Nick Lehman
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- Nov 27, 2013
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I have decided to finally take my amp to the shop next week. First I'll give a short background....
Bought about a year ago, came with Ruby EL34's, Groove Tubes 5U4 rectifiers, and I believe Sovtek 12ax7's in the pres. Jammed it for awhile but haven't used it much since I obtained an Orange TH-30 and a matching 2x12 Orange cab. I just recently switched to a set of JJ KT-77's and they are KILLER!!!! Sounds like EL-34 drank some protein shakes and has been hitting the gym and swiggin beers.
I have completely fallen in love with the Orange tone but....... The Orange sounds sooooooo much better when I use the Mesa as a power amp for it. And not to start a huge debate, but 30 watts is NOT enough for me to practice or gig with.
Basically my signal chain is : Agile 7 string w/ Duncan Distortion > ISP Decimator G-String > Maxon OD808 > MXR Phase 90 > Orange TH-30 (set to 7 watts) > ISP Decimator G-String (from loop send) > MXR 10 band EQ > Mesa Triple Rectifier ( into loop return ) > Marshall 1960A ( V30 & T75 X Pattern )...... also I run in the bold setting with tube rectifiers
So heres the deal, I wanted to try and record the Mesa by itself the other day and was just totally let down by the tone. Its weak, fizzy, hard to dial a good tone.
My ultimate goal is to make the Mesa much darker and more focused in the low mids, like the Orange. I know its not going to sound like the Orange but I want to get as close as possible. I would like to be happy with the tone so I don't have to lug around two heads to practice and gigs.
This rig is a beast, I usually just keep the master on the Mesa @ 12:00 and use the knobs on the Orange to bump it more if needed, Its extremely loud and cuts well.
I am not worried about the amp being super tight because I have kinda moved on from the whole extreme/technical stuff. I have been really getting into a more warm, saggy, but still brutal tone. I am wanting sort of the tone from the new Down EP's ( if anyone listens to them? )
Pepper Keenan's tone is very complex IMO, its nasty and raw, but at the same time still very clear and musical. Some songs sounds very harsh and brittle, but the the next song will be very very dark. I tend to lean towards the darker tone myself. Its like there is still a ton of gain but its not fizzy and ear-piercing. I am also aware of the magic of the studio, but their recordings really do sound very raw so I don't think his tone is EQ'd to hell.
So sorry for the long post
Need suggestions for preamp tubes and any actual physical mods that can be done to smooth the recto out and add some lower frequency mids to the tone. Also just basically clean it up
C'mon guys, gimme some secrets
Here is a recording I did the other day of this rig but through the Orange 2x12, ( it just records better than the marshall)
Quad tracked, live guitars, tiny bit of compression, very slight EQ ( Hi pass and low pass, and a cut around 4K)
EZ Drummer drums, totally untouched except for volume leveling
https://www.dropbox.com/s/se8lv581bbmwvju/Flat%20Tire%20Blues.mp3?dl=0
Bought about a year ago, came with Ruby EL34's, Groove Tubes 5U4 rectifiers, and I believe Sovtek 12ax7's in the pres. Jammed it for awhile but haven't used it much since I obtained an Orange TH-30 and a matching 2x12 Orange cab. I just recently switched to a set of JJ KT-77's and they are KILLER!!!! Sounds like EL-34 drank some protein shakes and has been hitting the gym and swiggin beers.
I have completely fallen in love with the Orange tone but....... The Orange sounds sooooooo much better when I use the Mesa as a power amp for it. And not to start a huge debate, but 30 watts is NOT enough for me to practice or gig with.
Basically my signal chain is : Agile 7 string w/ Duncan Distortion > ISP Decimator G-String > Maxon OD808 > MXR Phase 90 > Orange TH-30 (set to 7 watts) > ISP Decimator G-String (from loop send) > MXR 10 band EQ > Mesa Triple Rectifier ( into loop return ) > Marshall 1960A ( V30 & T75 X Pattern )...... also I run in the bold setting with tube rectifiers
So heres the deal, I wanted to try and record the Mesa by itself the other day and was just totally let down by the tone. Its weak, fizzy, hard to dial a good tone.
My ultimate goal is to make the Mesa much darker and more focused in the low mids, like the Orange. I know its not going to sound like the Orange but I want to get as close as possible. I would like to be happy with the tone so I don't have to lug around two heads to practice and gigs.
This rig is a beast, I usually just keep the master on the Mesa @ 12:00 and use the knobs on the Orange to bump it more if needed, Its extremely loud and cuts well.
I am not worried about the amp being super tight because I have kinda moved on from the whole extreme/technical stuff. I have been really getting into a more warm, saggy, but still brutal tone. I am wanting sort of the tone from the new Down EP's ( if anyone listens to them? )
Pepper Keenan's tone is very complex IMO, its nasty and raw, but at the same time still very clear and musical. Some songs sounds very harsh and brittle, but the the next song will be very very dark. I tend to lean towards the darker tone myself. Its like there is still a ton of gain but its not fizzy and ear-piercing. I am also aware of the magic of the studio, but their recordings really do sound very raw so I don't think his tone is EQ'd to hell.
So sorry for the long post
Need suggestions for preamp tubes and any actual physical mods that can be done to smooth the recto out and add some lower frequency mids to the tone. Also just basically clean it up
C'mon guys, gimme some secrets
Here is a recording I did the other day of this rig but through the Orange 2x12, ( it just records better than the marshall)
Quad tracked, live guitars, tiny bit of compression, very slight EQ ( Hi pass and low pass, and a cut around 4K)
EZ Drummer drums, totally untouched except for volume leveling
https://www.dropbox.com/s/se8lv581bbmwvju/Flat%20Tire%20Blues.mp3?dl=0
