axe fx or not

[jezzbo]

Please guys, save me.
I'm thinking of buying an axe fx and selling my tubeamp.
The reason? I'm tired of getting "turn it down" comments from band members and sound engineers).
As we all know, a tube amp sounds best when turned up, but tell that to the rest of the world.

[Wayne]

DON'T DO IT!!!

Those electronic effects were placed on earth by you-know-who ( ) to tempt us. They sound like crap.

Could a smaller tube amp be the answer to your problem? I don't know what you play now, but there are lots of amp designs floating around both here and elsewhere that are big-amp inspired but use smaller output tubes to acheive good tone at lower volumes - the most extreme in power reduction is the Lil Devil 2W Wreck - man, I want one of those things! VVR and/or Airbrake type devices are options as well.

You can do a lot with amp placement, too. If you can sneak your amp in behind one of the PA cabinets for instance, you might be able to turn it up enough to sound good. For 10 years, I've been playing a 100W Marshall in a very quiet50s/60s/70s band. When I first joined the band, they whined at me to turn it down constantly. Now that I've learned a few tricks about amp placement and what I can and can't get away with, they usually tell me to turn it up during sound check!

If all that fails, you can go super-diva, fire them all, and get a band that can take it!

Before you do anything too extreme, tell us about your setup.

W

[jezzbo]

DON'T DO IT!!!
Before you do anything too extreme, tell us about your setup.

W

hey Wayne,

thanks for your reply.
At the moment I have 3 amps. (67 bandmaster, homemade DC30 clone and ceriatone OTS)
I bought the OTS kit assuming that I could use it with the mastervolume on low levels. But it doesn't really sound great. (good but not great)
the bandmaster has a very nice sound but is to loud for the venues my band plays. Even the DC30 is to loud!
At the moment I'm taking a Super Champ XD to rehearsals. although it sounds good at home, I'm missing something at louder volumes. (the speaker in it is a Eminence legend btw)
I'm searching for something with a great sound at low volume.

I play, swing, rockabilly, country, blues and rock (maximum distortion is like AC/DC kind of crunch)

thanks!

[Structo]

Yep, if you plug straight into the board you are completely at the mercy of the sound guy.....

I ran a POD XTL direct when I used to play at my church.

There was always somebody new on the board it seems so if I had a lead or a part that needed turned up I would look at the person at the board and they would either be asleep or talking to someone......

So after a few times like that I would do sound check with my volume pedal about 1/2 to 3/4 the way up so I had some throttle left when I needed it.

The piano player was the leader and she hated electric guitars.
So she was happiest when nobody could hear me.
But on the few occasions when I was cut loose to play, the people in the congregation always came up afterwards and thanked me for rockin' their world.

Then they bought those Bose PAS speaker sticks and I said buh bye.

[Wayne]

Sound guys. Don't get me started!

If your Champ is making the sound you want but just isn't loud enough, maybe you could mic it and bleed a little into the monitors - may not be a popular idea with the vocalist, though! Or maybe an extension speaker right down by your feet would give you the warm, fuzzy glow you needed.

Didn't someone here build a single-ended amp with either an EL34 or a 6550? Either of those, done right, should give you a bit more oomph than your Champ. Not a lot more, but a bit more.

W

[M Fowler]

What you need is to build yourself a Princeton Reverb or Deluxe Reverb and rock your world.

Mark

[jezzbo]

What you need is to build yourself a Princeton Reverb or Deluxe Reverb and rock your world.

Mark

I've been thinking about building one of those.

[Cygnus X1]

Didn't someone here build a single-ended amp with either an EL34 or a 6550? Either of those, done right, should give you a bit more oomph than your Champ. Not a lot more, but a bit more.

W

Yes...thank you.
It has a lot more oomph than a champ, and much more tonal and distortion range.

[img:511:486]http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/3576 ... 3fr1fr.jpg[/img]

[jezzbo]

That looks nice!
Do you have any soundfiles?

[Cygnus X1]

That looks nice!
Do you have any soundfiles?

Somehwere.
I'll get back.

Sorry for the derail but I prefer genu-ine toob tone even at low watts over modellers.
Everything has its place though.

[Cygnus X1]

Here's a clip.

Done through a mic on its deathbed.
(Hey kids...did you hear that? Father's Day is coming up!)


http://soundclick.com/share?songid=7550711

[dartanion]

Cygnus,

Is yours a variation of the Beast Champ? I think that is one of Richie's things and Mark Huss has some great sound samples on his site.

I did a 5E1/5F1 type champ that can run EL34/6L6/KT66... A lot more oomph for sure than the 6V6.

Jezzbo,
For the type of stuff you're playing, maybe a AC15 type build (not the new Chinese made ones), or a half power Rocket. Or for that matter a Rocket with VVR or an airbrake. Great clean tones and can be played at manageable levels for picky club owners. It's a great pedal platform too, if you are into that.

[Cygnus X1]

Cygnus,

Is yours a variation of the Beast Champ? I think that is one of Richie's things and Mark Huss has some great sound samples on his site.

I did a 5E1/5F1 type champ that can run EL34/6L6/KT66... A lot more oomph for sure than the 6V6.

I'm not sure if it is.
Not familiar with those amps.

[jezzbo]

Cygnus,

Jezzbo,
For the type of stuff you're playing, maybe a AC15 type build (not the new Chinese made ones), or a half power Rocket. Or for that matter a Rocket with VVR or an airbrake. Great clean tones and can be played at manageable levels for picky club owners. It's a great pedal platform too, if you are into that.

My DC3O clone at 15 watt isn't that more or less an AC15?
(maybe if i'm using 1X12" instead of 2X12"?)
What's VVR?

Thanks.

So I assume none of you guys like the Axe FX?
(It is probably overkill for what I play)

[brewdude]

VVR stands for variable voltage regulator. It is used to lower the output volume by reducing the B+ voltage in your amp. It can be used to scale the entire amp, the PA and PI, or just the PA. It works really well. Dana Hall (ur12) is a very helpful guy.

http://www.hallamplification.com/main.html#2,2