Cool thoughts and stories guys. I agree UDAMAN, the gear DOES matter. It definitely sounds different in different hands but it does matter.
Last night was another step in the right direction. Plus, I almost had a heart-attack.
Firstly, the Road King II is safe for now. I switched channels 3 and 4 to DIODE rectification and really have gotten it in a working state for me. I've got a good pair of tones in those channels with the loops bypassed and no effects. I could sit down now, plug in and play without being critical of the tone. I just try to play different riffs and things to see how it'll sound with the tone I'm getting. Kind of like when you first get a new guitar or amp. Now I'll start working my G Major back in and finally throw an OD in front as well.
Secondly, the problems I was having with the Studio Pre and 50/50 were due to the fact that I inadvertantly lifted the ground on the 50/50 and of course, that caused all kinds of noise. I have no issues getting a good tone with that combo. What a great little preamp. I'm shocked that people spend so much money on Mark IVs and III's when you can get a Studio and 50/50 for about $800 and it's so easy to dial in. Yes, it may be tough to get a good clean tone at the same time as a good gain tone but for recording one sound at a time, it's awesome. Getting early Dream Theater tones on this rig is cake.
And lastly, the heart-attack I almost had... So, I've got my RKII head on top of my 4x12 traditional and it sits right next to my rack. My Legacy sits on top of the rack. Nice and tidy so I can easily plug the cab into whatever amp I want to use. So I'm about to troubleshoot the Studio/50-50 and I grab the speaker cable from the cab and run it into channel A of the 50/50. Warm up the pre and amp for a minute. Hit the standby switches and begin to roll up the output on the 50/50. No sound. I throw everything on standby. Now I'm thinking "Idiot, you didn't plug in the cab". Instead I realize that the speaker cable that was coming from the 50/50 was not going into the cab but into the RKII's speaker output!!!
:shock:
Luckily, I think, the RKII was not powered on. Now I'm thinking I fried the RKII or the 50/50 or both. So I run the cab back to the RKII and turn it on, let it warm up, and play it for a while and everything is OK. Then I tested the 50/50 and that was fine too. I swear I almost ****.
Now, tonight, I'll fire up the Legacy and make up with her too. I noticed that the IEC jack in the back is kind of loose and doesn't sit nice and snug in it so I have to get another that does.
Dave
Last night was another step in the right direction. Plus, I almost had a heart-attack.
Firstly, the Road King II is safe for now. I switched channels 3 and 4 to DIODE rectification and really have gotten it in a working state for me. I've got a good pair of tones in those channels with the loops bypassed and no effects. I could sit down now, plug in and play without being critical of the tone. I just try to play different riffs and things to see how it'll sound with the tone I'm getting. Kind of like when you first get a new guitar or amp. Now I'll start working my G Major back in and finally throw an OD in front as well.
Secondly, the problems I was having with the Studio Pre and 50/50 were due to the fact that I inadvertantly lifted the ground on the 50/50 and of course, that caused all kinds of noise. I have no issues getting a good tone with that combo. What a great little preamp. I'm shocked that people spend so much money on Mark IVs and III's when you can get a Studio and 50/50 for about $800 and it's so easy to dial in. Yes, it may be tough to get a good clean tone at the same time as a good gain tone but for recording one sound at a time, it's awesome. Getting early Dream Theater tones on this rig is cake.
And lastly, the heart-attack I almost had... So, I've got my RKII head on top of my 4x12 traditional and it sits right next to my rack. My Legacy sits on top of the rack. Nice and tidy so I can easily plug the cab into whatever amp I want to use. So I'm about to troubleshoot the Studio/50-50 and I grab the speaker cable from the cab and run it into channel A of the 50/50. Warm up the pre and amp for a minute. Hit the standby switches and begin to roll up the output on the 50/50. No sound. I throw everything on standby. Now I'm thinking "Idiot, you didn't plug in the cab". Instead I realize that the speaker cable that was coming from the 50/50 was not going into the cab but into the RKII's speaker output!!!
:shock:
Luckily, I think, the RKII was not powered on. Now I'm thinking I fried the RKII or the 50/50 or both. So I run the cab back to the RKII and turn it on, let it warm up, and play it for a while and everything is OK. Then I tested the 50/50 and that was fine too. I swear I almost ****.
Now, tonight, I'll fire up the Legacy and make up with her too. I noticed that the IEC jack in the back is kind of loose and doesn't sit nice and snug in it so I have to get another that does.
Dave
