1086 vs. Ultra Lead for (modern death/progressive metal)

[dodvocivus]

I have a RM-100(EL34) and I'm looking for a distortion module that has a real tight bottom end and lots of mids. So far the only module that I have been able to get my hands on is the 1086 due to the fact that I'm a freshamn in college and money is hard to come by. I was really disappointed with the 1086 ability to give me the tone that I want, it seems to have barely enough distortion at a level thats no longer HEAVY or TIGHT enough, I definately need more headroom with the gain. My cousin in L.A. has an Ultra Lead for his RM-100 setup and says that it has lots of gain, has a real tight bottom end and has plenty of mids. I know that the Ultra Lead is pretty popular for having these characteristics so I was wondering if there is anything that you guys DISLIKE about the Ultra Lead's tone so there are no unpleasant surprises. Alternatively, I want to know if there is anything you guys are doing to your 1086s to achieve this tone. Thanks

btw I play a Jackson soloist tuned 1.5 steps down with a Dimarzio Super 3(extreme output) in the bridge and I have a Boss Me-50 which I'm currently forced to use to boost/clean-up the gain.

 

[TheAbomb12]

I would look into the UltraXL for the tone you describe. MILES and MILES of gain, tight punchy low end, good upper midrange. The only problem with it would be its ability to cut through the mix well- as it has a rather compressed tone to it.

 

[goldwing68nv]

i'd go with either the reg ULTRA or ULTRA XL,depending on which you can get your hands on.tried the 1086,but it didnt cut it.too much of a recto/nu metal or 80's marshallish hi-gain tone,depending on which way the mid-voicing switch was set,imo.i had a reg ULTRA & loved it for tight,super high gain metal playing.the ULTRA XL,to my ears,is nothing more than a reg ULTRA module with a larger value capacitor in the "C3" spot of the circuit board,giving it a much bassier tone.too woofy for my taste & sacrifices clarity and tightness.either way,get yourself either one of these modules and make sure you have a .0022u cap for tight chuggs or even a .001u for super tightness.keep in mind,though,as you change capacitors to tighten up the tone,it'll deplete some bass/bottom end from the tone as well.as far as the ULTRA LEAD,i never got a chance to try that one.if you're looking for a heavy mid-spike in your tone,it's one that you'd want to try out,at least!!! ...hope that helps!

 

[roodyrocker]

I find it hard to believe that a Jackson tuned 1 1/2 steps down, with a Dimarzio Super III, through a 1086 module, has too little gain as a problem. I'm not that familiar with the ME-50 personally but I might suspect that perhaps you are getting some serious tone suck through that?
Have you tried eliminating the ME-50 and going straight into the amp to see if that made a difference? Reason I mention this is that there are lots of processors and pedals out on the market that while they provide some cool effects, unfortunately alter the tone too much hence-Tone suck.

 

[TheAbomb12]

dodvocivus: I have to agree with roodyrocker. The 1086 does have plenty of usable gain. What EQ settings are you using? that can definitely affect the "perceived" Level of gain I've noticed.

Also, if I were you I would change the EL34s in the RM100 into 6L6GCs- that will definitely give you more low end punch, increased articulation and clarity (Because of the naturally slightly scooped mids), and overall a more aggressive sound.

 

[RD/MAN]

dodvocivus,

The 1086, Ultra, and Ultra XL all have that tight bottom end with plenty of Gain. The major difference between the Ultra and Ultra XL is that the Ultra is more scooped in the mid-range. They both have an excessive amount of gain but the Ultra XL cuts through better because it's not as scooped.

The Ultra Lead is not a super high gain module. It's voiced more for sustaining lead tones like Vai. It's not a tight rhythm tone.

Hope this helps.

 

[dodvocivus]

I find it hard to believe that a Jackson tuned 1 1/2 steps down, with a Dimarzio Super III, through a 1086 module, has too little gain as a problem. I'm not that familiar with the ME-50 personally but I might suspect that perhaps you are getting some serious tone suck through that?
Have you tried eliminating the ME-50 and going straight into the amp to see if that made a difference? Reason I mention this is that there are lots of processors and pedals out on the market that while they provide some cool effects, unfortunately alter the tone too much hence-Tone suck.

I have an ME-50 at my disposal but I don't want use it well aware of the tone suck. The thing is, I have to tighten up the bottom end, boost mids, and saturate the distortion a little bit more to satisfy my tonal desires. Recently, I tried out the Peavy JSX head at Sam Ash and was able to get the exact type of tone that I'm talking about on the crunch channel, I don't get it. Why can't I remotely attain this tone with the 1086? Either way, not enough gain or not enough punch in the mids, the 1086 sounds really unfocused, possibly too weak and definitely lacking for my style of music. I was wondering if it is worth getting a 10-band eq, and if its at all possible to get the tone I described without having to find a new rhythm module.

 

[kurtisqpublic]

I would agree with some of the earlier posts. The 1086 has TONS of gain. I think that punchier metal tone you are looking for would come from using 6L6s with the module. I have the RT2/50 power amp and el34s do smooth the gain out quite a bit on the 1086. Also did you notice the 1086 does have a gain boost switch. Did you have it set up with that off?
~Kurt

 

[TheAbomb12]

definitely change your tubes to 6L6's... most of the High gain modules were meant for them.

 

[dodvocivus]

Cool, I'll grab some 6l6's, I wanted to grab some eventually anyway. I'm probably going to get an eq to help with that also, any suggestions on an eq that works well with tube amps?

 

[kurtisqpublic]

I use a Rane Parametric eq and it really brings all the finer points of my rig to the forefront. I don't have it set to alter the tone of the amp a whole lot it just highlights the awesome points that are already there.
1086=like it with 6L6s
XTC = like it with EL34s (What can I say, if i owned a bogner it would be the classic version!)
~Kurt

 

[MichaelG]

As the others have mentioned, changing the power tubes makes a HUGE difference. With the high gain modules mentioned, 6L6 tubes provide a lot more CHUG than el34s. There are also many other tube combinations like el34/KT88, 6L6/KT88 etc that you can experiment with. The ability to swap tubes is one of the features that really endears me to the Egnater/Randall MTS amps.

Michael.

 

[StrangeLand]

What tubes are in your 1086 ?

 

[evhwolfie]

I sorta have the same problem with the 1086 it just dosent seem to get much gain, i am going to try to swap the tubes tho, but even with the switch over it seems it gets real muddy, but from some of the clips ive herd like Jims, sound killer, even with the gain switch off sounds awesome. im using a rm100 with 6l6's going through a hotplate.