Dyne for Zeppelin?

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b0nkersx

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I'm looking for a second amp more in the classic rock vein. More specifically, I'm a huge fan of Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and The Who. I'm also a fan of prog (Dream Theater, Tool, Russian Circles) and I'm primarily a metal player. I have a Road King II, so I have the metal base very sufficiently covered.

I'm looking for an amp that excels at old school rock but can also do prog. I use a Les Paul. Is the Dyne a good choice? I tried a Stiletto but it was a little bit too 80s for my taste, if that makes sense. The Royal Atlantic looks good also.
 
I'm super pleased with the classic rock tones I get, but only rarley bang out Zep tunes.

I would say the ED is a good choice and better than a Stiletto, though the Royal atlantic is more geared to the classic British side and comes stock with EL34 tubes rather than 6L6. If you did get an ED then changing to EL34 is easy and would get you closer. Personally I'd wait until you can test both an ED and RA to make up my mind.

Having said that, Gilmour is known to use Fender amps (although famous for using Hiwatt) and if you want tones like Shine on, the ED clean mode is fantasitc (it is based on the Fender Black face amps). I would say the ED clean is a really good basis for Pink Floyd in general as the Gilmour tone is almost always based a clean tube amp with pedals like the Rat and Muff to get overdrive.

Speaker choice will also play a large part. I would say the V30 is better for Zep and the C90 for Floyd.
 
I would say for Zeppelin, you'd be better off staying away from Boogie. I think the Stiletto would be the best choice out of Mesa's lineup for Led Zeppelin tones though if you wanted to stick with Boogie. The Roadster, Dual Recto, Road King, ED, Lonestar, and Mark V all have a lot of low end to them and don't hang in the same part of the mix that a Marshall would occupy. These amps also shine with their low end offerings, and some of these amps have more (Roadster) low end than others.

The Stiletto is the opposite of the previously mentioned Mesas. They can have some lows added by cranking the bass (something many people do), but they are very British sounding amps -- bright, trebly, and cutting. They can get great high gain tones and crunch tones as well. The brightness of these amps is less pronounced though, with more volume (gigging volume), and there is more bass and low end that comes out at high volumes.

I would still take a Marshall 1987x over the Stiletto though if I were doing Marshall. Mesa's rely on the preamp section for all of their gain. Marshall's are very different, in that they need volume to get crunch from the power amp tube section. They rely on both preamp and power amp gain. They are also not as "stiff" sounding as Mesa's in general, another aspect you may want to consider if aiming for a Zeppelin sound.

I'd stay away from the Marshall 1959 though. That is the big brother to the 1987x, in that it runs on 100 watts. That is too loud for almost all players wanting to coax power amp distortion from their amps. 100 watt Mesa's are different since their power amps just amplify the gain created in the preamp.

If you want to play at home mostly, get a Mesa or get a Marshall and a power soak. Otherwise, I'd get the Marshall. If you do go this route, don't forget to jump and bridge the channels!

If you were going for '80s - present' gain tones, I would say the ED or Mark V would be the way to go. For Zeppelin though, I'd strongly suggest the Stiletto or a Marshall.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFb1pvODwZk&hd=1

Gain and cut.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhNwN0c-Ztg&hd=1

Normally I'm a total Mesa-fanboy but you asked for suggestions for a good Zeppelin amp. I can't lie to you and suggest a Mesa. That is the wrong tool for the job.
 
Mark V will get you there. I use el 34's in mine. Try one out! 10 watt / tweed
 
I think the Electra Dyne is the best Mesa for Zepplin. The drive channels are all brit and get power amp saturation nicely if you throw an attenuator in there.
 
BostonRedSox said:
I would still take a Marshall 1987x over the Stiletto though if I were doing Marshall. Mesa's rely on the preamp section for all of their gain. Marshall's are very different, in that they need volume to get crunch from the power amp tube section. They rely on both preamp and power amp gain. They are also not as "stiff" sounding as Mesa's in general, another aspect you may want to consider if aiming for a Zeppelin sound.

First video you linked certainly sounds incredible. It's modded though, and I don't think I want to fork out the money for an amp and then send it off immediately to get modded for an extra $500 or so.

My biggest problem is really this: I am very hesitant to buy a Marshall. I have not heard a Marshall that I have been blown away with in person. I haven't tried a lot, to be fair, but from what I've read new Marshalls have a lot of problems with reliability and QC in general. It seems that old Marshall is the way to go.. but this introduces another new problem. I would be hesitant to buy an old used Marshall just because you never really get the full story from previous amp owners.

This is why I was looking at the Dyne. I've read it's the Boogie take on a plexi. I'm not looking to bang out anything note for note so I'm not terribly concerned with the true "accuracy" of the amp. No store in my area has an ED unfortunately so I have to make do with the internet. I really do like the Mark V too.
 
I don't want to turn this into a big arguement, but I just have to say that although Jimmy Page is famous for using Marshalls live, studio recordings do not sound that way. Just listen to Zeps live DVD.

As far as I know Page has never given up the secret and it was likely that he used a Supro Thunderbolt. A 1x15" combo with a pair of 6L6 tubes making around 25 watts.

Here is a decent read for anyone interested.

http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Features/myth-busters-jimmy-pages/

Now, given the ED is the most vintage sounding of the current Mesa's my bet is still on the ED for zep :wink: Time to go plug that 15" cab into my ED and see how it goes.

For what its worth, the ED does the best Clapton Beano tone I have been able to get or heard anywhere else (except Claptons). The Beano tone comes from the Plexi era of Marshalls, although the amp was a little different from the others.
 
Guys,

You want to know the secret to getting the Zep Tone on the Electra Dyne. Here it is. Get yourself a Tone Bone hot british pedal, swap out the stock tube for a marshall 12AX7 and use it on the clean channel of the ED. You will have the Zep tone by the truckload. No need to buy an old Plexi and spend more money moding it. Trust me since I've done this I don't want to play it any other way. If I get some time, I will post some clips and settings for you guys.

P.S. I played the ED this way via the combo as well as plugged into a Marshall JCM800 lead series 4x12 cabinet and using the Marshall cabinet gets you even closer to the Zep tone!

Rock on!
 

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