Solid state amp performance modulation

[Leo_Gnardo]

I probably don't have the best guitar tone, but I realise Stan is right. When I play a gig in some fleapit pub, the punters are most likely not picking my tone apart, they just want to hear a catchy song with a beat they can dance to, or at least sway around and spill beer.

True THAT Steve!

Something to take into account for gear-oriented guitarists: the crowd doesn't care what your axe, rig & ancillaries are. Just that the band is groovin' in whatever way they should.

OTOH there's the "If you think you sound good, you'll play good" notion and that can mean psyching oneself up with whatever gear Eric Ray Hendrix used & like that. Musicians from beginner to 50-year-on-the-road seasoned pros fall prey to the notion they can't play unless they have thus-and-such. It IS hard to let go of the notion that "I can't sound good without my Belchfire 500 amp stack and Big Buzzer pedal." Yet some top players don't worry and sound like themselves no matter what, as evidenced by the Jeff Beck anecdote elsewhere on this thread. (#11, Mick Bailey)

For the OP I see a graphic EQ in the FX loop, and of course a gate. How this gets done on a near zero budget I dunno. Of course Enzo's "try different speakers" is the first order of business, wise advice and one I tell people all the time. Half the time they wind up getting Vintage 30's, the other half, anything & everything ranging from JBL D K or E 120s all the way to Tone Tubby San Rafael 25W super mellow tone.

Inside Mr. Velten's amp I'll bet you find a PC board peppered with surface-mount components and near impossible to work on unless you're a mouse with a mouse sized soldering iron. An invitation to avoid repairs (can you say disposable?) much less mods.

edit: to credit Mick Bailey.

[Jazz P Bass]

Oh, and how many live local bands play so friggin loud, with the vocals screeching your ears off and you can hear the drummer down the street?
What "Tone"?
(Dynamics, pah. I don't need no stinkin' dynamics.)

[eschertron]

For the OP I see a graphic EQ in the FX loop, and of course a gate. How this gets done on a near zero budget I dunno. Of course Enzo's "try different speakers" is the first order of business, wise advice and one I tell people all the time. Half the time they wind up getting Vintage 30's, the other half, anything & everything ranging from JBL D K or E 120s all the way to Tone Tubby San Rafael 25W super mellow tone.

Inside Mr. Velten's amp I'll bet you find a PC board peppered with surface-mount components and near impossible to work on unless you're a mouse with a mouse sized soldering iron. An invitation to avoid repairs (can you say disposable?) much less mods.

Just a thought... the first amp manufacturer to re-label their FX loop something like "Voicing Port" will have all the guitarists thirsty for modding their sound pounding at the manufacturer's doors.

[52 Bill]

Not only do we not know what style and sound the OP plays and is looking for, but we also don't know details of his amp. Is there something actually wrong with it causing the bad tone?

I've never seen one of these, so I can't comment on the quality of the build or the sound. And I really don't trust a lot of web hype that can be generated by marketing machines.

So the question to the OP is have you heard another one of these amps and did it sound the same as yours?

[Jazz P Bass]

First & formost: the amp in question is a Head unit.
As Enzo stated.
Try a different cabinet.
That clean channel cannot be that bad.
Besides all of that, you know it is going to be surface mount city.
Simply forget about moding this amp unless you know how to work on tiny, tiny components.

[Alexander Velten]

Meshuggah style ofcoarse! With of airy 9th chords and jazzy chord progressions.Im looking for a similar that of the acacia strain on the album "death is the only mortal".

Here are the specs
http://www.ravenamps.com/downloads/r...412_manual.pdf

And heres what it sounds like:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7RV...e_gdata_player

When I bought it four years ago It sounded great to me, but my style and preferances have changed since then.It sounded the same sure, I just want a better spound now.Ill probably end up getting some job.If not ill sell my body ON THE STREETS for the gear I need.

[J M Fahey]

Well, the sound of that video SUCKS but the ***THE RECORDING SUCKS** , there's *no way* that's the sound you hear 3 ft in front of the speaker.
No way.

As of "modding it to sound like Meshuggah" , it's easy, it only takes :

In the studio we both use Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier heads. Our live gear set-ups are completely different, though. I run my Ibanez into a Nady 605 wireless and then into a homemade A/B splitter box. The A channel is for my rhythm crunch sound and the B channel is for my clean sound. For my rhythm sound I go through a t.c. electronic preamp into a Marshall Valvestate Bi-Chorus 200-watt head [8200]. I then go out from the Marshall’s mono effects loop [Note: the 8200 head, which is no longer made, boasted two effects loops—Series (mono) & Parallel (stereo)—GW Ed.] into a Behringer Intelligate and then a Rocktron G612 line mixer before going back into the Marshall’s effects return. My clean sound goes from the splitter box into a t.c. electronic Compressor/Sustainer, a t.c. electronic Stereo Chorus and an Art DXR Elite multi-processor before going to the Rocktron line mixer. I then take the stereo outputs from the Rocktron mixer into the parallel, stereo effects return of the Marshall head and then out into two Marshall 1960 4x12 cabinets.

That's for *one* guitar.
For the second:

If you think Marten’s live rig is complicated, wait until you see mine! [laughs] Rather than try and talk you through it, here’s a diagram that will be much easier to understand

Not forgetting that they use custom guitars that:

Those guitars must cost a king’s ransom in Sweden.
THORDENDAL: Yeah, you could buy a small car for the same amount of money.

But of course, maybe you can mod some little thingie in the Raven and get the same sound

EDIT: funniest thing in all this business is that they use SS amps, .... and much maligned Valvestate at that

[Alexander Velten]

Oh no I play meshuggah style stuff but I want to mod it to sound similar to the acacia strain or periphery.That video was the best example I could find on youtube because nobody has a proessional demonstration as youd see for an orange or a zilla apparantly.

Theres nothing much differant from their custom guitars then factory ibanez 8 string aside from the fact that ibanez built them specifically for them.

I appreciate the information you found for me, but I just want to emulate a sound, I dont want to BE a pre existant band or guitarist.

[J M Fahey]

Oh no I play meshuggah style stuff but I want to mod it to sound similar to the acacia strain or periphery

Well, thanks for clearing that in the post #23.
Take your time, don't hurry.

I appreciate the information you found for me, but I just want to emulate a sound, I dont want to BE a pre existant band or guitarist.

Oh, don't worry, you won't BE.

We have been talking sound emulation here all the time, nothing else.

[Leo_Gnardo]

If not ill sell my body ON THE STREETS for the gear I need.

If you're at Guitar Center on Sunset, get in line, there's lots of competition. They even cruise the vintage room. No joke. Hang out at the Sunset Grill next door too. YEcccchhh......

[defaced]

Note he's not tuned to E which DOES make a difference:
Periphery Guitar Tone 'How To' - YouTube

[Leo_Gnardo]

Note he's not tuned to E which DOES make a difference

Golly! You're absolutely right. Hadn't thought of that. In fact, why tune at all.... such a drag. Dare to be different.

[defaced]

I was posting that for the OP, not for your snide remarks. Thanks anyway.

[J M Fahey]

Guys !!! Guys !!! .... PLEEZ cool off!!

This is not a "serious" thread by any means, and completely derailed when it got into selling oneself's body on the streets or at various Music Shops, so getting pissed off at *anything* said here is a little over the top.

Just sayin'

[Leo_Gnardo]

This is not a "serious" thread by any means

Just sayin'

Was starting to get the notion our OP is "having us on."

It was getting preposterous. Someone had to poke a pin at that balloon.

Gave it 2 days after defaced's comment to see what develops. "crickets" - nothin'. I'm not upset with ya defaced, nor anyone. All the 'regulars' here are good folks & valuable contributors. Every now and then someone shows up and, re read first line.

Our time IS valuable. When I detect someone's out to waste it I may call 'em on it in some way or another. Remember what I used to do for a living. Had enough of that. Have a good weekend everybody! Peace, out.