New Electra Dyne Owner - Video

[SgtThump]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZxGsBpBVGU

I just got the amp yesterday and am still getting to know it. I spent quite a bit of time with it last night at low volume levels and today at stage levels.

My initial thoughts are that the clean mode is kind of Vox'ish (even though I'm no Vox expert), the Vintage Lo mode is very Plexi'ish, and the Vintage Hi mode is JCM800 2203'ish.

I think I'll start the search for a good OD/boost pedal to kick it into higher gain territory for those songs that require that. Not sure where to start, though.

Chris

 

[stephen sawall]

Nice playing .... it well be interesting hear what you think of it.

 

[Assumer]

congrats, amp sounds great with the LP.

 

[ESlinker]

Very cool! I too would like to hear your thoughts and opinions on this amp as I'm going to be on the verge of purchasing an ED or the Mark V shortly and I'm having the hardest time figuring out which direction to go.

 

[SgtThump]

Nice playing .... it well be interesting hear what you think of it.

Hey Stephen! Thanks. I probably won't have a real good opinion for a few days or even weeks. I'd really like to hear this amp on the stage, but we don't have any gigs until March (and then we have 5 or 6.) I'll have to wait a couple of weeks before I hear it on stage, which sucks.

I've always wanted a "real big" sounding combo and I think I found that in this Electra Dyne. I know everyone talks about how "big" it sounds, but it's true. It's a little monster! More low end than you'd ever expect.

 

[teletalkin]

Sounded great......congrats on a fantastic amp!

 

[stephen sawall]

I was kind of surprised you picked up a combo. For what ever reason no one has had one around here...... so I have not plugged in yet.

I agree about live being a real judgment day for a amp.

I saw that stuff on that other forum about the effects and had to laugh. Maybe you should have told him you were showing how well it works with effects ? :mrgreen:

 

[SgtThump]

I was kind of surprised you picked up a combo. For what ever reason no one has had one around here...... so I have not plugged in yet.

I agree about live being a real judgment day for a amp.

I saw that stuff on that other forum about the effects and had to laugh. Maybe you should have told him you were showing how well it works with effects ? :mrgreen:

I've actually only played the combos when I tried these out in stores a couple of times. I said this already, but I walked away everytime thinking I wanted one. I just never made the move until now.

I hope I don't regret getting a combo. I'm a head/cab dude for sure and have never been fully satisfied with the open back thin tone that comes from most combos, but this one sure seems different. Sounds like a closed back ported kinda thing. Lots of low end and punch.

And yeah, what's up with that dude and the effects comments? What a weirdo.

 

[stephen sawall]

There is something great about the sound coming from everywhere with a open back.

I have got great sounds from rear ported / etc ~ cabs .... but I always go back to the closed stuff.

 

[primal]

Great video.

What were your settings when you were doing "you really got me"? Was that straight amp or was there some effects in there? Very cutting and edgy sounding.

As far as regretting the combo, I think the only thing you will regret about it is the wieght. There is no way to sugar coat it. The thing weighs a million pounds. If they come out with a 45watt version short head, I would consider getting that. But I would be worried I would lose some of the clean tone. Screw it. I'll just workout!

Sound wise with the combo, I don't think you will regret it in the least.

This amp sounds even better at gigging levels, in part due to the fact that you have a 90watt speaker that is going to sound better being pushed then it doesn barely being pushed. I have no doubt you will agree.

 

[SgtThump]

Great video.

What were your settings when you were doing "you really got me"? Was that straight amp or was there some effects in there? Very cutting and edgy sounding.

As far as regretting the combo, I think the only thing you will regret about it is the wieght. There is no way to sugar coat it. The thing weighs a million pounds. If they come out with a 45watt version short head, I would consider getting that. But I would be worried I would lose some of the clean tone. Screw it. I'll just workout!

Sound wise with the combo, I don't think you will regret it in the least.

This amp sounds even better at gigging levels, in part due to the fact that you have a 90watt speaker that is going to sound better being pushed then it doesn barely being pushed. I have no doubt you will agree.

That was just the Vintage Hi mode on the amp when I was doing the You Really Got Me riff. No effects or anything. There was reverb from the amp, but that's it.

As far as combo's go, I end up getting one every couple of years in hopes of it satisfying me me tonally and it never does. But this amp sure seems different. It sounds huge, which is killer!

 

[Laskyman]

Let's don't confuse the ED combo with ANY other combo on the planet- This combo was "set apart" from the other worldly combo amps by the Almighty Himself....

I was a head/cab guy for years- still would be if not for the ED. Yeah its heavy, but I haven't ever been reminded of the weight once I start playing.......

 

[SgtThump]

I just posted this on another board that I frequent, but I wanted to paste it here too. Basically, I'm asking if any of you Electra Dyne owners get a little excess noise in the "Vintage Hi" mode with the preamp gain over 2:00 o'clock?

"I discovered last night that the amp is just about right with the "Volume" (preamp gain) control on full blast. I've been running it at 3:00 o'clock, which is close to where I want it. But I just realized that more is actually added from 3:00-5:00.

One thing, though. The amp is kind of noisy in the "Vintage Hi" mode with the "Volume" over 2:00 o'clock or so. There's some hiss and hum. I put an RFT preamp tube in V1 last night, which is only used by the "Vintage Hi" mode to see if maybe the stock preamp tube in that slot had issues, but the noise didn't go away. This mode also uses V2 and V3 apparently, so I should try replacing those too.

I kinda think it just may be how this amp is designed, though, and not really a preamp tube thing. Again, that's not enough to make me not like it. But it does seem like it should be a little quieter to me in that mode with higher gain settings."

 

[cragginshred]

my ED will not be here for 48hours, however, I would venture to say that like most amps there is a point of optimal gain. For the stiletto it's straight up 12, when I demo'd the ED I found the 2-3 postion really good. I found the ED needed a bit of extra sustain and girth that comes from an OD pedal punching the front of the amp. Previously I was sold on the bb preamp by xotic, however, now the Maxon 808 is the one for me ( better tones, with a more even feel as well as easier to eq). Try a transparent OD pedal that will not alter your tone, and apart from your effects in the loop, run it in to the front of the amp and tell us what you find.

 

[SgtThump]

I think I just found the perfect pedal to kick the Vintage Hi mode over the top into high levels of hard rock/metal saturation without sounding like a pedal. You'll never guess what it is...

Electro-Harmonix LPB1!

Yes, the $39.99 pedal! I just got back from Guitar Center where I compared the LPB1 to a Fulltone OCD. I ran them into a super crappy little Fender solid-state combo (the kinda of crappy practice amps they always have hooked up to pedals) and the OCD sounded like a typical pedal, whereas the LPB1 didn't.

This LPB1 keeps the bass in tact and doesn't add mids. It may add a tiny bit of bass and highs, but in a very pleasing way. Wow, I'm shocked. I took a small gamble on bringing this pedal home, but it works PERFECTLY with the Electra Dyne for what I was trying to achieve.

I was worried about it coloring the tone when off, but I just read the manual and it clearly states that it is "true bypass" when off. I didn't even realize that! Man, this is a smoking pedal.

And about the noise in the Electra Dyne... I know that when you turn up the gain the hiss gets louder. That goes for any amp and I understand that. I'm not only talking about that, but there's a "hum" that gets real noticeable when in the Vintage Hi mode and the "Volume" control goes past 2:00 o'clock or so.

Put it this way, I've had ALOT of high gain amps and most of them don't have this type of noise. I get the impression that nothing is wrong, though. I just think they may all be like this. It's not BAD, but it is there. I was wondering if anyone else heard that in their Electra Dyne?

 

[primal]

And about the noise in the Electra Dyne... I know that when you turn up the gain the hiss gets louder. That goes for any amp and I understand that. I'm not only talking about that, but there's a "hum" that gets real noticeable when in the Vintage Hi mode and the "Volume" control goes past 2:00 o'clock or so.

Put it this way, I've had ALOT of high gain amps and most of them don't have this type of noise. I get the impression that nothing is wrong, though. I just think they may all be like this. It's not BAD, but it is there. I was wondering if anyone else heard that in their Electra Dyne?

Hmmm.

Let me ask you this, do you get the "hum" with the volume on your guitar turned down? This will atleast identify to some degree whether it is the amp or not.

Also, are you hearing this at bedroom volumes? At bedroom volume I can peg the volume and hear nothing. No white noise, no hum, nothing.

I just went ahead and pegged the volume knob on mine. And put the the Master all the way up to noon. With the volume knob on the guitar off I can hear the hushing white noise that I would expect, but no hum whatsoever. Now, with the wife and daughter home I don't dare turn the guitar volume up at that volume even if I don't play anything. But I put the Master to 9:00 and did turn the the guitar volume up, but I didn't hear any hum other then what I would expect from the pickups. And that hum was directly related to what direction I happened to be facing. If I turned away from the amp and walked away the hum mostly went away. And I could sit there with my hand on the strings and there was no feedback.

I have had hum issues before with my Mark IV and found that to be unbalanced power tubes that had started to go. But the fact that it seems directly related to the preamp gain indicates it's probably not that.

 

[SgtThump]

Thanks Primal. I should've explained more... I've narrowed it down enough to realize it's not the guitar or lights in the room causing the hum. It's also not my pedals or anything like that. It does it even with nothing at all plugged into the amp (no guitar, pedals, etc...)

Hm... Maybe I'll replace the other two preamp tubes that are used by the Vintage Hi mode just to see if that does it. It could just be a difference of opinion too. Like what I hear as hum is normal to everyone else. Ya know what I mean?

I'll mess with it more later tonight when everyone's in bed. Thanks for checking yours for me!

 

[Giax1974]

Hi,
I have exactly the same problem, changed v1, v2, v3, v5, v7 and I still get the noise.
Did you solved this problem?
I am starting to think this is a grounding problem, or its related to 60hz cycle hum.