Blaklynx
Well-known member
Hi all,
I came up with a crazy idea and have experimented with my amp. In a nutshell, I have six distinct channels. That's correct. Six. And more. Read on.
I've struggled with the OD tones from this amp for some time and have hit some great tones, too, during my experiments. I have over 20+ OD/dist pedals and haven't even hit the tip of the iceberg with all the possible combinations. Insane, really. :?
Maybe I have an answer that you may find useful......each to their own, I guess.
Anyway back to the six+ channel setup. I have to say that preliminary findings are very positive and anyone can do this to any of their amps providing it has an effect loop. No modifications required. Some new equipment will be needed for some of you but it shouldn't be at a great cost. That's the good news. What you may need more than anything is a Tube driven preamp, simply for the tones tube preamps give.
OK..... now for my secret that I wish to share with you......... I haven't read of anyone doing it here but I suspect that it has been done before and maybe nothing new. Here it is:
Setup a parallel effects loop within your effects loop! Simple, hey? Well.....
OK, I bought a parallel effects loop pedal that has volume controls for each loop plus some other features. Great unit. I'll see if I can find the info and share it with you.
To hook up see image below:
Now, when the loop pedal is enganged and not in bypass mode, I can have:
CH1 active (CH2 disenganged) will give me the H&K Tubeman pedal - 3 channels.
CH2 active (CH1 disenganged) will give me the Rectoverb - 2 channels.
Bypassed will give me guitar straight to power amp - 1 channel.
Total = 6 channels..... BUT WAIT! There's more.....
CH1 and CH2 active at the same time will give me the Rectoverb and H&K Tubeman giving me a possible 6 other 'channels' (Rectoverb CH1 x 3CH on Tubeman)+ (Rectoverb CH2 x 3CH on Tubeman) = 6 channels.
As you can see it's a very flexible setup.
I have never heard the Rectoverb sound so good. The cleans are downright amazing and I can get some real funky, snappy, bright chords out of it. Every single string comes through with great clarity. Great for funk stuff even though I'm not a great funk player.
The drive sounds can be smooth or downright dirty. I'm placing a MI Audio Tubezone pedal before the H&K Tubeman input just to tame the highs a little, to act as a filter so to speak, as it can sound a little bright without it. I'm still experimenting. So far the results are good but a little hissy. It may be the power supplies all connected to the same power point, plus the pedals are all in close proximity to each other and to the amp. The tube in the H&K may need replacing, too.
The bass is as tight as anything. And clear! And talk about bass, it's in leaps and bounds and articulate. It's not muddy. I can chugg fast on the low E and it doesn't fall over. Never had I heard the amp like this. No flubb, warble, wobble, mud and whatever other descriptive terms you want to use. The C90 takes it like a champion. It thumps.
Thought I'd share my findings. Maybe any of you guys struggling, or some of you seasoned pros out there, can experiment a little and see what you think / come up with. You can certainly do more with more loops. I have an 8CH and 3CH loopers that I'm building.... I can go crazy..... as I also have the Mesa V-Twin pedal, a Mesa Quad Pre, a Rocktron Piranha pre, a Carvin Quad-X pre and a SansAmp PSA1. This is mental!.... but great... :lol:
All in all, I'm very happy with this. I just can't get my head around the cleans. They are bloody great. I have a massive....... :mrgreen:
Rock on.......
I came up with a crazy idea and have experimented with my amp. In a nutshell, I have six distinct channels. That's correct. Six. And more. Read on.
I've struggled with the OD tones from this amp for some time and have hit some great tones, too, during my experiments. I have over 20+ OD/dist pedals and haven't even hit the tip of the iceberg with all the possible combinations. Insane, really. :?
Maybe I have an answer that you may find useful......each to their own, I guess.
Anyway back to the six+ channel setup. I have to say that preliminary findings are very positive and anyone can do this to any of their amps providing it has an effect loop. No modifications required. Some new equipment will be needed for some of you but it shouldn't be at a great cost. That's the good news. What you may need more than anything is a Tube driven preamp, simply for the tones tube preamps give.
OK..... now for my secret that I wish to share with you......... I haven't read of anyone doing it here but I suspect that it has been done before and maybe nothing new. Here it is:
Setup a parallel effects loop within your effects loop! Simple, hey? Well.....
OK, I bought a parallel effects loop pedal that has volume controls for each loop plus some other features. Great unit. I'll see if I can find the info and share it with you.
To hook up see image below:
Now, when the loop pedal is enganged and not in bypass mode, I can have:
CH1 active (CH2 disenganged) will give me the H&K Tubeman pedal - 3 channels.
CH2 active (CH1 disenganged) will give me the Rectoverb - 2 channels.
Bypassed will give me guitar straight to power amp - 1 channel.
Total = 6 channels..... BUT WAIT! There's more.....
CH1 and CH2 active at the same time will give me the Rectoverb and H&K Tubeman giving me a possible 6 other 'channels' (Rectoverb CH1 x 3CH on Tubeman)+ (Rectoverb CH2 x 3CH on Tubeman) = 6 channels.
As you can see it's a very flexible setup.
I have never heard the Rectoverb sound so good. The cleans are downright amazing and I can get some real funky, snappy, bright chords out of it. Every single string comes through with great clarity. Great for funk stuff even though I'm not a great funk player.
The drive sounds can be smooth or downright dirty. I'm placing a MI Audio Tubezone pedal before the H&K Tubeman input just to tame the highs a little, to act as a filter so to speak, as it can sound a little bright without it. I'm still experimenting. So far the results are good but a little hissy. It may be the power supplies all connected to the same power point, plus the pedals are all in close proximity to each other and to the amp. The tube in the H&K may need replacing, too.
The bass is as tight as anything. And clear! And talk about bass, it's in leaps and bounds and articulate. It's not muddy. I can chugg fast on the low E and it doesn't fall over. Never had I heard the amp like this. No flubb, warble, wobble, mud and whatever other descriptive terms you want to use. The C90 takes it like a champion. It thumps.
Thought I'd share my findings. Maybe any of you guys struggling, or some of you seasoned pros out there, can experiment a little and see what you think / come up with. You can certainly do more with more loops. I have an 8CH and 3CH loopers that I'm building.... I can go crazy..... as I also have the Mesa V-Twin pedal, a Mesa Quad Pre, a Rocktron Piranha pre, a Carvin Quad-X pre and a SansAmp PSA1. This is mental!.... but great... :lol:
All in all, I'm very happy with this. I just can't get my head around the cleans. They are bloody great. I have a massive....... :mrgreen:
Rock on.......
