'Always on' Effects

jd0272

Not a thing. I switch in what I need when I need it. I don't see the point of buying a quality (regardless of cost) valve amp and colouring your 'core sound'. Might as well go transistor.

Our lead dude uses a digi set up through his perfectly rawky JTM 60 head, always got summat switched on, but fuck me, looks like he's tap dancing the whole gig. Each to their own tho.

monquixote

jd0272 said:

Not a thing. I switch in what I need when I need it. I don't see the point of buying a quality (regardless of cost) valve amp and colouring your 'core sound'. Might as well go transistor.

Why? Plenty of people think valve being pushed by solid state is the best sound of all.

JohnPerry

jd0272 said:

 I don't see the point of buying a quality (regardless of cost) valve amp and colouring your 'core sound'. Might as well go transistor.

nah. decent quality "always-on" clean boosts don't colour your valve tone. They just give you, well, more of it. 

jd0272

Not what I meant. I meant (assuming most of 'us' are employing valve amps) may as well ditch the valve amp altogether and run it all through a much cheaper, and more than likely much less maintenance dependant solid state amp. If I'm buying an amplifier, I'm buying it because I really like what it does without pedals etc, so would be unlikely to have an external effect on all the time, as it changes the 'sound' I bought in the first place.

I like the Egnater head, and pop the pedals on and off as required, but use the channels as is. Same with the TSL combo. But that's just me. 

jd0272

That's why I got rid of [several] Bluesbreaker combos, and a lovely JTM45 head, as the sound I wanted I could only really get at full chat, which was undo-able in the local beerery on a Friday night. And the Hotplate made them sound shit.

ICBM

jd0272 said:

I meant (assuming most of 'us' are employing valve amps) may as well ditch the valve amp altogether and run it all through a much cheaper, and more than likely much less maintenance dependant solid state amp.

Except that the sound of all-solid-state is not at all like the sound of a valve amp with a solid-state pedal in front of it. The 'magic' is in the combination of the two technologies, when you find the correct combination - often better than an amp alone.

jd0272 said:

That's why I got rid of [several] Bluesbreaker combos, and a lovely JTM45 head, as the sound I wanted I could only really get at full chat, which was undo-able in the local beerery on a Friday night. And the Hotplate made them sound shit.

Wrong attenuator for those amps... not all attenuators are the same.

monquixote

jd0272 said:

Not what I meant. I meant (assuming most of 'us' are employing valve amps) may as well ditch the valve amp altogether and run it all through a much cheaper, and more than likely much less maintenance dependant solid state amp. If I'm buying an amplifier, I'm buying it because I really like what it does without pedals etc, so would be unlikely to have an external effect on all the time, as it changes the 'sound' I bought in the first place.

I like the Egnater head, and pop the pedals on and off as required, but use the channels as is. Same with the TSL combo. But that's just me. 

That really depends on the pedal. 

If the pedal in question is an HT-Dual or a Bogner Blue that might be the case, but a solid state amp being pushed by a Klone isn't going to sound like a JTM45 being pushed by a Klone and it's unlikely you will find an amp that sounds like that.

jd0272

monquixote said:

jd0272 said:

Not what I meant. I meant (assuming most of 'us' are employing valve amps) may as well ditch the valve amp altogether and run it all through a much cheaper, and more than likely much less maintenance dependant solid state amp. If I'm buying an amplifier, I'm buying it because I really like what it does without pedals etc, so would be unlikely to have an external effect on all the time, as it changes the 'sound' I bought in the first place.

I like the Egnater head, and pop the pedals on and off as required, but use the channels as is. Same with the TSL combo. But that's just me. 

That really depends on the pedal. 

If the pedal in question is an HT-Dual or a Bogner Blue that might be the case, but a solid state amp being pushed by a Klone isn't going to sound like a JTM45 being pushed by a Klone and it's unlikely you will find an amp that sounds like that.

Not disagreeing chap. But my stance is I buy an amp to have a really nice sound, that I'll use (and that has to be useable in the pub without effects to make them so, the JTM/Bluesbreaker's really have to be at "will you please turn that fucking thing down..." to get the sound I like), and add to it when and where it's needed. I don't fork out for a nice amp to have a pedal on all the time, as per the thread topic, to give it me a core sound. Don't see the point, as what you're hearing isn't the amp really. Well it is, but isn't,if you see what I mean.

 I don't buy solid state because in my experience I simply don't get on with them, although I appreciate they are rather good these days with all the digi-techy stuff on board.

jd0272

ICBM said:

jd0272 said:

I meant (assuming most of 'us' are employing valve amps) may as well ditch the valve amp altogether and run it all through a much cheaper, and more than likely much less maintenance dependant solid state amp.

Except that the sound of all-solid-state is not at all like the sound of a valve amp with a solid-state pedal in front of it. The 'magic' is in the combination of the two technologies, when you find the correct combination - often better than an amp alone.

jd0272 said:

That's why I got rid of [several] Bluesbreaker combos, and a lovely JTM45 head, as the sound I wanted I could only really get at full chat, which was undo-able in the local beerery on a Friday night. And the Hotplate made them sound shit.

Wrong attenuator for those amps... not all attenuators are the same.

Yeah I gather, but they're all so bloody expensive, and taking someone else's opinion (by that I mean web generally, no insult intended) as a buying guide at mucho ££££ per go gets rather taxing ultimately, as it's all subjective.

I'm still finding meself tempted by the JTM Reissue in the classifieds tho. Tsk.

monquixote

jd0272 said:

Not disagreeing chap. But my stance is I buy an amp to have a really nice sound, that I'll use (and that has to be useable in the pub without effects to make them so, the JTM/Bluesbreaker's really have to be at "will you please turn that fucking thing down..." to get the sound I like), and add to it when and where it's needed. I don't fork out for a nice amp to have a pedal on all the time, as per the thread topic, to give it me a core sound. Don't see the point, as what you're hearing isn't the amp really. Well it is, but isn't,if you see what I mean.

 I don't buy solid state because in my experience I simply don't get on with them, although I appreciate they are rather good these days with all the digi-techy stuff on board.

Yep horses for courses and all that. 

I find it really hard to find amps where I like the clean and the drive sound though I'd love it if I could find one that really worked for me.

jd0272

I concur. I don't think there's an 'ultimate' amp out there. By any stretch. But my 2 give me 'good enough' sounds. The Egnater has an especially good range, the clean is devastatingly good, so I'm happy. Esp' for the cost used.

Our lead dude is always twatting on about Boogie Mk V's or something, but I couldn't be arsed on with all of the buttons if I'm truthful. Then you've the added dynamic of the guitar volume and tone pot's. No perfect answer. Keeps them in business and us skint (ish).

monquixote

jd0272 said:

I concur. I don't think there's an 'ultimate' amp out there. By any stretch. But my 2 give me 'good enough' sounds. The Egnater has an especially good range, the clean is devastatingly good, so I'm happy. Esp' for the cost used.

Our lead dude is always twatting on about Boogie Mk V's or something, but I couldn't be arsed on with all of the buttons if I'm truthful. Then you've the added dynamic of the guitar volume and tone pot's. No perfect answer. Keeps them in business and us skint (ish).

Indeed, I find amps with loads of knobs a total turnoff I just can't be arsed with them. 

My puretone has a volume control and a 3 band EQ (that can be bypassed). no verb, no loop, no channels, no master volume. 

All the variation comes from the pedalboard and the guitar. 

Dave_Mc

monquixote said:

ICBM said:

thomasw88 said:

I have a BBE sonic maximiser on al the time. I still don't know what it actually does, but I just prefer it on rather than off.

It maximises your sonic, of course!

It's easier to visualise what it does. 

It essentially does this to your sound:

http://www.geekedoutnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Geek_Magazine_Sonic-the-Hedgehog.jpg

Is that what Herman Li uses?

Flanging_Fred

I've got this old '60s battery mic pre-amp that my dad dug out the attic. I plugged my guitar into it to see what it would do

Sound fucking AMAZEBALLS that's what! Plugged into the low input of my JCM800 it's total Malcolm Young. Back off the volume a bit and it really cleans up too.

I think it might be similar to a rangemaster but I don't really know.

Flanging_Fred

Well bugger me sideways. I just googled my pre amp, it's a Wellington acoustic labs, very rare and made in 1957. And I just found one for sale! Which I immediately purchased.

If you ever come across one, buy it!

voxmanjohn

Klon

mike257

When necessity forced me to gig with a solid state amp for a while last year, I found leaving my Double Muff (in single mode) always on gave a great feeling of responsiveness and a bit of much needed grit to the base tone, that stayed on all the time. Sounded nothing like that through any of the valve amps I've used since though.

ICBM

mike257 said:

When necessity forced me to gig with a solid state amp for a while last year, I found leaving my Double Muff (in single mode) always on gave a great feeling of responsiveness and a bit of much needed grit to the base tone, that stayed on all the time. Sounded nothing like that through any of the valve amps I've used since though.

I briefly had one of those. With exactly the right guitar, amp and no other pedals it sounded fantastic. Trouble was, it was without doubt the most fussy and other-gear-senstive pedal I've ever heard. It *hated* a buffer in front of it, and didn't sound too good into a very high impedance either - it liked to go only between a guitar with thick-sounding pickups into a fairly low-impedance amp (which might be why it sounded good into a typical solid-state one). Anything else made it sound scratchy and thin.

randomhandclaps

Dave_Mc said:

Is that what Herman Li uses?

Nope.  Herman Li's always on effect is an empty coke containing an angry wasp.

Dave_Mc

touché )