Help finding a particular tone

[JW123]

Try turning your gain down to around noon or one, and then kick in the Boss SD-1, play with it for your saturation level

 

[cheameup]

What cable and plugs did you use for your pedalboard? I'm getting Mogami 2524 with Swithcraft 280's and 228's. The buffer and Pedal Power 2+ totally saved my tone and my pedals are silent and work great. 2 things I'd advise anyone to get.

I have a mixture. short ones are mogami cable with nutrick plugs I think, anyway good solid plugs.they were premade from ebay and expensive little buggers. I need a few longer ones for the way I have my pedaltrain pro set up which I'm not sure what brand they are .I got them from a local shop. they're not as good as the mogami leads but decent quality . I will upgrade them one day but for now I've spent too much $ to worry about it .and got a bunch of gigs coming up so just want to leave it how it is for now . I change channel and sounds allot in my band and every time I change my board i have to tweak how I play the set. over it .

yeah I recently added my PP2+ and I wish I did it years ago . if you use a few pedals its pretty much a must .

 

[sk8erps]

I'm gonna try dropping the gain and using the SD-1 out of curiosity. I'm using it for something else so it won't be permanent but I wanna hear what it sounds like. I'd also have to kick that pedal off and hit my channel select every time I went to my clean tone. Might be a pain.
The PP2+ made my old boss CE-2 come to life.

 

[kingston11]

I wouldnt mess with the boss. I would invest in a good overdrive pedal such as a tubescreamer to really push the amp.
A few smaller things... miT used the OS recto cab. The stilletto is smaller and it will sound a little different and have less low end (what you said you are missing).
Also, using a single rec will never "get you totally there" no matter what else you are using with it. It might get you close enough for your tastes however and I hope it does.
Unless you are planning on buying alot more pedals to replicate mahoneys board, I think a loopmaster would be a waste of cash and space, because you look like you have enough pedal board real estate to position the pedals in a comfortable way. But its your board, have fun with it. 8)
You should also try out an eq pedal. The mxr 10 band or the byoc par-eq are excellent.

 

[sk8erps]

The Boss totally thinned out my tone. Def not the way to go for me. I think I may have an issue with my amp. It sounds kind of bright or something. It just doesn't sound right. I have a ton of low end and high end (neither sounds like the right low or high end) but it almost sounds separated. It's not really musical sounding right now. The oversized recto cabs def have more low end but it's also a little more woofy which I'm already having a slight problem with. He's not using those anymore but still has that tone. I am planning on more pedals and the loop-master is mainly to get the tone sucking vintage Boss pedals out of the chain and also eliminate the bleed from the SD-1. I already ordered it and am in my 6th week of waiting. I'd like to avoid having to run an overdrive to get my gain sound b/c it will need to be shut off every time I switch to clean, which is a lot. Maybe I can have the amp modded. Any suggestions for getting a Solo close to a dual or triple?

 

[sk8erps]

I also wanted to note that when I engage my Empress Superdelay, even with the mix all the way down, it cleans my tone up and takes out some of the harsh highs and woofy lows. Can anybody explain why it would do this?

 

[siggy14]

I would also second getting a good overdrive, the Ibanez TS9 is a good pedal, will add a little more midrange to your signal. The Maxon OD808 is another great pedal, it is more transparent, but I prefer the TS9 as I like the mild mid spike I get.

Object of using these pedals is to keep the overdrive (or drive knob) at zero or only a little bit, and then max the level, set the tone knob to liking. As to when you switch between dirty and clean, I just turn off the OD right before I switch over, you really will not notice a difference if you turn it off 10 to 15 seconds before going to clean.

I'm gonna try dropping the gain and using the SD-1 out of curiosity. I'm using it for something else so it won't be permanent but I wanna hear what it sounds like. I'd also have to kick that pedal off and hit my channel select every time I went to my clean tone. Might be a pain.
The PP2+ made my old boss CE-2 come to life.

 

[Neptical]

Brothaman:
Not dissin' what you have, but from everything you've been posting, it sounds like you're running into the same troubles I had with mine ( especially the Solo 50's) and I feel like I should save you the time and money. I just think that amp lacked alot of definition and character ( mind you that I also mentioned just before it gets the huge Recto sound, it runs out of headroom). I changed and swapped out the preamp tubes/power tubes, used a variety of pedals- which seemed to tone suck wayyy too much, used a variety of speakers and cabs ...to no avail. Don't even bother with mods. If you want to take a shot with the Dual or the Triple, go for it. I'd recommend the older 2-channels because they have a more organic feel, quite a bit less harsh. You'll still have to tighten 'em up with an overdrive,though..and throw some compression down if you want those leads.

Now - just a suggestion,if you want a tighter sound with more control ( right out of the box!), creamy sustainable leads (right out of the box!), and shimmery Fender cleans, look into the Mark Series...especially the Mark V. You'll get everything you want and then some. Lots of options, very versatile...and it'll keep tones coming for a LONG time. It can EASILY get into Recto territory - but better, without the sag and extremely tight sounding. It takes to a variety of speakers and cabs WAY better as well. Way too many advantages for me not to recommend it without wasting your time. Trust me, you'll never look back.

Take these words FWTW. Good Luck brethren.

 

[sk8erps]

I totally appreciate your honesty. I agree with you also. I think I need to go back to a Dual. I had a 3 channel in the past and I loved it. I think I'm trying to get something that's just not going to happen. I really want to try an older 2 channel Dual so I'm going to start my search. Luckily I'm in Chicago and finding gear is usually not much of a problem. As for the overdrive pedal, I'm not opposed to going that route but have to wonder why Tim from 311 can get that tone without one. Did he have his Rectos modded? I've seen him with 2 and 3 channel Rectos and it always sounds the same. He uses Diamonds now and it still sounds pretty much the same as his Recto sound. Maybe better. Thanks for your input based on your experience. I think I'm going through what you went through and finally realizing, IT AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN! :lol:

 

[siggy14]

I dont know much about his older rig, but when he used rectos there is a good possibility that he used an OD in front.

I totally appreciate your honesty. I agree with you also. I think I need to go back to a Dual. I had a 3 channel in the past and I loved it. I think I'm trying to get something that's just not going to happen. I really want to try an older 2 channel Dual so I'm going to start my search. Luckily I'm in Chicago and finding gear is usually not much of a problem. As for the overdrive pedal, I'm not opposed to going that route but have to wonder why Tim from 311 can get that tone without one. Did he have his Rectos modded? I've seen him with 2 and 3 channel Rectos and it always sounds the same. He uses Diamonds now and it still sounds pretty much the same as his Recto sound. Maybe better. Thanks for your input based on your experience. I think I'm going through what you went through and finally realizing, IT AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN! :lol:

 

[sk8erps]

I'm not sure about it. Of course he claims there was no od pedal in front. They all do :roll: Live he did have that kind of huge low end ,less tight sound, but airy like really pushing speakers hard and an od pedal would eliminate that. Who knows for sure but him and his tech.
I did some testing today and plugged my guitar onto my crappy old Rocktron Pro GAP into the power section of my Solo 50. Bingo! I found the culprit to my tone problems. My preamp section of my Solo 50 must have something wrong with it. I have the presence all the way off and it sounds like I have it cranked. When I plugged in the Rocktron the brittle sound didn't happen. Off to the shop Monday to get fixed then I'll prob sell it.

 

[Neptical]

Brethren - MiT had pretty standard Recto tones, actually ...(when the octave wasn't on and was just slamming on inverted chordal stuff) - although I still think his older 2-channels in the early days sounded better. Alot of times the live tones didn't come across that great ( from the many occasions I've heard it ). Believe it or not, some of the best tones he had was the real early days when he was using the Mark IV. Never dug the Diamond stuff at all. Just doesn't sound nearly as organic as the Mesa at all. I do believe he boosted his amps from way back when. He's always been a gear head and has always loved pedals. Look at the 'party board'. :lol:

 

[sk8erps]

The party board rules!!! I've seen good pics of his rig and the rig rundown vids and he's got od pedals but claims to just use them on his clean stuff. His Diamonds sounded amazing this past summer when I saw them twice. The one show will be on HDNet tonight. Hopefully they have it mixed the same as it sounded live. As for the standard Recto sound, I think his tone had a little less high end than most and it just seemed so huge. Could def be the oc-2. I have one and it does sound awesome.

 

[sk8erps]

The party board rules!!! I've seen good pics of his rig and the rig rundown vids and he's got od pedals but claims to just use them on his clean stuff. His Diamonds sounded amazing this past summer when I saw them twice. The one show will be on HDNet tonight. Hopefully they have it mixed the same as it sounded live. As for the standard Recto sound, I think his tone had a little less high end than most and it just seemed so huge. Could def be the oc-2. I have one and it does sound awesome.

 

[sk8erps]

BTW, do your PRS standard 24's have trems or stoptials? I want one with a stoptail but it's impossible to find.

 

[boss4]

I dont know much about his older rig, but when he used rectos there is a good possibility that he used an OD in front.

+1
And with his loop-masters is easy not to tapdance.

 

[sk8erps]

So what do you think he's using for an od? He always had an old gray DOD 250 but claims it was only to boost his clean channel to make it not so sparkly clean. He now has 2 XTS Pecision Overdrives hooked together in the one loop that feeds his clean amp. On the HDNET show last night I could see him switch to his clean amp then kick on the overdrive loop. I could actually hear the od pedal kick in. So I don't think he's boosting his dirty amp. Did anybody see the show? My wife and I decided his tone sounds like the sound is being squeezed out of the speakers. He's def got his own tone going on.
I've got a 7 loop Loop-Master ordered. Can't wait to get it.

 

[Neptical]

BTW, do your PRS standard 24's have trems or stoptials? I want one with a stoptail but it's impossible to find.

Mine are with the trems.

You could always get the cheaper MiT SE Signature (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guit...-guitar/h74458000001000?src=3WWRWXGB&ZYXSEM=0 ) model to fool around with if you want a stop-tail at an affordable price.

 

[sk8erps]

Thought about getting one but they look kind of cheap and have maple necks. I found an old Standard 24 with the short heel but it's got a trem. Too bad b/c it plays beautifully. So any suggestions as to what OD he's using and where he has it?

 

[Neptical]

The only OD he has at the moment is that SD-1.

I think when you say "his tone sounds like the sound is being squeezed out of the speakers", I think you're referring to his octave tone - like on the 11' HDNet special here: http://youtu.be/hkKy3E5Rx2c --on 'Sunset in July' during the verses.