Ancient Astronaught wrote:AngryGoldfish wrote:
Which Emperor cabinets are you thinking of letting go of?
I preferred the first one myself, but the cleans on the second were a little more... I dunno... bouncy. The first one had a burly midrange that I really liked with distortion, while the second one, the Emperor, was a little more mushy and sizzly. I'm not sure if that's an accurate description, so I hope you know what I mean.
The 4x12 and 2x15. I'm gonna rock the half stack for a while until I can find a black Matamp 2x15 or a black orange 4x12 I can convert into one.
I agree whole heatedly with you assessment. The Matamp is thicker and fuller while being scooped in the right place. I broke out the seven string last night and it sounded even better. The Emperor would cut through a dense mix better but requires the 2x15 to get the lows the Matamp does on its own, plus the Matamp is noticeably louder.
Yeah, man, I noticed little difference between my Matamp 2x12 and my old Framus 4x12 with the same speakers. The Matamp sounds fatter and thicker, but it's not any quieter or less present than the Framus 4x12 was.
HeavyXIII wrote:AngryGoldfish wrote:I heard Groove Tubes and JJ's work nicely in the preamp. To be honest, though, tubes are so variable that you may actually find you prefer the stock tubes. Of course, there's no harm in trying new ones, but those that say there is huge difference between stock and JJ's are either hearing things the rest of us cannot or they're over-exaggerating what they are hearing. Although I modified my Jet City to death, I never changed the tubes. I never needed to. They were fine.

I would shy away from Groove Tubes personally. As I understand it, they're essentially rebranded tubes made in the same factories and to the same specs as the other name brands, but they cost more. It was supposedly to offset the cost of "testing" and getting the best tubes. You can order tested tubes of the name brands for less anyway. I just thought it was a waste.
If you do anything with the preamp, make sure you get several different types of tubes, that way you have maximum variability. Every tube has a slightly different character and will respond differently to every position. That said, I've both read and enjoyed the effects of using 12at7's in the last preamp stage (that phase inverter). I'm pretty sure made my amp a hair louder with better dynamics and touch sensitivity.
They're the same as Ruby tubes, yeah. I think the price hike is a little bit silly, but if you've had bad experiences with guys like JJ, which many have, it might be worth the extra dough to buy a set that's been thoroughly tested. Of course, who knows whether that's just marketing bullshit and they're exactly the same as Chinese tubes or JJs and not given any more time or attention in the matching and testing process.
deathmonkey wrote:Matt is a good dude. He turned me on to my latest NGD. I just brought this guy home Friday.
I got to crank my setup with this thing Yesterday at practice. I absolutely love this guitar. Such a mean bite.
Awesome.
Harry_Manback wrote:D-Day wrote: I'm trying to crank up the entries now that we've begun the final week. Any suggestions?
Just donated. Sorry I missed this earlier. Great cause Darren and I'd love to have an Ape Blaster.
Those Sonex are sweet!
Dudes, need input - good standard sized delay with trails? Prefer analog if possible, or darker voiced and oscillation. Love my Carbon Copy but miss the trails. Kinda holding out for the Minifooger but might pull the trigger on something smaller to stay with my PT Mini.
Malekko Ekko 616 Dark. Dark sounding, trails or true-bypass functionality, cool oscillation, fully analog, good value.