How many of you are actually rehearsing/gigging with the ED?

[MBJunkie]

The ED forum is slow, and I haven't seen this question posted previously.

I am curious to know how many of you are actually rehearsing and gigging using your ED as your number 1 amp. Most specifically, I am interested in responses from ED 1x12 combo giggers, but head/cab owners feel free to chime in as well. If you are a head/cab owner please specify which cab(s) you are using. I have my own thoughts about this topic, but wish to hear what others have to say.

If you do use the ED as your #1 rehearsing/gigging amp, please specify how you use it (all modes or partial, clean trim toggle, normal or lo/high gain setting for the toggle, pedals for boosts, additional effects?, using the loop or in front of the amp, etc.), what guitar(s) you are using and possibly most importantly, what type of music your band plays?

Anxious to hear comments from ED players that actually use this amp as a gigging amp!

 

[MBJunkie]

One more important thing that I forgot in my original post. Are you primarily playing rhythm guitar, lead guitar or a combination of the two in your band using this amp.

Thx

 

[B4Warned]

I use a head thru an old 70's peavey 4-12 cab. This past weekend I stayed on the blue channel using only a ts-808 for clean boost, 6 band eq & DD-3 delay in the loop. Being the only guitar player, playing rhythm & lead. Didn't even need to use reverb, only rolling the guitar vol down for cleans with a chorus pedal. Was getting a smokin great tone all night playing classic rock and hair metal.

 

[MBJunkie]

Great B4Warned! I am glad you are able to use just the blue channel and some pedals and your guitar volume knob to obtain all the sounds you need while gigging with the ED. This is exactly the type of response I am after. Any thoughts for ED 1x12 combo giggers?

Is there anybody OUT there!

 

[MBJunkie]

B4Warned,

What guitar(s) did you play? Single coils, HB's, both? How clean did you achieve rolling the guitar volume back in the blue channel? Clean with an edge or pristine? I know my questions are somewhat subjective so answer them as you feel.

Also, some examples of songs your band played would be benefitial to me and possibly others.

Thanks for your excellent reply! :lol:

 

[Laskyman]

I play the ED exclusively- lead and rhythm- I play contemporary christian rock and worship in a variety of settings. I use all modes, gain trim set to clean, with all of the tools in my signature. I use humbuckers and singles- the ED smokes all. Just do it- you'll thank me later....

 

[HIgh Gain Junkie]

I used mine for gigs and rehearsals for a few months and was pleased with the tones I was able to get from it. I used a PRS CE>Wah>TS9>ED 1x12 combo with a Boss CE20>DD3>DD6 in the loop and I switched between all three modes pretty regularly, always with the Trim Knob On and set to at least 70%...I think. I haven't really played it much in the past few months but I'm pretty sure that's the setting.

My cleans were always nice and lush sounding with no real breakup at all even with the gain set at about 3 o'clock. I used the Clean & Blue Channel for most of our songs (originals), saving the Red Channel for some of the heavier parts and most of the leads. I always found myself using my TS9 (Keeley Baked Mod) for leads, set mostly as a clean boost with the gain at maybe 10% or less, and it really helped the leads stand out in the mix.

My only complaint about the amp is probably due to user error more than anything, but I was never really happy with the volume levels between the clean and dirty channels. At rehearsals I tried the trim switch in all positions and at all levels and whenever I had it pretty dialed in it would be gig time and it seemed that changing just the Master and nothing else would screw with the trim setting and the levels were off again. Maybe it was just me, maybe room acoustics played a part, maybe I had one too many beers during set up, maybe lots of things, but it sounded that way to me. It wasn't a big difference in volume but it always seemed that the cleans were either too loud or not loud enough somehow.

The ED is a killer amp and it's the first Mesa I've owned that didn't need constant tweaking, Trim Knob aside, and it always sounded good no matter what room I was in. The only two knobs I ever really touched were the Gain and Volume knobs, and that was mostly the Volume since my Gain was usually set at 3 o'clock or more pretty much all the time. I like the amp a lot but I recently got a Bogner Ecstasy and I'm just not using the ED at all anymore so I'm getting rid of mine so I can pick up another PRS. If I had the means to keep it and get another guitar I would do it in a heart beat, but it's one or the other so it's time to move on.

 

[formisano]

High Gain,
When I read the first part of your post that said, "...always with the Trim Knob On and set to at least 70%...I think", I knew that you were going to say that you weren't ever able to balance the levels between clean and dirty.

We're all used to individual master controls on each channel to balance the levels. The ElectraDyne is different. Although it's an uncommon solution to balancing the levels, the 'clean level' control works perfectly to do just that if you follow the manual.

Basically, set up your gain sound (and volume) first, then switch to clean. If the clean is too loud, reduce the 'clean level'. If the clean is too quiet, increase the 'clean level'. It works.

Rock on!

 

[HIgh Gain Junkie]

High Gain,
When I read the first part of your post that said, "...always with the Trim Knob On and set to at least 70%...I think", I knew that you were going to say that you weren't ever able to balance the levels between clean and dirty.

We're all used to individual master controls on each channel to balance the levels. The ElectraDyne is different. Although it's an uncommon solution to balancing the levels, the 'clean level' control works perfectly to do just that if you follow the manual.

Basically, set up your gain sound (and volume) first, then switch to clean. If the clean is too loud, reduce the 'clean level'. If the clean is too quiet, increase the 'clean level'. It works.

Rock on!

Like I said, it was probably just user error, but I did spend many hours trying a lot of different settings including the ones in the manual. It's a relatively small complaint on my part, especially since I was always very happy with the tones I was able to get from it, but it always bugged me.

The ED is an amazing amp that has some really good sounds in it and it served me very well for the 6 or so months that I did use it regularly. Anyone looking for a versatile Mesa that sounds good no matter where you take it, unlike my TOV, the ED is an excellent choice!

 

[B4Warned]

Hey MBJunkie, I use a charvel production model with 2 duncan humbuckers. The clean on the blue channel doesn't sound as pristine as the clean channel, but I'm used to single channel master volume marshalls where you only get close to clean when rolling the guitar volume back. I think the blue channel has a better clean rolling the volume back than any marshall I have ever used. I'm satisfied with it for what I do. Don't have any clips yet, thanks for asking.

 

[tubby_cosmos]

I've used my ED for several gigs now. I've got a 1x12 combo and use it for both lead and rhythm sounds. I play in a 90's rock cover band (mostly grunge - alice in chains, soundgarden, nirvana, pearl jam, etc...) and I use all three channels, although primarily the red channel (high gain). I have the amp set with the gain at 3:00, treble at 2:30, mid at 3:30, bass at 1:30, and presence at 11:00. Clean trim on, reverb bypassed, 6L6s in the back, and on the 45W setting. I think that's all of the settings I need to mention, although let me know if there's something else you want to know.

Anyways, my main axe is a PRS DGT (humbuckers + coil taps) plugged into my pedal board (Hardwire tuner => Whammy => Little Big Muff Pi => Vox Wah => Hughes and Kettner Tube Factor => Line 6 Echo Park => EHX Small Clone => Boss BF-3 Flanger). Coil tapped, I get squeaky cleans on the clean channel, with humbuckers, I get a tiny bit of dirt. I use the high gain channel primarily for rhythm (since a lot of grunge music has pretty high gain rhythm riffs), and add the Tube Factor for extra gain when I play leads. The Big Muff works beautifully into the clean channel when I need old Nirvana/Smashing Pumpkins tones, and all of my other effects work fine, except for the delay, which has some grounding issues of its own, but to no fault of the amp. Occasionally I'll use the low gain channel when I don't want such a saturated tone, but because most of the music we play is pretty heavy, the hi gain channel works most of the time.

I used to run the delay/chorus/flanger through the effects loop of the ED, but was having some grounding issues that still need to be looked at. The problem may be due to the quality of my pedals rather than the amp, too. Haven't had time to properly investigate that, though.

I could blab forever about how amazing the amp has been for me, but suffice to say, it's worked great so far. I have a few clips of me going through the amp on my youtube page, http://www.youtube.com/user/tubbycosmos if you're interested, and that's it! Not sure if you were considering picking up an ED or

 

[MBJunkie]

WOW....great responses everybody!!

I have spent a lot of time experimenting with all of the features of this amp since I purchased it 4 months ago. First of all, let me just say that I am very impressed with the great clean, lo gain and hi gain tones this amp offers in such a simple to dial format!

The primary purpose of my post was to get opinions from ED owners that are actually using this amp for rehearsals/gigs and how you like it for your needs. All of you have responded accordingly, and it is much appreciated! I am glad that all of you are digging the ED for your gigging purposes.

First of all, I am able to easily achieve a wide range of excellent sounds out of each mode independently using my HSS strat style guitar with single coils and the HB position.

I am also able to achieve "good" sounds out of all modes while footswitching, however, I do notice some compromises inherent with the 3 modes of the ED while playing live that I would like to share:

1. I like the channel volume set between 2-3 o'clock to achieve great lo and hi gain sounds as do so many of us, but I find the clean to not be as clean as I would like (even with the clean trim toggle set to clean).
2. I find it difficult to optimize the clean level knob in the back for overall mode balances. Even slight changes to the master volume usually require me to tweak the clean level knob in the back for good overall mode balances and I find this somewhat annoying.
3. The bass knob needs to be set very low (9-10 o'clock) to achieve a nice lo gain sound out of the blue channel, but the bass sounds better higher for the hi gain sounds out of the red channel to my ear. If I set the bass higher than 10 o'clock, my lo gain sounds too boomy.
4. The lo gain (blue) channel sounds louder than the hi gain (red mode) which is opposite of what I want. I feel this is due to the (red) mode being more compressed than the (blue) mode, and both sound good, but it is an annoyance of mine while playing live.
5. I have tried using the blue channel for clean sounds by rolling back my guitar volume, but while it does clean up fairly nicely, the clean sound in the blue mode with my guitar volume set to 3 or 4 is almost inaudible compared to the blue mode with my guitar volume maxed.

I do really like the sounds that I am able to get out of the ED while playing through all modes independently at home, however, it doesn't work as well for me while footswitching between the modes and playing live. I definitely notice compromises, but in fairness, some compromises are expected as published by MB in their user manual.

I am glad that the ED is working well very for most of you as your gigging amp!

More experiences encouraged!

 

[B4Warned]

You know, I noticed the boomy bass on the blue channel at around 9-10 o clock using a marshall cabinet, but when I used a 4 ohm peavey cabinet I had to crank the bass to about 11-12 o clock and it was just right. Could be the room or a number of things. I'm also playing with the master volume about 9:30 - 10:00, when I can get away with it. That master volume def changes the eq.

 

[JOEY B.]

That master volume def changes the eq.

Noticed that, too. The blue channel sounded dark, boomy the other night. Then I turned up the Master. It came alive, with a fury. :twisted: My cab is a Genz-Benz G-flex 2x12 with a pair of MESA MS-12 speakers with an impedance of 4 ohms.

 

[MBJunkie]

Thanks for your additional comments guys!

I definitely agree that cranking the amp above say 9:30 does help to eliminate a lot of the bass boominess in mode 2 (blue channel) even with the combo amp. The only problem with that is my band mates tell me, "YOU NEED TO TURN YOUR AMP DOWN" when I am at 9 o'clock with the master during rehearsals with the power set to 45W! :roll: .

They are more tolerant about my volume during gigs mainly because they can't hear me nearly as well in an open room!

However, even when I crank up my ED master volume higher and in 90W mode, I find higher settings of the bass control to be much "boomier" in the lo gain channel than the hi gain channel. I also find the sound of the clean mode to be benefitial with somewhat higher bass settings.....in the 11 - 12 o'clock range, but I don't set it this way while rehearsing/gigging because I don't want to ruin my lo gain sound.......which can sound fantastice without question!!

One thing that I have found to really help reduce the "boomy" factor of the lo gain channel is to add the Fulltone OCD between my guitar and amp. Not only does the OCD offer a nice sustain in lo and hi gain modes, it also seems to reduce some of the bass boominess in the blue channel. I do find the OCD to work very nicely with the ED combo for high gain lead work. I have experimented with the OCD pedal set to LP and HP (low gain and high gain), with the volume, drive and tone settings close to noon on the pedal and it sounds fantastic between my guitar and ED. Check it out if you get a chance.

Still, I am not satisfied with my clean sound in the clean mode with this amp set optimally for the hi gain sounds, but it is definitely not a bad sound....just not as clean as I am after. There is really not a lot I can do about this without sacrificing my lo/hi gain sounds.

Thanks for the responses.....hey let's keep'em coming. Any other ED combo giggers out there with experiences to share?

 

[SgtThump]

I've gigged with my ED 1x12" wide combo around 20 times now and IMO, it's a great gigging amp! My setup is:

Guitar > Morley Bad Horsie II Wah > BYOC Phaser > EH LPB1 Boost > TC Electronic PolyTune > Amp

Amp FX Send > Boss DD20 Delay > MXR 10-Band EQ > Amp FX Return

Very simple setup that works perfectly. My band plays everything from Journey and Foghat, to Puddle of Mudd and RATM. This amps works great for any style I'd play.

 

[MBJunkie]

Glad to hear it is working very well for you SgtThump!

 

[Assumer]

rehearsed with it the other day and loved it.

 

[flyboy70]

The big outdoor gig Saturday allowed me to get the ED into the sweet spot of this amp's tone. I had many positive comments from the band I was sitting in with plus several in the crowd. They had a guest singer/songwriter who has been around for many years who they invited to the stage to play a few. I was already done with my few pieces on the set list so this legend walks up to me before he goes on stage and says "Son, may I play through your rig? That is one of the fattest sounding strat/amp tones I may have ever heard." On his way off the stage he hugged me and told me that was the best he's ever heard himself on stage! Afterward several of us sat around while the roadies took the set apart and talked about guitars and amps and all those we wish we still had. We did that until the venue finally turned off the power to the stage area. I ALMOST sold him my ED but decided to let him get his own. After all - I don't want to have the same conversation in 20 years about my "Boogie that got away".

The sound crew gushed over the way this amp cuts through the mix. The band I was sitting in with has 2 guitar players: one plays a Fender Evil Twin, the other plays a HEAVILY modified Bassman. The crew thought with this little 1x12 they would have their work cut out for them. They were wrong...

 

[MBJunkie]

Fantastic flyboy70! It sounds like your gig while playing through your ED probably sold more EDs!! Glad it is working great for you!