What do you hear? (Ear Test rd.2)

Maynehead

There's a harsh midrange distortion going on, like someone put an EQ pedal in front of a Fender amp and wacked one of the middle sliders all the way up. The bass is also not detailed enough for my liking, a bit too woolly.

ESchap

I quite like it, is there a paraphase inverter in the circuit?  tends to give that rasp on multiple notes.

KKJale

I like the playing, and it's a good musical style to choose for a sound demo, but that fake, chirruppy Strymon setting is horrible. 

Ignoring that, well, or trying to, I quite like the general middle/top end. There's a clarity and roundness there I'd be fairly happy with. Trouble is, there's not much above-the-octave high-end here to judge. At 0:40 there's a single higher note (F#) that's fairly harsh-sounding.

If my middle/lower string double-stops interacted like this recording, to me it'd be a problem and I would be seeking to improve it. 

No definition, twang or solidity on the lower end at all. 

RiftAmps

Thanks to everyone for your responses so far. It's certainly interesting to see how people perceive tone during a blind listening test.

This is only meant to be a little bit of fun to help create a bit of member interaction on the forum, something different from the usual posts that we get.

"What amp is it?" I hear you ask...

It's a mid-powered 'British' voiced amplifier with a 1x12" open-backed cabinet, loaded with an Alnico speaker.


I shall do more of these in the future

ICBM

RiftAmps said:

It's a mid-powered 'British' voiced amplifier with a 1x12" open-backed cabinet, loaded with an Alnico speaker.

Out of curiosity, what sort of 'British' - Marshall, Vox, Hiwatt, Orange... other?

Any specific historic circuit it's derived from?

mr-mac

More info???  Let's go for a WEM early Marshall circuit

RiftAmps

ICBM said:

RiftAmps said:

It's a mid-powered 'British' voiced amplifier with a 1x12" open-backed cabinet, loaded with an Alnico speaker.

Out of curiosity, what sort of 'British' - Marshall, Vox, Hiwatt, Orange... other?

Any specific historic circuit it's derived from?

Does it really matter?! Everything is a Tweed Bassman anyway

KKJale

RiftAmps said:

The more detailed, the better.

Sounds like a bit of a one-way arrangement then  

RiftAmps

KKJale said:

RiftAmps said:

The more detailed, the better.

Sounds like a bit of a one-way arrangement then  

Of course, that's exactly what a blind test is!

If you knew what the amplifier was beforehand, your answers would be different

impmann

RiftAmps said:

ICBM said:

RiftAmps said:

It's a mid-powered 'British' voiced amplifier with a 1x12" open-backed cabinet, loaded with an Alnico speaker.

Out of curiosity, what sort of 'British' - Marshall, Vox, Hiwatt, Orange... other?

Any specific historic circuit it's derived from?

Does it really matter?! Everything is a Tweed Bassman anyway

Erm, if you are making AC30s based on the Tweed Bassman circuit they may not sound *quite* right. ;-)

hywelg

I thought maybe EL84's in fixed bias with possibly a valve rec, and Aynsley Lister doing the demo?

Am I right @RiftAmps ?

RiftAmps

hywelg said:

I thought maybe EL84's in fixed bias with possibly a valve rec, and Aynsley Lister doing the demo?

Am I right @RiftAmps ?

Valve rectifier, yes,
 
The rest? Nope

uncledick

The nearest I've ever been to that tone is with an old Selmer TnB 50.  Awful thing - gave it to our bass player.

ThorpyFX

uncledick said:

The nearest I've ever been to that tone is with an old Selmer TnB 50.  Awful thing - gave it to our bass player.

They are fantastic amplifiers.... love a good sellmer T&B

Branshen

It's got decent amount of highs but it's not scooped and also has a gritty drive. So, I guess it would be a lower wattage tube amp with the mids turned up a fair bit.