Gearhead Central

[Mike Lamb]

I'll freely admit it. I'm a total gearhead.

I'm not under any illusions that gear will help me suck less, but hey, at least I'll suck with the sound I want to suck with!!
This thread is for people to yak about gear.

I was moved to post this after talking on IRC with Spud about my overall guitar sound, and what I was doing to improve it. Latest acquisition is a Laney LT212. I have been trying to nail down a sound for years (decades, really), and somehow I finally realized I was chasing this "British" tone that I just wasn't getting out of my Carvin MTS3200, which has a 4x12 cabinet with "Iminence" speakers.

Some research led me to the general opinion that the "Iminence" speakers were shit, so I started looking around for a more British solution, and landed on the Laney/Celestion line. Granted, these things are impossible to find in the states, but I know enough people overseas, and I know enough excellent guitarists using these to know that I needed to try them.

I put in an order for both the Laney LT212 (2x12 Celestion cabinet) and the L20H (20W tube head). I got the celestion cab today. gonna be 3+ weeks for the head, all hand made in London and shit.

I cannot adequately describe the difference, but I'll try. I put my Carvin MTS3200 head (100W head) in 50W mode and hooked it up to the 2x12 (max RMS limit 60W), and it's like a whole new world. I had to completely re-adjust my EQ settings, but the LT212 is so much warmer and fuller than the Carvin stack. Suddenly, when I play a few blues riffs, I don't feel like an impostor! What used to be harsh and middy is now bright and smooth. I had no idea that switching cabinets would have such a remarkable effect.

Afterwards, I hooked up my old ADA MP-1 preamp and my Boss CE-300 chorus (NO CHORUS ON GUITAR BRO!). The sound coming out of this combo is legendary. Alas, my skills as a producer can't even do it justice. I cannot wait to see what it sounds like once I get the Laney L20H head, and finish my mods to the ADA MP-1.

[Billy's Little Trip]

Sounds awesome, Mike. Can't wait to hear what you think.

I do love gear and I've experienced first hand that feeling you're talking about. My first pair of big speaker cabs were Sun 6 X 10". The ones with the speakers mounted on a V face plate in a ported cab. I bought them for $50 bux. There were a couple blown speakers that were disconnected in each cab. They sounded really good. I eventually replaced the blown disconnected speakers with the original ones. My sound I developed changed. I couldn't get it back no matter what. Finally I disconnected a speaker in each cab and bam, I was back the way I wanted. It gave me a bottom tone I loved when I'm getting chunky. 10" speakers are tight and the ported cab and disconnected speaker gave me great low punch.

I later got Marshall 4X12 cabs, which sounded great and I really wanted them no matter what. My sound completely changed again. Many cabs have come and gone since.

I miss those Sun 6 X 10 cabs the most.

[Mike Lamb]

It's interesting, really. When I got that Carvin, I thought it was the end-all-be-all of amps. It took a lot of work, soul searching, whatever, to realize that a lot of the sound I was chasing could be gear related. I always felt bound by the old adage - If Clapton came over and played your guitar on your amp, he'd sound great. That's probably true, but he probably wouldn't sound like Clapton. He'd sound like a really good guitarist playing your rig.

My GAS has led me to buy all kinds of crazy things in an effort to be a multi-instrumentalist for the purposes of songfighting, but I have really felt like I need to get back to my roots lately and build a solid guitar tone.

I bought some low noise/high gain tubes for my MP1 preamp. Will be interested to see how that affects things. Also looking at switching out my strat pickups for something more interesting.

[Mike Lamb]

I picked up some ECC83S tubes. I'm working on an A/B, but I'm pretty happy with them. This doesn't seem to be the right board for it, so I'll probably move over to gearslutz or similar.

Fare thee well.

[Caravan Ray]

This doesn't seem to be the right board for it, so I'll probably move over to gearslutz or similar.

I bought a guitar 10 years ago which I broke recently. Luckily it was repaired, so I don't have to buy a new one. Whew. I hate shopping.

Don't know about others here - but I think I am fairly safe from G.A.S.

[hillbilly]

just bought new computer speakers with a sub, happy camper. Had to reply (gearhead) is the name of this system. Cheap but rocks a laptop.

[Billy's Little Trip]

Ok Lamb. We're trying. F**k guitar sluts.


...We. Are. SONG FIGHT! *kicks a non song fighter into a really well built large well*

[roymond]

I sold my Roland Jazz Chorus last year. I hadn't used it in well over 15 years, and it was rotting in the basement. I so totally regret selling it, but at least someone got an awesome deal on a great amp and I fantasize that he's gigging three times a week with it. That's my kind of amp. We have two close friends (well, families of our kids' friends whom we've gotten to know well) who have recently moved to rather large single family homes in central Brooklyn. My wife doesn't like the idea of a big house, but she does tease me with the "you could have a studio..." and the idea of having a real amp in a real studio again is insane! I wish amps came with studios.

[Paco Del Stinko]

Yes, Jazz Chorus amps are crispy clean, and you can put whatever you want on top of them for sound. A friend of mine had one for many years and I enjoyed it as well. I have a 1980's Bullfrog 4x12 cab with Pyle Driver speakers in it sitting at a friend's house, as well as my Top Hat 2x12. Here at the apartment building that I live in, I use two small tube amps (a 70's Champ and 90's Portly Cadet) for room sound, and I have three big watt amps/head that I use through an isolation cabinet. This allows me to crank the volume without getting arrested. So far, anyway. Ya gotta love amps, as cool and flexible as emulators and whatnots are.

[Sober]

All my gear money goes to lenses these days. Easier to make a living that way.

[Billy's Little Trip]

All my gear money goes to lenses these days. Easier to make a living that way.

You're making the other kind of C notes.


.....as it were.

[hillbilly]

i'm just guessing, but if i changed my mexican strat pickups, (which seem to work better than i can play, no hum)&good neck, would do a single pole humbucker rear bridge, red Lace center and leave what i got neck. Course this old 61 Harmony(48w- peak) tuber makes a cheap guitar sound good. I prefer p-90's on a tele.G&L. Have never had the chance to play a lefty with real Humbuckers. Had a 1969 lefty 12 string guild acoustic , whish i had it back.