DC-3

[Volitan]

Tell me about the DC-3. Like I've said in previous posts I really want the Prince/Santana/mid-rangy sound and am wondering if the DC-3 can do it or if it's not in that vain? I was gonna go for the MK. III, but the DC-3 is more ready available.

 

[fatoni]

im in the exact same boat...no luck so far and i dont plan on driving the distances id need to just to try them both

 

[Volitan]

Same here.

 

[LEVEL4]

I have a DC-3 head with TungSol re-issue 12AX7s and JJ EL-84s. Yes, it's VERY mid-range-ey (in a good way). It's great for leads. However, at low volumes, it lacks treble and presence. At mid- to high-volumes, it cranks, and sounds better than any other amp I have. In fact, when cranked, it may be the sweetest lead amp you've ever played. But, again, at low volumes, there's almost no "bite." I A/B/Y my DC-3 with a rackmount Mark IVm which I think is the ultimate tone combo. DC-3 for mid-range growl, and the Merk IV for "bite."

Although, I don't think it could be my only amp, it's definitely an amp I will never sell or never want ot be without. I use my Single-Recto for rhythms only, since the DC-3/Mark combo pwns a Recto for leads hands-down. I would go for the DC-3, then eventually, when you can, buy just about any other Mark amp with a GEQ. Dial the Mark "bright" and the DC-3 with its mids boosted, A/B/Y both amps, and you'll have the sweetest lead tone you've ever heard, I guarantee it.

 

[Volitan]

I have a DC-3 head with TungSol re-issue 12AX7s and JJ EL-84s. Yes, it's VERY mid-renge-ey. It's great for leads. However, at low volumes, it lacks treble and presence. At mid- to high-volumes, it cranks, and sounds better than any other amp I have. And, at these volumes, it may be the sweetest lead amp you've ever heard. But, again, at low volumes, there's almost no "bite." I A/B/Y my DC-3 with a rackmount Mark IVm which I think is the ultimate tone combo. DC-3 for mid-range growl, and the Merk IV for "bite."

Although, I don't think it could be my only amp, it's definitely an amp I will never sell or never want ot be without. I use my Single-Recto for rhythms only, since the DC-3/Mark combo pwns a Recto for leads hands-down.

So does it do the Santana thing? I love the clarity, so as long as that's there and it's not too bassy, I'm good.

 

[LEVEL4]

So does it do the Santana thing? I love the clarity, so as long as that's there and it's not too bassy, I'm good.

Yes, I believe it does the Santana thing quite well. Not too bass-ey. But for palm mutes and rhythm chugs, the Recto would be better-suited. Not to say the DC-3 can't do them, but the Recto does them better. But, IMO, the Recto is a one-trick pony. I really think you need at minimum, three amps from Mesa, to get all your lead/rock/metal sounds: DC-series, Mark-series, Recto.

 

[fatoni]

So does it do the Santana thing? I love the clarity, so as long as that's there and it's not too bassy, I'm good.

Yes, I believe it does the Santana thing quite well. Not too bass-ey. But for palm mutes and rhythm chugs, the Recto would be better-suited. Not to say the DC-3 can't do them, but the Recto does them better. But, IMO, the Recto is a one-trick pony. I really think you need at minimum, three amps from Mesa, to get all your lead/rock/metal sounds: DC-series, Mark-series, Recto.

sounds like the marks and dcs are alittle more different than i thought. ive gotta mark iv and want a practice amp, should i just shell out an extra $200

 

[Volitan]

So does it do the Santana thing? I love the clarity, so as long as that's there and it's not too bassy, I'm good.

Yes, I believe it does the Santana thing quite well. Not too bass-ey. But for palm mutes and rhythm chugs, the Recto would be better-suited. Not to say the DC-3 can't do them, but the Recto does them better. But, IMO, the Recto is a one-trick pony. I really think you need at minimum, three amps from Mesa, to get all your lead/rock/metal sounds: DC-series, Mark-series, Recto.

I only really need one sound anyway. I'll wait a little longer and see if I can get the MkIII, but if I can't get one will the DC3 be a suitable (not perfect) substitute? Like I said, I'm not a metal guys or anything like that....

 

[boogie35]

Yes, the DC3 can do Santana, especially if the master volume is turned up a bit. In addition, the cleans on the DC3 are great as well.

 

[Volitan]

so what kind of settings can I get the midrangy stuff at. The clean is great, but when I sawitch it over to lead (same settings) it sounds muffled or like a blanket is over the amp or soemthing. This is at low volumes. How can I get brightness at low volumes??

 

[Monsta-Tone]

There are probably hundreds of posts here for the DC-3.

Do a search and you will be overwhelmed with information.

Also, Plumptone is a huge advocate of the DC-3. You could do a search for his posts and find lots of great info and some really nice sound clips.


These are great amps.

 

[Volitan]

There are probably hundreds of posts here for the DC-3.

Do a search and you will be overwhelmed with information.

Also, Plumptone is a huge advocate of the DC-3. You could do a search for his posts and find lots of great info and some really nice sound clips.


These are great amps.

I agree. The clean channel is orgasmic, I love it. Bright, clear as a bell. But when I kick in the lead channel it turns to **** and goes all muddy and all it's brilliance goes out the window.

 

[plumptone]

I'm not going to post a long-winded response because, as Monsta points out, I've blabbered on at length in other posts extolling the virtues of the DC-3 combo.

In a nutshell, the DC-3 is just an incredibly versatile amp. Two COMPLETELY independent channels. Reverb is pretty good, it loves effects in the loop. The cleans are great - chimey if you want; a bit broken up if that's your bag; and very bouncy. One often overlooked trick with this amp is the midrange control in the clean channel. From 1-4 it works like a normal midrange knob, but if you go over 4, you're actually dumping in more gain, allowing you to get a very cool old-school Vox thing going.

The overdrive channel will take you all the way from the mid-gain range to pretty much flat out shred. What's so cool about this amp is that because it's relatively low powered (at 35 watts), you really can open it up and get those power tubes working. But make no mistake, all on its own the combo is very loud. Through a 2x12 or 4x12 this amp sounds massive. Sounds good at bedroom levels too.

With the graphic eq you can dial in or out as much mid-range as you need. Some folks say this amp is inherently mid-range heavy. I guess I would tend to agree - and I think that's a good thing myself - but as I said, you can easily dial that out.

IMO, in terms of value for the $, you'll be hard pressed to find a better deal.

I would echo Monsta on this - these are great amps.

 

[plumptone]

[/quote]

I agree. The clean channel is orgasmic, I love it. Bright, clear as a bell. But when I kick in the lead channel it turns to sh!t and goes all muddy and all it's brilliance goes out the window.[/quote]

It shouldn't do that. Do you know how old the tubes are?

Also, make sure you're not using any excessively high the lead channel eq settings. Keep the master for the lead channel in the 2-3 range and use the master output volume control for overall loudness. And use the grahic eq to boost/cut frequencies you're not liking.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

One thing that I forgot to mention is that it should never have come with a Vintage 30. Put a C-90 or Heritage 30 in there and it is a completely different animal.

In my opinion, the Vintage 30 is holding this amp back in a major way.

 

[Volitan]

Ok, I don't get this. The amp is just throaty. Too bassy. Doesn't do the Santana thing at all. There isn't enough bite. At least on the distortion channel. It's to bluesy. I can tell if I was with a band right now, I wouldn't be able to hear ****. This was supposedly a "great" amp, but to me it just sounds like a bite-less thign with a blaknet over it. The cleans are great, I would expect the distortion channel to sound like a distorted version of it, especially when the settings are the same.

In order to get any amount of bite I had to dial out all the bass, cut it out with the EQ, and completely boost the highs and high-mids.

Can someone give me some settings for this thing, for low and high volume, because I'm just not getting it.

I wanted something like this

http://youtube.com/watch?v=qj0zGxDxXVM&feature=related

It cuts, it's got a lot of distortion, plenty of treble, not too much bass. My amp does not

 

[Monsta-Tone]

Change the speaker or try it with another cabinet. This is sort of what I was saying about the Vintage 30. They sound great in some amps, but this amp already has tons of mids and highs, it needs a speaker that is a little darker.


Also, try different preamp tubes in V1, V3, & V4.

JJ High Gains worked very well in V3 & V4 to darken the amp a little.


I ran mine like this:
Gain: 8
Treble: 5
Mids: 6
Bass: 8
Pres: 3
Reverb: 0
Master: 4

Output: 2-5 (6 with a loud band)


I mainly used a PRS McCarty or a PRS Custom 22, which are fairly dark sounding guitars.

I also used an EV loaded Thiele cab most of the time, which really gave it some thump!



The Presence is very essential to this amp. If it is turned too high, then you will have a high pitched tone. I keep mine lower than 4, and sometimes on 0.

 

[Volitan]

Change the speaker or try it with another cabinet. This is sort of what I was saying about the Vintage 30. They sound great in some amps, but this amp already has tons of mids and highs, it needs a speaker that is a little darker.


Also, try different preamp tubes in V1, V3, & V4.

JJ High Gains worked very well in V3 & V4 to darken the amp a little.


I ran mine like this:
Gain: 8
Treble: 5
Mids: 6
Bass: 8
Pres: 3
Reverb: 0
Master: 4

Output: 2-5 (6 with a loud band)


I mainly used a PRS McCarty or a PRS Custom 22, which are fairly dark sounding guitars.

I also used an EV loaded Thiele cab most of the time, which really gave it some thump!



The Presence is very essential to this amp. If it is turned too high, then you will have a high pitched tone. I keep mine lower than 4, and sometimes on 0.

No I want brighter. I want treble. Not dark...

 

[Monsta-Tone]

:lol: Sorry, it's early here.


Try the settings I suggested, but crank the Presence.

If your amp is too dark, you probably need tubes. The DC-5 is the dark one of the bunch. The DC-3 is known as being very lively and not dark at all.


What are your settings, and what guitar are you using? What pickups?

 

[Volitan]

:lol: Sorry, it's early here.


Try the settings I suggested, but crank the Presence.

If your amp is too dark, you probably need tubes. The DC-5 is the dark one of the bunch. The DC-3 is known as being very lively and not dark at all.


What are your settings, and what guitar are you using? What pickups?

My settings are basically Treble: 10; Mids 10, Gain 8-9; Pres 10; Bass 0 and then EQ with bass fully cut mids same, high mids and treble all the way boosted. And a Telecaster with Vintage SD pickups

It doesn't bite. I'm a treble fiend and this just has a throaty quality to it.

Like I said the clean channel is practically perfect. Maybe I should just leave it on the clean channel and get a distortion pedal?