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13/08/2004 5:47 am
Well, we have some HRDx gurus out there so I think this is the place for you freaks (just kiddin'!) to tell us how you get your sweet sound. This post should involve many things. First, what type of guitar you play. Second, what effects you use (if you don't want to type that, no biggie). Third, your settings. Like 8 on bass, 1 on mid, 6 on treble, 3 on reverb, presence at 5, which channel, on and on.
Yea, it can get pretty laborious to type but you are helping a fellow member or GN. Actually, you'll be helping many, many users So feel free to share because good sound is better than bad tweaking!
Further, I hope to get some ideas for us who need rockin' sound at much lower level. You know the deal. You're playing at home and don't want to piss off or neighbor but want the cool tube saturation. We're talking about how to achieve that at bedroom level and band level. (Side bar: I know this amp is ridiculously loud. At bedroom levels this amp can get loud. Even playing outdoors this amp needs to be tamed.)
Okay, for those of you ready for the challenge of spreading your knowledge, we're all here waiting in anticipation!
:D :?:
"Nothing...can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts."
13/08/2004 4:25 pm
Alright Dennis
We can finally start talking about this bad boy. It ought to be fun.
First of all, I think it is important to realize everybody has different tastes. A tone that sounds great to me might not do anything for you. Also, every guitar sounds different as well. So settings that might sound great for MY Strat might sound not so good for your guitar. So there are a thousand variables to begin with. But anyway, here's my info.
Guitars- At home I like to play my Squier Standard Telecaster. It has 3 single-coil pickups. The bridge pickup is the hottest and the one I use most. In middle position I get the most color. This is best for clean playing. The neck pickup is darker, maybe even a little muddy, but I like it. I can get jazz tones out of it. It is best played clean.
For gigs I use my Fender American Standard Stratocaster. But it is not truly a Standard. It has a DiMarzio humbucker at the bridge (fantastic pickup), stock single coil in the middle, and a Seymour Duncan humbucker at the neck. I mostly use the neck pickup for clean sounds. It is very pretty and chimey sounding. If I want to play heavy distortion I use the bridge. The DiMarzio has the warmest, tightest distortion. I love it.
Amp Settings- I don't have one particular setting. I am always experimenting. I don't have a signature tone. I like them all. But at gigs I do have one setting I use because I know it well and get good tones on clean and drive channels. Here it is.
Volume-4, Drive- 7, Treble- 6, Bass-5, Middle- 10, Master-4, Reverb-3, Presence-4 Bright switch On. Guitar into #1 input jack. I also run a volume pedal through the effects loop. I come out of the Preamp Out into the input on the pedal. Out of the output on the pedal into the PowerAmp In on the amp. Now when I use the volume pedal I crank Volume and Master up to 8 each. There are two reasons I use the volume pedal. First, it is not as sensitive as Volume and Master on the amp. So you don't accidently go from normal volume to SUPER LOUD by mistake. Funny thing is, I accidently did that at the Riverside Jam. I bumped the pedal by accident and it was LOUD. But that was the 1st time ever. The second reason I use the volume pedal is then I can crank Volume and Master. This socks the preamp up and I believe I get a warmer sound. I turn my guitar volume down to around 7 and then use the volume pedal to get my stage volume. When I want tube saturation I just turn my guitar volume up to 10. It gets pretty wild. The amp is on the edge of feedback. If I walk close to the amp it will feedback. It's screaming! This is when you will see what a good amp the HRD is. It will sing. Best sustain of any amp I've ever played on.
As for tone, I use my tone controls on my guitar. I like a bright sound, but not piercing or brittle. I just adjust on the spot till I like the tone.
This was my gig setup. But at home I try all different settings. Last week I had Treble-12, Bass-1, Middle-7. This was with my Tele. I just liked it and played all week that way. So I try all different settings.
I have a technique I use to set tone. I turn Treble, Bass, and Middle all down to 1. Then I turn just Treble up and listen to it through it's range and find a tone I like. Then I turn it back down. Then I do the same thing with Bass, then Middle. When I find a tone for each I like I turn all to their settings. This is an orderly method that works for me.
OK, this is turning into a novel. I hope others will also talk about their favorite settings and techniques.
Wes
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
Topic starter
13/08/2004 4:53 pm
Well, a novel is nice and just what I'm looking for. It's great you showed all the control parameters. Yea, I think a volume pedal is essential for any player. The other guitarist in the band is always running over to his amp, bending over, spinning the volume dial and other things. I only have a built in volume pedal in by effects board. Any suggestion on a gigworthy volume pedal?
That's interesting you use a Tele at home and the souped up Strat at gigs. Since I have only one guitar I play it everywhere. But I can imagine playing something different at home compared to tried-and-true stuff for gigs.
Feel free to keep writing chapters of the novel. I'm sure other will jump down here to drop some notes. As I spin in my chair looking toward the back wall I see the amp looking at me. I guess I'd better pop the cover off and get those tubes working for the first time….. :shock:
"Nothing...can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts."
13/08/2004 4:59 pm
Well I am currently at work and I can't remember exactly what I had the EQ on the amp at. I really only use the HRD when I am jamming with friends. For playing in my bedroom I use a practice amp. So I couldn't help you with getting the saturation sound at bedroom levels (I think you use some sort of power dump or something... :? ). I can tell you my set up though.
I run a Cort M200---->Dunlap Crybaby Wah---->MRK Zakk Wylde Overdrive------>Boss DS-1----->Digitech Digital Delay---->Fender Hot Rod Deluxe.
The reason I use the overdrive pedal is because I really didn't like the Drive and More/Drive channels and the fact that that they all share the same EQ.
Sometimes for kicks I use the split output on my Digitech Digital Delay to run my practice amp in addition to my HRD whilst jamming. You can get some real cool ping-pong effects that way!
Gun control is using both hands!!!
14/08/2004 5:37 am
Audioslaveaddict
That is not unusual to use an overdrive pedal on the HRD. Many people say they love the clean channel but are not too thrilled with the drive channels. It is definitely not a metal amp. But you can get great classic rock or blues sounds.
I ordered the 3 preamp tubes from Eurotubes. Bob there recommended the JJ ECC83S's, a balanced tube in the Phase Inverter position (V3). I just ordered out of curiosity because I kept seeing such great reviews. Well, I'll tell ya, they make a BIG difference, especially the drive channels. They take the boominess out of the bass. The bass is very tight and well defined now. I would say a nice "round" sound. It is hard to describe tone. They also rolled just a tiny bit off the highs. So, even with very bright settings the high end is smooth, not harsh or brittle. Still not a metal sound, but a truly fantastic crunch. Very smooth. What I have already found out that I liked is that I am now able to give the clean channel much more bass so that it is a full sound. When I switch to either drive channel, it is not "boomy" or "farty" like it was before. Before, I kept bass down below 3 to give the drive channels a tight sound. This was great and I got a great tone, but it left the clean channel a little thin and tinny sounding. Not anymore. The drive channels are pretty red hot now. Much, much better. Well worth the $25 plus $6 shipping. Check the Eurotubes site out.
I'll tell you, soon as I fired the amp up, I was sold.
Wes
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
14/08/2004 5:39 am
:D :) :( :o :shock: :? 8) :lol: :x :P :oops: :cry: :evil: :twisted: :roll: :wink:
Mistake
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
Topic starter
14/08/2004 7:37 am
As I eat my paltry mac ‘n cheese (and it has a bit to much water, but hey water is good for you) what is the mistake?
"Nothing...can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts."
14/08/2004 12:37 pm
Dennis
The mistake was I was trying to respond to TwistedFingers car problems. So I got the two threads mixed up. I tried to delete the message but couldn't, thus the smiley's.
Sounds like your HRD has become a nice piece of furniture. I keep mine in the living room, I think they look nice. Don't leave that nice amp anywhere. And I know what you mean about stairs. I live in a 2nd story apartment. The DeVille would be too much for me.
Yeah, let us know how you like it. I think when you get it to one of your practices you'll see the potential. You'll will never be drowned out again by any player with any amp. When you get volume or master above 4 the HRD starts to sing!
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
Topic starter
14/08/2004 2:42 pm
Volume on 4? Hmmm, it's only 9:30 in the morning but I think I'll give it a whirl. Yesterday when I tried it I had the volume on 4 and the master on 4.5. As a matter of fact, that's what they're on now. Well, I have about 1/2 hour before I leave for the concert so it's time to warm those tubes up and get pumped up! Just hope the 5 pictures I hung on the walls last night don't come crashing down..... :twisted:
"Nothing...can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts."
15/08/2004 10:48 am
Great to hear you got your fender valve (tube) amp!
I recommend any setting that gets you the sound you like :wink:
What a difference a good amp makes, eh?
Again congratulations! Let the good times BEGIN! :roll:
... that noise you hear is my Signature Sound ... lovely ain't it?
18/08/2004 1:58 am
You can pretty well guess that I'll say put an attenuator on it and an Equalizer in the f/x loop.
Joe
18/08/2004 2:28 am
You can pretty well guess that I'll say put an attenuator on it and an Equalizer in the f/x loop.
Joe
From what I've heard you say in the past (from your experience), we will need or should have one (Equalizer) between each stage to control the balance of each stage.
Is that correct, Joe?
Also, what was the name of that 70's attenuator that you talked about before?
I'm starting to think that I should look into the attenuators for the obvious VOLUME CONTROL. I'm sorry was I shouting. :roll: :wink:
18/08/2004 6:06 am
Being I never have much money, I'm trying to save for the Weber 50 Watt Low Power Load Dump with Volume Control. Only attenuator within my budget.
I sure would like to see one of Joe's rigs. EQ's everywhere. :D
Tracker, Bob at Eurotubes says he has substitutes for the 6L6 Power tubes that will bring the HRD down to about 30 Watts effectively. Still not a bedroom amp, but the volume will be much more manageable, and it will get into saturation earlier. That's something else I'm going to try soon.
Click on Fender and it gives the details.
Wes
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
18/08/2004 11:31 am
Wes, I saw the 6V6 for $22 a pair on his site. That's not a bad price. I'll look into those also. Thanks.
18/08/2004 2:54 pm
Tracker
I was never unhappy with my HRD, even the Drive and More Drive channels that many complain about. I just bought the JJ ECC83S tubes for preamp out of curiosity, because I read so many glowing reviews. Well, I'll tell ya, I love them. My amp sounds great now. Not just the Drive channels, but clean as well. It dramatically tightens up the bass. Now I am getting fantastic overdrive, so tight. They also rolled off the highs just a little, so no more piercing or harsh highs. I put them to a real test last night. I used my Vox 849 Wah all night. I love this Wah, it sounds better than any I've ever heard. But when you hit the highs with it, they are very piercing. Feels like someone sticking an icepick in your ears. But these new tubes take that out. So now I'm getting sweet highs that don't hurt my ears, even when I try very bright settings. I don't like anything that hurts my ears. So I really recommend these JJ tubes. It is shocking at first, they really change the amps sound. But man does it sound great now.
Wes
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
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