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Flo_Evans · Apr 25, 2007

I have been a guitar player for about 10 years. Back when I was younger I would spend all my extra cash buying pedals, multi-effects units, and shitty solid state amps. Recently my bro had his guitar damaged in a storm so he took me along with him to the guitar shop to help him pick out a new one. Of course this re-activated the old gear bug! I was thinking about getting a new axe and maybe even a real all tube drive amp. Soon after shoping around for awhile I realized that while I make alot more money now, I also have alot more bills and don't live free in my parents basement. So I deceided to get a nice tube preamp/pedal to go with my old Marshall valvestate vs230 amp (not a bad amp, but its a solid-state trying to sound like a marshall 100watt head to varying degrees of success).

I had always wanted a mesa boogie v-twin pedal but to my dismay they no longer make them

this was the closest thing I could find. It has an awsome classic tube sound. I stayed up till 2am last night plugging all it into all my guitars and amps. The unit is as simple as can be. Has a nice chunky rhythm channel and a screaming lead channel. It uses some funky 6021 dual-triode tubes? instead of the typical 12AX7 tubes that are found in most pre-amps. I am not an electrical engineer so I have no idea what this means but they do sound good.

My only complaint is the cheap wall wart that came with it. It requires a 16VAC/600mA power supply so it can't run on batteries. I was a little concerned about that at 1st, but their explanation of why they did it makes sense (again, not an engineer!)

You may be wondering why the Twin Tube Classic uses a 16-volt AC transformer
instead of a common 9-volt DC adaptor or even a battery. The Twin Tube Classic
relies on an internal transformer to obtain the high voltage the dual triodes
require. The transformer cannot work on DC voltage. One alternative would be
to run the tubes on low voltage in starved plate mode. Here, the tubes are used
like a clipping diode and do not actually amplify. Though starved plate voltage is
used in some inexpensive tube stomp boxes, it is not true tube amplification. The
circuitry in the Twin Tube Classic enables the tubes to work like the tubes in the
preamp section of a high-quality tube amplifier. Another alternative would be to
supply a dedicated AC power cord and an internal high voltage transformer or a
DC-to-DC switching converter. However, these options would make the Twin Tube
Classic larger, heavier and more costly. With the Twin Tube Classic you are getting
true tube tone AND tube amplification with minimal size, weight and cost.

I really, really like it.

I would recommend it to anyone that has always wanted a tube amp but can't justify the $$$. I dug out my old digitech RP7 multi effects tube pedal and this just sounds miles ahead. and by miles I mean lightyears.

So what is your favorite pedal guitar age? Hopefully we can get a good thread going with some nice handmade boutique jobs and some sweet classic gear.

Teknopathetic · Apr 25, 2007

Hoho! I like this thread. Pretty big pedal freak here, though I don't have the budget to buy near as much as I'd like

Great little pedal you got there, looks like a lot of fun.

I have a small one for now, but here is my current board.

A Baja Tech Da MOAF and Tonefactor Nebula. Not shown is a Korg DT-10 tuner.

The MOAF is a pretty high-gain fuzz pedal with a boost switch that's capable of Big Muff sounds. The original [this is V2] was a 3 knob/1 switch muff clone, the v2 adds a boost switch, that when disengaged cuts the gain stages in half, but it's still pretty gainy even then. Also added what I'm assuming is a bias adjustment knob (they don't say what it is :/). All the way down it gets pretty trebly and crackly and the more you turn it up it gets smoother and even adds a bit MORE gain near the 3 o'clock area. My only dirt pedal at the moment and pretty much the only one I want. It was a tough choice between this or a Skreddy Mayo, but none of the dealers that carry Skreddy had one in stock and ordering one from Skreddy direct has a 2 month wait time, though I still ended up waiting a month to get the MOAF.

The Nebula is a VERY nice 2 stage phaser. A noticeable but very subtle effect that can, while not really getting 100% achieving it, gets a very cool Univibe sort of effect. At higher speeds it can even get a tremolo sort of choppiness as well. I absolutely adore it playing clean and when used with the MOAF can get a very wailing almost-but-not-really Hendrix lead going as well.

As for future buys I'm looking into getting a delay, perhaps Boss DD-20, Line6 EchoPark, or Visual Sounds H20 (if I'm really swimming in money at the time). Also, an Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail.

Tauntaun · Apr 25, 2007

I've got a VOX wah (not sure which model), a Boss chorus & super phaser and a Digitech delay. I was looking into Damage Control pedals (they're sick tube driven pedals) but I decided that I didn't want a pedal, that I wanted an awesome amp distortion so I got this:

It's sick and I'm glad I got it. Perfect for heavy music.

Flo_Evans · Apr 25, 2007

nice! I have a russian bug muff pi pedal for superfuzz sound burried in my closet I need to dig out.

If money was no object, I would get a MOOG analog delay http://www.moogmusic.com/detail.php?main_product_id=39 drooooool.

Takuan · Apr 25, 2007

I've a Skreddy Mayo and a Russian Muff that sound like GOAT ASS through my solid state Pathfinder 15R.

But I've got the remedy:

Teknopathetic · Apr 25, 2007

"nice! I have a russian bug muff pi pedal for superfuzz sound burried in my closet I need to dig out."

I had a black russian BMP that pretty ok, though it only seemed to sound "right" for me with the bright mode on my amp turned on, which also in turn made upper register notes with it sorta shrill and thin. I sold it for a Double Muff, which was also pretty ok for light/middle gain fuzzy overdrive sorta sounds, but I wanted something heavier.

Moog stuff's always so cool but $$$$$$$$$$. If money were no object, and I weren't planning on using the delay ambient purposes, I'd go with a Fulltone Tube Tape Echo. Actually, in truth, I'd probably still go for something like a Maxon AD999.

Tak: That Vibrochamp really is oh-so-sexy. I *know* your Mayo's gonna sound hot through that.

chaostrophy · Apr 25, 2007

If money was no object I would get a Metasonix TM-1. But right now for most distortion I use a VST plugin- Izotope Trash. It's insanely verstatile and sounds awesome.

Takuan · Apr 25, 2007

Teknopathetic said:
"nice! I have a russian bug muff pi pedal for superfuzz sound burried in my closet I need to dig out."

I had a black russian BMP that pretty ok, though it only seemed to sound "right" for me with the bright mode on my amp turned on, which also in turn made upper register notes with it sorta shrill and thin. I sold it for a Double Muff, which was also pretty ok for light/middle gain fuzzy overdrive sorta sounds, but I wanted something heavier.

Moog stuff's always so cool but $$$$$$$$$$. If money were no object, and I weren't planning on using the delay ambient purposes, I'd go with a Fulltone Tube Tape Echo. Actually, in truth, I'd probably still go for something like a Maxon AD999.

Tak: That Vibrochamp really is oh-so-sexy. I *know* your Mayo's gonna sound hot through that.

****in' better. It's no Fargen Blackbird, but from all the love this series of amps gets you'd think it was close.

Flo_Evans · Apr 25, 2007

Teknopathetic said:
I had a black russian BMP that pretty ok, though it only seemed to sound "right" for me with the bright mode on my amp turned on, which also in turn made upper register notes with it sorta shrill and thin. I sold it for a Double Muff, which was also pretty ok for light/middle gain fuzzy overdrive sorta sounds, but I wanted something heavier.

Moog stuff's always so cool but $$$$$$$$$$. If money were no object, and I weren't planning on using the delay ambient purposes, I'd go with a Fulltone Tube Tape Echo. Actually, in truth, I'd probably still go for something like a Maxon AD999.

ahh I forgot all about that fulltone. I haven't played with my big muff for awhile... heh. I used it with my pignose hog 20 that I got when I was living in a VW bus for awhile (long story) unfortunately some sort of AC/DC power supply mixup killed my pignose.

I need to get another one someday.

dasein · Apr 25, 2007

This is all you need, if you don't have an amp:

ZVex Nano

Check out the demo video: http://media.zvex.com/nano.mov

My friend has one...he's a real big junkie/nerd about this stuff. I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend it.

Also, check out:

Supposed to sound like a Marshall amp. Hear/Watch it demoed: http://media.zvex.com/boxofrock.mov

Flo_Evans · Apr 25, 2007

dasein said:
This is all you need, if you don't have an amp:

http://zvexamps.com/images/Nanoinhand.jpg

ZVex Nano

Check out the demo video: http://media.zvex.com/nano.mov

My friend has one...he's a real big junkie/nerd about this stuff. I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend it.

Also, check out:

http://zvex.com/images/boxofrock.jpg

Supposed to sound like a Marshall amp. Hear/Watch it demoed: http://media.zvex.com/boxofrock.mov

these are indeed awsome.. they had one at the guitar shop, but it was $500 and I don't have a proper speaker cabinet to use it on

DarkJediKnight · Apr 25, 2007

Pedals sound like shit. Period! I used to buy pedals like crazy to get a nice overdrive or distortion and in the end always wondered why tube amps just sounded better. A decent pedal that sounds tube-like costs $$$ and is redundant since you can get nice amps for that price.

I bought myself a Dual Rectifier 2 channel in 98', put some nice matched tubes, and I'm done. I can do my clean, overdrive and metal stuff with one amp.

Teknopathetic · Apr 25, 2007

"Pedals sound like shit. Period! I used to buy pedals like crazy to get a nice overdrive or distortion and in the end always wondered why tube amps just sounded better. A decent pedal that sounds tube-like costs $$$ and is redundant since you can get nice amps for that price."

I didn't buy a fuzz pedal to sound like a tube amp overdrive, though. And I don't think you can get a nice tube amp for the 1-200$ range. Sans getting lucky and scoring something off fleabay/pawn shop for ridiculously cheap. The Super Hard On, Box of Rock, Supercharged Overdrive are all around that range.

Also, some people may actually use their amps overdrive a lot, but also would like another amp's sound for versatility's sake.

And what about chorus, ring mods, etc. etc. Pedals aren't just for distortion.

As far as tiny amps are concerned, the Nano definitely looks (and from the clips, sounds) really, really good. What I've heard from the Orange Tiny Terror also sounds good too.

Flo_Evans · Apr 25, 2007

DarkJediKnight said:
Pedals sound like shit. Period! I used to buy pedals like crazy to get a nice overdrive or distortion and in the end always wondered why tube amps just sounded better. A decent pedal that sounds tube-like costs $$$ and is redundant since you can get nice amps for that price.

I bought myself a Dual Rectifier 2 channel in 98', put some nice matched tubes, and I'm done. I can do my clean, overdrive and metal stuff with one amp.

true, but not eveyone has the money, space, or living situation to use a 100W head.

another interesting "pedal" I got by accident!

my GF bought this for my birthday (she actually got me 2 because she thought they were like speakers :lol real helpfull there guitar shop guy). On its own this is a pretty shitty sounding practice amp. Its true purpose is an overdrive/booster effect to drive a larger amp to acheive the Queen "wall of sound" this guy explains how it works way better than I could. http://www.epinions.com/content_195597602436

iamblades · Apr 25, 2007

I've gone almost all digital now, but I still have my old pedals and amps as well.

MXR distortion+, Boss Metal zone, a small stone phaser, a crybaby and a univibe are all the analog pedals I really need. Of course, if I had the money and the space, I'd have a lot more analog gear, but I don't, so it's digital for me.

Just need a guitar synth and my setup will have basically everything I need.

DeathbyVolcano · Apr 25, 2007

I have...I have absolutely no clue about pedals, and I'm extremely embarrassed by that. I've been playing guitar for like 6 years and I have a Digitech RX200 effects pedal, but I honestly have no clue if its good or not. I'm also ****ing clueless on this tube-amp shit...I wish I wasn't so oblivious, I need to know more. I'm a good guitar player, but I'm just so clueless about the technical parts.

Help me.

teruterubozu · Apr 25, 2007

I used to have the original Tube Screamer but I lent it to someone and never saw it again.
I've been bitter about pedals ever since.

iamblades · Apr 25, 2007

BrandNew said:
I have...I have absolutely no clue about pedals, and I'm extremely embarrassed by that. I've been playing guitar for like 6 years and I have a Digitech RX200 effects pedal, but I honestly have no clue if its good or not. I'm also ****ing clueless on this tube-amp shit...I wish I wasn't so oblivious, I need to know more. I'm a good guitar player, but I'm just so clueless about the technical parts.

Help me.

Kind of an open question, there are hundreds of different pedals and processors and amps, can get kinda complicated. All I can suggest is try stuff out. If you ask for recommendations for specific types of pedals I could maybe help though, or if you provide some examples of the tone you like, I could point you towards the kind of gear you need to get it.

DeathbyVolcano · Apr 26, 2007

Okay sure, I can narrow it down a bit! I'd like some new pedals I guess (maybe even a new amp so don't feel restricted to suggesting pedals, mention amps as well). I like anything that sounds like a Gilmour from Floyd sound (Comfortably Numb solo omg), some Hendrix style sounds (anything with distortion and reverb I guess), good bluesy sounds (ala Crossroads by Cream)anything like that.

By the way, my effects pedal is an RX-300, not 200. What you can do is take all of the preloaded sounds and over them create your own sounds by fooling around with a ton, TON of options. Thing is, I never really know how to make it sound the way I want it to sound.

I also have some weird Dinosaur DG-200R amp or something. I'd much rather have something....I don't know, more prestigious I guess. More reliable, well-known, and better quality.

slidewinder · Apr 26, 2007

Takuan said:
But I've got the remedy:

Everyone should own one. Maybe not as a "main" amp (unless you want to get into mikeing it), but for as cheap as they are, as easy they are to find, as good as they sound, they're amazing little things.

iamblades · Apr 26, 2007

BrandNew said:
Okay sure, I can narrow it down a bit! I'd like some new pedals I guess (maybe even a new amp so don't feel restricted to suggesting pedals, mention amps as well). I like anything that sounds like a Gilmour from Floyd sound (Comfortably Numb solo omg), some Hendrix style sounds (anything with distortion and reverb I guess), good bluesy sounds (ala Crossroads by Cream)anything like that.

By the way, my effects pedal is an RX-300, not 200. What you can do is take all of the preloaded sounds and over them create your own sounds by fooling around with a ton, TON of options. Thing is, I never really know how to make it sound the way I want it to sound.

I also have some weird Dinosaur DG-200R amp or something. I'd much rather have something....I don't know, more prestigious I guess. More reliable, well-known, and better quality.

I'll start with Hendrix, as his gear was a bit more straightforward than Gilmour's

Hendrix used mainly Dunlop effects, an Arbiter Fuzz Face, A Univibe, and a Crybaby, he also used an Octavia, which you can't really get anymore, but you can get a good enough copy made by voodoo labs. He also used Marshall super lead amps. Digitech has a neat Jimi Hendrix signature series pedal that covers most of his sound fairly well, but I recommend getting the original Dunlop stuff, as it's more versatile setup wise, and imo Dunlop has better build quality than digitech.

Just a tip, get a modeling preamp, a berhinger vamp pro, pod xt pro or something similar. it's a cheap way to get a good versatile base for your sound. Certainly beats buying a dozen or so amps.

As for Gilmour, he has used a LOT of different gear over the years, so it can get kinda complicated, I found a site with lists of gear he used on each album though:

http://www.gilmourish.com/index.php?paged=2

He does use alot of the same pedals as hendrix did, the univibe, the fuzzface (though he uses the big muff more often iirc) and a vox wah pedal instead of the crybaby.

Hope that helps.

IMO, you get a compresser, a distortion pedal, a phaser, a flanger, a wah, a chorus, and maybe a couple specialty pedals (univibe, octave doubler, ring modulator) and you should be able to get any tone you could want if you play around enough. Combo it with a good modeling preamp with even more built in effects and you can do anything.

DeathbyVolcano · Apr 26, 2007

Awesome man, thanks. Are all those pedals for Hendrix just specific for a certain type of song (probably not right, but what I mean is like a Fuzz Face for Watchtower, Crybaby for Voodoo Child, etc)?

And for Gilmour...wow. :lol I don't have that kinda money, but I think I can play around with my Digitech to get a desired effect.

What the hell does "high strung" mean in terms of a guitar? I read that many times on that Gilmour site.

iamblades · Apr 26, 2007

BrandNew said:
Awesome man, thanks. Are all those pedals for Hendrix just specific for a certain type of song (probably not right, but what I mean is like a Fuzz Face for Watchtower, Crybaby for Voodoo Child, etc)?

And for Gilmour...wow. :lol I don't have that kinda money, but I think I can play around with my Digitech to get a desired effect.

What the hell does "high strung" mean in terms of a guitar? I read that many times on that Gilmour site.

He used quite a few combinations of those pedals, like on voodoo child, its the fuzz+the crybaby, Watchtower is just plain amp tone with the crybaby in parts. Purple haze is the fuzz+octave doubler. Angel and Little Wing use the univibe a lot. In Machine gun, it's Fuzzface+axis fuzz+octavia+univibe+crybaby, but not in that order.

So basically experiment a bunch, then experiment some more.

A high strung guitar is a guitar with 4 strings tuned an octave higher, to make it sound like a 12 string guitar.

DeathbyVolcano · Apr 26, 2007

Like, any combination of strings? I'd like to try that out.

iamblades · Apr 26, 2007

BrandNew said:
Like, any combination of strings? I'd like to try that out.

A high-strung set is essentially nothing more than the higher octave strings from a 12-string set. Typically the gauges are .025, .017, .012, .009, .014, and .010, from the sixth-string low E to the first high-E string. You set them up in standard tuning, though the low E, A, D, and G [strings 6-3] are an octave higher than standard tuning. The high E and B strings are at normal pitch. All your fingerings are just like in standard tuning. You can get a light gauge 12-string set, and then just use the high string of each pair for a high-strung set.

http://www.fretsmag.com/story.asp?storycode=14862

Warning: Don't attempt to tune the standard gauge of strings an octave higher, unless you want to lose an eye.

adamsappel · Apr 26, 2007

iamblades said:
“A high-strung set is essentially nothing more than the higher octave strings from a 12-string set. Typically the gauges are .025, .017, .012, .009, .014, and .010, from the sixth-string low E to the first high-E string. You set them up in standard tuning, though the low E, A, D, and G [strings 6-3] are an octave higher than standard tuning. The high E and B strings are at normal pitch. All your fingerings are just like in standard tuning. You can get a light gauge 12-string set, and then just use the high string of each pair for a high-strung set.

http://www.fretsmag.com/story.asp?storycode=14862

Warning: Don't attempt to tune the standard gauge of strings an octave higher, unless you want to lose an eye.

This is also called Nashville tuning, and it sounds so damn sweet on a Baby Taylor.

Flo_Evans · Apr 26, 2007

BrandNew said:
Okay sure, I can narrow it down a bit! I'd like some new pedals I guess (maybe even a new amp so don't feel restricted to suggesting pedals, mention amps as well). I like anything that sounds like a Gilmour from Floyd sound (Comfortably Numb solo omg), some Hendrix style sounds (anything with distortion and reverb I guess), good bluesy sounds (ala Crossroads by Cream)anything like that.

By the way, my effects pedal is an RX-300, not 200. What you can do is take all of the preloaded sounds and over them create your own sounds by fooling around with a ton, TON of options. Thing is, I never really know how to make it sound the way I want it to sound.

I also have some weird Dinosaur DG-200R amp or something. I'd much rather have something....I don't know, more prestigious I guess. More reliable, well-known, and better quality.

Ditch the digitech! (this is from a digitech owner) :lol

I bought this back in 98' to try and make my peice of crap crate amp sound better. I thought it was the shit back then, I had tons off effects to play with, the problem was none of them sounded very good at all! On the plus side it does use a tube preamp stage so I replaced the factory tube with a GrooveTubes one. On the negative side it didn't matter that much 'cause it would run eveything thru the worst D/A converters I have ever heard and then run crappy 16bit 'modeling' effects on the sound and totally kill any life or personality the tube was giving off.

I would invest 1st in a quality wah pedal. Next I would get a good fuzz pedal. The big muff is not the best, but you can get one for $50 and you will be amazed at how much better it sounds than your digitech fuzz channel. Next I would go for a phaser. Use the digitech to fill in the gaps for effects you dont have yet but cut it out of the signal chain whenever possible.

I have never heard of that amp, so I can't really comment on its quality. The fender vibro champ others have posted is a great one. I have been waiting for that garage sale or flea market when I can luck out find one for cheap :lol I have been eyeing the fender blues junior on my recent guitar store trips, it seems to be in the same spirit of the vibro, but lacking the amazing vibrato that the champ is prized for. Plus blues junior doesn't sound as cool as vibro champ!

adamsappel said:
This is also called Nashville tuning, and it sounds so damn sweet on a Baby Taylor.

Ah! I have also been eyeing that up for an office/travel guitar. My Taylor 510 is the best guitar I've ever owned, the thing still gives me goosebumps when I take it out of the case.

iamblades · Apr 26, 2007

Flo_Evans said:
Ditch the digitech! (this is from a digitech owner) :lol

I bought this back in 98' to try and make my peice of crap crate amp sound better. I thought it was the shit back then, I had tons off effects to play with, the problem was none of them sounded very good at all! On the plus side it does use a tube preamp stage so I replaced the factory tube with a GrooveTubes one. On the negative side it didn't matter that much 'cause it would run eveything thru the worst D/A converters I have ever heard and then run crappy 16bit 'modeling' effects on the sound and totally kill any life or personality the tube was giving off.

I would invest 1st in a quality wah pedal. Next I would get a good fuzz pedal. The big muff is not the best, but you can get one for $50 and you will be amazed at how much better it sounds than your digitech fuzz channel. Next I would go for a phaser. Use the digitech to fill in the gaps for effects you dont have yet but cut it out of the signal chain whenever possible.

I have never heard of that amp, so I can't really comment on its quality. The fender vibro champ others have posted is a great one. I have been waiting for that garage sale or flea market when I can luck out find one for cheap :lol I have been eyeing the fender blues junior on my recent guitar store trips, it seems to be in the same spirit of the vibro, but lacking the amazing vibrato that the champ is prized for. Plus blues junior doesn't sound as cool as vibro champ!

Ah! I have also been eyeing that up for an office/travel guitar. My Taylor 510 is the best guitar I've ever owned, the thing still gives me goosebumps when I take it out of the case.

Yeah I've never been a fan of digitech pedals, though that is mainly from a build quality standpoint, don't have enough experience with them WRT sound quality.

I wish Marshall's vintage style tube amps were priced similarly to Fender's. $1700 is ridiculous for a JTM45 reissue when you can get a TSL for the same price, and the Fender Bassman which is basically the same thing in a 4x10 is only $1200. Too much of a markup for the name and the image.

Think I'm going to build my self a bluesbreaker combo from a kit, at less than half the price, and probably better build quality.

Teknopathetic · Apr 26, 2007

"I wish Marshall's vintage style tube amps were priced similarly to Fender's. $1700 is ridiculous for a JTM45 reissue when you can get a TSL for the same price, and the Fender Bassman which is basically the same thing in a 4x10 is only $1200. Too much of a markup for the name and the image."

The current amp I'm eyeing is an Ampeg Reverberocket reissue, with the Head version or the 212 combo. They're crazy cheap to find (if you can find one).

Flo_Evans · Apr 26, 2007

wow I just had a great trip to my basement!

I found my big muff!

but then... I hit the motherload!

A tubeworks pre-amp! I didn't know I had

A crybaby bass wah I have no idea why I even have.

and to top it all off, a Boss drum machine! lolz.

I should of went down in the basement before going to the guitar shop! :lol

Teknopathetic · Apr 26, 2007

Haha, dude, I have that exact same drum machine floating around the house, too.

SpoonyBard · Apr 26, 2007

My pedal board: http://muusikoiden.net/dyn/users/19801.jpg
and my strat: http://muusikoiden.net/dyn/users/21439.jpg

My main amp is a modded Fender Blues Junior. It's really nice, clean tones are great and I can get good distortion sounds with my pedals. And I just bought a hand made tube amp for home use, but it hums a bit too much, so Blues Junior is still better.

reilo · Apr 26, 2007

I'm actually looking to buy a new amp to go along with my recently purchased Ibanez RG5EX1. Looking to keep it around $150, under $200 if possible. Any suggestions?

I'm also going to get an M-Audio Blackbox since I don't have the place for a huge pedal board, plus I'd like to start recording using ProTools.

Flo_Evans · Apr 26, 2007

reilo said:
I'm actually looking to buy a new amp to go along with my recently purchased Ibanez RG5EX1. Looking to keep it around $150, under $200 if possible. Any suggestions?

I'm also going to get an M-Audio Blackbox since I don't have the place for a huge pedal board, plus I'd like to start recording using ProTools.

I would get a line 6 pod if I absolutely needed a amp modeler and direct box. I would check out thier combo amps too, they will be more than $200, but you could kill 2 birds with one stone and have a nice direct box with effects and a practice amp to boot.

reilo · Apr 26, 2007

Flo_Evans said:
I would get a line 6 pod if I absolutely needed a amp modeler and direct box. I would check out thier combo amps too, they will be more than $200, but you could kill 2 birds with one stone and have a nice direct box with effects and a practice amp to boot.

Hrmm, okay. I'll check it out, thanks. Any other recommendations?

Flo_Evans · Apr 26, 2007

Anyone have an idea of how to clean the grit out of old potentiometers? my big muff and tubeworks knobs are scratchy! I have heard using WD-40 is a bad idea, but what else could you use? Also I think I am going to get a new tube for the tubeworks. Favorite 12AX7A?

iamblades · Apr 26, 2007

Flo_Evans said:
Anyone have an idea of how to clean the grit out of old potentiometers? my big muff and tubeworks knobs are scratchy! I have heard using WD-40 is a bad idea, but what else could you use? Also I think I am going to get a new tube for the tubeworks. Favorite 12AX7A?

http://store.caig.com/s.nl/sc.2/category.188/.f
+
http://store.caig.com/s.nl/sc.2/category.293/.f

And you should be good to go.

A bit expensive, but it does the job, and if you have a lot of gear, you will find places to put it to use, and it sure beats ruining a vintage pot and having to replace it.

Teknopathetic · Apr 26, 2007

SpoonyBard: Good choice with the Bad Monkey! Really decent tube screamer clone, with some nice features.

Flizzzipper · Apr 26, 2007

I went through a pedal phase and bought quite a few. The only ones I still use constantly are MXR Micro Amp, Boss BD-2, US Muff and the best pedal of all time, the Boss TU-2. It's so damn convenient for tuning plus it powers all my other Boss pedals. The Boss CS-3 compression/sustainer is interesting and I use it a bit as well. The whammy is great but it effects the signal if ran through it even if you aren't using it.

Run them into Fender Twin Reverb. I need to get a smaller amp for home.

SpoonyBard · Apr 26, 2007

Teknopathetic said:
SpoonyBard: Good choice with the Bad Monkey! Really decent tube screamer clone, with some nice features.

And it was dirt cheap too. I'm also thinking of getting a Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive, the idea of mixing clean and distorted signal sounds pretty interesting. Too bad it costs three times as much as a Bad Monkey.

Flo_Evans · Apr 27, 2007

So my bro finnaly picked up his new guitar (a Taylor 710. bastard.) So I got some of that DeoxIT and a selection of 12AX7 tubes for my old pre-amp! The DeoxIT worked like a charm, no more noise or dropout on the pots!

I got a ruby tubes JJ, a TUNG-SOL, and a sovtek. The groove tube was originaly in the pre-amp. The great thing about tube stuff is as you can see the tubes are all different in design, and as a result tone.

The GT is a screamer that gets nice and chunky when you back off it. The sovtek is like a bath of warm fuzz

The tung-sol (my favorite) has a hint of fuzz but more biting than the sovtek. The JJ is really fat and more bluesy.

oh and they had a vibro champ there

$560 firm the ****ers! I tried to talk them down cause it had a busted on/off switch but they wouldn't budge.

SpoonyBard · Apr 27, 2007

That Groove Tubes one is probably a relabelled Sovtek. Of course not two tubes are exactly alike. I like JJ 12AX7 tubes, they are a bit darker sounding than most of the other new ones, and have nice round fat tone.

slidewinder · Apr 27, 2007

Flo_Evans said:
oh and they had a vibro champ there $560 firm the ****ers! I tried to talk them down cause it had a busted on/off switch but they wouldn't budge.

Ouch! Must've been a black face?

I guess the prices on even these once-lowly amps have gone up in recent years. I bought my (silver face, mid-70s) Vibro Champ for $150 six years ago, and that was on the high end of what they were going for (bought at a pawn/music store that was known for gouging). Having a look at ebay, it seems that the silver faces can still be had for $250 or so shipped, though.

Plain, vibro-less Champs sound great, too; basically the same circuit and tone, minus the obvious.

Flo_Evans · Apr 27, 2007

slidewinder said:
Ouch! Must've been a black face?

I guess the prices on even these once-lowly amps have gone up in recent years. I bought my (silver face, mid-70s) Vibro Champ for $150 six years ago, and that was on the high end of what they were going for (bought at a pawn/music store that was known for gouging). Having a look at ebay, it seems that the silver faces can still be had for $250 or so shipped, though.

Plain, vibro-less Champs sound great, too; basically the same circuit and tone, minus the obvious.

It was a silverface but it said "VIBRO CHAMP AMP" instead of just "VIBRO CHAMP" which makes it more expensive so it seems.

DeathbyVolcano · Apr 27, 2007

I love this thread <3

I think I might also want to buy some seperate pickups for my guitars, especially my Tele. Anyone ever do this before, and if so, what should I be looking for?

iamblades · Apr 27, 2007

BrandNew said:
I love this thread <3

I think I might also want to buy some seperate pickups for my guitars, especially my Tele. Anyone ever do this before, and if so, what should I be looking for?

Depends on what you like.

I personally like EMG and Seymour Duncan pickups, but if you like a more laid back tone, you might prefer something else.

You can get some nice sets from fender that they use in their more high end models, but depending on the model of Tele you have, it may not be all that much of an improvement/difference.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-Custom-Shop-Texas-Special-Tele-Pickups?sku=301620

If I owned a tele, it would get one of these in the bridge:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Seymour-Duncan-STHR1-Tele-Hot-Rails-Pickup-Black?sku=300367

and this in the neck:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Seymour-Duncan-STKT1-Rhythm-Pickup?sku=300430

But as always, your mileage and tastes may vary.

Spayro · Apr 27, 2007

Yeah yeah, pretty off topic but I don't wanna open a new thread.
I've been playing bass for about 3 months now, and I want to jam with friends and such.
But, I have no idea about amps.
I got the amp for my bass, nothing extra.
Question is, can I have a bass on the active, and the guitar on the passive, without my amp exploding?
Or, are bass and electric guitar amps the same thing?

SpoonyBard · Apr 27, 2007

Spayro said:
Question is, can I have a bass on the active, and the guitar on the passive, without my amp exploding?
Or, are bass and electric guitar amps the same thing?

1. Same amp for quitar and bass at the same time? It probably won't sound very good, but you can try...

2. Not guite, they are optimized for their own frequency ranges. You can usually play guitar through bass amp and speakers, but not other way around. Guitar amp speakers may break if bass is played loud enough, but bass amp speakers are tough enough for guitar as well.

Flo_Evans · Apr 27, 2007

Spoony can you post some pics of your custom amp? Sounds interesting. Tinkering around with my tubeworks + a strange dream I had last night where I was talking to lars ulrich (the drummer from metallica :lol ) has given me a wild idea for making my own amp!

iamblades · Apr 27, 2007

Flo_Evans said:
Spoony can you post some pics of your custom amp? Sounds interesting. Tinkering around with my tubeworks + a strange dream I had last night where I was talking to lars ulrich (the drummer from metallica :lol ) has given me a wild idea for making my own amp!

I've been thinking about making a custom too, probably just gonna build a marshall JTM combo. Heres some links where you can find out stuff about doing that, and even buy parts or complete kits:

http://www.ax84.com/ - low power tube amps
http://www.mojomusicalsupply.com/ -bunch of vintage parts and other cool stuff.
http://www.tedweber.com/ - more parts + complete amp kits.

If you are interested in Marshall style amps, or just general amp stuff, check out the JTM45 group at yahoo, plenty of information about amp modding and stuff there.

http://launch.dir.groups.yahoo.com/dir/Music/Instruments/Stringed_Instruments/Guitar?st=10

I would also reccomend getting a copy of Aspen Pittman's The Tube Amp Book, it is full of schematics for basically every tube amp known to man, or at least the ones from all the big names..

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0879307676/?tag=neogaf0e-20

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