Drive knob higher than Gain knob?

[toneguy86]

Actually, I don't see how anyone can get a decent tone(mid gain)without the drive up higher than gain. Flip the thick and back off some mids for a well....thick tone.

I am on thick. That really seems to do the trick and the mids are back down just above 9:00. Everything really seems to smoke with humbuckers and P90s without any real adjustment needed.

 

[screamingdaisy]

Actually, I don't see how anyone can get a decent tone(mid gain)without the drive up higher than gain. Flip the thick and back off some mids for a well....thick tone.

I have the gain at 12:00 and the drive at 10:30. Any higher and I find it too gainy. I find the amp already has plenty of compression, and if I need more I'll just squeeze my guitar harder.

 

[plan-x]

Sometimes, you gotta squeeze that geetar. :wink:

 

[toneguy86]

Actually, I don't see how anyone can get a decent tone(mid gain)without the drive up higher than gain. Flip the thick and back off some mids for a well....thick tone.

I have the gain at 12:00 and the drive at 10:30. Any higher and I find it too gainy. I find the amp already has plenty of compression, and if I need more I'll just squeeze my guitar harder.

That's the issue in fact. It does sound muddy and compressed with the gain higher then the drive. Reversing that situation fixes the siteation. Just try it. It also allows you to pump up the lows and highs a bit and to drop the presense (about 11:00 with a Les Paul seems to work). For a LP try gain on about 10:00 or so and the drive at straight up noon to 1:00.

Mark

 

[screamingdaisy]

Actually, I don't see how anyone can get a decent tone(mid gain)without the drive up higher than gain. Flip the thick and back off some mids for a well....thick tone.

I have the gain at 12:00 and the drive at 10:30. Any higher and I find it too gainy. I find the amp already has plenty of compression, and if I need more I'll just squeeze my guitar harder.

That's the issue in fact. It does sound muddy and compressed with the gain higher then the drive. Reversing that situation fixes the siteation. Just try it. It also allows you to pump up the lows and highs a bit and to drop the presense (about 11:00 with a Les Paul seems to work). For a LP try gain on about 10:00 or so and the drive at straight up noon to 1:00.

Mark

I gave something similar a try earlier today. Very nice and smooth, but lacked the rawness that I liked with the drive low. I've been using low gain Oranges for the last few years, so I don't really need a whole lot of gain to get my point across.

I will however give your settings a shot tomorrow, once I'm home from work (though I'll have to turn the presence up, not down).

 

[screamingdaisy]

Ok. I got tired of waiting so I went home and grabbed my guitar and amp.

I tried the settings you gave me... I'll admit, they sounded good. I fiddled with the EQ a bit to get the channel balance right, and played it that way for awhile. Flicked back and forth for few times. It was good, but I still like it better with the gain higher than the drive (G-12:00, D-9:30).

To me, turning the drive up and the gain down made it sound more pushed... like if I was hitting the front end with a pedal or something. Having the drive lower and the gain higher made it sound a little more raw... more natural in a way and brought out a different characteristic to the midrange that I liked.... though in the process I found a new EQ setting I liked more and have since moved from normal to thick mode.

Honestly, I'm going to keep both tones in my pocket as they're both excellent, but for now I'm sticking with my old way as it works better for me.

 

[djw]

Ok. I got tired of waiting so I went home and grabbed my guitar and amp.

I tried the settings you gave me... I'll admit, they sounded good. I fiddled with the EQ a bit to get the channel balance right, and played it that way for awhile. Flicked back and forth for few times. It was good, but I still like it better with the gain higher than the drive (G-12:00, D-9:30).

To me, turning the drive up and the gain down made it sound more pushed... like if I was hitting the front end with a pedal or something. Having the drive lower and the gain higher made it sound a little more raw... more natural in a way and brought out a different characteristic to the midrange that I liked.... though in the process I found a new EQ setting I liked more and have since moved from normal to thick mode.

Honestly, I'm going to keep both tones in my pocket as they're both excellent, but for now I'm sticking with my old way as it works better for me.

This is a totally respectable approach. I've gone back and forth between Gain over Drive and vice versa... it really just depends on where you're at and what style of gain you like. Fortunately, both styles work really, really well.

Just today, I punched it up to Drive @ 3:30(!) and Gain at 1:00... never figured I'd want that much gain, but it sounds really good with my guitars right now, esp. the LP. Who knew?

 

[plan-x]

Yeah, it's really is about what your looking for in the gain camp. I guess I'm a gain freak. Those settings djw described are fun for feedback and sustain. Very compressed. But, most people have no idea the LSC can sound like that. Especially with the Reeder mods. Clear and articulate high gain is obtainable. The amp has a rep for being a low gainer that muddies up when pushed. The style I play requires the drive higher for mix cutting, and sharper tones. I am using this amp out of the box(contrary to it's rep) to play a more modern tone. By that I mean 80's-90's stuff, like Rush, police, Aerosmith, and AC/DC. Which was reserved for more of a Marshall sound. But I love the 6L6's and not the EL-34's. And I don't really play those bands anymore, just the styling. So if I want to lay back and sound softer, I just flip on the neck P/U and a low gain pedal.
Btw, with a good transparent pedal, the 2nd ch can really sing.

 

[screamingdaisy]

Just today, I punched it up to Drive @ 3:30(!) and Gain at 1:00... never figured I'd want that much gain, but it sounds really good with my guitars right now, esp. the LP. Who knew?

I watched the Andy Timmons video the other day... the one that's on the Boogie site. It looks like his gain and drive are set right around 3:00. I tried that two... kinda reminded me of my old Mark III's lead channel. Played a little bit of Master of Puppets... good times.

Yeah, it's really is about what your looking for in the gain camp. I guess I'm a gain freak. Those settings djw described are fun for feedback and sustain. Very compressed. But, most people have no idea the LSC can sound like that. Especially with the Reeder mods. Clear and articulate high gain is obtainable. The amp has a rep for being a low gainer that muddies up when pushed.

Oddly enough, while I found it reminded me of my old Mark III, it reminded me of my old Mark III minus the mud that amp tended to have.

 

[pmtrub]

Master Volume close to Max, and use the gain as my volume control is the way I used to run my LSC with great success.

That sounds like a good idea, and I'm going to try it this weekend. Does it run any risk of frying the amp having the volume control cranked on a regular basis? Just don't want to risk burning the pig's bacon...