OK, after doing the bias mod, it definitely sounded better. Much fuller and more open now, and getting to a sweet spot sooner, but it still wasn't getting awe-inspiring tone and certainly wasn't sounding much like Andy Timmons' tone at all. I was getting really frustrated because I'm running the same basic gear (well, an alder bodied strat with HSS set up, not a Ibanez AT, but I like strats better) the BB preamp, a Memory toy (just one, don't need the subtle chorus effect, but wanted to get the nice analog tone) into my Lone Star. I've loads of pictures with his settings and it just wasn't doing it. Then I decided to try one last thing to see if it made any difference at all.
Andy runs his delay through the effects loop on his Lone Star. I have been running mine after my BB Preamp, but in an effects loop on my Furman SPB-8 pedalboard. I confess I never used an effects loop in anything before and all the non-master volume tube amp guys swear they ruin the tone of everything, so I just hadn't tried it yet. But it was different then Andy Timmons set up so I thought, what the hell, give it a try.
At first it didn't even work because I don't know what I'm doing plugging what into what, but since there are only two plugs, I reversed them and of course everything started working. I should add that I have the effects mix setting on the back set to the + sign like everyone keeps talking about here. I didn't understand what that would do to the tone, but whatever, so I tried it.
Tonal nirvana. I can't stop playing this amp now. It sounds just like the Andy Timmons tone I bought it for in the first place (I'm even playing like him now!) Love the low end. Big, full and tight on the 100 watt setting, with a singing, vocal-like quality on the high notes without being even a bit harsh. It's still loud as hell (the wife kindly asked me to turn it down of course after a long episode of testing her patience) so I'm going to have to really explore my Ho Attenuator and see if I can tame it down without too adversely effecting the tone (anyone have any tips on using it? I've never been blown away by it.)
I think my tone chasing has ended. I'll need a bit more time to chase the volume issues away and get the satisfying tone at a very low basement-kids-sleeping-upstairs volume, but wow do I love this tone.
What I can't figure out, but only moderately care about now that I've found such a sweet, sweet, awesome tone, is what does having the Memory Toy in the effects loop do to make this thing sound so awesome? Before I almost never used it because it just muddied up everything, with the delayed notes just getting in the way of the rest of what I played. Now it somehow makes it sound much more musical, making each note just sing and sustain (really, it is much more responsive now where it felt dry and dead before, now it feels alive and interactive) Now I think I can get rid of all my other amps. They are not going to get played much at all, if at all, any more. Wow this beast is stunning.
Andy runs his delay through the effects loop on his Lone Star. I have been running mine after my BB Preamp, but in an effects loop on my Furman SPB-8 pedalboard. I confess I never used an effects loop in anything before and all the non-master volume tube amp guys swear they ruin the tone of everything, so I just hadn't tried it yet. But it was different then Andy Timmons set up so I thought, what the hell, give it a try.
At first it didn't even work because I don't know what I'm doing plugging what into what, but since there are only two plugs, I reversed them and of course everything started working. I should add that I have the effects mix setting on the back set to the + sign like everyone keeps talking about here. I didn't understand what that would do to the tone, but whatever, so I tried it.
Tonal nirvana. I can't stop playing this amp now. It sounds just like the Andy Timmons tone I bought it for in the first place (I'm even playing like him now!) Love the low end. Big, full and tight on the 100 watt setting, with a singing, vocal-like quality on the high notes without being even a bit harsh. It's still loud as hell (the wife kindly asked me to turn it down of course after a long episode of testing her patience) so I'm going to have to really explore my Ho Attenuator and see if I can tame it down without too adversely effecting the tone (anyone have any tips on using it? I've never been blown away by it.)
I think my tone chasing has ended. I'll need a bit more time to chase the volume issues away and get the satisfying tone at a very low basement-kids-sleeping-upstairs volume, but wow do I love this tone.
What I can't figure out, but only moderately care about now that I've found such a sweet, sweet, awesome tone, is what does having the Memory Toy in the effects loop do to make this thing sound so awesome? Before I almost never used it because it just muddied up everything, with the delayed notes just getting in the way of the rest of what I played. Now it somehow makes it sound much more musical, making each note just sing and sustain (really, it is much more responsive now where it felt dry and dead before, now it feels alive and interactive) Now I think I can get rid of all my other amps. They are not going to get played much at all, if at all, any more. Wow this beast is stunning.
