Stuff on amps no one wants

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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71950
    AlexC said:
    That knob that has ‘Bass’. It’s a guitar amp ffs. I’m not using a Bass. Really stupid!
    Yes, this. Just set it full up and then remove the knob :).

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • I haven't caught up with the whole thread but has anyone said drinks yet?

    The same goes for the stage, no open liquid containers is a golden rule of mine.
    "As with all things, some days you're the dinosaur, some days you're the monkey." Sporky
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  • DrCorneliusDrCornelius Frets: 7069
    'GARY GLITTER TOUR'  stencil sprayed on the cabs ?
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  • gusman2xgusman2x Frets: 919
    Pint of lager on my 74 vibrolux reverb, belonging to the guitarist of the band on before us. Bellend. 
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  • LebarqueLebarque Frets: 3755
    edited April 2021
    Presence control in addition to treble. Just there to confuse.
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  • GrumpyrockerGrumpyrocker Frets: 4118
    Lebarque said:
    Presence control in addition to treble. Just there to confuse.
    Nah. Presence makes a real difference to high gain tones. 

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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71950
    What you need if drinks on amps are a problem is one of these...

    Marshall 2200 Pint-Proof Combo (Pat. Pend.)



    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • donbotdonbot Frets: 359
    It’s probably been said but, put the damn controls on the front. I refuse to but any amp with the knobs on the top. 
    Actually, I’d make an exception if I spotted a reasonably priced Carr Rambler. 
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  • NerineNerine Frets: 1971
    Valve amps with digital reverb built in. (I’ll use my own.) 

    Valve amps with noise gates built in. (Don’t need one regardless of the gain) 

    Amps with no fx loop. (Makes most amps unusable for me) 

    Fancy names given to what is essentially a tone control. (ISF, Shape, Contour) 

    Hardwired speaker cables (as has already been mentioned). 

    Crap/the wrong size speakers. (As above) 

    Preset levels of boost or anything for that matter. (I’ll decide). 

    Overly complicated options. (Concentrate on being good at a couple of things rather than average at everything). 

    Overly complicated signal paths. (As above) 

    Emulated line outs. (Nope) 

    20 “modes”. (I only need two. Overdriven. More overdriven.)

    Parallel fx loops. (Pointless.) 

    Vibrato/Tremolo. (Just crap. One of my least favourite effects. I don’t want my amp to sound like it’s pulsing or wobbling. Sorry, Fender guys)

    Attenuator style master volumes that render the fx loop useless for solo boosts because the output section is already pushed into distortion.
     
    Less than 20 watts. (Literally no use to me whatsoever.) 

    Headshells or cabinets that are full of fresh air. (Make them smaller.) 

    Gimmicks. (Just make it sound good) 

    Having a slightly strange circuit design that acts oddly at certain settings and then claiming it’s a feature and was always meant to be that way to give the user more flexibility or a different voicing. (No it wasn’t) 

    Pointless controls or features that only sound their best at one setting (Boogie, I’m looking at your graphic EQ - and the Mark V in general) 

    EQ that does nothing. (I might want to adjust it)

    No low end. (Give me some)

    Pre and post fx loops. (Just one serial one in the proper place is fine) 

    An fx loop that will not accept volume/level increases. (Useless) 

    Stereo. (Mono)

    Hi and Lo inputs. (No. Just one. I’m not going to change it mid flight) 

    Reverb tanks that stick out of the headshell. (No. Just design it better) 





    Give me: 

    A good core sound. 
    Two channels. (Or two variations on the same channel with shared EQ and separate volume and gain controls.)
    Maybe a couple of switchable options. (Bright/Deep etc) 
    4 or 5 band EQ (TMB and Presence. Depth if you like) 
    A good series FX Loop. 
    No need to bias it when I change valves. 
    Good speaker(s)
    50w or above. 





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  • JMP220478JMP220478 Frets: 421
    Top mounted handles - that have no room to get your hand in / through - whats the f'ng point .
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  • prowlaprowla Frets: 4896
    A scoop switch is great for a bass amp.

    Parametric EQs, though; they just seem to be a way of not quite being able to get the tone profile you're looking for.

    With the possible exception of a spring reverb, any built-in effects on amps seem to be a bit lame.
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  • monquixotemonquixote Frets: 17485
    tFB Trader
    Stay on target dudes.

    Don't forget it's features which you don't think anyone wants on an amp but they still include.

    So reverb doesn't count as some people clearly use it.

    I'm thinking about stuff like "Tone Shift" on the DSL. I've watched every you tube review and all of them have mentioned it sounds like crap and isn't usable (including people who play thrash)
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71950

    Don't forget it's features which you don't think anyone wants on an amp but they still include.

    ... sounds like crap and isn't usable ...
    Chorus on acoustic amps.

    Can't believe I forgot that - or that anyone else hasn't said it!

    Nearly every acoustic amp and preamp ever made has it. As well as the brown colour scheme that looks nice and reminds you of an acoustic guitar - said no-one, ever.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • StevepageStevepage Frets: 3037
    Built in effects. They’re always shit
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71950
    Stevepage said:
    Built in effects. They’re always shit
    Depends what you mean by effects... there are some which need to be in the amp because the exact effect can't really be done with external units. The three main ones are -

    Spring reverb in combos. The reverb tank picks up the speaker vibration so it sounds different from simply adding reverb (even a simulation of a spring reverb in isolation) to the dry sound.

    Bias-modulation tremolo. The way it interacts with power-stage distortion can't be easily duplicated by a separate tremolo unit. Opto-coupled tremolo can be, more or less.

    Stereo chorus - Roland JC120. It's actually achieved by mixing one channel of dry signal with another of vibrato, and although you *can* do that with an external unit it's a lot more of a faff.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • EricTheWearyEricTheWeary Frets: 16253

    The digital reverb on my Laney is next to useless. When I saw Lari Basilio she said she was using it on hers but in the context of a largeish room ( a guitar shop) you couldn't really tell whether hers was on or off.  She was using what would be a £980 combo new now  ( or £860 for my smaller version) with a reverb that sounds like it's from the cheapest of Chinese pedals. Grrr.

     [ I tend to think that the dollop of reverb many players use at home or in rehearsal effectively disappears in many live contexts anyway despite their insistence that it's there ]

    Tipton is a small fishing village in the borough of Sandwell. 
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  • monquixotemonquixote Frets: 17485
    tFB Trader

    The digital reverb on my Laney is next to useless. When I saw Lari Basilio she said she was using it on hers but in the context of a largeish room ( a guitar shop) you couldn't really tell whether hers was on or off.  She was using what would be a £980 combo new now  ( or £860 for my smaller version) with a reverb that sounds like it's from the cheapest of Chinese pedals. Grrr.

     [ I tend to think that the dollop of reverb many players use at home or in rehearsal effectively disappears in many live contexts anyway despite their insistence that it's there ]


    The most recent Laneys have the Secret Path reverb on them so that should sound superb.

    The subtle reverb most people use at home is totally lost at a venue. I used to use it when I gigged with IEMs as it sounds horrible without, but unless it's an epic hall or a big boingy spring it's lost on an audience.
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  • DaiganzenDaiganzen Frets: 93
    Non foot switchable features e.g an inbuilt pull switch boot you cannot footswitch
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  • EricTheWearyEricTheWeary Frets: 16253

    The digital reverb on my Laney is next to useless. When I saw Lari Basilio she said she was using it on hers but in the context of a largeish room ( a guitar shop) you couldn't really tell whether hers was on or off.  She was using what would be a £980 combo new now  ( or £860 for my smaller version) with a reverb that sounds like it's from the cheapest of Chinese pedals. Grrr.

     [ I tend to think that the dollop of reverb many players use at home or in rehearsal effectively disappears in many live contexts anyway despite their insistence that it's there ]


    The most recent Laneys have the Secret Path reverb on them so that should sound superb.

    The subtle reverb most people use at home is totally lost at a venue. I used to use it when I gigged with IEMs as it sounds horrible without, but unless it's an epic hall or a big boingy spring it's lost on an audience.

    ooh, the Secret Path would be a lot lot better although I can't see that it has been added to the Lionheart 20Ts.


    If you have spring reverb and turn it up to surf/ Peter Green levels then it's audible live but that's quite specialist. I can hear the reverb on what Jim Campilongo is doing live but that's in a trio with double bass and quiet drums, when he plays in larger groups it disappears. And modern modulated reverbs are a different thing. But I find it odd at times that people seem to worry about something they can't actually hear.    



     

    Tipton is a small fishing village in the borough of Sandwell. 
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  • clarkefanclarkefan Frets: 808
    Cols said:
    Parallel FX loops.  Why?
    They can sound better in certain situations.

    I want to use a Talisman reverb with a high gain sound.  My three choices are, pedal in front of the amp, or in a series fx loop, or in a parallel fx loop.

    The best sound I get is with the Talisman on it's own in the parallel fx loop and set 100% wet.

    I take onboard what ICBM said about comb-filtering and tone suck, but maybe the Talisman is one of the pedals he talked about that does actually remove all the dry when set 100% wet, that's what it sounds like anyway.
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