westhemann Posted December 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 tell me something,amp guys...i know jack about amps...i only know what sounds good to me...but i like nice,creamy,warm gain...and lots and lots of it.ijust like it to be richin texture so that every note pops out intstead of staying hidden behind harsh walls of gain.a very Fear Factory type of tone... the engl powerball will get me that?i do have an effective eq,but it helps if the amp is voiced at least somewhere close to that range already...because if i try to gain the sound entirely through eq,it gets really overprocessed sounding. so it is very easy for me to trade in my jsx for a pair of mesa cabs,and buy a powerball with my christmas bonus...do you guys think that is a good move?will the engl work well with the mesa cabs? see..all i have to carry speaker cabs around in is the back of a pickup,so they are unprotected back there and it isn't feasible to drive back and forth all over austin to test out different cabs and heads... .musicmakers is the only place that may have engl amps in stock to play through....and guitar center is where i would have to trade in the jsx for the mesa cabs.they are miles apart through major redlight infested traffic filled roads...makes it exceedingly difficult oh...forgot to mention.i am not happy with the clean on the jsx...i need a sparkly clean...very bright Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhoads56 Posted December 24, 2006 Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 How about you just stay with what you have for now, instead of buying a third amp in the last week and a bit, because someone (or multiple people) said on the net you should buy something else. When you are used to this amp, and have spent considerable time with it, and know it inside out, then take it and compare it with another, in the store. Until then, all your doing to wasting money all over the place. The money your losing could very well be going towards something else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 i am not actually spending much swapping amps...just the originalmoney spent.but that is why i want firm opinions as to what i should try out. i have spent alot of time today tweaking this jsx..and i thnk it aint gonna do it for me quite after all.amp selection is much tougher for me than guitar selection is,since i don't know much about it. haven't actually lost money yet.christmas bonus is very large and it clears the bank tuesday...until then i just decide where to put it.i already know where some of it is going,perry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted December 24, 2006 Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 tell me something,amp guys...i know jack about amps...i only know what sounds good to me...but i like nice,creamy,warm gain...and lots and lots of it.ijust like it to be richin texture so that every note pops out intstead of staying hidden behind harsh walls of gain.a very Fear Factory type of tone... Get a Bradshaw "preamp gain" modded JCM 800 and a set of Mesa cabs loaded with V30's. That's what Dino used back in the day. Bobby might do the mods for less than $10k, if you're lucky. Or you could just stick one of his pedals in front of the amp and get 99% of the same effect. I gotta say, my dream amp is a plain ol' JCM 800. I love the way the notes bloom out of those things. The Rectos have a great sound for what they are--a modern metal amp with a sea of gain, but they just don't have the poooosh of the Marshalls. It's like, you can either have a PRS Custom 24 going through a Road King or a Les Paul going through a JCM 800. I'll take the latter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 now see...i don't think the rectos have nearly enough gain.or maybe it iis just the wrong type of gain.and a jcm800 has great tone(*imo) but what i consider almost no gain. if iremember right...everyone back in the day used to slave those jcm 800s together just to get the gain needed for thrash...that's the one thing the mode 4 is good for...you can back off the gain on the clean channel until it sparkles,then pop a pedal in front of it,and you have a one stomp optiojn for clean into drive. this pedal you speak of crafty...where might i find one of those?might be the replacement for my metal zone pedal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AlexVDL Posted December 24, 2006 Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted December 24, 2006 Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 now see...i don't think the rectos have nearly enough gain.or maybe it iis just the wrong type of gain.and a jcm800 has great tone(*imo) but what i consider almost no gain. if iremember right...everyone back in the day used to slave those jcm 800s together just to get the gain needed for thrash...that's the one thing the mode 4 is good for...you can back off the gain on the clean channel until it sparkles,then pop a pedal in front of it,and you have a one stomp optiojn for clean into drive. this pedal you speak of crafty...where might i find one of those?might be the replacement for my metal zone pedal http://www.customaudioelectronics.com/ Bob Bradshaw's designed and built stuff for EVERYONE. Pete Cornish is also a good option, but a lot more expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 ahhh...i knew you were good for something. thanks for the link,babe:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AlexVDL Posted December 25, 2006 Report Share Posted December 25, 2006 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 26, 2006 well...not being entirely happy with the amp,i just took it back and hooked an eq up to the mode 4 for now,scooped it a bit more heavily. over this next year i will be checking out different amps and will probably just buy a whole new rig around next christmas...probably a vht or engl or something like that...we will see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted December 26, 2006 Report Share Posted December 26, 2006 which one?? Yeah bradshaw is expensive as hell, a couple or grands... a couple of couples The pedals he designed for Dunlop seem reasonable. If you think Bradshaw CAE is expensive, check out some of Pete Cornish's work. Those prices will blow your mind! Besides, Wes doesn't let little things like money get in the way of his quest for ultimate tone superiority. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GodBlessTexas Posted December 26, 2006 Report Share Posted December 26, 2006 (edited) Wes, if you get the chance, I'd definitely spend some time with a 5150 or 6505 (post-EVH endorsement model #) on your search over the next year. The clean channel of the 6505/6505+ is better than the 5150 models that haven't had the bias mod performed, but it's really a one trick pony that's all about brutal distortion. In a perfect world, I could get a 3 channel amp with a JC-120 style clean channel, a fender style clean-to-breakup channel, and a 5150 style distortion channel. Now that they have a 6505 model for the POD XT, I have models of all of them, and while they are similar, they aren't exactly the same. Edited December 26, 2006 by GodBlessTexas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egdeltar Posted January 14, 2007 Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 My Voodoo modded 5150 can not be touched through these Vader 4x12's. UNMATCHED brutality. Tone so thick, make you want to slap yo' mama! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted January 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 well i have been trying out a powerball for over a week now,and it is much better than any of those peavey amps.the clean is pristine,and the gain channels are brutal... but i am well aware that brutality is in the eye of the brutalizer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted January 14, 2007 Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 Wes, if you can track down a Zoom TM-01 Tri-Metal pedal, they're MUCH better than the Metal Zone just make sure you look past the ZOOM name. The pedal series was short-lived and really didn't seem like Zoom pedals (cast metal case with a fat bottom plate and big rubber sole, big solid switch, widely variable usable quality sound, etc.) plus they're a lot cheaper than amp heads! I really can't stress enough how much of an investment one of these things are. I used to drive the front end of my JCM800s with that baby and it blows all kinds of hell up the pre-amp stage if that's what you want! It made a 2203 single channel head into a usable clean to drive monster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert_the_damned Posted January 14, 2007 Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 Another option for replacing your metalzone would be a Line 6 ubermetal. I've got one and its got stupid amounts of gain (more than the metal zone by far) and the tone controls are very responsive (I'd recomend using a pre-eq to boost your very lows, mids and very highs and scoop out your mid-bass and mid-highs so you retain a bit of clarity). I can do you some recordings of the sound I'm getting out of it if you'd like. Now if only I could get on and read those tube amp books I've got then I could just design you a JCM800 with more gain (or lower distortion ceilings) which is what you really want eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted January 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 naw..i am set up now. i had a zoom driver a longime ago(before the tri metal came out)...it was a really great distortion..i still have it,but it no longer works. i don't like any of the line 6 distortions....they sound very unnatural to me...the metal zone if you set it right is much better...but i no longer need tht either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egdeltar Posted January 15, 2007 Report Share Posted January 15, 2007 well i have been trying out a powerball for over a week now,and it is much better than any of those peavey amps.the clean is pristine,and the gain channels are brutal... but i am well aware that brutality is in the eye of the brutalizer For sure... the Powerballs are amazing amps no question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
levelhead86 Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 (edited) On cheap, the "Crate Stealth" is a great amp *albeit "vintage"* ... as it's an all tube, Lee Jackson designed amp. So, it's got a very similar sound to those Ampeg VL, and Metaltronix series amps *hot rodded Marshall.... skull smashing gain*. I invested in it after hearing Alexi Laiho's live sound *who used a Metaltronix head, and now uses a Lee Jackson preamp, into a VHT Fifty/Two/Fifty* and I'm very satisfied. The one downfall is this one has no "standby"; which kinda pisses me off but it's worth getting modded. Here some clip of a guy on YouTube using it with the stock distortion: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKvuAoH6ob0 . Effects wise, I purchased a Boss GX-700 lately which is another gem. It has REAL analog distortion sound *it's analog wired*, and "Metal Zone" that is totally true to the actual pedal *I used to have one*. The rest of the effects in it hold up really well and can be programmed 1,000,000 different ways for different sounds and different players. I used to be a Boss pedal freak, but this setup has all the sounds I can use of so far and is easy to use (along with my UnO modded FCB1010) making it a very simple, roadworthy rig. I've tried and owned a lotta equipment, good & bad, and my rig I described is where I ended up. Just figured I'd enter that into the discussion. Edited January 19, 2007 by levelhead86 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 I'm surprised at how many people like (though it's also been clear that they don't "LOOooove") the Metal Zone. It's known as being a surefire recipe to destroy tone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
levelhead86 Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 (edited) Oh, also the Digitech GSP2101 artist *David Shankle used* and 2120 artist are some pretty goddamn ballsy and diverse units if you'relooking for a tubed preamp and multi-effect unit *though I've been too cheap to buy one in the last couple years since I discovered them* . Edited January 19, 2007 by levelhead86 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted January 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 the metal zone does not destroy tone...you just have to set it right....it has very tight,focused distortion and chording works well with it...you can hear every nuance of a full 6 string chord,and can clearly hear when you change a finger position on any string in that chord. people that think it destroys tone may just not understand what a good live metal tone is....but it does not come across well during recording,that's for sure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
levelhead86 Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 the metal zone does not destroy tone...you just have to set it right....it has very tight,focused distortion and chording works well with it...you can hear every nuance of a full 6 string chord,and can clearly hear when you change a finger position on any string in that chord. people that think it destroys tone may just not understand what a good live metal tone is....but it does not come across well during recording,that's for sure I agree with all of this, 100%. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 +1 also. The amusing thing is that too many people jump straight at the distortion and level knobs before even flattening the EQ when dialling anything in, plus a lot of people have no idea how to change a distorted tone to complement and work with the rest of a band....yes, the Metal Zone is difficult to use correctly, because it has the beauty of having a WIDE range of EQ and character settings. Not a one-trick-pony like a lot of pedals. <sarcasm> I guess the last paragraph makes me a hypocrit. I also have a very similar habit of pressing the car accelerator to the floor and turning the wheel randomly before considering even putting the key, starting the engine or even choosing a nice CD to play first of all. </sarcasm> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GodBlessTexas Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 (edited) I'm surprised at how many people like (though it's also been clear that they don't "LOOooove") the Metal Zone. It's known as being a surefire recipe to destroy tone. I sold mine last night. But, I don't think it kills tone. You have to really spend some time with it to get a sound that works for you because it's so tweekable. I'm going to take the money and buy more packs for my Pod XT pro. Edited January 19, 2007 by GodBlessTexas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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