Anyone use the Brit mode on your Roadster???

[eventide_awakening]

I used our band's other guitarist's tubescreamer OD with the level maxed and drive at -0- in front of the preamp. gain is about 12 - 1 o'clock. treble and mids around noon and bass around 1. i can't remember my presence setting cause this is all from memory. these settings are not tweaked much as i haven't had much time with my amp since i received it...so they are more likely than not in need of adjustment. however, i did get a good mid-gain rhythm sound that suits my band's style very well. for a more in-your-face rhythm tone i would definitely use ch 3 or 4. for a good blues sound, ch 2 on brit is just what i like to use. the OD pedal made a huge difference in the sound of my roadster and i love it. i'm probably gonna buy it off him (seeing how he hasn't touched it in months) or get my own ts9 soon.

all in all, this voicing is very useful in my opinion. it's a GREAT bridge between the cleans of ch 1 and the high gains of ch 3 & ch 4.

 

[CudBucket]

all in all, this voicing is very useful in my opinion. it's a GREAT bridge between the cleans of ch 1 and the high gains of ch 3 & ch 4.

But you're using and OD pedal in front.

 

[eventide_awakening]

Be that as it may, you can get a decent amount of saturation from the brit mode without the OD pedal. i just like using the pedal with all my modes because then i don't have to dime the gain on the brit mode.

you can get a good sound, the OD just opens up the door further to more options.

the brit modes doesn't sound much like the modes on ch 3/4 and that's why i like it. the tweed voice is great as well as many have mentioned already, but i prefer using 'fat' on ch 1 and then 'brit' on 2. it just progresses the distortion in a nice stair-step manner to offer a great buffet of choices. pretty much the intention of mesa's design as i see it.

 

[Peace]

My band had a show this past Friday... Just a little bar band.. Nothing fancy... Classic covers....

Anyway, the whole week leading up to the date I was tweaking my amp (RK II) trying to get things as close to what I'd like even though everything would need to be changed a bit once it was in a different room..

I spent alot of time messing with the Brit channel. I have always hated that channel since the day I got the amp... I've just always thought it pretty much sucked, too brittle and tinny.. Just crappy thin sound.. No matter how much time I spent on it I couldn't get a freaking decent sound out of that mode to save my life.... I thought, what a waste of a channel. Pretty much resolved myself to the idea that, until I dabbled with the JJ's and different tubes, it would be a pretty much useless channel for me...

Friday night we played for four and a half hours and I played every **** song we played (but one) on Channel 2 Brit mode... I don't know if it was the room or the volume I was playing at or both or what but I loved it, my bandmates complimented the tone, people at the club were complimenting the guitar sound and I willl definitely be using it again.....

I was really shocked at how much I liked it and how good it sounded.... I still can't really believe it. Literally the day of the show I was a Brit mode hater.... Hated it..... Sound checked with it that afternoon and it sounded good. Kicked the night off with that channel and it sounded good so I left it, time rolled along that night and I didn't change it but for one tune... Workin' Man by Rush if you're wondering..... And I probably could have used the Brit mode for that one too......

I have to say, I'm sold on the Brit mode..... Maybe that will change at the next venue. I don't know..... But for now I sing the praises of the Brit mode.....

Peace

 

[CudBucket]

My band had a show this past Friday... Just a little bar band.. Nothing fancy... Classic covers....

Anyway, the whole week leading up to the date I was tweaking my amp (RK II) trying to get things as close to what I'd like even though everything would need to be changed a bit once it was in a different room..

I spent alot of time messing with the Brit channel. I have always hated that channel since the day I got the amp... I've just always thought it pretty much sucked, too brittle and tinny.. Just crappy thin sound.. No matter how much time I spent on it I couldn't get a freaking decent sound out of that mode to save my life.... I thought, what a waste of a channel. Pretty much resolved myself to the idea that, until I dabbled with the JJ's and different tubes, it would be a pretty much useless channel for me...

Friday night we played for four and a half hours and I played every **** song we played (but one) on Channel 2 Brit mode... I don't know if it was the room or the volume I was playing at or both or what but I loved it, my bandmates complimented the tone, people at the club were complimenting the guitar sound and I willl definitely be using it again.....

I was really shocked at how much I liked it and how good it sounded.... I still can't really believe it. Literally the day of the show I was a Brit mode hater.... Hated it..... Sound checked with it that afternoon and it sounded good. Kicked the night off with that channel and it sounded good so I left it, time rolled along that night and I didn't change it but for one tune... Workin' Man by Rush if you're wondering..... And I probably could have used the Brit mode for that one too......

I have to say, I'm sold on the Brit mode..... Maybe that will change at the next venue. I don't know..... But for now I sing the praises of the Brit mode.....

Peace

Well what changed? How did you end up starting a show with a channel/mode that you hated?

 

[MetalMatt]

... I don't think it's supposed to be a Marshall type tone. Certainly not a Stiletto channel/mode. The manual says it's modeled after the "great sounding amps of the 50's and 60's that were built in Great Britain". That doesn't say Marshall to me. That says Vox...

I totally 100% agree with you.

 

[Stratocaster]

I then pulled out the manual and realized, at least in my opinion, that most people are mis-interpreting this mode. I don't think it's supposed to be a Marshall type tone. Certainly not a Stiletto channel/mode. The manual says it's modeled after the "great sounding amps of the 50's and 60's that were built in Great Britain". That doesn't say Marshall to me. That says Vox.

I thought the same thing initially about Brit potentially modeled after an AC15 or AC30…
But the manual also states that the original sound was distinctive from its American counterpart due to the EL34s…and that single statement eliminates the Vox.

I thing xscottx9 was getting closer to the intended design when he made the observation earlier in this thread that the Brit mode is nailing the sound of his Marshall Vintage Modern in the ‘low dynamic’ setting.

Don’t forget, the manual (at least the RK II version) states that they combined the qualities of several of the classic circuits.

Personally, I’m leaning toward thinking of Brit as a modeled after a compilation/compromise of the Marshall Plexi sound (perhaps including the KT66 Bluesbreaker, if you try EL34 & 6L6, or 6L6 alone).

So…if it turns out to be a plexi based sound, this means that I can experiment with boosting it like a plexi and see if it goes into Marshall Vintage Modern area (in hi dynamic setting).

We’ll see…I’ll be getting around to it soon.

I do know this. ‘Brit’ does not mean Marshall 800, 900, or 2000.

Strat

 

[CudBucket]

I do know this. ‘Brit’ does not mean Marshall 800, 900, or 2000.

Strat

I agree. Brit mode, on it's own, even with the gain dimed, doesn't come close to the kind of gain you typically associate with those amps.

 

[MusicManJP6]

I was playing around with Brit mode last night and found that when you use it for a clean tone it becomes very punchy and almost percussive (with humbuckers mind you). It reminded me of my Mark IV's clean channel. It sounded better than a Mark series clean though. Once the gain is turned up and it starts distorting, it takes on a very unique tone. The treble and mids had to be dialed out some (like others stated), otherwise it was very harsh. It is usable, but i'm just not sure what for yet...

 

[CudBucket]

I was playing around with Brit mode last night and found that when you use it for a clean tone it becomes very punchy and almost percussive (with humbuckers mind you). It reminded me of my Mark IV's clean channel. It sounded better than a Mark series clean though. Once the gain is turned up and it starts distorting, it takes on a very unique tone. The treble and mids had to be dialed out some (like others stated), otherwise it was very harsh. It is usable, but i'm just not sure what for yet...

I agree with that description of the Brit mode with the gain up.

 

[MusicManJP6]

****, I messed with the brit setting again tonight and really got a cool gritty tone out of it! Surprisingly, here's my settings:

Recto-Tracking, 50W, Spongy Power

Master - 9:00
Presence - 7:30 (none)
Bass - 1:00
Mid - 3:30
Treble - 9:30
Gain: 4:30 (max)

It sounded great in all positions on my JP. The middle position (single coil) had an SRV grit that I've not heard from my Roadster before! Pretty cool...

 

[CudBucket]

****, I messed with the brit setting again tonight and really got a cool gritty tone out of it! Surprisingly, here's my settings:

Recto-Tracking, 50W, Spongy Power

Master - 9:00
Presence - 7:30 (none)
Bass - 1:00
Mid - 3:30
Treble - 9:30
Gain: 4:30 (max)

It sounded great in all positions on my JP. The middle position (single coil) had an SRV grit that I've not heard from my Roadster before! Pretty cool...

That's about right. But you're running 6L6's right? Right now, I've got mine set up with 2 EL34s via the RKII's progressive linkage.

 

[MusicManJP6]

Yep, all 6L6's in my Roadster...

 

[Peace]

Well what changed? How did you end up starting a show with a channel/mode that you hated?

We got to the venue and got everything setup for a soundcheck.
I had the RK setup and turned on to warm up a bit while I helped with all of the other crap we had to do. Once I did my Road King Dance I just left it on Channel 2.... The settings I'd been messing with were still dialed in so I thought I'd give it one more whirl before abandoning it for good.

We ran through a couple tunes together and once I was surrounded by bass and drums, full go, it really sounded great.... I couldn't believe it..

Naturally, being in a "live" setting I had more volume on it than usual, and I know that had ALOT to do with it sounding better.....

When we went back to do the show I thought, ah, I'll use it for the first couple tunes or so and then jump off of it cause it'll sound like crap...
But it didn't.... I really liked it....

Throughout the whole night I kept thinking to myself and telling my bandmates that I couldn't believe I was using the channel I hated the most but it really sounded good that night......

It's a mystery............... :shock:

Different room, more volume, backed with bass and drums, people in the room soaking up sound.... Incessant, angered wishes that this channel would someday miraculously stop sounding like ****.....

I'm sure those were all contributing factors......

Maybe this is just a fleeting moment...... I'll keep you posted.... 8)

 

[LnTh]

CLIP : : : http://www.mediafire.com/?agd1wydtwum

I'm happy with what I got here but I suspect I use the second channel a bit differently than everybody else I've heard.

 

[TheBlackman]

CLIP : : : http://www.mediafire.com/?agd1wydtwum

I'm happy with what I got here but I suspect I use the second channel a bit differently than everybody else I've heard.[/quote]

That ch2 clip sounded f*cking good, nice and warm...i'm gonna frig around with my roadster after our new-years gig. Do you have clips from the other 3 settings?

 

[TheBlackman]

CLIP : : : http://www.mediafire.com/?agd1wydtwum

I'm happy with what I got here but I suspect I use the second channel a bit differently than everybody else I've heard.[/quote]

That ch2 clip sounded f*cking good, nice and warm...i'm gonna frig around with my roadster after our new-years gig. Do you have clips from the other 3 settings?

 

[MusicManJP6]

Keep in mind LnTh is using a Gibson so that is going to add some warmth and fullness to the Brit channel... For my JPs, it sounds best as a more SRV gritty blues tone. I bump the mids way up, the presence all the way down, and crank the gain. Everything else looks about right. Be careful with the treble knob...

 

[G.I.G.]

Keep in mind LnTh is using a Gibson so that is going to add some warmth and fullness to the Brit channel... For my JPs, it sounds best as a more SRV gritty blues tone. I bump the mids way up, the presence all the way down, and crank the gain. Everything else looks about right. Be careful with the treble knob...

I agree. I was using my PRS custom 24 when i dialed in my Brit mode and am using quite a bit more bass and mids than LnTH. I guess it also depends on what you're trying to accomplish with that mode as well. I was basically looking for a lower-gain, more vintage sounding alternative to my 3rd channel in Vintage mode. I think I found it. Throttling back to 50-watts and bringing up the master a bit also helped quite a bit I found. I'm starting to dig this mode the more I play around with it, even with 6L6's.

 

[LnTh]

CLIP : : : http://www.mediafire.com/?agd1wydtwum

I'm happy with what I got here but I suspect I use the second channel a bit differently than everybody else I've heard.

That ch2 clip sounded f*cking good, nice and warm...i'm gonna frig around with my roadster after our new-years gig. Do you have clips from the other 3 settings?

Hey man, sorry I couldn't check this thread as I was on a ski trip.
By 3 settings you mean fat and clean? or other 3 channels? I'll try dialing in something in fat and clean mods too if you like.