I'm In A Bad Place Again. I Could Sell It All...

[CudBucket]

Yesterday I plugged my Studio Pre and 50/50 into my 4x12 Traditional and... was not happy. It was noisy and sounded bad to me. I've got to pull it from the rack and see where my noise is coming from. Then I plugged my RKII head in and was still not happy. Then, I plugged in my Legacy head and hated that too.

I swear, I was ready to take pics and put it all on Ebay and just start over. I'm even considering getting a smaller powered amp for my home use.

Ever go through this with your stuff?

On a related note, is there a way to test the phase of the electricity in my house or on a single outlet? I'm wondering if there might be an issue like that that affects my gear.

Dave

 

[MusicManJP6]

I've had those feelings before. It usually goes away after a few days.

Your home electric could be the cause of amps sounding good some days and bad other days. Have no idea how you can test it. Wonder if a power conditioner would keep it more consistent?

Don't sell everything just yet! Drink a beer or two and then go jam to 'change your perspective' a bit... :lol:

Sorry if i'm not much help here... There has to be a reason your tone comes and goes though...

FWIW, I bought an F-30 for easier home use (although it is still too loud) and like it alot.

 

[fryett67]

When I had spare cash, I went through a load of gear. I had a very friendly music store that used to let me try gear out for a while before buying. Even so, I would buy amps and then a few months later trade them in for different ones. Looking back now, I wish I'd just taken a bit more time over choosing in the first place and stuck with my choice.

I think that you should definitely wait a while before trading in for something new. Having said that, I had to sell my Marshall TSL100 before moving to the US and on the recommendation of a friend (and after seeing him play a gig) I bought a Lonestar Special, and this is an amp I'm going to stick with.

Cheers

Andy

 

[Platypus]

Everyone I'm sure has had days like that.. take a break from it for a bit and come back to it. I've gone through this so many times and been glad I held on to the gear after the fact

 

[CudBucket]

My problem is that I love gear but don't have the time to play it all. So I go a long, long time without plugging into my tube amps. I have a G Major, GCX Audio Switcher and Ground Control Pro that I still haven't really wired up properly. I play every day though. But that's usually after 9pm because I have 3 kids I need to get to bed. After a long day at work and maybe an hour in the gym, I'm usually not up to going into my basement and plug in. I'd rather get one of my guitars, a good instructional book and plug into my Micro Cube while I watch a hockey game.

So, when I finally do plug in to the tube amps, I don't have a frame of reference because I haven't heard it in a while. What got me last night was that my Studio and 50/50 were making all kinds of noise and then the Legacy really sounded sterile on the lead channel.

The RKII wasn't so bad but it was sounding muddier than usual.

I know it's probably me but I have to tell you. Even before last night, I've been considering down-sizing. Just boiling it down to one amp and maybe 2 or 3 guitars and a few pedals. If I sold all my stuff and used that money, I'd be able to buy pretty much any thing I want.

What scares is, what if, one day I have say, a Bogner XTC and two Suhrs, and I come downstairs, plug in, and hate that! :shock: I think I'd burn it all then.

 

[LnTh]

Change your strings

Man that's a classic in guitarists' life. Just leave it for a week. Next time you play, you're gonna have the best tone ever.

 

[MusicManJP6]

what is funny is that I changed strings on my Music Man and my tone was instantly MUCH better - so changing strings is not out of the question!

The micro cubes have great tone for their size. I like the 15w Line 6 Spider III's too for that matter...

 

[CudBucket]

what is funny is that I changed strings on my Music Man and my tone was instantly MUCH better - so changing strings is not out of the question!

+1

I went back to .010s on one of my Petruccis and it tightened up the low-end alot.

The micro cubes have great tone for their size. I like the 15w Line 6 Spider III's too for that matter...

+1

In fact, I've considered selling Studio Pre, 50/50 and Micro Cube and get one of the new Bogner/Line 6 deals for night time playing. That would still leave me with the Legacy and Road King II.

 

[UDAMANN]

CudBucket,

I totally hear what you are saying. I've done the exact same thing & been where you are at.

Fryett67 is totally correct with his comments (read them again) & I just did the same thing.

I'm an impulse kind of guy and if there was a new amp that was chrome and looked like a toaster I bought it. Then I was unhappy when it didn't do what I wanted & sold it. Usually just to loose more money and end up doing it again.

This may not be your case at all & if not just discard my comments. It could be the power thing or strings.

I tell you something I think is kind of funny. I'm 38 with 3 kids and can play fairly well on most days. I'm into Andy Timmons, Mark Tremonti, Steve Stevens & Luke. We all know what gear they play thru and there types of tones right? Here's where I'm going with this.

You know what endded up making me happy gear wise & able to get allot of these tones? A Mesa Boogie Lonestar Special, a few good pedals (Xotic AC Booster, Keeley Rat) & a G-System. The amp by itself is amazing & add the pedals and you'll get all the flavors it can't get on it's own.

I never thought in a million years that I'd buy a Lonestar! I thought they were for blues players or marketed for someone else.

You might already have what you need or maybe need to look outside of what you normally do.

The 35 watts is more then most people need & most (good) gigs you'll never even get her that loud. The 5 & 15 watt modes are great too.

Wow I talk allot.

Anyways I feel your pain bro!

Peace! Udamann

 

[CudBucket]

Thanks U!

I'm 42 and have 3 kids. I know that my ears may just have had a bad day but I'm thinking I really don't need 3 different high-powered tube rigs. So there's a couple things going on.

Firstly, I need to spend more time with my gear and get it to work for me. Secondly, I think I've finally gotten to the point where I don't need to use the same gear my heroes do. I think you can tell who I listnen to: Road King, EBMM Petruccis, Carvin Legacy, etc., etc.

So in a way I think I'm ready to try other gear for the right reasons. I'm just going to wait a few days and make those decisions with a clearer head.

Dave

 

[Rocky]

sometimes you need to take a break from playing and sometimes even LISTENING to music.

 

[UDAMANN]

Cud,

You are right on track with your thought process.

I would think that you could get allot of tones out of that Road King & for big gigs down the road it would be great.

Keep one (big) rig & call it your guilty pleasure rig. Work with it until you tame it.

Most gigs (small bars, church, local jam, etc) a smaller watt amp will work great.

Tone comes from allot of little things all at the same time. I know you already know this so I'm not trying to teach you a thing. Find one item at a time that you absolutley love and keep it.

once you find a pedal or guitar that is above the ordinary move on to the next piece of gear, but build from what you have. Make sure the nect piece of gear works with the previous.

I wish you the best of luck on this never ending quest.

I wish everyone the best of luck.

At some point you have to draw the line in the sand and except a few things.

I did & I'm really happy with my tones now. I've had some great gear that is still great, but just not for me and my needs.

Good luck & Peace!

Tim

 

[rvschulz]

this thread really struck a chord with me (no pun intended) after the responses of "i'm xx yo and have 3 kids ..." as i am 47 and have 3 kids. i spent a LOT of time away from playing (many years) while i participated in their growth. that's important.

where i'm at now ... thought i would settle on one amp and then perdals for tweaking as needed. however, two more amps are here now and the original is gone. i have spent some time with different types of guitars and have removed one type (2 guitars) from my "collection".

while i am playing more in the past 10-12 months, i find i am settling in on my tone(s). that has caused equipment heartache as y'all have described. i bet i have bought and sold 10 pedals in 12 months. however, now i am close enough to where i want to be to get my playing back down. of course, i suck. but i'm having fun. good luck and much fun to you all.

 

[mikey383]

I've also noticed that on days. Some days I plug into my Recto, and it sounds phenomenal to me, other days, it straight out sounds like ***.

I think there are a lot of variables to it though....what kind of day you've had, what the weather is like, your mood, etc. I've not only noticed this on my rig, but on recordings that I've done. I'll have a band in my studio, and after a few hours of recording, I'm strung out on it and have to give it a rest for a night or two. Then I'll come back and everything sounds so much better to me.

A power conditioner could help you out. I've noticed that when I play through my rig at my buddy's house, it sounds better than at my house. I checked the voltage one day, and he gets around 121 volts, and at my house, I get around 113.

 

[MetalMatt]

Add me to the list, I had those feelings myself. There was a time where I was playing through my home practice set up (Vamp + headphones) for a month with out seeing my beloved Road King. When I finally got to plug in to my RK we didn't have that spark we once had. Thought about selling her. I'm glad I didn't. I think it was my ears getting used to the tones from the Vamp, and expecting those on my RK. Which is strange cause I like the tones on the RK 111x better.

Cud I might be interested in your 50/50, if your selling it, let me know!

 

[GMello]

do you have an attenuator?? if you don't, I think getting one would be a good idea. These amps are not really made for home playing, they do not sound their best at low volumes and even if you can turn them up at your basement, the level of volume they produce gets old really fast.

 

[JAZZGEAR]

Your home electric could be the cause of amps sounding good some days and bad other days. Have no idea how you can test it. Wonder if a power conditioner would keep it more consistent?

Bingo.....this phenomenon has caused me to go through a vicious G.A.S. cycle which left me right back where I started....only thousands of dollars of mis-spent $$$s.


It's amazing how much effect the integrity of your electrical power has on your tone.

 

[mikey383]

It's amazing how much effect the integrity of your electrical power has on your tone.

As an electrician, I can't emphasize enough the validity of this statement. People will spend hundreds on cables to ensure the tone is transferred properly, but scoff at the idea of spending the money on a power conditioner - when that's just as important - if not more - than having quality cables.

 

[jman7272]

It's amazing how much effect the integrity of your electrical power has on your tone.

As an electrician, I can't emphasize enough the validity of this statement. People will spend hundreds on cables to ensure the tone is transferred properly, but scoff at the idea of spending the money on a power conditioner - when that's just as important - if not more - than having quality cables.

So what is a good model or unit to fit the need? Especially for high powered Mesa amps...

 

[CudBucket]

It's amazing how much effect the integrity of your electrical power has on your tone.

As an electrician, I can't emphasize enough the validity of this statement. People will spend hundreds on cables to ensure the tone is transferred properly, but scoff at the idea of spending the money on a power conditioner - when that's just as important - if not more - than having quality cables.

I'm listening. What do you recommend?