Anyone else out there chasing low gain tones with a MTS amp?

[Oregon]

I really love the VybeDeluxe module for my fender cleans. It really sounds and feels right. Rob dialed back the overall dirty gain somewhat from the initial setup for me just before making it a production module, as I wanted more room to beef up the tone prior to starting to breakup in the Vybe and the Deluxe voicing.

While I've never bothered to sit down and learn Lenny by SRV, that's one of the feels and tones I was chasing with the Vybe voicing, and it makes me happy to have that on tap. Rob totally understood what I was wanting, as he had studied to Vybroverb preamp closely. Of course the tone changes based on the power amp and speakers/cab but the essence of that golden tone is there.

The original donor was a Deluxe, and I liked aspects of the tone, and wanted to have access to that sound as well but wanted less mud in the lower midrange frequencies. That's why the voicing option is there. I switch into the thicker Deluxe seitting when I want the clean sounds to have bit more beef to them. It can be guitar dependent as well (higher output pickups vs. lower etc).

The pushed setting is there to get the old school amp breakup. Since this module is built on the clean modules, there aren't as many gain stage options so it has a bluesy raspy quality when you roll the gain up. I haven't spent as much time in this setting, but asked Rob to do it for the option since we were focusing so much of the voicing on the cleaner side of the old Fender sounds.

As for rolling down your volume knobs, split coils, coil taps, I'm all about doing this. My first axe had a Bill Lawrence that had a switch to go single coil and I've kinda always thought that was really useful. If you have 4 connecter humbucker pickups, I would strongly suggest getting at least your bridge pickup setup with a parallel/series/single switch if you can. I couldn't believe what I could do with my crunchlab bridge pickup once I had that installed.

The tone knob can go as far as I'm concerned... it's just not something I've found myself using much on any of my axes.

 

[Big Steve]

Thank Oregon. The Vybe Deluxe is the first module I am getting. JF is working on mine now. Can't wait. I played it a little at the LA amp Show and it was amazing.

 

[Rod]

I'm a blues and rock guitarist who doesn't use a ton of gain and the plexi is a good stock module as well as the jtm.
Jaded faith and sacred groove make great lower gain mods as well. The clarity and warmth mods from both of these folks is well worth it.
The jf OD Special is an amazing better than fender sound clean to medium gain module. I use this one with my RM20 and it's a great combination with that greenback speaker. I've owned a bunch of high end 20 watt amps and this is by far my favorite.
My RM50's are used with plexi and hot rod Marshall mods.
great tones as well.

 

[Hamner1]

Almost everything I read and see about these amps is high gain.

Yeah that is because Randall and marketing do not go well together. back on topic now...

I don't know that I am chasing lower gain tones, but I am finding that I am backing off my gain & uping the MV to compensate for loss in volume &/or girth in the tone. As I am really paying attention to the tones of the bands I like, I tend to hear less preamp gain & more poweramp gain/overdrive (less fizz & more kapow :lol: ).

 

[Daryl]

Low gain tones? OK, It's no secret that the guitar volume pot when used correctly can take a full throttle, high gain tone and turn it into a pretty convincing clean tone in a pinch. I use this all the time and I have found some really cool parts to use. If you are a compulsive volume pot user, then you definitely want to have the highest quality pots available. The absolute best quality volume pots are made by Alessandro. The parts and components are quite expensive, but you definitely get what you pay for!! There is nothing that even comes close on the market. Forget about Alpha, CTS and Bourns. If you want super smooth taper and feel get one and test it for yourself. Especially if you have a really nice PRS, Gibson, Etc..Don't settle for a $10 pot. You deserve more!! Quit screwing around. :wink:

"Finest guitar pots available. Alessandro proprietary custom audio taper. This audio-taper pot eliminates the "jumpiness" of the lesser-quality pots. Alessandro custom 1W Military-Specification Carbon Custom Taper Pots"
http://www.alessandro-products.com/main.php?p=parts
And while you are on the site, check out the caps and other cool parts available. Very cool stuff.

 

[audiomidijace]

The absolute best quality volume pots are made by Alessandro. The parts and components are quite expensive, but you definitely get what you pay for!

Great tip! I'll have to try one. That said, my latest guitar has two humbuckers, a 3-way switch and an on/off switch. No volume or tone knobs.

:lol:

 

[Rod]

Looks like a great pot Daryl, but in true Alessandro fashion, it's $50... each....

 

[Daryl]

Yep, they are pretty **** spendy, but it's a one time deal. These suckers are built for the long haul. If I can throw down $200+ to get a stocker modded, then I can do this to my main axe. I got 2 when they only costed $35 each. Big difference since I have 2 volumes. $70 seemed like I was out of my mind, but they are worth it to me. $100 makes me wince a little.

 

[Daryl]

OK. I did a little wheeling and dealing and I can get these pots at discount pricing!!! Of course there is a MOQ, but not too bad if some of you want to go in on some. Here's what I can get.
10 @ $40 each
20 @ $35 each
If I can get 20 of these little guys spoken for, I'll get that $35 price from 2009. I'll probably take 4 of them. So 16 left to get the discount!!! Even at MOQ of 10 it's @20% off. Let me know if anyone is interested and I'll put together an order. If you want to vouch for one or more let me know. 250k or 500k. I might just get a bunch while they are still available (at any price). If demand takes the quantity over 20, I'll get more aggressive with my negotiating and see what we can do @ a higher MOQ. Any builders or shop owners interested in some Alessandro?
BTW: I am not making a cent on this. I just love hooking up friends with the good ****. :wink:
PM me... 8)

 

[crankyrayhanky]

^hmmm..marked for later...

 

[withmittens]

hey, glad to see some more vintage low gain folks out there. I have a POD HD for high gain stuff since I don;t go there much. I am relatively new to the MTS as well and started with a stck Deluxe and stock Plexi. They are both good clean to crunchy sounds. the Deluxe especially with the right overdrive is dead on and give the full range of that amp. If I were to stick with that sound i would get the Vybe Deluxe, which I plan on, and a Jensen speaker or the Weber version.

seeing that I like the crunchy tones as well, the Plexi and the Salvation Matchvox do well for that. Matchvox is especially flexible, you can even get some mid gain going on there and with a pedal it gets very nasty

I've been looking at the Jaded Faith 1959RR quite closely as it will do the JTM stuff well and have some gain ready for me when I want that. the modded ones do both well.

I have a V30 speaker which i don;t like because of the nasty mid range fartyness on edge of breakup sounds, so Ive been looking at the Weber Chicago. this is supposed to be like the Jensen, just better suited to distortion and higher wattage.

 

[Rod]

I personally am very fond of the WGS British Lead speakers and Scumback J series LHDC versions.. they work well with the mts amps. I have not had good experiences with the Weber line of speakers.. very inconsistant

 

[Big Steve]

I have the two speakers which you are talking about. They are pretty opposite to my ears. My WGS British Lead has a really high top end that I don't like that much, while the Scumback is really warm. I still need to try both out in my MTS. I am waiting to do a big speaker swapping until I get a couple of modules. Right now I only have a JF Tweed and it is kinda bright. I am running the treble at 9 o'clock and running my guitars tone knob at 4. I am not sure if it is the nature of this amp, or just this mod. Do the MTS amps seem bright by nature to you guys?

 

[Rod]

Hi Steve,,,Now that's weird because the WGS British Leads I have...[2 of them) 1 in an RM50 combo and 1 in a 1/12 cab are warmer in the high end than my Scumback/greenbacks, which are warm speakers...
I personally find most guitar amps have to many highs in general...Most of my modules I run with the treble at 9 or 10 0'clock...
I've also installed in all my combos and speaker cabs a Mitchell donut in front of the speaker....This is very different than a beam blocker...
It's a piece of specific closed cell foam that is the thickness of the baffle board and is cut out for the entire whole in thr baffle board but with a 3" hole in the middle... you thenuse 3m spray glue and glue it to the inside of the grill cloth... What this does is to make all the frequencies of the speaker leave at the same time..or something like that... at any rate, this donut thing makes every speaker I have ever tried sound way more balanced.. I know it might sound nutty, but it is amazing.. Jay Mitchell is a speaker enclosre designer that works for a high end hi fi speaker cab co and also is a guitarist..you can pm me for more info if you like....It makes a huge difference in tones with the MTS amps that yes, I think can be a bit bright sometimes, but not with the donut..

 

[Daryl]

Do the MTS amps seem bright by nature to you guys?

Where do you have your presence knob set?

 

[nikki-k]

My gain *needs* are from clean to mid-hi(?) I guess. Gain on any module will very, very rarely go past 1 O'clock, even with no boost in front. Examples: stock XTC, bright off, highest gain = 1 O'clock; stock Ultra Lead, bright on, highest gain = noon, but usually sits ~11 O'clock. I love my old Brimar tubes!!!

As far as brightness...
Treble cut back on mine as well. Chris Poland mentions too much brightness, too brittle, etc a bunch in his latest gear rundown. I am not a fan of "blanket tones" that are overly dark, but I find far too many tones.. especially in this digital age.. to be obnoxiously harsh.

 

[crankyrayhanky]

Through all my years of hi gain flipping, I've kept these Gigmods lo-mid gain gems: Blackface, Tweed, JTM, and recently picked up his Deluxe.
Gigmods is becoming an extinct species, but if you find his lo gain stuff gobble it up.

 

[Big Steve]

Do the MTS amps seem bright by nature to you guys?

Where do you have your presence knob set?

I have tried it everywhere. I think it might just be this module. Strange as this will sound, it sounds amazing with my strat, tele and Les Paul Jr. with a P90, but too bright with my Les Paul and 335 with humbuckers. Which is totally counter-intuitive to the usual. So I will learn more when I get the next module which will be later this week.

Thanks for the tip on the donut Rod. I will give that a try, it seems simple enough to do.

 

[Jaded Faith]

Right now I only have a JF Tweed and it is kinda bright. I am running the treble at 9 o'clock and running my guitars tone knob at 4. I am not sure if it is the nature of this amp, or just this mod. Do the MTS amps seem bright by nature to you guys?

It sounds like the mod you have is a secondhand Base Mod. Do keep in mind that Base Mods are always custom built to the requests of the original owner. If they wanted it bright, that's what I built for them.

 

[Big Steve]

Right now I only have a JF Tweed and it is kinda bright. I am running the treble at 9 o'clock and running my guitars tone knob at 4. I am not sure if it is the nature of this amp, or just this mod. Do the MTS amps seem bright by nature to you guys?

It sounds like the mod you have is a secondhand Base Mod. Do keep in mind that Base Mods are always custom built to the requests of the original owner. If they wanted it bright, that's what I built for them.

You are right Rob. I got it second hand. I am not sure what is in it. Further, I don't have any references either except the 10 minutes I played the Vybe Deluxe at the LA Amp show. Can't wait for my Vybe Deluxe to be finished. I still have a lot to learn. This tweed module sounds awesome with single coil pickups. Depending on the overlap with the Vybe Deluxe, I might send this back for additional work. Also looking forward to the Ampeg Gemini type module we are discussing for a custom build.