High Gain Guitar Amp Question

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Uncle E wrote:
fedexnman wrote:What I was missing was the high gain sound from the mid 90s and now . Anyways I found this cheap MXR pedal and it did the trick for me MXR m75 super badass distortion .
I like the Suhr Riot and MI Audio Megalith Delta for that kind of sound. Also, I built a pedal based on the OCD circuit but with an upgraded Burr Brown opamp, which gives it a flatter frequency response (more highs and lows instead of the OCD's mid-heavy signal) and cleaner gain.
which op-amp? I like the TS clone from General Guitar Gadgets with it's mod kit, it sounds similar to what you describe. One the mods is a choice between clippers or a lift for one set of clippers...I like that the best for just as you say, a cleaner gain (changing to a 1 meg drive pot helps too I think)...the mod kit comes with 3 op amps but I'd give the Burr Brown op amps a go, I mean it's a cheap enough mod :tu:
The highest form of knowledge is empathy, for it requires us to suspend our egos and live in another's world. It requires profound, purpose‐larger‐than‐the‐self kind of understanding.

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Add another cabinet, that will drop your load to 8 ohms.It won't be that much louder(3-6db)

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I bought the VHT Special 6 head for non-high gain tones, too :). $189 at Musician's Friend - it sounds really good for such a crazy cheap amp.

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bharris22 wrote:I bought the VHT Special 6 head for non-high gain tones, too :). $189 at Musician's Friend - it sounds really good for such a crazy cheap amp.
Xmas time I got the VHT tube adapter and tube for it , I love the little amp . It sounds good mic d. With a touch of reverb plugin you wouldn't no how small of an amps being recorded lol .

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Uncle E wrote:MI Audio Megalith Delta for that kind of sound.
You're talking my sort of language, The Megalith Delta is a killer high-gain pedal with a totally usable on-board noise-gate (That doesn't come along very often in a pedal let me tell everyone just in case, Most of you know that already though).
I'll add in James Brown's amptweaker Tight Metal PRO, It is again superb, Depends on what one's own taste is really https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIi3Q08hOkU
A person could do worse than have a listen to this shootout of some of the high-gain boxes available to get an idea of what they do and do not like as it was done to strict consistency so that each pedal gets to show its own voice instead of amp drive interfering:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDCzlN1UXnA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sivBIXE4Hmc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7hLTpc9b60

I'ma bit of a high-gain pedal whore tbh and like/have too many really and will be getting some more as and when :evil: :help:

Dean

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Hink wrote:which op-amp? I like the TS clone from General Guitar Gadgets with it's mod kit, it sounds similar to what you describe. One the mods is a choice between clippers or a lift for one set of clippers...I like that the best for just as you say, a cleaner gain (changing to a 1 meg drive pot helps too I think)...the mod kit comes with 3 op amps but I'd give the Burr Brown op amps a go, I mean it's a cheap enough mod :tu:
OP2604

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Uncle E wrote:
Hink wrote:which op-amp? I like the TS clone from General Guitar Gadgets with it's mod kit, it sounds similar to what you describe. One the mods is a choice between clippers or a lift for one set of clippers...I like that the best for just as you say, a cleaner gain (changing to a 1 meg drive pot helps too I think)...the mod kit comes with 3 op amps but I'd give the Burr Brown op amps a go, I mean it's a cheap enough mod :tu:
OP2604
On June 21st a merger agreement between Burr-Brown and Texas Instruments was revealed. On August 24, 2000 the two companies officially joined, creating the industry's strongest portfolio of data converters, amplifiers, power management and interface products for high-performance and low-power applications.
http://www.ti.com/sc/bb2

now I have to check my TI op-amps ;)
The highest form of knowledge is empathy, for it requires us to suspend our egos and live in another's world. It requires profound, purpose‐larger‐than‐the‐self kind of understanding.

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Hink wrote:
bharris22 wrote:
Hink wrote:I could be wrong, I aven't heard this amp but I have never been impressed with such outputs recorded direct like that...let us know how it sounds :)
Will do! I don't have an interface with XLR inputs at the moment, but will post some raw tracks from the amp once I do.
FTR I have the same 12" speaker but not in a standard 1x12 cab, I have the jet city 1x12" isolation cabinet and tbh the stocl speaker is not bad at all. I have 4 other types of speakers ( 2 different types of celelstions, a Jensen and a Fane 75 watt) of the 5 total the Fane is the est than the one that came in the iso cab. :)
I'm really liking this cabinet/speaker so far. I got the very small one (12XS) for space reasons - the cab is not much bigger than the speaker. The speaker is still breaking in, but the bass response has been surprisingly good, and the convertible back of the cabinet offers flexible sound possibilities.

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...
Meh.

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Uncle E wrote:Tube Screamers don't sound that great on their own, most people use them as boosters into amps that are already distorting.
Yep, do this ... I have the keeley modded TS-9DX and I run it in Hot mode with almost zero drive and use the level/tone to dial in the distortion at various levels. It doesn't take a super expensive, modded one to do the same thing. You're really just limiting the frequency range on the way to the tubes.
If you have to ask, you can't afford the answer

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SJ_Digriz wrote:
Uncle E wrote:Tube Screamers don't sound that great on their own, most people use them as boosters into amps that are already distorting.
Yep, do this ... I have the keeley modded TS-9DX and I run it in Hot mode with almost zero drive and use the level/tone to dial in the distortion at various levels. It doesn't take a super expensive, modded one to do the same thing. You're really just limiting the frequency range on the way to the tubes.
the TS clone at general guitar gadgets has not only the Keely mod but it also has more so you can take it a few steps further...total cost is under 70 bux...myself with most ODs I like to keep the distortion low and just hit the tubes with a cleaner boost, my TS clone does this well when I lift one set of clippers, though part of my mods is asymmetrical clippers in the first stage which basically all you do is add a second diode and I also added a pair of led clippers...so with a dpdt switch on/off/on I have diodes or leds or both lifted which kind of defeats the purpose of adding them if I am just going to lift them (which I dont always do) ...but that's just me :)
The highest form of knowledge is empathy, for it requires us to suspend our egos and live in another's world. It requires profound, purpose‐larger‐than‐the‐self kind of understanding.

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SJ_Digriz wrote:Yep, do this ... I have the keeley modded TS-9DX and I run it in Hot mode with almost zero drive and use the level/tone to dial in the distortion at various levels. It doesn't take a super expensive, modded one to do the same thing. You're really just limiting the frequency range on the way to the tubes.
I modded my TS9DX myself, changing the opamp and a couple resistors to what's in a TS-808. It was a very simple mod and I love it. With that said, this $30 Chinese Tube Screamer knockoff sounds pretty close to its TS9 and Turbo modes.

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Uncle E wrote:
SJ_Digriz wrote:Yep, do this ... I have the keeley modded TS-9DX and I run it in Hot mode with almost zero drive and use the level/tone to dial in the distortion at various levels. It doesn't take a super expensive, modded one to do the same thing. You're really just limiting the frequency range on the way to the tubes.
I modded my TS9DX myself, changing the opamp and a couple resistors to what's in a TS-808. It was a very simple mod and I love it. With that said, this $30 Chinese Tube Screamer knockoff sounds pretty close to its TS9 and Turbo modes.
can it handle 18v? I mean at 30 bux it's almost worth the risk tbh :shrug:
The highest form of knowledge is empathy, for it requires us to suspend our egos and live in another's world. It requires profound, purpose‐larger‐than‐the‐self kind of understanding.

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Hink wrote:can it handle 18v? I mean at 30 bux it's almost worth the risk tbh :shrug:
I think so. I can test it next week.

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