Your next amp

[Uncle E]

I think it's an intentional design to attain a specific tonal palette (how sweet it is!). They do custom stuff too, so I'm betting that you could ask for something beefier.

Personally, I like the 10-watt. It's more than enough for a recording amp and for small gigs, IMO.

I like the lower wattage, too, but I don't like the idea of running tubes cold. A dual EL84 amp at either 15 watts, such as the Fender Pro Jr or the Blackheart BH15, or 20 watts, such as the Jet City JCA20H, makes more sense to me since the tubes are getting hit the way they ought to be yet the wattage is still low.

btw, that's an issue I have with the 6V6's of my Blue Angel, too. I believe they sound as dirty as they do because they're run so cold (it's only pulling 15 watts out of them). Fortunately, the amp's EL84 side sounds fantastic and the 6V6 dirt adds an interesting dimension when the two sides are combined.

[Dean Aka Nekro]

Randall Smith seems to always make it work no matter what he uses in the power section Eric have you had a chance to try Blackstar's HT40 combo? I have briefly but it has a switch/toggle each channel to give modern tight or vintage/loose sort of thing going on and it weighs in light for a 1x12" (did not have long enough to properly tweak the toggles but it does everyhting the HT-5 does with ease. Not really that disimilar to the DSL40 1x12" combo (for me that is great) but more personally voiceable due to the tonestack, ISF knob (again great for me) and them mini-toggles (as said did not have time to really evalute these so not sure). Just in case you have not, could be worth a try if you can. It is tough to guess what one another will like or will not like plus i do not know the what they go for your side of the ocean either

That Soldano designed Jet City sounds like its worth a try and i know my local stock astroverbs and Jet Citys also, they have a SLO100 and another Soldano 100 watter in also but nada in the 50watt ala HotRod type range which i would have at. I quite like the Vox Nightrain head for the money but at the same time for my own needs it has to have a full-on distortion pedal infront of it to hit the sort of gain i require (just one cascade stage of being right with one of OD pedals although with the Fulldrive II with full-on OD and boost engaged gets close), other than that its very nice and very portable

Sometimes i think were spoilt for choice these days, not that i am complaining mind

[Uncle E]

Eric have you had a chance to try Blackstar's HT40 combo?

I couldn't really gel with all the strange functions. The Jet City sounds much better to me.

That Soldano designed Jet City sounds like its worth a try and i know my local stock astroverbs and Jet Citys also, they have a SLO100 and another Soldano 100 watter in also but nada in the 50watt ala HotRod type range which i would have at.

Cool! Let us know what you think! I've never actually played an Astroverb but the JCA20 reminds me a lot of the SLO100 and the Avenger (as well as the Framus Cobra, strangely enough). Keep in mind that Jet City just dropped a lot of their prices so your dealer may be able to get it to you for cheaper than they yet know.

Sometimes i think were spoilt for choice these days, not that i am complaining mind

That's why the terrorists hate us.

I've pretty much settled on getting the JCA20 combo for myself. The price, size, and wattage are all perfect. The clean tone and reverb aren't up to the level I'm used to but that glorious distortion tone is everything I've been looking for.

[Hink]

I added a pedal today



in the past I have not been a fan of DOD/Digitech but I'll have to rethink that some after getting this. It sounds awesome with the Egnater and really kicks the Marshall 9000 on the clean channel to life (using the Marshall with the Eganter fx return). I haven't tried it with the Boogie yet but it gives me that kick I sometimes want.

I only paid 50 dollars for it, after messing with it at GC I ordered one yesterday from Amazon. I had a present for my wife's b-day coming anyhow so I figured what the heck, if I'm going to wait on one thing might just as well wait for two (I love that Amazon Prime, $3.99 extra each for overnight).

I still plan on building the tubescreamer kit from GGG with the mod but I like this O.D. a lot

[hibidy]

Using the "way back machine" I remember really liking my GNX2 (before it died)

[buscemi]

There are some standouts in the Digitech line for sure. I had the GNX3 and I did like it but I sold it because I felt it was a bit dated compared to what I had both hardware- and software-wise.

I like the Bad Monkey pedal a lot. I liked the Grunge too, for what it was though I think that gets slammed by most.

[Hink]

the mixer output is kinda cheesy if you take their word for gospel...you wont exactly be using it for recording and the speaker emulation is really like that on other type things, a complete joke. However though I haven't tried with my amp sims I did run it with Vandal using the 'mixer out' and it was interesting. With one of my templates in Vandal my first reaction was it reminded me of using a marshall 4x12 tallboy instead of a regular 4x12 (my experience comparing the two cabs was with a plexi, an 800, a Boogie SOB, and my Hi-Watt 4x12 with fanes a friend of mine who used it with an 800 had a tallboy)

[Dean Aka Nekro]

I have a few Digitech and actual DOD not Digitech/DOD pedals and all the models i have i like, especially the Hardwire Series CM-2 which has replaced two tubescreamers on my board (either Maxon OD808, Maxon OD9, Ibanez TS808 and Ibanez TS9). It covers them both really well. Obviously the real tubescreamers are going nowhere but for a pedal to take anywhere any know it won't break is reasuring. The X-Series i have a few of and some of the DOD boxes, the 'Grunge' being my pick even though its name suggests a junk style of popular 90's music it does not sound like a big muff more like a decent valve distortion when fed into a clean amp/semi-on the edge of breakup.

[Hink]

I have a few Digitech and actual DOD not Digitech/DOD pedals and all the models i have i like, especially the Hardwire Series CM-2 which has replaced two tubescreamers on my board (either Maxon OD808, Maxon OD9, Ibanez TS808 and Ibanez TS9). It covers them both really well. Obviously the real tubescreamers are going nowhere but for a pedal to take anywhere any know it won't break is reasuring. The X-Series i have a few of and some of the DOD boxes, the 'Grunge' being my pick even though its name suggests a junk style of popular 90's music it does not sound like a big muff more like a decent valve distortion when fed into a clean amp/semi-on the edge of breakup.

in the 80s I threw a DOD FX55 in the lake our camp was on in Maine, we use to go up and jam all the time. The stupid thing started making this high pitched whine so it went for a short flight and a long swim. For the next few years I would go out snorkeling sometimes to try and find it because it wasn't a nice thing to do to the lake but I never found it. Maybe I had the wrong model, maybe it was for bass?

[tapper mike]

I just can't get into my GNX, Though I loved my rp10

[Dean Aka Nekro]

Hink well if something annoyed me to that point i would probably do something similar. DOD waterbox

Edit: the compressor (MilkSqueeze or other crappy name can't remember) made a decent door stop for many years

[Hink]

Hink well if something annoyed me to that point i would probably do something similar. DOD waterbox

Edit: the compressor (MilkSqueeze or other crappy name can't remember) made a decent door stop for many years

you know, now that I think about it that missing distortion box might explain that one loon that sounded like Ethel Merman

[trimph1]

Hink well if something annoyed me to that point i would probably do something similar. DOD waterbox

Edit: the compressor (MilkSqueeze or other crappy name can't remember) made a decent door stop for many years

you know, now that I think about it that missing distortion box might explain that one loon that sounded like Ethel Merman

[Dean Aka Nekro]

[Uncle E]

The Grunge pedal is great on 303's but I haven't found a good DOD guitar pedal since the 250. I've got a funky little 250 clone that uses germanium diodes for its clipping, it's noisy but has a super amp-like feel to it.

My favorite Tube Screamers are the Homebrew Electronics Power Screamer, the Ibanez TS808HW, and my modded TS9DX. The Power Booster has a wonderful push to it that I haven't heard in any other Tube Screamer, including vintage units. The TS808HW retains the Tube Screamer mid hump yet somehow sounds more open and natural. My modded TS9DX's 4th setting sounds like the Power Booster crossed with a clean boost.

For boosters, I just replaced my Xotic EP Booster with a Kasha, which offers more versatility and great upper-mids. Kicking it in sounds like changing a channel on the amp, not like a pedal.

btw, I'm currently in the process of getting a run of our own branded pedals made: a compressor and two overdrives. The compressor is a chimey version of my 3-knob Keeley (think Keeley meets Janglebox), one of the overdrives is an OCD with an upgraded Burr Brown op amp, and the other overdrive is an OCD modded for metal. That last one is my favorite, it has the amp-like feel of an OCD, only darker, bassier, and more brutal sounding. These should be ready by February.