My Rig Alpine White Rig & Chasing Tone

[dannylerch]

Hey gang,

I've been playing with my sourmash custom JCM 2000 and 91 les paul studio the last year. I love my tone when I'm playing in this punk/hardcore band I'm in. It's beautifully fat and bright, gives me great highs and lows.

I'm a mids sorta guy, I like the marshall roar as they say. So My mids are pretty high, treb and bass either at 12 oclock or a littler under. Gain high, some reverb, and decent amount of presence. Sounds great in standard tuning. If you ever listened to the band turbonegro, my tone is somewhere kind of like that, when I'm playing punk n roll though.

Then I started playing in a metal band that plays in drop c. We started using DR Strings which are incredible by the way for maintaining intonation. I just can't put my finger on it, but the tone just feels a little muddier. I've even given myself a little less mids, tried just about everything and I just couldn't put my finger on it. It feels like my tone breaks up with palm muting, before it sounded really tight in standard tuning. I've tried using a overdrive pedal to boost my tubes a little, but no avail.

I guess what I'm saying is I want to go a little hotter but I don't want to blow my speakers or my ear drums. I have a few ideas so you guys decide what sounds best.

-I have been thinking about getting some better pickups. I have my eyes on some lace deathbuckers. Mainly because I hear that they are hot, but they really preserve the richtones of your amp, without going totally EMG on ya, and they preserve the sounds of your fingers. I just feel like my stock pickups on this guitar can't get hot enough for this band and I feel like the muddy up in lower turnings.

-I have been thinking about getting an mxr eq pedal, similar to the one Randy Rhoads (rest in peace) used on the blizzard of oz. I really want that sound that just cuts through, on the verge of sounding like something is about to blow, but crystal clear through my speakers. Does that make sense? So I am in a metal band that is very much contemporary, but I really hate the synthetic sound and tone many dudes have with their EMGs, scooped mids, etc. I want to find a middle ground that has the vintage sound with a contemporary edge.

-So getting to the point on speaker break up, it feels like when I blast to 6 or over on my volume, I'm getting nasty speaker breakup. So I've been thinking about getting some speakers that have more of a saturated sound that really kick and will stretch my tone. These greenbacks just aint cuttin it anymore. Maybe some vintage altecs? Or something like it, something that can handle the thumping lows of drop c palm muting and also handle the bright high harmonies my band plays. Plus work well in my punk and hardcore bands that play in standard.

-Maybe a hot plate/attenuator? I really want the roar without blowing my ears.

I suppose most people do all the things I mentioned above, but finance wise I want to make one or two decisions now that will give me better results without blowing up my bank account. While eventually I get everything I want above, when time allows.

Thanks for your time

 

[crossroadsnyc]

Nice looking rig, Danny!

 

[dannylerch]

Thanks! I have more plans in the future with it. Hopefully I'll get a alpine white custom les paul. I love the studio but I've always loved that custom.

I should have a 4x12 straigh cab soon, just gotta get some spare speakers, jackplate, and order one from sour mash.

I also am well aware that C is at 65Hz and most guitar speakers don't reproduce anything below about 100hz. So I'm kinda at a loss of what to do. I really don't want to play a mesa, peavey, or randall. I want to hear the frequency of my strings not the harmonics. So is this mainly a speaker issue?

Maybe I could get a Sovtek 12ax7WB pre amp tube and some WGS speakers with a much lower Resonant Frequency.

 

[RussBert]

You don't mention what speakers are in your cab(s)

 

[Grunch]

You don't mention what speakers are in your cab(s)

He said greenbacks.

 

[Grunch]

Just get some G12T-75's. They can be found for almost free and have good low end and don't flub out like Greenbacks.

 

[RussBert]

He said greenbacks.

DOH!


G12K-100's, EVM12L's if you like heavy

 

[mickeydg5]

He did not say which greenback!

If you want to keep Celestion greenbacks, check out Heritage G12H (55Hz)
If you want to keep Celestion, there is also Vintage 30 and G12K-100
The Heritage can handle the low frequencies better even thow it is a 30 watt speaker.
The Vintage 30 and especially the G12K-100 will require more power before breakup.

And there is always EV , JBL and Eminence high power (heavy) stuff.

A nice 15 inch loaded cabinet is cool too.

 

[Grunch]

Dude you need to feed your dog!

 

[mickeydg5]

I do not much fool with dogs.

I also agree with the Grunch man. G12T-75s are a good choice for some low end especially at second hand prices. I like those in the mix too.

 

[brp]

Dude you need to feed your dog!

It's funny, that's the first thing I saw!
Is that dog supposed to be that thin?

 

[mickeydg5]

Ah, ha, ha, ha. Maybe it is a hairy greyhound.

Some dogs are just naturally skinny. Danny I hope your dog is good.

 

[dannylerch]

The dog is actually a pitbull we rescued about three days before the photo was taken many months back. He is plenty healthy now, we feed him a grain free premium dog food, and we top it off with ground beef or ground turkey. He eats really well and has put on about 15/20 pounds. He is still really naturally skinny though, has a huge head and buff chest with a small waist as most pitbills have the same features. He is the best behaved dog I've ever owned.

I'll post some pics for naysayers, and so no one calls animal control on me. Hudson, my beloved pitbull is the only thing I love more than my rig and really anything else in the world.

Thanks for the advice everyone. My problem is def with the preamp tubes and my speakers. I'm going with WGS veteran 30s. Here is a great video comparing them to celestion vintage 30s. The celestions just have too much of a mid spike and I feel like they aren't playing the entire range of frequencies that the WGS speakers are. WGS speakers not even broken in and they already sound EQ'd.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMYnuC2kUjQ]Shootout: Celestion Vintage 30 vs. WGS Veteran 30 - YouTube[/ame]

 

[blues_n_cues]

gotta love white Marshalls.

 

[Stringjunkie]

Lmfao! The last pic of your dog with the destruction of the bed is a scene I am all too familiar with!

 

[crossroadsnyc]

That would make a great avatar.

 

[RussBert]

I've had both V30's and Veteran 30's

The WGS speakers are smoother, less clarity, more blurred

The V30's have more cut. This is most pronounced in a mix.

Both take a good long while to break in

 

[dannylerch]

Maybe I could do a cabinet of one set and a cabinet of the other set of speakers. That way I get smooth and a cut of mid.

 

[LesPaulopolis]

What guage string are you using for your droptune project?

 

[dannylerch]

DR DDTs, 12s

Maybe I should get some 11s?

I ordered some WGS British Leads and WGS Retro 30s. The guys at WGS were really helpfull and pointed me in the right direction. The British leads and the Retro 30s both can handle lower end stuff and bring out the brightness and mids of marshall. I'll post a video of my findings next week when they come in!