Head question and Obscure amp help
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Posted on Nov 05, 2006 10:29 am
crux
Typo Szar
Member Since: Jul 04, 2002
Today i found these two really obscure old amp heads that are very cheap and sounded pretty good. Their old tube amps which i really want and they sound pretty warm. One is a brand called "Gift" dont know if anyone has heard of it? The other is called "what!" (not kidding) and it also says suzuki on it... anyhow really obscure. They both have a normal channel and a vibrato channel, the suzuki's vibrato is alot nicer though. So yeah any info on these two amps would be greatly apprectiated.
My second big question is, since these amps dont have overdrive channels of their own, but they are tube amps could i get something like a DOD preamp stompbox or a tubescreamer and drive them into a decent distortion? I dont want to use stompbox that just end sounding like their going through normal solid states. I want to find a way to push the amp into a pretty thick distortion.
The sound of both amps is along the lines of old fender twin verbs so i was wondering what kind of cabs i should get for them. My band does kind of melodic hardcore, we do alot of clean like ambient type stuff, but get pretty heavy also.
thanx for all help
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Nov 05, 2006 11:36 am Never heard of Gift amps,there was one called Simms-Watt in the 70s which were pretty good.I prefer valve amps without overdrive cause you can swop/change/sell/try/borrow lots of stomp fx to get the sound you are after.The valves give you a natural quality to the sound, you just have to make sure your step up 'vol' isn,t too much or the valves wont last as long, and if miked up it doesn,t swamp the PA.
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Nov 05, 2006 12:15 pm crux, I'll get back to you on this. I have to run for awhile.
DiemusikString benderMember
Since: Unknown
Nov 05, 2006 01:06 pm I'm not sure about those amps but using a stompbox on a clean amp is possible. I use an old Ampeg tube head that does not have a distorted channel and I run my Pod Xt live through it. Before I had the Pod I was using a Digitech RP21. So It is possible.
TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Nov 05, 2006 02:05 pm Absolutely Crux, an OD pedal in front of a tube amp, even if it doesn't have an OD channel of its own, can sound awesome. Lots of people do it with the Fender Twin-type amps that only get their distortion from their power section.
Give a TubeScreamer a try, or a Big Muff, Jeckyll and Hyde, or any good overdrive.
In my opinion, there's not a whole lot of difference between tube and solid-state PREAMP distortion...its that power-section distortion from a tube amp that just can't be imitated.
What's the wattage of these amps? You might want to look into a power attenuator so you can just crank the master volume of those amps and get a nice power section breakup without blowing your ears. I use a THD HotPlate, which is terrific, but there are cheaper options like the Weber attenuators.
Nov 05, 2006 05:15 pm Wish I had $$$ to blast on amp heads. Although I'm a drummer, one of my favorite things to record is unique sounding guitar sounds. Keep in mind that although they may sound great, their age and "off name" brand may make them more of a financial liability if they blow. Stomp boxes .. yes.
One of the most bad ***, original lead sounds I've ever heard was achieved by the guitar player in my old band. He used an old Roland Jass Chorus 120 with a Rat distortion pedal, and man the sound was freaking wicked. He would also split it to run both the JC 120 w/Rat pedal, while combined with a single 12" Mesa Boogie call the Lil' S.O.B. . Anyways, have fun with those.
cruxTypo SzarMember
Since: Jul 04, 2002
Nov 05, 2006 07:18 pm Any more info on attenuation? Ive never heard about that.
Nov 05, 2006 07:28 pm There is a unit made by Marshall called the Power Brake
Nov 06, 2006 03:57 am yeah, i gotta agree 100% with Tadpui (which i'm finding myself dooin' alot)....the power tubes is where the 'magic' happens....the 'stock' tubes (if that's what's in there) may justify changing, (and do some research before choosing)....but, DEFINATELY, if you plan on keepin' tube heads around, grab yourself an older ibanez tube screamer pedal (or somethin' like it)...anykinda flavorful gain booster (but not digital, or way-overboard, type will do just fine).....next (after researching which power tubes you're gonna get) decide what kinda cabnet you wanna use with 'em.....goldback celestion's sound VERY different from your stock peavey...so yeah, find out what kinda tone you're gonna use most (clean's can be had with just about anything) and go from there.....i'd wearout the tubes that are in it, just to get a feel for what this amp IS. then decide from there what it NEEDS....
as for attenuators, there's something called "hot plate" or something along thoes lines that lets you run you head (amp) at full blast, but the actual level commin' outta the speaker output is much less...giving you that WONDERFUL poweramp breakup, without the blairing SPL's...is veddy good deal.
pjkPrince CZAR-mingMember
Since: Apr 08, 2004
Nov 06, 2006 08:32 am I agree too, put a tubescreamer, or Rat in front of it, and it'll be great.
Stevie Ray used a tubescreamer in front of different fender amps, for that strat - fender sound.
Also, what wyd says about speaker selection is big too. WeberVST is making great speakers, in lots of flavors, if you want an alternative to celestion (which are great speakers, btw)
CptTrippsCzar of Turd PolishMember
Since: Jun 20, 2006
Nov 06, 2006 02:32 pm I have an ampeg which indeed does have an OD channel. But when playing anything less than metal I actually enjoy using the clean channel jacked to 11, makes a nice fuzzy tone when picked hard but can still hold it's clean if picked softer.
