SGMAD Solo Clip - Tone Test

[lll]

I have the GE-10 set just like pics of Ed's rig back in the day.

I know he used it live (that's where those pics are from), but I can't see a frown (I'm assuming you're doing) EQ curve happening on studio stuff (VH II).

In fact, it sounds like a frown EQ... way too middy.

If you're using it to boost gain to get to Ed gain levels, I would keep the EQ flat and just crank (or thereabouts) the level knob on the GE-10.

What happens when you set EQ flat and just crank (or thereabouts) the level knob?

[harddriver]

Try turning the Schaffer Vega off first, I hear that as adding some roundness to the tone and making the mids sound smooth. If you listen to Angus tone it does kind of have that effect. I would turn off the Vega and one of the EP-PRE and not boost the mids so hard with the GE10, remember he was driving extremely long cable runs with the EQ's curves you saw in the Japan pictures. I think Gaustad stated he was using 30 ft guitar cable and he didn't need a GE-10 and he has the gain.

I think what you might be experiencing is too much gain layering. It feels great when you play but recorded it's a bit much. Possibly the mic placement could be contributing to the smoothness as well.

Revisit the Jim Gaustad videos and he is playing a Super 70>MXR flanger>Phase 90>Single EP3 Echoplex>100 Watt Marshall70-80 VAC>Greenback cab.

[PLX]

I have the GE-10 set just like pics of Ed's rig back in the day.

I know he used it live (that's where those pics are from), but I can't see a frown (I'm assuming you're doing) EQ curve happening on studio stuff (VH II).

In fact, it sounds like a frown EQ... way too middy.

If you're using it to boost gain to get to Ed gain levels, I would keep the EQ flat and just crank (or thereabouts) the level knob on the GE-10.

What happens when you set EQ flat and just crank (or thereabouts) the level knob?

Yeah, I had the GE-10 set like this here:

[PLX]

Revisit the Jim Gaustad videos and he is playing a Super 70>MXR flanger>Phase 90>Single EP3 Echoplex>100 Watt Marshall70-80 VAC>Greenback cab.

Yeah, if you go to Jim's WACF video at the 57:30 time mark, he explains fully how he's using the Pultec EQ.

He also A/B's the Pultec plug-in off and on and you can hear exactly how it's removing that "honk" from the guitar track.

He's using the Waves Pultec plug-in same as me.

I gotta pull that amp outta the head case tomorrow and re-bias it for 75-ish VAC and look at some things.. like what I did for the "fat cap", NFB resistor, etc.. It's been a while since I've been in that amp.

[PLX]

I know he used it live (that's where those pics are from), but I can't see a frown (I'm assuming you're doing) EQ curve happening on studio stuff (VH II).

In fact, it sounds like a frown EQ... way too middy.

Lots of the tone changed when I replaced all the patch cables between my pedals this afternoon.. right before I recorded that clip.

I think those old DiMarzio patch cables I was using had lots of capacitance and/or resistance due to age and wear & tear.

Now I have to adjust my settings to compensate.

[PLX]

Same clip.

Using new cab sims.

[PLX]

..Then there's the question of does your amp have the .68uF (or other) bypass cap on V2? When I added that to mine, the gain jumped ..

I opened up the amp this morning to poke around and try to remember the latest spec.

So, on the "fat cap".. previously I had a 25µF cap there based on the MOD5 specs.. Looks like I went in last summer and paralleled a 330µF cap across the 25µF, giving me a 355µF "fat cap" value.

[harddriver]

Yeah, if you go to Jim's WACF video at the 57:30 time mark, he explains fully how he's using the Pultec EQ.

He also A/B's the Pultec plug-in off and on and you can hear exactly how it's removing that "honk" from the guitar track.

He's using the Waves Pultec plug-in same as me.

I gotta pull that amp outta the head case tomorrow and re-bias it for 75-ish VAC and look at some things.. like what I did for the "fat cap", NFB resistor, etc.. It's been a while since I've been in that amp.

Every time I tried the 330uf electrolytic fat cap I found it to be too woofy and to round. I found the .68uf on V2A keeps things tight and crunchy and if you still feel you need a little gain install a 25uf electroylic cap in parallel with the .68uf. Mike Soldano stated in a interview that Ed had a favorite Super Bass that the only thing added was a 25uf Cap on V2A. Dave Friedman also runs the .68uf/330uf cap on his rendition of the EVH amp. The 25uf cap will give you gain but still tight and not woofy.

FWIW I used to run an 820 ohm/.68uf Philips Chicklet on V1B on my first rendition of my Ed spec amp but it actually was too gainy after really listening to it so I went back to 2.7K/.68uf Philips Chicklet Cap. My amp has all NOS mustards and 32/32uf Erie preamp filtering and 100uf filtering on the PI...anything else the amp seems to lose back bone. The mains and screens filtering is all stock 68 vlaues on my amp.

I personally think the fat cap on V2A was Ed trying to get away from any kind of boost from pedals. Now when that supposed 330uf fat cap found it's way into the amp no one really seems to know. John Suhr and Dave F says it was in there but was it in there for VH1 and VH2, I really suspect it was later when Ed had Jose experimenting around 1982/ 1984. I gotta do farm stuff I'll talk to you later.

Oh, I would remove those black Silver Mica caps if the are not older brown NOS CDE's in the tonestack and 470K/mixer bypass 500pf cap. They also tend to smooth things out too much adn the black tend to have issues according to Larry Novosibir. You can try ceramics there but I have a couple of old brown NOS CDE's from the 80's I can send you if you want.

[PLX]

Every time I tried the 330uf electrolytic fat cap I found it to be too woofy and to round. I found the .68uf on V2A keeps things tight and crunchy and if you still feel you need a little gain install a 25uf electroylic cap in parallel with the .68uf. Mike Soldano stated in a interview that Ed had a favorite Super Bass that the only thing added was a 25uf Cap on V2A. Dave Friedman also runs the .68uf/330uf cap on his rendition of the EVH amp. The 25uf cap will give you gain but still tight and not woofy.

FWIW I used to run an 820 ohm/.68uf Philips Chicklet on V1B on my first rendition of my Ed spec amp but it actually was too gainy after really listening to it so I went back to 2.7K/.68uf Philips Chicklet Cap. My amp has all NOS mustards and 32/32uf Erie preamp filtering and 100uf filtering on the PI...anything else the amp seems to lose back bone. The mains and screens filtering is all stock 68 vlaues on my amp.

I personally think the fat cap on V2A was Ed trying to get away from any kind of boost from pedals. Now when that supposed 330uf fat cap found it's way into the amp no one really seems to know. John Suhr and Dave F says it was in there but was it in there for VH1 and VH2, I really suspect it was later when Ed had Jose experimenting around 1982/ 1984. I gotta do farm stuff I'll talk to you later.

Oh, I would remove those black Silver Mica caps if the are not older brown NOS CDE's in the tonestack and 470K/mixer bypass 500pf cap. They also tend to smooth things out too much adn the black tend to have issues according to Larry Novosibir. You can try ceramics there but I have a couple of old brown NOS CDE's from the 80's I can send you if you want.

Ok, I put the multimeter on my variac and set it at 76VAC. Re-biased the power tubes. I unsoldered one end of the 330µF cap - leaving the 25µF cap in place.

Noted that I have a 47KΩ resistor off the 4Ω tap for the negative feedback.

50KΩ mid pot.

[lll]

From what I recall, some (a minority) of those '68 Plexis came from the factory stock with the .68uF on V2, but most did not.

Also IIRC, the official old-school Marshall schematic shows a .68uF on V2 ("History of Marshall" book).

I know when I finally put the .68uF on V2 (after years of using my amp with Mallories, then re-capping everything with next-gen Sozos), it got the amp into Ed gain territory with the SH-5 pickup.