Do you compromise your tone between modes?

[elvis]

For those that feel they have a perfect tone for each mode, but the settings are not the same for each:

What are your perfect settings for each mode?
What are you looking for with each mode?
How much do you lose when you use one setting for all modes? Which one do you choose?

 

[YellowJacket]

For those that feel they have a perfect tone for each mode, but the settings are not the same for each:

What are your perfect settings for each mode?
What are you looking for with each mode?
How much do you lose when you use one setting for all modes? Which one do you choose?

OK, Here's the thing. The Electra Dyne does what it is designed to do very well. You can tell when you adjust the volume control where the sweet spot is for each mode with whatever guitar you are using. Like all Mesa amps, this amp has more gain than is really usable. I find that the best tone is between about 10:00 and 2:00 on the volume. When the levels get higher, things get muddy and all sorts of problems crop up. Once the volume is set up correctly, it is just a matter of balancing the tones out.

With my Godin LG, I have a very thick sounding drive pickup so I found that the volume needed to be about 1:00 with the gain trim set to normal. The result is that I have a wicked creamy lead tone in Vintage Hi, a great crunch rhythm in Vintage LO and then 6 awesome clean tones available in the clean mode. It is absolutely incredible how fat the clean tone is and how it can handle so many different pickup configurations. With the PAF style neck pickup, I had blues rhythm and leads in spades. So ya, great for Jazz to Blues to Classic rock, and with Greenday's Strat through Wall of Marshalls punk rhythm tone for good measure. Generally my settings were with the presence and treble just past 12, mids around 12, and bass rolled back to 10. This was for jamming / for live. (Not a bedroom tone)

With my Les Paul, I can also get some pretty great tones but then I set the gain trim to 'clean' and I put the volume up more around 2:00 to 2:30. Generally, presence and treble are higher (to cut bass from the signal) with the bass around noon and the mids scooped to 10. This is a heavier tone which kind of ends where vintage High Gain starts on the Dual Rectifier.

The problems with the amp / settings start to crop up when you want to run the volume at around 4:00 - 5:00 going for those much more aggressive and modern tones. At these settings, the clean mode really starts to unbalance compared the Vintage Lo and Hi. The clean mode also starts to get very muddy and flubby / tubby. Vintage Lo and Hi also lose note definition* and the pitches blur together. When dialed in correctly, you can play power chords but if you prefer more complex chord voicings, you can't hear them. At this point, you no longer need an Electra Dyne. Instead a Stiletto, Dual Rectifier, or Mark V are most likely in order. Anyone trying to do this sort of thing with the Electra Dyne either needs two or you need to move onto a dedicated high gainer!

*A Stiletto 4 x 12 is much clearer because it is loaded with a quartet of v30s. Definitely recommend a stiletto 4 x 12 for anyone who wants to play more straight ahead rock or punk.

 

[tubby_cosmos]

For those that feel they have a perfect tone for each mode, but the settings are not the same for each:

What are your perfect settings for each mode?
What are you looking for with each mode?
How much do you lose when you use one setting for all modes? Which one do you choose?

The perfect settings for each mode really vary depending on what guitar I've got plugged in and what kind of music I'm playing, so I'll skip the first question. As far as what I'm looking for in each mode, I generally use the clean for jazz stuff (treble and gain way down, mids high, bass middle, and presence fairly high), or for that dynamic "just-on-the-cusp-of-breaking-up" clean tone (settings depend on the guitar). I use the Lo setting for crunch/blues tones, and the high gain for heavier rhythm and occasionally leads (I need a little extra for leads, which I get with my BB Pre-amp).

Using one setting for all modes in the rock cover-band setting I used this amp for when I was gigging (sadly, not at the moment), I felt what was compromised the most was the low gain setting, which is just too dark the way I normally had my amp set. Those settings were: Clean trim on, Volume ~2:30 - 3 (depending on if I could push the master), Treble 2:00, Mid 3:30, Bass 11:00, presence 12:00, volume 8:30 - 10, depending on the venue/sound man.

In order to get the Lo channel the way I like it, I had to pull the gain back to noon or so, increase the presence to 2, and pull back the mids and treble a touch. Unfortunately, with those settings, I didn''t have the gain I needed for my covers, and the high channel also became too ice-picky for my taste.

 

[YellowJacket]

In order to get the Lo channel the way I like it, I had to pull the gain back to noon or so, increase the presence to 2, and pull back the mids and treble a touch. Unfortunately, with those settings, I didn''t have the gain I needed for my covers, and the high channel also became too ice-picky for my taste.

This is definitely a problem. As the Vintage Hi mode saturates more and starts to sound really thick and creamy, Vintage Lo starts to get tubby and bass heavy. For higher gain (Volume) settings, I definitely get the best results with my Les Paul. The Godin LG works better with lower gain settings.

 

[J.J]

For me the compromise is only minor, and given there are only 6 large knobs on the front its pretty easy tp fix things on the fly. I've never been happier with my tone than I have been since I got my ED. Almost a year down the track and I am still hardly interested in other amps.

This is definitely a problem. As the Vintage Hi mode saturates more and starts to sound really thick and creamy, Vintage Lo starts to get tubby and bass heavy. For higher gain (Volume) settings, I definitely get the best results with my Les Paul. The Godin LG works better with lower gain settings.

Do you use the reverb ? I have found a little reverb will brighten the Vintage Lo quite a bit. It may upset the Vintage high, but it still worth trying.

Another thing I have been playing with lately is a TS9 modded to 808 spec. I have never really liked the tube screamer with my amps and guitars, but the ED, my SG with the BK Mules and the TS are really working well. I set the TS with gain off to around 11:00 depending on mood, the tone around 2 or 3 and the volume around 12:30. it is really helping to bring the Vintage low tone back in check. If things get to compressed I just back the TS volume off until it has the same feel as when the TS is off