Hi All,
Forgive for I am a relative noob to all this.
My dilemma is that I have a 6505+ 112 combo which I run pedals through and I have never been 100% happy with the sound I get.
I play in a covers band and somehow feel its not quite the right amp sometimes. The sound I get with pedals running through it always sounds too shrill and fizzy. Even without pedals, the cleans are just too fizzy at the top end and doesn't stay very clean even with the gain set to 0.5. This is with Epi Les Paul. The only way I can get it half decent clean is either rolling back the volume on the guitar and adjusting the tone so the top end is less.
With its current setup, arpeggiated notes sound passable on clean but a little thin sounding. Once you start strumming, it breaks up and starts sounding mushy.
I get most of my dirt from pedals (Bad Monkey, Fuzz Factory, AX3000G multiFX) and I get the best sound from the Bad Monkey as that seems to tame alot of fizz. The Fuzz factory sounds really thin and fizzy top end.
So is it a case of wrong amp? Or can can I do something basic like swapping out some pre-amp tubes?
Comments
My suspicions are that I'm trying to use the amp in a manner its not suited for. I'm not after a super clean sound, just something that is passable on the few songs that require it. The problem I have is that I'm trying to get a ton of different sounds out of one amp!
So I guess the pre-amp is to blame on this amp. Is this unsual in this amp?
Forgive the beginners question, but this is my first ever tube amp as I've always been a bedroom guitarist before!
I could go down the route of an ultra clean amp and use pedals for dirt, or I can get a more suitable rock amp and use the dirt channel there, and the clean channel + fuzz when needed. I do generally prefer the sound of a nice crunchy amp, but I need versatility of covering many bases.
Would something like a Jet City JCA100H be a more versatile choice? Maybe a Marshall MA100?
Says he uses clean channel with the boost on and the bright switch engaged. It's sort of a 3 channel amp - clean, then crunch via that little button (still clean channel) then lead channel.
Run your multi into the effects loop, but have the drive pedal before the preamp into the front end. That way, you get your amp sims. They don't play well with preamps because they ARE a preamp in themselves. Sort of.
But I don't know why you'd struggle for a rock tone. What sort of bands do you want to sound like? The other thing you could do is use the multi for preamp direct into the effects loop, run pedals in front of that, and not plug into the front of the amp at all. That way, you have a 60 watt power amp with your digital preamps in front. Not sure how well the unit will take a drive pedal, though.
The sorts of bands we are covering are varying from Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Fleetwood Mac, Muse, QOTSA, Blondie and some Undertones/Buzzcocks. So you can see I really need a basic rock crunch, then a heavier sound for Foo Fighters/Nirvana then a fuzz tone for Muse/QOTSA.
I'm hoping its user error (i.e I'm not able to dial it in) as opposed to amp failure. Will have more of a tinker with it dialling down the gain and bass when I get a chance to play with it a gig volumes. At the moment I'm relying on rehearsal room amps which I'm generally more satisfied with the sounds I can get. Will have to break my back and take the amp to rehearsals next time!
Never thought about Orange before apart from the ones I've tried in rehearsal rooms. They've always sounded nice, but always seem out of my price range. Hence why the Jet City came up on my radar. I've spotted Thomann doing the JCA100HDM head and 2x12 cab for around £480. That is selling my amp and adding a hundred or so.
Hmmm, will have to have a long hard think.
Good luck, and let us know how you get on. I love the 6505 series, and the Chinese one you have was a great way of getting a 5150 circuit in an affordable package. As far as I know, until the 5153, they were all identical to all intents and purposes.
The biggest complaint about the combo is the speaker being muddy (rectified with a v30). So fizz and such is likely coming from the amp sims. I'd forget about the multi, just make the amp sound good then work out what else you need.
The Fuzz factory can be a mare to dial in, too. Worth writing settings down. Also, a boss ds1 might be a decent choice for those tones.
This is all learning experience for me. Having an amp and getting your pedals all setup for it, then having to have it all different for rehearsals as the amp will be different, and then another setup again for silent practise through headphones at home. How do you more seasoned pro's handle this situation? Always take the amp you play at gigs to rehearsals?