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[Heritage Softail]

Interesting take on the tie of the amp voice to the itended Hz band it would be played in. I think you are on to something that will probably be in the design of future Boogies, to have C tuning in mind.

 

[CoG]

One thing to think about-- the way people experience music has changed what tones work. Over an AM radio broadcast, or even FM stereo over stock car speakers from the 1980s, you just don't have any low frequencies anyway. And, um, cassette tape. Yes, you still had vinyl and great home tube and s/s stereos in the 80s, but those people weren't listening to Ratt or Ozzy, they were listening to, like, Alan Parsons Project In modern listening, mp3 is great for quick rhythmic transients but crap for reproducing a wide frequency range at any single point in time. So basically using your guitar to play double kick makes sense on mp3 into earbuds, but listening to Nile or Meshuggah at any volume on my tube stereo at home sounds weird (I think because the rectifier can't keep up!)

One other specific thing about those 80s guitar rigs and volume, though, is that a 50W JCM800 into a traditional Marshall-style cab w/greenbacks has a subjective spike in the mids but over the full frequency range is fair bit quieter than a modern-voiced 100W amp into an oversize cab with V30s. In a specific part of the mids the vintage amp may even be a bit louder, but at 90Hz the Recto or Uberschall is probably +10dB or more and that makes for an unlistenable experience in an untreated room. There's a difference between "really loud" and "sounds like ****" even if the peak dB is the same.

 

[Anonymous]

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[MrMarkIII]

...With that said, try Celestion HOT 100's or similar low efficiency cheapos with your pre-90's Boogies. They make the fizz a blessing rather than a necessary evil.

Absolutely. The G12T-100 sounds great in my Mark III, and I normally don't like Celestions. Works well with the EVM Thiele, too. Yum!

 

[ricomock]

Don't forget during the 80's we were tuning to A=440 or just down a semitone, not massively detuning except for maybe the low E to D for some tunes. That along with the sizzly top end could get bright with the super strat guitars(Charvels and Jacksons) of the period. When playing at high volume unlike most gigs today we would use 2 4x12 cabs minimum in a small club and the high end would diminished because you could really feel the bass and 4x12 speakers moving.

This is one thing I have DEFINITELY noticed about my III. It really doesn't like to do down tunings any lower than say D standard or so. For me the quality of tone just goes out the window if I go too much lower than that. It just seems to miss some of the aspects that I love the most about the tone when I go any lower i.e. crunch, singing notes, palm mutes, harmonics etc.

IMO it sounds like the frequency "voice" (for lack of a better term) of the amp really wasn't designed with those type of tunings in mind. I suppose one could look to the frequencies Mesa chose for the equalizer to see that idea in action, what with 80hz being the lowest.

Which is ok, I like half a step down just fine :twisted:

Personally I love the sound of my Red Stripe into a EV loaded cab, at C standard

 

[lesterpaul]

remember, there were those "other" players out there who played marks..not just rock/metal.....anyone who has never experienced the "other side" just needs to watch LET'S SPEND THE NIGHT TOGETHER ..showing on Palladia this month..a wall of Boogie Coli's cranking out those Stones ditties....
-regarding the coli's "overindulgence", the difference is more headroom than volume

 

[Heritage Softail]

-regarding the coli's "overindulgence", the difference is more headroom than volume

^ +1, Notes need room to breathe a little in the power section before exploding out of that cab....