Your ideal rig ... partII

[Eyes of the Night]

Then it hits me 3 months later ... after I get my 5150II half stack(slant) and reading a kick ass post by BRETT saying "yeah, he swapped for a marshall cab and it's like night and day the diff in sound comparisment ... or to that effect ... quote unquote, brett you my friend get a 5 star ya bastard! Times of change 7 years later ...

Or was it CAT saying "yeah I fried the circuits installing the tubes myself so I had to switch up and put diff tubes in and it actually enhanced the beef ... what I like to call da beef and myself am switching/changing tubes to Groovetubes from Ruby ... cunt wait ...

So it stands as of this day onwards and upwards ti'll my death a checklist for a grunge rocker bringing back high energy rock looks like ...

-Wolfy(98') eyes custom
-5150II head
-Marshall 1960a cab

*-2 Line6 Modulators, the green one and da blue one-*
*--

All run through various ROCK Monster Cables ...

*-Everything is Analog ... she's SO dry she may chap
*-- HOLY FOOTNOTE: GAR!, are those reissue EL34's the 6CA7's currently avail? Where again? ...

SAY NO TO GOOGLE, you have online TECHS

Which reminds me, I'm taking those tubes to this cat that's "the best in seattle" which says A LOT, does Pearl Jams' setups, SO waht I need to know again cause I ferget because of "the drugs" is what am I trying to max out or just raise in the bias? Like variacing it without variacing it ... the uh ,,, um ... tranny? Cuntfused ... and was the number to 750? ...

I want my shit ALL tricked out modified with customed modifys by all the family here fo' sure ... fuck all the drama kids ... 7 years of rants is WHY I stick pretty much only to DE GUITAR FORUM ...

and is why I'm starting this thread in the mizane;) ...





I'm gatored kids ... go see the movie HITCH!!! ... buwahaha ain't THAT some doo dah there you vets of the land ... I rolled laughing first time I saw the previews ...



http://eyes5150.homestead.com/files/Eyes/026.jpg

[ThrillsNSpills]

Is that a picture , or do they put TVs in Amp heads these days?

[ThrillsNSpills]

Try a Tech 21 into a marshall sometime.
You can get controlled feedback at low volumes if you work the dials right.
There's many fine tones to be had, but I'm more of a technique junkie myself.
If you like grunge, that might work for you.
The guitar looks good.
later

[Eyes of the Night]

I do have a Rocktron Xpression rack that I threw in the effects loop ... and after weeks of dialing the bitch in the problem was not how I dialed but how it took some BEEF out ... enough to say, "nope sir don't like it" ...

Then I bought the DL4 cause all I wanted really was echo ... tape that I could use to emmulate, as much as I can same with the MXR flanger in the MM4 without having a junkyard of pedals so to speak ... plus James Hettfield uses the green one!

Anything WET while being a technique player ie.digital to me is like riding a fake wave and in the end you lose tone no matter how minimal of that effect you put into your mix ... play pretty you pay!

So with my "ideal rig" for me as a grungeafist trying to hybird two complete diff styles of play nothing is fake building character with every chop ... pure beef ...

thing is I gotta get this shit straight by next week cause 2 of us are cutting demos through just a mixer and a cdburner ... get that livelier feel throwing down old school ways with our youth and passion to sell at least 1 gold record in the end ... I'm pretty much set on a 6-8 month bootcamp of hustlin', and if there was 1 thing we could do it is that, a decent record deal ...


Looking california feeling minnesota;) ...

[GAR]

Say "yes" to Googling for accurate information on finding the correct supply voltage when moving from 6L6 to 6CA7 reissues by Groove Tubes.

I spoke to Aspen Pittman after bumping into him several times at the show, he said he is indeed making the 6CA7's here in SoCal, with original General Electric tooling, by hand.

Now your Variac question: this is a metal unit the size of a toaster which contains a step-up transformer you select a voltage tap from a range of zero to 140 volts AC household current. You should get one and plug the 5150-II power cord into it, then plug the Variac power cord into your wall outlet. You set the voltage to no lower than 90 volts somewhere to a point you like between 90 and 98 volts IMO.

.. and you need to know we mourn the HitchWORLD©™ Brand being stolen by Will Smith for his own petty use, for which he surely will be penetrated over ultimately.

BOYCOTT HITCH THE MOVIE

[GAR]

Originally posted by GAR
You set the voltage to no lower than 90 volts somewhere to a point you like between 90 and 98 volts IMO.

For Eye's understanding, this means you move the big knob to point at the number 90 on the dial.

[Eyes of the Night]

Fuck the Mods here suck ...


Booooh!!!

[Eyes of the Night]

Originally posted by GAR
I spoke to Aspen Pittman after bumping into him several times at the show, he said he is indeed making the 6CA7's here in SoCal, with original General Electric tooling, by hand.

Wella, it sounded like something I would want ... how is he going to distribute? Webpage? ...

[Eyes of the Night]

Originally posted by GAR
Now your Variac question: this is a metal unit the size of a toaster which contains a step-up transformer you select a voltage tap from a range of zero to 140 volts AC household current. You should get one and plug the 5150-II power cord into it, then plug the Variac power cord into your wall outlet. You set the voltage to no lower than 90 volts somewhere to a point you like between 90 and 98 volts IMO.

Aight, I'll fav this page and quote to pass along to dude because I'm not touching shit! ...

[Eyes of the Night]

Originally posted by GAR
.. and you need to know we mourn the HitchWORLD©™ Brand being stolen by Will Smith for his own petty use, for which he surely will be penetrated over ultimately.

BOYCOTT HITCH THE MOVIE


Hellarious! ...


:gulp:

[GAR]

Originally posted by Eyes
Aight, I'll fav this page and quote to pass along to dude because I'm not touching shit! ...

To use a Variac?

You plug into it like a motor speed controller. If you're too chicken to try a Variac with your amp, try a room fan or a hand drill till you get the hang of it.

Variacs only have one function, to raise or lower the voltage coming out of your wall.

Think of a Variac as an adjustable-voltage extention cord you plug a power cord into. They cost about $60 used on eBay.

[Eyes of the Night]

Ah, I see ... well maybe then if she's ajustable ... I thought it was a hardware spec and or something totally diff than da variac option that I could tweak upwards knowing the peak level is really high compared to where ed has it set ...

[GAR]

Some people including Ed say he'd set it to "140 to watch the tubes melt" but the deep sound really only happens at about 92.

It is safe to dial-down the input voltage an amp uses, but going over 125 stresses the amp components because they generate heat beyond specific operating range they're designed to handle.

Excessive heat causes component values to drift, drifting causes emminent failure and ultimately a risk to speaker damage as well.

There is a way to successfully operate a tube head at 140 volts but it has to be setup that way internally and is not something I ever discuss openly.

[Hardrock69]

I am getting in on this thread kinda late, but I already have most of my ideal rig:

1979 Marshall 100W Super Lead Model #2203
Carvin 4 X 12 Slant Cab with 4 70w Celestions (I want a stack of Marshall cabs with 30w Celestions someday)
1988 Gibson FLying V with EMG pickup
Original TS-9 Tube Screamer

8 other guitars, numerous other stomp boxes, Roland VS-1680 digital hard disk recorder, mics, software, Tannoy studio monitors.....

[Nitro Express]

Ed said the only reason he used a variac was that his Marshall only sounded good cranked and they were getting kicked out of clubs because he was so loud. He turned the speakers backwards, put the speaker cover on and even made a foam baffle and none of it worked. Ed said he then got a Ohmite variac to reduce the voltage and that helped him get the sound at less volume.

I'm sure if they had hotplates available in the day, Ed would have used one of those instead of the variac.

Of course he was using variacs live on the first world tour on his amp and in the studio. So it must have colored the sound the way he liked because he used variacs where sound reduction wasn't really neccessary.

[The Scatologist]

Here's what my Idea Rig will be


Bogner Ecstacy head going through slanted Mesa Boogie speakers

Gibson 59 burst


a Custom Kramer style guitar, made with a Pacer body, OFR, Seymour Duncan Antiquity PAF replica, a neck from Warmoth which would be a Kramer Baretta style neck with a maple fretboard, and wolfgang radius.
It would also have a buzz feiten installed on both guitars.

Fulltone Full Drive 2

Crybaby Wah (modified so you can just make it get stuck half way then walk away)


Um that would be about it. DAMN I want that rig!

[GAR]

Originally posted by Nitro Express
Ed said ... it must have colored the sound the way he liked because he used variacs where sound reduction wasn't really neccessary.

What Ed says in print versus what he actually did became a game of truth-or-dare to other guitarists reading it.

He did use a variac which can be seen on the stage in some pics, but it was dialed to a point that balanced the outputs bias at the input voltage point that sounded best to him; then that "source head" output was fed to a resistance load (the "dynamite sticks" of Ohmite ceramic resistors) then distributed to slave heads and/or (or both) an 800 watt solid-state power amp as backup to feed all those hungry cabs.

That's an old-school tubejockey way of getting a line-level out to multiple heads. Ed probably has two or three heads as possible source and source-tone backup heads, with enough solid-state power amp wattage like a QSC to distribute straight kilowatt voltage to the cabs based on what the source heads dose out.

[Eyes of the Night]

Originally posted by Hardrock69
I am getting in on this thread kinda late, but I already have most of my ideal rig:

1979 Marshall 100W Super Lead Model #2203
Carvin 4 X 12 Slant Cab with 4 70w Celestions (I want a stack of Marshall cabs with 30w Celestions someday)
1988 Gibson FLying V with EMG pickup
Original TS-9 Tube Screamer


Holy fucking RIG batman! ... Niice indeed ... vintage my bre vintage ... I like ... monster tone I bet ...

[Hardrock69]

Yeah, but I have never played my head through a real Marshall cab....the Carvin sounds ok with the 70w Celestions, but because they are 70-watt speakers, there is none of that Celestion breakup.

I saw a used Marshall cab at Broadway Music here in Gnashville for 325 bucks. It needs a grill cloth, is kinda beat up, and it has 3 25 watt Celestions and 1 65-watt Celestion. Here is a picture:

http://www.broadway-music.com/catg/CON406000047844.JPG

Thing is, it is a consignment deal, so no layaway, and I do not have 325 bucks to spare. I would rather have something not quite so torn up also.

One of these days.

My rig sounds great by itself....it has a first-stage gain boost, and is running EL34 Groove Tubes, though I am going to change out my tubes later this year to Svetlana, and another brand whose name escapes me at the moment. When using the Tube Sremaer it REALLY rocks!

I have a bro in Bakersfield who has done some work on his Marshalls, and is quite the genius guy....he swears by Svetlana, and I trust his advice implicitly.

Right now on the last 3 songs I have recorded on my Roland, I have just plugged directly into the VS-1680 and am using their Soldano amp simulator. Sounds great! I am picky about my guitar sound, and the advantage of doing this is that it sounds exactly the same every time, whereas just miking an amp, you can have slight differences in tone depending on the line voltage, humidity and temperature, and of course mic placement is a huge factor as well.
I live way out in the stix, so I feel my line voltage is probably not as stable as it would be closer in to town, but oh well.

Very soon I will record some guitar tracks using my rig, and will post some samples.

:cool:

[houseofpain]

My ideal rig:
Les Paul "Black Beauty" Custom
Marshall Cab loaded with Celestion Greenbacks
Soldano SLO Head
Boss CE-5 Chorus
MXR Phase 90
Boss Flanger
MXR Wylde Overdrive
Boss EQ

I'd also love to have for tinkering around the house:
Fender Hot Rod Deluxe (with the 4 10s)
a Double Muff distortion pedal
a strat that I thought sounded like it was worth a crap.
and a couple of more Jacksons (gotta be V's)

[ashstralia]

Originally posted by Nitro Express
I'm sure if they had hotplates available in the day, Ed would have used one of those instead of the variac.


perhaps partly ed's tone was so
fat was cause he wasn't constantly
slammin his output stage with max voltage?

just a thought, cause in my experience
powersoak type devices are very tough
on output circuits.

[Coyote]

If I get a job for the summer I'll swap this Marshall MG head for something else. (hopefully)

Cab-wise, I'm gonna stick to this Behringer

But, first on the agenda is the "new pickups for the Tokai"-project.


Ah, but I digress, Ideal rig?
Somethin' like this:
Marshall JCM900 SL-X
Powerbreak/Hot Plate
A cab (other than Marshall)
Phase 90
Flanger
Delay
Chorus
Dyna Comp
7-band graphic EQ
(maybe) Cry Baby

(maybe a Cry Baby)

[Hardrock69]

Wow...went and jammed the other night with some friends....believe it or not it was the first time I ever played through my halfstack with a live band....had that motherfucker set at 5.....

SWEEEEEET!!!!

:D

My ears are still ringing....stoopid me, did not wear earplugs.

I should know better, I have Tinnitus....


Had fun tho!

:)

[kentuckyklira]

Originally posted by ThrillsNSpills
Try a Tech 21 into a marshall sometime.
You can get controlled feedback at low volumes if you work the dials right.
There's many fine tones to be had, but I'm more of a technique junkie myself.
If you like grunge, that might work for you.
The guitar looks good.
later Get a Fernandes guitar with a sustainer and you´ll have all the controlled feedback you´ll ever need!

Plus, you don´t have to fuck up your rig with any amp modeller crap!

[kentuckyklira]

OK,

I´m extremely happy with my rig.

One of my 50+ guitars

->

Roland GP16 19" multieffect

->

ART Multiverb Alpha 2.0 19" multieffect

->

Alesis Quadraverb GT 19" multieffect

->

2 or 4 (depending on size of stage) 1971 Marshall 100w heads (3 originals, 1 reissue)

->

4 or 8 Marshall 4x12 cabs (size of stage)

[Nitro Express]

So Eddie built his own hot plate in the early days using large resistors? I know later on when Custom Audio Electronics put his rig together they were using a Palmer Speaker Simular and running the line level from that to an H&H mosfet power amp.

As far as speaker cabs go, I like the good old Marshall 1960B cab. It just gets a better sound than the Peavey 5150 cab, or the Carvin cab. They are more expensive but worth the extra money. I think ripped cabs look cool. LOL! You only need one anyways. If you need two, it's time to plug into the PA system.

[Hardrock69]

Hmmmm I might make a phone call about that cab....I can always replace the grille cloth...and that is right in my price range....

Meybe I can worksa deal with Legba....you him????

[Panamark]

So Simple for me,

A good guitar with quaility humbuckers and an old school Marshall
Head and CAB.

Therein endeth the lesson.

[ashstralia]

Originally posted by Nitro Express
So Eddie built his own hot plate in the early days using large resistors?

big difference is, with a powersoak
you'd have your master vol at 11.

this runs your amp hard and hot,
and kills output tubes.

a variac type device reduces the
voltage produced at the output.

he! i just plug my toneworks ax1000
straight into the p.a.

every guitar sound you've ever heard,
in a neat package.

[Panamark]

Ash, I dont really know what style you play, but dont you find the
AMP modelling feels "closed". When you are trying to hit pinched harmonics and use the feedback of the amp, theres just not that
same feel there...

[BrownSound1]

Actually a Variac just changes the input voltage....the amp will still be loud and the tubes will get pretty damn hot. By lowering the voltage you could be helping the life of the tubes, but I'd say that is actually debatable. The only thing you'll really notice is a change in tone over a certain voltage range....it sure as hell won't change the volume enough for you to notice.

A powersoak type device doesn't change the voltage of the amp. All it does is attenuate the power going into the speaker cabinet, so you can play with your amp cranked at lower volumes. Don't confuse the use of a Variac with the use of a powersoak, as they are for two different things.

From what I've gathered, Ed's early rig used the Variac to lower or raise the input voltage from 80-140 volts, and he used a homemade dummy load resistor to fool the Marshall into thinking there was a speaker there. A signal was then taken from that dummy load and run into a couple of effects and a rack EQ. From there it went to a power amp and then into two cabinets...one with 25 watt Celestions and the other with JBL speakers. The power amp was cranked to distort the speakers. Note that this is a tad bit different from the setup of his later rigs...especially those used with Van Hagar, in which he had a wet/dry/wet type of speaker setup.

[ashstralia]

Originally posted by Panamark
Ash, I dont really know what style you play, but dont you find the
AMP modelling feels "closed". When you are trying to hit pinched harmonics and use the feedback of the amp, theres just not that
same feel there...

i set up my own sounds,
and the models sound sweet!

and it does feed back beautifully
thru the foldback.

at the mo, it's top 40 with a few classics,
and i play loads of lead, so i've basically
got 4 sounds. clean, dirty, dirtier, and stun!

[Eyes of the Night]

Originally posted by Hardrock69
believe it or not it was the first time I ever played through my halfstack with a live band....had that motherfucker set at 5.....

My ears are still ringing....stoopid me, did not wear earplugs.

I should know better, I have Tinnitus....


Yeah dude, earplugs ... there's a pair that costs around 20 bones but it not foam ... it's a block of resistant metal/tin/something at the end of this cone like cylinder that extends out your ear ... so you hear 90% better and all it does is take out the highs ... that make your ear go hummmmmmmmmmm .....


5's about right, I've been trying to dial in like a 6-7 post and a 5-7ish pre gain setting to get some extra "bark" out of her ...

[Terry]

Originally posted by Panamark
So Simple for me,

A good guitar with quaility humbuckers and an old school Marshall
Head and CAB.

Therein endeth the lesson.

Pretty much sums it up.

Would take a Jackson soloist (24 frets with the lower horn cut for easy upper fret access), Marshall 100-Watt, Pro-Co Rat Distortion pedal for shits and giggles and my long-lost DOD Dual Digital Delay. Maybe a volume pedal as well.

[Nitro Express]

DOD 250 Overdrive, MXR Phase 90, Ibanez FL9 flanger, Electro-Harmonix Big Muff (Hit the button and do Pete Townsend styled ape shit--This peddle will blow speakers if you aren't careful!), BOSS digital delay, Arbiter Fuzz face in an isolation loop with the Big Muff, VOX wah wah peddle, Carvin A/B switcher to switch amp channels and also to run both channels at once, 1987 100 watt plexi Marshall reissue, 1960B Marshall cab loaded with greeen backs.

Guitars of choice: Peavey Wolfgang, Musicman Axis, Les Paul, SG, and a Jackson Soloist.