The All Tube Path, Non Channel Switching Thread?

[Trapland]

Lol. The best all tube one channel amps are all post processed! How else do you expect them to compete?

 

[Codyjohns]

Wait, no post processing?

Nope, no post processing in this clip.
All amp head my friend.

 

[Codyjohns]

In this clip I'm mic'd in front of my Marshall Greenback 4x12 cab using a Shure SM57 with X2u USB Adapter plugged straight into my PC. From there the digital signal gets recorded with Adobe Audition cc.
After I take the raw recorded track and add a touch of post reverb and that's it, done.

I record the video separately and mix the video track with the finished audio track with a program call "NCH software" Video Pad Editor.

I synchronize the two files together and bingo, finished.

 

[mickeydg5]

Sorry man, I love your stuff but any post reverb or delay is post processing. I hear it. No one can get that with straight amplifier, no matter how it is modified.

 

[Codyjohns]

Sorry man, I love your stuff but any post reverb or delay is post processing. I hear it. No one can get that with straight amplifier, no matter how it is modified.

You're hearing some of the backing track lead tapping harmonized parts and stuff.
Anyways you're right my shitty clips don't do this amp justice, you need to hear this monster in person.
It will blow your mind.

 

[mickeydg5]

Man that would be awesome. Wish I could.

 

[John BNY]

At least for what I do, I think single channel amps don't really work. I love the tone of such amps, and the crunch/distortions you get by cranking the volume, but when I'm playing live, clubs just don't let you play at the required volumes to get the distorted sound. Even with my 5 watt Class 5 you have to get pretty damn loud to get distortion.

The point is, if all you are talking about is playing on your own and enjoying the different tones you can get from a single channel amp, I'm with you. But if you are a gigging musician who plays a wide variety of music at reasonable volumes, you pretty much have to have a multi-channel amp. The alternative may be to get a bunch of pedals, but then you are back to losing the pure tube tone, and I've pretty much stopped using pedals.

 

[Gunner64]

At least for what I do, I think single channel amps don't really work. I love the tone of such amps, and the crunch/distortions you get by cranking the volume, but when I'm playing live, clubs just don't let you play at the required volumes to get the distorted sound. Even with my 5 watt Class 5 you have to get pretty damn loud to get distortion.

The point is, if all you are talking about is playing on your own and enjoying the different tones you can get from a single channel amp, I'm with you. But if you are a gigging musician who plays a wide variety of music at reasonable volumes, you pretty much have to have a multi-channel amp. The alternative may be to get a bunch of pedals, but then you are back to losing the pure tube tone, and I've pretty much stopped using pedals.

I agree..sometimes the crunch dont come without pain..the same sound guy telling you that Marshall sounds great is the same sound guy shaking his fist at you telling you your too loud twenty minutes later....

 

[GT08]

Very much agree with the two posts above. I use a multichannel TSL 100 Head and a 1936 or 1960a both loaded with stock Celestion G12T 75 speakers, (still waiting to hear a better Marshall amp).
I quickly came to realise that the benefits of built in Reverb and an effects loop are just so important when playing live or at home.
Having a loud quality clean with plenty of head room is essential for me too.
Don't get me wrong, I love single channel amps, and they are great for playing certain stuff but I feel they are very much a one trick pony.
Oh and by the way...........post processing recorded amp demo's (e.g. adding Reverb ect.) is just plain cheating IMHO.
Rock on.

 

[iron broadsword]

Yep, me too. I've learned to roll for cleans on channel A of my 900 4100 so I can use channel B for lead breaks though. But in order for that to work I had to install a treble bleed cap in all of my guitars. IMHO you can't do that in a band setting without the cap, but with it I get good clean volume because my rhythm tone is somewhere around vintage acdc gain levels.

 

[marshallmellowed]

My favorite amp at the moment is my 1959 re-issue through my Weber attenuator. If I were to want to use that amp in a band situation, I'd probably get a couple of EQ pedals, put them in the loop, and use them to drop the overall level a few db for clean (EQ1) and rhythm (EQ2), and bypass both for lead. Doesn't seem like it would be that tough to create 3 different levels using the 2 EQ's and controling drive/distortion using picking and the guitar's volume. Not as versatile as a multi-channel, but would cover a lot of ground.

 

[GrmynShyphrd]

I agree..sometimes the crunch dont come without pain..the same sound guy telling you that Marshall sounds great is the same sound guy shaking his fist at you telling you your too loud twenty minutes later....

I know that one too well. It's why, for better or worse, I went hybrid.

Running a stereo rig makes it highly impractical to channel switch, which is why I'm addition to volume rolling, I use a boost. If you have EQ on it, you can hike certain frequencies to better cut through the mix--a viable alternative to cranking yourself up for in order for your solos to be heard.

Also, this you the option of splitting the task between rolling your volume and hitting the pedal. You can have a wider range of clean to gain ass well. Finally, this setup helps in rare instances where you might need to go from zero to Hell Raiser in .6 seconds.

 

[plexilespaul]

The reason many old timers prefer the vintage amps of old is because of lack of additional B.S.

yep....a clean amp like a fender bassman (or a marshall jtm which is basically the same) is a great platform for immense tone.
I plug my old 1987 gov'nor pedal to any fender to get that big marshall tone. that said you can also have a truly great "modern amp" with big tone non the less aka jcm 900 mark III...so it's not this or that but more of a this and that approach...different quality amps will bring you to the same spot.

 

[schwa]

Like many of us on the forum, I have been playing for a while. In fact, I remember when the JCM/JTM amps were current, and I avoided them.

At the time, I wanted chorus/delay/reverb to be available, separate eq's per channel, and different sound levels for different gain levels. Stereo would be even better so I could get the extra wow from the modulation. I would have given my left nut for a JVM in 1990. I went through a number of amps and a rack rig, and none of them satisfied.

A few years ago, I got my first single channel amp (actually a 4 holer - 2061x), and was changed - it was like coming home. The sound I had always been looking for was there, but I was going to have to make some compromises. No loop, so the modulation had to go. As ricksteruk pointed out (post 64), dynamics between clean and not can be a challenge, though I would mention single channel amps are quite dynamic by nature. I'm happy with the sounds I get, and don't feel dirty if I put a pedal in front.

Back then I might have said - "single channel amps are not for me because of all the stuff they can't do".

These days I might say - "single channel amps do what I want and sound/behave in a way that I prefer (at least for now)".

It doesn't seem either position is wrong, and I personally don't care about whether this or that is in the signal chain. It seems to me there are differences in all of our rigs, too many to account for.

To answer the OP - I also like non switching Marshalls. I think they sound great, and there are a lot of things to like about them.

 

[Trapland]

I don't have any problem with clean to dirty dynamics on single channel amps from the 2204 back. It's the stuff afterward that I can't get as much dynamics out of with the guitar volume.

But the same single channel that is so dynamic has lots of limits (that I can live with). They can't do perfect clean to super saturated without either a kick in front or less than clean from the guitar. Modern channel switchers solve this. Modulation post distortion? Not from an old JMP. My latest conscession is, if it doesn't sound good in front, I don't use it.

I dig the single channel amps, but I wish I'd held on to the last JVM that went through my hands too, then I could do anything.

 

[spacerocker]

But the same single channel that is so dynamic has lots of limits (that I can live with). They can't do perfect clean to super saturated without either a kick in front or less than clean from the guitar. Modern channel switchers solve this. Modulation post distortion? Not from an old JMP. My latest conscession is, if it doesn't sound good in front, I don't use it.

I dig the single channel amps, but I wish I'd held on to the last JVM that went through my hands too, then I could do anything.

The JVM has the same circuit topology as the classic 2203. With a few simple mods it can sound the same (or better) - even a simple graphic in the loop can get you there. So now you have a modern switching amp that soundls like an 800, but with soooo much more to offer? what's not to like? The thing with my 2203 was going from a hard-overdriven rhythm sound to a loud, singing lead tone - it just couldn't be done without a pedal infront, and even then the volume boost was not sufficient.......now the JVM on the other hand on OD2 gives a better singing, sustaining lead tone than any single channel amp with a pedal in front I have ever played, and it's all 100 valve sound!

 

[GT08]

As I stated earlier in this thread, if you insert 'ANY SORT' of stomp box/pedal in the chain........ then it's no longer an "ALL TUBE SIGNAL PATH" no matter what kind of amp you are using.

 

[jack daniels]

For a thread supposedly about "All Tube Non-Channel Switching" this thread has certainly run its course. This thread really appears to be more about "The Die Hard Channel Switching Aficionados" thread lol. Reminds me of the current presidential race, a trainwreck lol.

 

[spacerocker]

As I stated earlier in this thread, if you insert 'ANY SORT' of stomp box/pedal in the chain........ then it's no longer an "ALL TUBE SIGNAL PATH" no matter what kind of amp you are using.

In that case, I think you will find very few here playing single channel amps who do not use some sort of transistorised boost, OD Pedal, or Distortiion box to try to wring out a little more flexibility from what is essentially a very limited design.....which makes this another point in favour of the switchers - you can get this flexibility, go from (proper) clean though crunch to very high gain, whilst maintaining an all-tube path at all times!

 

[jack daniels]

In that case, I think you will find very few here playing single channel amps who do not use some sort of transistorised boost, OD Pedal, or Distortiion box to try to wring out a little more flexibility from what is essentially a very limited design.....which makes this another point in favour of the switchers - you can get this flexibility, go from (proper) clean though crunch to very high gain, whilst maintaining an all-tube path at all times!

Say's you, they're the benchmarks of what your wonderful multi channel amp designs were based upon and used by all of your favorite groups and artists on vinyl for years. The next time you step into a repair shop for amp repairs, just keep remembering your multi channel accolade mantra.