ED cab comparison clips

[screamingdaisy]

Did a couple of quick clips. I'm not totally happy with the low volume Recto 2x12 demo... not sure if the results are actually that dull or if it was bad mic position on my part.

Gibson SG, Gibson '57 Classic humbucker
Blue channel, 45w, master volume @ 9:00
Gain - 1:00
Treb - 1:00
Mids - 12:00
Bass - 12:00
Pres - 10:00

ED, 27" combo w/ stock C90.
http://www.netmusicians.org/files/77-ED%20Comparison,%20C90%20Combo%20Blue.mp3

ED, Recto 2x12
http://www.netmusicians.org/files/45-ED%20Comparison,%20Recto%20212%20Blue.mp3

ED, Recto 2x12 w/ master volume turned up to 2:30.
http://www.netmusicians.org/files/86-ED%20Comparison,%20Recto%20212%20Blue%20Loud.mp3


Now that I've typed out the settings I've realized I dialled the amp in with the C90 in place, which is a lot more present of speaker. I think I'll re-record the Recto 2x12 later today with EQ adjusted. I wanted to do low volume recordings since I figure the average person will be playing theirs in the 9:00 to 10:00 range and I don't want people to write off the Recto cab because of my crappy recording of it.

I tried doing 90w recordings but the low end in the amp was causing resonance in my room.

 

[YellowJacket]

NICE!

It sounds really creamy and much smoother than the roadster. Both are great though!

 

[danyeo1]

The clip with the master up loud clearly sounds the best, to me at least.

 

[screamingdaisy]

The clip with the master up loud clearly sounds the best, to me at least.

The amp feels like butter under your fingers. It reminds me of a Plexi with the volume up around 7 or 8... only not nearly as loud.

That said, I generally prefer the C90 clip.

 

[YellowJacket]

This amp is ridiculous. Like I knew it was REALLY good when I tried it in the guitar store but having it at rehearsal has convinced me it is seriously one of the best production amps available right now. The mids can be overwhelming while practicing but once you get it to rehearsal, they are a godsend. The amp really cuts live which is great! Definitely a gigging amp!

I'll second the 'cranked plexi' vibe. The Clean channel is seriously one whole amp in itself but when you have the blue channel for the cranked plexi tones it is fantastic. The blue channel is so dynamic and capable of so many shades of distorted tones that in and of itself, it is also one whole amp. The Red channel isn't so much a whole new amp as it is more of an overdriven version of the blue channel. The voicing is similar but it sounds more like a cross between a plexi and a JCM800 hotrodded to hell. The extra gain stage just makes it roar.

If I had my way, I'd live on the clean and the red channel but the band I am in requires those 'in between' tones that the blue channel delivers in spades.

FWIW, I like your style better with the Electra Dyne tone than the Roadster tone. The Roadster is 'sharper' sounding while the Electra Dyne is sweeter and a bit less 'stabby' in the highs.

 

[screamingdaisy]

If by style you mean the way I play then I'll agree to an extent... the riff I chose was intentionally simple 'cause I wanted it to be easy for people to focus on the tone rather than the playing, but it's not totally descriptive of the way I play.

That said, I did originally write that riff on an Orange... so it sounding "better" on the ED isn't totally surprising.

I do want to pick up an A/B box and experiment with using the ED and Recto together... I think it'd let me jump between styles without a crazy contrast in tonality.... dark overdrive to dark distortion and back again.

 

[YellowJacket]

If by style you mean the way I play then I'll agree to an extent... the riff I chose was intentionally simple 'cause I wanted it to be easy for people to focus on the tone rather than the playing, but it's not totally descriptive of the way I play.

Yes, that's what I meant. The way you handle the guitar -your touch- works well with an Electra Dyne. Of course I'll say that though, since I'm biased. I personally find that when I play, I 'handle' a guitar differently depending on which amp is attached. I'm seriously having to revamp my playing technique with the Electra Dyne -particularly the blue channel- but it is well worth it. I'm discovering new secrets about myself as a player because of this.

That said, I did originally write that riff on an Orange... so it sounding "better" on the ED isn't totally surprising.

I can't get behind the comparison of an Electra Dyne to an Orange. To me, it sounds much more like Mesa was inspired by Fender cleans and Marshall crunch and they did their own thing with it rather than simply cram a fender and marshall into the same box. I played the 'Dyne next to Oranges in the guitar store and each amp was very distinctive.

I do want to pick up an A/B box and experiment with using the ED and Recto together... I think it'd let me jump between styles without a crazy contrast in tonality.... dark overdrive to dark distortion and back again.

I'd love to run my Electra Dyne exclusively for cleans and A/B it with my recto for crunch rhythm (orange) and leads(red). I'm currently playing in a band that really isn't heavy enough to try this but one day, I'll get the opportunity!

 

[screamingdaisy]

Yes, that's what I meant. The way you handle the guitar -your touch- works well with an Electra Dyne. Of course I'll say that though, since I'm biased. I personally find that when I play, I 'handle' a guitar differently depending on which amp is attached. I'm seriously having to revamp my playing technique with the Electra Dyne -particularly the blue channel- but it is well worth it. I'm discovering new secrets about myself as a player because of this.

This is kind of funny to me because the ED is the amp I'm the least comfortable on. I haven't actually had a lot of time to get used to it... I just slammed the headphones on and hit record with no idea how the final results would turn out. I don't know if it's noticeable to others but there's a few times I came in ahead of the beat on those recordings... too used to playing slightly ahead to account for the Recto's sag.

I can't get behind the comparison of an Electra Dyne to an Orange. To me, it sounds much more like Mesa was inspired by Fender cleans and Marshall crunch and they did their own thing with it rather than simply cram a fender and marshall into the same box. I played the 'Dyne next to Oranges in the guitar store and each amp was very distinctive.

I say Orange because that's what I used to play, but truthfully it doesn't really sound or feel anything like an Orange. And Orange power amp is more hi-fi... massive sounding with no compression, which causes an very aggressive breakup when you start overdriving the phase inverter. The ED is totally different in that regard... softer clip with much more give/sag. I never really experienced it in it's full glory until today since I've mostly used it in the 9:00 to 10:00 range with the occasional foray up to 11:00. I don't know how often (if ever) I'll be allowed to put it up to 2:30 in a bar... but the dark voice and soft clip of the blue channel is the kind of voice that people will let you turn up just a little louder than something that's more in your face.

I'd love to run my Electra Dyne exclusively for cleans and A/B it with my recto for crunch rhythm (orange) and leads(red). I'm currently playing in a band that really isn't heavy enough to try this but one day, I'll get the opportunity!

You almost read my mind. I was thinking more along the lines of the ED for cleans and soft clipping, with the Recto (2ch) stepping in for thick/dark distortion.

 

[J.J]

Good stuff. I liked the C90 clip best, though I thought I like the rectifier cab better. It sounds so chuncky and meaty. I can also hear loads of interesting things going on that seem to get lost with the other cab. Dare I say "organic" :lol:

If I had my way, I'd live on the clean and the red channel but the band I am in requires those 'in between' tones that the blue channel delivers in spades.

I was doing that, but I started to get board of the compressed tone with Vintage high and realised I was looking for the dynamics of vintage low.

Now that I'm used to blue again, when ever I step on the red it blows me away again.

That reminds me, I went to a jam on the weekend and took my Express because the weather was bad and I didn't want the extra trip to the car for the ED and cab. I missed the ED

 

[YellowJacket]

Vintage Lo is amazing, particularly with PAF style humbuckers. I favour this channel because the clearer tone melds wonderfully with neck position pickups. The vintage crunch is also great for more classic rock style rhythm. Still, Vintage Hi is what sold me on the amp. I LOVE it!!!

 

[screamingdaisy]

G12M-25 (x2)

Gain - 12:30
Treb - 1:00
Mids - 10:00
Bass - 12:00
Pres - 10:00
Master 10:00

Gibson SG, Gibson '57 pickups, Nickel wound strings (11-50)

I know a lot of people like their mids up higher (and bass lower)... I just wanted to see how those settings would record.

Clean channel, Neck pickup
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/37532735/ED%20Comparison/ED%20Comparison%2C%20G12M%2C%20Green%2C%20Neck.mp3

Clean channel, Bridge pickup
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/37532735/ED%20Comparison/ED%20Comparison%2C%20G12M%2C%20Green%2C%20Bridge.mp3

Vintage Lo, Bridge pickup
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/37532735/ED%20Comparison/ED%20Comparison%2C%20G12M%2C%20Blue.mp3

Vintage Hi, Bridge Pickup
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/37532735/ED%20Comparison/ED%20Comparison%2C%20G12M%2C%20Red.mp3


And, here's a bonus

Vintage Lo with the master around 10:00
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/37532735/ED%20Comparison/ED%20Comparison%2C%20G12M%2C%20Blue%20%28raw%29.mp3

Vintage Lo with the master around 2:30
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/37532735/ED%20Comparison/ED%20Comparison%2C%20G12M%2C%20Blue%2C%20Loud%20%28raw%29.mp3


I like the overall sound but I think my settings were a little too wooly. I'd like a bit more crunch in the mids and maybe a touch more top end bite.

The clean tones were a bit thick, although they did sound better in the room than on record. I'll have to work on that...

 

[primal]

Thanks for taking the time to do these clips.

I think it is so telling what a difference in tone there is when the volume is cranked. Your clips show exactly what I hear when I crank my ED. It really brightens up and gets crunchy and gets a lot of bite with the volume cranked. I agree. Really plexi-ish. I don't encounter any flubby bass when I crank it (admittedly my bass never goes over 10:00)

Of the two at the same volume I prefered the C90. I have a recto 1x12 cab I sometimes play through, but I prefer the the combo's C90.

I prefer the cranked one the best.

Would love the hear the C90 cranked.

Thanks again for the clips

 

[elvis]

I played a C90 combo today (and yesterday). I went back and forth between the internal C90 and an eternal recto 1x12 with a V30. I preferred the open C90 for some stuff and the closed V30 for other stuff. Overall, the open C90 got WAY too trebly at high volume (I still have a headache). The recto cab was more balanced for my taste.

 

[screamingdaisy]

The C90 and V30 definitely have a different balance, which I feel requires different settings. I also feel that the V30s sound more consistent as they increase in volume than the C90.


If you had the ED dialled in for the V30 cab then I could see having brightness issues. However, if you had the ED dialled in for the C90 I could see you finding the V30s a little dark/dull. That's the mistake I made when I did the demos above.


I like both speaker types a lot, so I won't try to sell you one way or the other.

 

[YellowJacket]

The C90 and V30 definitely have a different balance, which I feel requires different settings. I also feel that the V30s sound more consistent as they increase in volume than the C90.


If you had the ED dialled in for the V30 cab then I could see having brightness issues. However, if you had the ED dialled in for the C90 I could see you finding the V30s a little dark/dull. That's the mistake I made when I did the demos above.


I like both speaker types a lot, so I won't try to sell you one way or the other.

This is why I say 'combine them'. But ya, it depends what you need.

 

[elvis]

I found at high volume I couldn't get the C90 to sound good at all. Though I think it's more the open-back combo than the speaker itself. The amp was also up against a wall, so all the high end reflected nicely. It was just shrill, even with the Treble turned all the way down.

 

[J.J]

I found at high volume I couldn't get the C90 to sound good at all. Though I think it's more the open-back combo than the speaker itself. The amp was also up against a wall, so all the high end reflected nicely. It was just shrill, even with the Treble turned all the way down.

I primarily run a C90 in an open back cab (have recently closed it in) and find that even on 45watt mode with the master around 12:00 the C90 gets into some nasty cone cry modes. My V30 is better behaved. Still I have not ever had to have the master anywhere near 12:00 even with our loud drummer. I think 8:45 has been it so far and that was ear ringing teritory.

The reverb can really brighen things up so if you had the reverb set high that could explain the bright tone. It took me a while to cotton why my tone was not consistant until I noticed I had to re eq every time I changed the reverb level.

To much bass is my issue with the C90. Does your guitar have a bright tone ? Live I usually use an SG.

 

[screamingdaisy]

If you're getting a lot of cone cry try adding another 1/4 turn or two to one of the nuts holding the speaker in. It'll twist the basket slightly and shift the voice coil off center, which helps with cone cry.

If that doesn't work try removing all the nuts and reseating the entire speaker. The nuts don't have to be cranked on... just tight enough to hold the speaker firmly in place

Got that tidbit from the Celestion rep. I guess speakers don't like it when they're set with the voice coil perfectly centered.

 

[primal]

So funny, taste is so subjective.

I have the 1x12 combo with the C90 and also own an external 1x12 recto cab just like you tested out.

I absolutely agree about the treble going up as you crank the C90. But for me, that is what I like as I feel the ED can be a dark amp at low volumes.

I much prefer the C90 to the V30 even though all you have stated about the C90 vs the V30 is true

 

[YellowJacket]

I think 8:45 has been it so far and that was ear ringing teritory.

Yup. That's gig volume for me too. I always take my earplugs with!!