Getting "lush" tone from stale solid-state amp

[seabrood]

I have one of those transtube (solid state) Peavey Supreme heads and the tone is often just too sterile and flat sounding. I'm using a classic player Jazzmaster into a few pedals (VPJR > TU2 > Small Clone > OCD > Hall of Fame > Rat > Carbon Copy > Cathedral) and i'd just like to make the amp sound not so stale. I'd love to pick up an Ampeg V4 or Jazz Chorus but I don't really have that kinda money. Any suggestions? If you have any experience, I'd love to hear what ya think!

-Brandon

[voerking]

for me, i like something that adds a little bit of grit & rounds those sharp edges. my home amp is a Fender Frontman 100H set too the the (also sterile & flat sounding) clean channel. i run it with a MidFi Overdrive on all the time with the gain knob all the way down. it adds a bit of hair when i dig in, and sags a little bit like a small tube amp would.
maybe you could experiment with the OCD set to a very low gain setting & see if you could achieve something similar.

[D.o.S.]

I feel like retooling at least one of your reverbs into an always on devices would alleviate the sterility?

[ThurberMingus]

I have a Joyo AC Tone that greatly improves the front end of any boring ss amp for like $30. Can't recommend it enough.

[KaosCill8r]

Maybe some sort of tube preamp might do it for you. Heard good things about the EHX English Muff'n. I'd like to try one of those myself.

[digi2t]

Maybe some sort of tube preamp might do it for you. Heard good things about the EHX English Muff'n. I'd like to try one of those myself.

Yes... Faustone Valve Klipper does it for me. I run all SS amps, primarily my Ampeg G-212. My VK adds that missing roundness at the front end that would be missing otherwise.

Faustone was out of action for a while, but I think he's back up and running again. I built mine from the schematic, worked out fine. My first high voltage tube project, not for the faint of heart, but I'm really happy with it.





I run it first in line, and everything else after. This into a BMP is awesome, especially when you hit the boost, it makes a Civil War just sing.

At the back end, I used to finish into an SDD3300 for a bit of chorus, but that's been replaced with a Timefactor. Either way, chorus is on everything, whether big or small, it's always on. I find it's the final touch for "lushness".

[K2000]

What about a chorus, always-on, but not very deep and soooper slow. If it sounds like an obvious chorus, then you need to dial it back a bit. I've heard it's a 'good tone' trick to add subtle depth and lushness. I'm more of a sound mangler myself, but maybe look into it.

(might be barking up the wrong tree, sorry)

[Gone Fission]

What speakers you using with the Peavey? Have you spent time figuring out the amp's optimal-sounding gain staging without pedals? Some amps just don't have it without outside help, but sometime you just need to figure out how to find the amp's sweet spot or spots.

[casecandy]

maybe you could experiment with the OCD set to a very low gain setting & see if you could achieve something similar.

I'm playing a Vox Pathfinder right now and getting great sounds using the OCD. It's so ubiquitous nowadays that I think it's really easy to forget how great an OD it is.

[casecandy]

What about a chorus, always-on, but not very deep and soooper slow.

Never done this but the Small Clone chorus is like $75 and it was good enough for Kurt Cobain. Can't really go to wrong. I have it on my board... it is not very versatile, though, just a warning

[GardenoftheDead]

http://www.guitargeek.com/miki-berenyi- ... etup-1994/

xP

[seabrood]

http://www.guitargeek.com/miki-berenyi-lush-guitar-rig-and-gear-setup-1994/

xP

In the back of my mind I was really hoping someone would make that joke lol

But thank you all for your suggestions! I'm trying to dial in a nice subtle reverb, and I liked the idea of a super subtle chorus but my small clone isn't quite good at subtlety. I recently ordered one of those old Peavey Companded Chorus pedals and I'm looking forward to seeing how that compares. Anyone have a suggestion for a good tube pre-amp? I'm looking for tones like Slowdive, Ride, the Smiths, and newer bands like Whirr and Brand New. Thanks for all the help!

[braaandooon]

I've played quite a few tube preamp pedals over the years. I've owned the mesa v twin, soldano gto, bad cat 2 tone, and the correct sound mt.

Of all of them my favorite was the bad cat 2 tone. Lots of great sounds and probably the cheapest of the bunch I mentioned. Most of those are out of production, and pretty pricey but I see the 2 tone's go for about 2 bills.

Those verellen pre's look stout too, but at those prices you could afford the v4 you mentioned in your original post.

[ThurberMingus]

I said it once, I'll say it again. Joyo AC Tone. Cops AC30 tones, stacks well, good for recording, it's cheap. Get that and start saving some of that cash for an amp!

[D.o.S.]

That Peavey circuit, while super awesome, is not very subtle. It's an 80's chorus, dude.

I would also suggest trying to run the OCD last in your chain and dialing it in like a bit of a preamp, rather than a dirt source.