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fdesalvo

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 13, 2005
Messages
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Location
New Orleans to Los Angeles
I find myself in a strange situation and I don’t know what I am looking for at this point. I was playing rhythm primarily, but my band (modern Rock)has gone back to a 4-piece format and I am now handling lead/rhythm. We do a fair amount of touring and I was using a PODxt Live through a TSL for really fat rhythm tones and it became unstable at some point, so I quit using it and am back to using the straight Marshall with various effect pedals. My current rig is this:

Marshall TSL ½ Stk
Gibson 2007 SG-GT (stock pups)
Pedal board

For Rhythm, this amp’s clean is lackluster and the crunch is actually quite nice- but don’t even think of palm-muting- it’s very thin. The lead channel is only a slightly gainier and more compressed version of the crunch channel, and like it, absolutely sucks for low string rhythm work.

For lead work- not too shabby- actually cuts through the mix with the 1960a- a plague for my former DC10 and PODXTL. Ripping high string runs are a blast and have great feel and articulation- and that’s on the crunch channel. But again, the lower strings feel stiff and lifeless. I don’t even use the lead channel at this point.

How am I going to address my rhythm woes? In addition, I think I am looking for a little more grit in my lead tone- sometimes I like starting my solos from the low strings and it’s just not a pretty thing with this amp.

What the hell sort of amp am I looking for? I need a sweet clean tone, punchy/tight/semi-saturated crunch with a liquidly feel, and a lively and cutting lead tone that doesn’t feel overly stiff or nasally, and has a nice texture to it.

Maybe I’m ignorant, but I’ve formed a certain opinion throughout my experiences with modern hi-gainers: Get a Mesa if you mostly use the lower strings and a Marshall if you use the D on up!

The Rectos I’ve used were nice for fat power chords, but not so much for tight mutes. On the higher strings, the nasal tone and dull feel they left me with hindered my ability to feel what I was doing.

The Marshall I am on now is the exact opposite- fun for solos, but for any palm-muting- on any string; it sucks…What’s a guy to do?
 
Mark2C+, Mark3, Mark4. Or Stilleto if you want Marshall sound without Marshall flaws.

I'll look for the TSL on ebay. :D
 
fdesalvo said:
I find myself in a strange situation and I don’t know what I am looking for at this point. I was playing rhythm primarily, but my band (modern Rock)has gone back to a 4-piece format and I am now handling lead/rhythm. We do a fair amount of touring and I was using a PODxt Live through a TSL for really fat rhythm tones and it became unstable at some point, so I quit using it and am back to using the straight Marshall with various effect pedals. My current rig is this:

Marshall TSL ½ Stk
Gibson 2007 SG-GT (stock pups)
Pedal board

For Rhythm, this amp’s clean is lackluster and the crunch is actually quite nice- but don’t even think of palm-muting- it’s very thin. The lead channel is only a slightly gainier and more compressed version of the crunch channel, and like it, absolutely sucks for low string rhythm work.

For lead work- not too shabby- actually cuts through the mix with the 1960a- a plague for my former DC10 and PODXTL. Ripping high string runs are a blast and have great feel and articulation- and that’s on the crunch channel. But again, the lower strings feel stiff and lifeless. I don’t even use the lead channel at this point.

How am I going to address my rhythm woes? In addition, I think I am looking for a little more grit in my lead tone- sometimes I like starting my solos from the low strings and it’s just not a pretty thing with this amp.

What the hell sort of amp am I looking for? I need a sweet clean tone, punchy/tight/semi-saturated crunch with a liquidly feel, and a lively and cutting lead tone that doesn’t feel overly stiff or nasally, and has a nice texture to it.

Maybe I’m ignorant, but I’ve formed a certain opinion throughout my experiences with modern hi-gainers: Get a Mesa if you mostly use the lower strings and a Marshall if you use the D on up!

The Rectos I’ve used were nice for fat power chords, but not so much for tight mutes. On the higher strings, the nasal tone and dull feel they left me with hindered my ability to feel what I was doing.

The Marshall I am on now is the exact opposite- fun for solos, but for any palm-muting- on any string; it sucks…What’s a guy to do?

inside the mesa realm: mark iv, stiletto or roadster

outside the mesa realm: splawn nitro or quickrod, engl powerball, vht cl50, laney vh100 or tt100

for what your describing i'd take a serious look at the Splawn amps... they're like suped up marshalls but with better cleans and more character IMO.... also the laney tt100 is also a killer amp... the guys in opeth use them and they sound amazing live and recorded..... IMO you have better options for what you described outside of mesa
 
Thanks for weighing in, guys. Good looking out- JDurso- I've found myself only looking through the Mesa lens, haha.

YesterdayI discovered the goodness that is YOUTUBE; it has video clips of many of the amps I'm curious about. While it's not like auditioning the amps in person, you can get a great feel for the texture and amount of gain.

I found that I really liked the tone of the Stilletto's "Tite Gain"- it definitely has some Britt falvor, but also reminded me of my DC10 texture-wise. I almost wish it had 3 channels, haha, but oh well.
 
fdesalvo said:
Thanks for weighing in, guys. Good looking out- JDurso- I've found myself only looking through the Mesa lens, haha.

YesterdayI discovered the goodness that is YOUTUBE; it has video clips of many of the amps I'm curious about. While it's not like auditioning the amps in person, you can get a great feel for the texture and amount of gain.

I found that I really liked the tone of the Stilletto's "Tite Gain"- it definitely has some Britt falvor, but also reminded me of my DC10 texture-wise. I almost wish it had 3 channels, haha, but oh well.

no prob man... i love mesa but i also love other amps (vhts, splawns, riveras).... i would seriously consider something like the Laney tt100 or the splawn nitro.... both are awesome amps and can be had in the same range as mesa's if not cheaper..... also the new vht sig x looks awesome... the clips on youtube are pretty steller.... cant wait to try one
 
Yeah, I've been lurking on vhtusers.com and have tons of interest in the SigX- looks like a it might have the VHT tone with a better feel.

jdurso said:
fdesalvo said:
Thanks for weighing in, guys. Good looking out- JDurso- I've found myself only looking through the Mesa lens, haha.

YesterdayI discovered the goodness that is YOUTUBE; it has video clips of many of the amps I'm curious about. While it's not like auditioning the amps in person, you can get a great feel for the texture and amount of gain.

I found that I really liked the tone of the Stilletto's "Tite Gain"- it definitely has some Britt falvor, but also reminded me of my DC10 texture-wise. I almost wish it had 3 channels, haha, but oh well.

no prob man... i love mesa but i also love other amps (vhts, splawns, riveras).... i would seriously consider something like the Laney tt100 or the splawn nitro.... both are awesome amps and can be had in the same range as mesa's if not cheaper..... also the new vht sig x looks awesome... the clips on youtube are pretty steller.... cant wait to try one
 
If a hot-rodded Marshall sound is what you're after I'd check out the Stiletto Ace. It has Fender blackface like cleans and the gain channels will kick a Marshall in the ***!
 
fdesalvo said:
Yeah, I've been lurking on vhtusers.com and have tons of interest in the SigX- looks like a it might have the VHT tone with a better feel.

jdurso said:
fdesalvo said:
Thanks for weighing in, guys. Good looking out- JDurso- I've found myself only looking through the Mesa lens, haha.

YesterdayI discovered the goodness that is YOUTUBE; it has video clips of many of the amps I'm curious about. While it's not like auditioning the amps in person, you can get a great feel for the texture and amount of gain.

I found that I really liked the tone of the Stilletto's "Tite Gain"- it definitely has some Britt falvor, but also reminded me of my DC10 texture-wise. I almost wish it had 3 channels, haha, but oh well.

no prob man... i love mesa but i also love other amps (vhts, splawns, riveras).... i would seriously consider something like the Laney tt100 or the splawn nitro.... both are awesome amps and can be had in the same range as mesa's if not cheaper..... also the new vht sig x looks awesome... the clips on youtube are pretty steller.... cant wait to try one

yeah something like a combo of the ULs and the deliverance.... i believe as my buddy put it "balls of the UL with the feel of the deliverance"..... he told me what was really cool is that you can make it sound like a UL if you desire and a deliverance if you desire and the hybrid of the two which he claims will destroy my roadster..... i'm excited to play one but i dont know about destroying the roadster.... now if they truly are coming out with a midi mod then maybe i'll buy into that
 
I love Splawn cabs, but have never heard their amps. Are they beefier than Marshalls? I'll be honest, I'm not a big fan of Marshalls. I mean, are the Splawns just a combo of the Mesa balls and Marshall crunch?
 
Ditch the TSL. I've had 3 of them. Poorly built, crappy soldering, weak cabinets, and a severe lack of quality control.


Stilleto just might do the trick.

If you need 3 channels that rock, look at the Soldano Decatone.

If you just need 2 channels, look at the Soldano Lucky 13. Out of the box, the Lead channel sounds like a JCM 800. But.....in 1 minute, you can make 1 mod that will get you into SLO or Decatone territory. Plus, the Lucky 13 is the red-headed step child of the Soldano line, so you can get a used one cheap.



FWIW: I chose my current DC-10 over my Mark IV. I thought it sounded fuller and I hated R2. I don't play enough Stones music to warrant having a channel that only makes that tone when I set the Cleans the way I wanted. **** shared EQ.
 
You might like what Andy Timmons does with his Mesa's.
:D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiW22O914Cg
 
Devho said:
I love Splawn cabs, but have never heard their amps. Are they beefier than Marshalls? I'll be honest, I'm not a big fan of Marshalls. I mean, are the Splawns just a combo of the Mesa balls and Marshall crunch?

they really have their own sound but its in the marshall territory (they started in the mod business of mostly marshalls).... so i guess you could say they sound like a hot rodded marshall.... but honestly i think they have their own tone.... also depending on what model you get... the nitro comes with the kt88s and can get retardedly heavy.... Joel from Killswitch just started using them and when i saw them live not too long ago he was using that and a roadster.... you could hear the difference between the two and he was using the splawn for lead lines and man did it sound amazing.... when i was at namm in 07 i got to hear them for the first time and i was blown away by the nitro and the quickrod ..... just awesome sounding amps... there are plenty of clips on youtube if you wnat to check them out
 
if you are looking for a hot rodded marshall and want to be able to do some palm muting as well, you might want to check out a Stiletto Deuce II.

with only an MXR EQ in the Effects Loop, you can get sounds like this...

http://www.mightywarlock.com/epicsong.mp3


it works for me anyways...
 
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