt head is in!

Well this morning I played a bit with my '95 CE-22. Original Dragon humbuckers.

Set the amp up for a semi-clean tone. All three volume controls about 1/2 way up.

Played some SRV, Hendrix, Pops Staples style R&B double stop stuff using the single coil sounds of the CE-22 and the amp sounded great.

Played some chordal "soul guitar" stuff.. Rainy Night In Georgia kind of stuff like SRV plays on Lenny or Riviera Paradise or Hendrix plays on the intro to Little Wing,

Then, without changing any of the amp settings, I switched to bridge humbucker and tried the Dover Drive and also the Hot Cake.

Killer hard rock lead tones.

A little loud, but I'm thrilled with this amp!
 
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Louguitar said:
Well this morning I played a bit with my '95 CE-22. Original Dragon humbuckers.

Set the amp up for a semi-clean tone. All three volume controls about 1/2 way up.

Played some SRV, Hendrix, Pops Staples style R&B double stop stuff using the single coil sounds of the CE-22 and the amp sounded great.

Played some chordal "soul guitar" stuff.. Rainy Night In Georgia kind of stuff like SRV plays on Lenny or Riviera Paradise or Hendrix plays on the intro to Little Wing,

Then, without changing any of the amp settings, I switched to bridge humbucker and tried the Dover Drive and also the Hot Cake.

Killer hard rock lead tones.

A little loud, but I'm thrilled with this amp!
Click to expand...
You're into something...good! And - apologies in advance - couldn't resist: At least it's a Carole King song:

 
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László said:
You have to give props to Carole King and Goffen, her collaborator. I heard her perform it her way, and it was magnificent.

Great song!!
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Carole King is one of our greatest songwriters.

It's so hard to write a catchy melody and a simple song that's really good!

Not to be an old fogey, but that's what's wrong with today's music. Not enough melody.

You kind of have to go to the country, bluegrass, Americana genre to hear something melodic.

 
László said:
We should form a band, right? I'll play keys. All we need is a great singer, a killer drummer and a solid bass player to make the big time! ;)

Oh yeah, and Wayback Machine to take 50 years or so off...
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Great idea. Unfortunately, like they say, 9:30 has become the new midnight for me. ;)
 
My Chase Tone EP3 sounds incredible with my strat its so clean and punchy. I usually run the master around 7. The presence adds gain it you need it. The Solo Dallas pedal is great acdc tones.
 
I've been playing the HDRX with the two preamp volumes at around 12 O'clock (it varies) and the master between the 9 O'clock and 11 O'clock.

Been playing mostly my Silver Sky and when I really want to rock, my CE-22 with Dragon 1 pickups.

For me to get the most out of this amp, using my pedal board is a must.

I can't get my sound playing completely dry.

The Wampler Ego compressor is sometimes on for a slight boost, even with clean Strat tones. My TC Hall of fame Reverb is always on as is my Timeline Delay but I keep them turned down so the effect is very subtle.

I can get nice Hendrix style cleanish chords with my Silver Sky guitars with the guitar volume control turned down between 5 and 7...or I can crank the volume on my guitars for a nice bluesy lead tone.

If I want a rock tone, especially a heavy saturated rock tone, I use either my Dover Drive or Hot Cake pedals. I have both on my board and they sound similar but different enough that they're both useful. I go back and forth between them.

The Hot Cake has a big, deep, saturated, heavy tone that's great for Jeff Beck type things. Really fattens up single coils. The Dover Drive has less bass and a smooth tone for Eric Johnson type violin tones when my guitar is turned up, but it does the Jeff Beck thing too.

I can lower the volume on my guitar while using either pedal to play semi-clean chords, but I turn them off to play clean chords.

I've never owned an amp that's so much fun to play!

But it sounds best with those pedals.

I'm starting to see these amps used and I wonder if the guys selling them just used them straight with no pedals.

Even in the official PRS demos I can hear some reverb and delay being used.
 
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My enthusiasm for this amp has only grown. I've never owned a better amp for rock and roll.

A decent pedal board is a must. It really benefits from a great overdrive pedal and some reverb or delay. All three actually.

Been using mine with a Hot Cake, Dover Drive or Klon KTR for overdrive. And a Hall of Fame II reverb pedal and Timeline delay.

Been playing mine through a one 12 Matchless cab with Celestion G12H30 speaker.

But also been using my VHT two 12 cab with Warehouse Sound Veteran 30's like Brent Mason uses.

Those get great tones too.
 
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Louguitar said:
My enthusiasm for this amp has only grown. I've never owned a better amp for rock and roll.

A decent pedal board is a must. It really benefits from a great overdrive pedal and some reverb or delay. All three actually.

Been using mine with a Hot Cake, Dover Drive or Klon KTR for overdrive. And a Hall of Fame II reverb pedal and Timeline delay.

Been playing mine through a one 12 Matchless cab with Celestion G12H30 speaker.

But also been using my VHT two 12 cab with Warehouse Sound Veteran 30's like Brent Mason uses, and that sounds killer too!
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This makes me want the 50W version (I'm that guy).
 
Louguitar said:
My enthusiasm for this amp has only grown. I've never owned a better amp for rock and roll.

A decent pedal board is a must. It really benefits from a great overdrive pedal and some reverb or delay. All three actually.

Been using mine with a Hot Cake, Dover Drive or Klon KTR for overdrive. And a Hall of Fame II reverb pedal and Timeline delay.

Been playing mine through a one 12 Matchless cab with Celestion G12H30 speaker.

But also been using my VHT two 12 cab with Warehouse Sound Veteran 30's like Brent Mason uses, and that sounds killer too!
Click to expand...
Would you feel the same if you played blues to metal (I don't need this amp to do metal!) but mainly classic to hard rock with humbuckers?

I have an Archon and a Bogner ATMA. They cover a LOT of ground. My primary interest in this was to pair with my Silver Sky for Hendrix and Trower stuff, and cross over to at least classic rock gain levels with humbuckers. I have a lot of ground covered with the ATMA and Archon and was just looking for something different, and, something that would KILL at the Hendrix and Trower stuff. As I debate my next move on the Silver Sky, I've completely put this on the back burner because I haven't heard a lot of feedback (or clips) from humbucker players.
 
Louguitar said:
You don't need it. These are loud amps and they sound best with the master turned up.

But if I do need more watts:

https://imgur.com/HiaFmGm
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It isn't a matter of need. I like the lower-midrange girth of a 50 or 100W amp, especially with humbuckers.

Given the phenomenal build quality of my PRS CAD amps, I want to continue buying the USA stuff, too, so I don't mind the extra cost. My problem (such as it is) is that I have the HXDA and really don't need the amp at all! I just want one! ;)
 
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DreamTheaterRules said:
Would you feel the same if you played blues to metal (I don't need this amp to do metal!) but mainly classic to hard rock with humbuckers?

I have an Archon and a Bogner ATMA. They cover a LOT of ground. My primary interest in this was to pair with my Silver Sky for Hendrix and Trower stuff, and cross over to at least classic rock gain levels with humbuckers. I have a lot of ground covered with the ATMA and Archon and was just looking for something different, and, something that would KILL at the Hendrix and Trower stuff. As I debate my next move on the Silver Sky, I've completely put this on the back burner because I haven't heard a lot of feedback (or clips) from humbucker players.
Click to expand...
With an overdrive pedal you can easily get great metal tones with this amp. It also gets great ZZ Top style Blues/Rock, British Blues, SRV and Hendrix tones.

It's like a little Marshall but with some differences. The master volume control is a really useful tool, along with the separate preamp volumes.

If I want overdrive I always play through it with an overdrive pedal. I add some delay and reverb in front too.

But when I turn off the overdrive and just play my Silver Sky clean with a little reverb it gets a great Robert Cray kind of clean tone for blues.

It's just like any good amp. Gets great clean tones for blues or funk or whatever.

But it's meaty.

I've been playing mostly my 90's CE22's through this amp, BTW. Hot humbucking Dragon 1 pickups.

But my Silver Skys and Strats do sound great through it too!
 
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