Your ideal rig ... partII

[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.