Returning to Guitar and my Roadster after 1.5 years- help!

[Littlewing91]

Dear Boogie users.
After about ~1.5 years of synth based music and producing music (what a mistake!), I've made a proud return to good old fashion, GUITAR. Not to say I wasn't playing at all, but it was definitely put on hold. I'm now in the early stages of developing a band which i'm really excited about. Returning after 2 years of not really giving a ****, I've found a lot of issues with my rig and I'm hoping you folks can help me out. I know these things have been covered before but I feel my situation is unique enough that it warrants individual attention

Rig
2008 Roadster, 4x12 Stiletto cab
Strat copy (handbuilt) and a 2002 Gibson Sg faded

My sound and style is the most unique thing to consider. I play Indie rock/Alternative music (for this band at least). I bought the Roadster for ultimate versatility (I play all sorts of music) but I want to tweak my rig to this style as much as possible. This means cleans, dirty and gritty overdrives and a on some occasions, thick and heavy distortion. I play rhythm predominantly so I just want some real thick hard hitting rhythm sounds. I am a big fan of OLD kings of leon, but their tone these days is incredible. They use Matchless amps, which I'm a big fan of, if only they had Mesa's diversity and pricing…I digress.

My first question has ANYONE else used the Stiletto cab with their roadster? It was recommended to me for a tighter sound, which I think it does but I have little to compare it to.

Secondly, I have read both clean channel 2, overdriven channel 1 as well as the opposite as how to use the channels. I overall like channel 2, but i feel it needs a lot of tweaking to be gig ready. If anyone can list some presets that would be awesome Im not as much looking for an AC/DC tone as just a good overdrive.

I have not retubed and all the tubes are stock. I play loud when I play, and while i haven't much for a year or so I would still play around with it at least once a week in my non-guitar stage. If i retubed would I get a better sound in general?


I realize this is a lot. I tried to make it as short as possible but I appreciate all the help. Thanks again!

 

[YellowJacket]

-Stiletto cab is tighter than the Rectocab. It is also more mid focused / less scooped sounding. I personally like the voicing.

-Tubes WILL make a difference. It is a question of what you want. Swapping the power tubes for good quality EL-34s will give much more crunch. In addition, a preamp kit from somewhere like Doug's Tubes will also change the tone but to a lesser degree. Of course this is all preference and you MAY like the stock tubes better.

-Consider different speaker types. I think people can overlook the integral contributions of speakers / speaker enclosures to overall tone. You want something grittier? Well, the stock celestion v30s in a stiletto cab will sound very creamy and smooth. Maybe listen to some speaker types on the warehouse guitar speakers website as well as celestion's website. (WGS is less $$$s but the resale isn't the same)
Maybe investigate matchless amps and see what sort of a cab / speaker types they use. Acquiring something similar might get you much closer to what you are looking for.

Suggestions: Maybe put two Celestion G12T-75 speakers in an X pattern with the v30s in your 4 x 12. The G12T-75 is probably the grittiest sounding speaker I have heard. It is also fairly mid scooped so the tone may or may not work for you. (Which is why I recommend mixing them instead of using only G12T -75s)

*I* also like greenbacks which give a lot of speaker distortion but they are creamier. G12H 30s are also great a la Hendrix. This is just MY preference though.

I'm not going to harp on guitars since yours sound good. What I WILL comment on is pickups and electronics.

-Definitely consider high quality guitar pickups and electronics. I changed my stock Les Paul PUPS out for Bare Knuckle Rebel Yells and I also changed my electronics for CTS pots / paper in oil caps with the 50s style wiring. It definitely made MANY tones possible by simply adjusting my volume and tone knob. The Bare Knuckle pups clean up so nicely and the high quality electronics keep from choking the sound out.

I don't know what type of pups you could use, but definitely have a look around. My experience with BareKnuckle PUPs is that they have a very even harmonic response and they are very phat / articulate sounding. Super awesome! I don't know if any of their models have a gritty sound but you will definitely get a clearer tone which is always great. (mud sucks) Of course there are a million other pickup manufacturers and many of them are also good / great. The goal is really to find what YOU need for your application. I'm simply happy with my electronics mod for my guitar.
Just imagine rolling back your volume knob to go from full on distortion to a light overdrive. It is FUN!