Tone Help

[sk8erps]

Can anyone give me some advice on getting a Tim Mahoney of 311 tone out of my Single Rec? I'm using the Single Rec Series 2 into a 1975 Marshall 4x12 and PRS SE Custom 22 with stock pickups. Would I be better with the Vintage mode or the Modern mode and what settings would you suggest? I'm pretty close but am lacking the thickness Mahoney use to get out of his Mesa. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[YellowJacket]

Well, I listened to a couple of clips and the 311 tone is pretty much like your stereotypical punk tone. If the guitarist is running a Dual, it will be a bit darker and thicker of a tone than what you would get out of a single. (thinner and brighter)
Also do be aware that with a studio recording, the guitars are multi tracked so you are hearing the equivalent of 2, 3, or 4 guitars all playing the same line. This will beef up the sound substantially.

Some ideas:

1) Look into what sort of speakers the guitarist is running. Perhaps you find the Celestion G12T-75s that come stock in a Marshall 1960a 4 x 12 aren't exactly the sound you'd like. Either swapping or mixing speakers may give a phatter sound. Many people like a combination of G12T-75s and Celestion v30s in an X pattern. This will give more girth for sure.
If you try Marshall cabs, the 1960vintage has v30s in it while the 1960 ax /ac has greenbacks. The tone you are gassing for sounds like there is a Celestion v30 in the chain.

2) Check out different speaker cabs. Check out Mesa Cabs, as well as cabs by different manufacturers. This has a HUGE impact on tone. You may find a Mesa Stiletto cab solves all the tone problems you are having.

3) Look into different power tubes. If you get a high quality set of EL-34s you can get a phatter and crunchier distortion tone with a more aggressive midrange bark. It is great if you like that.

Just be aware that all these suggestions might not take you in the direction you want to go. You may find instead that it sounds different compared to what you would like. Alternatively you might like it more.

 

[94Tremoverb]

All agreed, except...

Perhaps you find the Celestion G12T-75s that come stock in a Marshall 1960a 4 x 12 aren't exactly the sound you'd like.

True, but he's using a 1975 Marshall cab. Unless the speakers have been changed, they will be G12M-25s or G12H-30s - probably blackbacks, but they're almost the same as greenbacks.

I've currently got a friend's '74 or '75 angle cab on loan with blackback 30s in it and it sounds *huge*.

The biggest difference (if you're going on recorded tone) is that the guitars will almost certainly be multiple-tracked, and even if they're not you have no idea what EQ/multi-band compression/enhancer or other tricks have been put on it. There's really no point in using a record as a benchmark for amp tone, because you can only ever approximate it.

If you're going on live tone, it may be the amp (Duals do sound thicker than Singles), or still the EQ/compression etc that's done through the PA, unless you can *only* hear the amp itself, which is unlikely.

Also, there is another problem - if the cab is original and hasn't been rewired - it's 16 ohms, and the amp only has 4 and 8-ohm outputs. This means that it's running a high mismatch, which does flatten and thin the tone a bit. A Dual has a 16-ohm output too, so you could avoid that. In the mean time, you could try rewiring the cab for 4 ohms and running it at the correct match - that will definitely darken and thicken the tone a bit. However, if the cab is truly original and hasn't already been messed about with, think hard about this because vintage purists can get snobby about non-original soldering (yes, I know it's stupid, but it's true) if you ever want to sell the cab. (Which I would strongly advise against!)