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Post by premiumplus (Dave) on May 20, 2022 11:36:01 GMT -7
I'm new to the M-12 arena and I'm having a hard time bonding with it. It's supposed to be a pedal friendly amp, but when I run an overdrive or distortion pedal it's really hard for me to get the levels right.
Note that I haven't tried a single coil guitar with this amp, because I wanted to use it with the Big Band, and 90% of my needs revolve around a humbucker. So I've been working with my Les Paul Premium Plus or my Heritage H-530.
My problem is with the Treble. This is the brightest, most in your face amp I have.
When I have a meaty lead tone and go from the Middle position to the Lead bridge pickup I get a huge boost in treble and volume. This is with the amp set on Low input, Volume around 11-12, Bass at 1:30, and Treble at about 10:30. I get a nice sweet Neck pickup sound and a good chimey Middle position but the Bridge pickup alone is blazing. The guitars are set up to have a little more Bridge than Neck output, but I've never had this issue with another amp.
Using my trusty Maz 18-NR MKII, (or any of my other Z amps) I don't have that problem. Same guitar, same pedal board.
I've tried a bunch of different speakers and the best so far (for combo) is a 1x10 ET-65. If I run a separate 1x12 cab it likes the G12H-30 pretty well, a Creamback or a Greenback.
I've re-tubed the amp as well. What am I missing? Is this typical?
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Post by DRZ on May 20, 2022 12:33:47 GMT -7
Not a problem that I'm aware of. Does the hi/lo toggle switch work correctly ? Also remove the bright cap from the Volume pot see if that helps. You bought that amp used not sure if there was a mod done, not sure what mod would only effect the bridge position. It is very simple EF 86 input circuit .
DR.Z
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Post by premiumplus (Dave) on May 20, 2022 15:17:47 GMT -7
Thanks, Doc...That's actually how it behaves. I'll pull the chassis and take a look. It's as if there is a super "Bright" cap in there. I bet that'll help.
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Post by premiumplus (Dave) on May 20, 2022 15:33:25 GMT -7
DING DING DING, NO MORE CALLS...WE HAVE A WINNER!
Ya nailed it, Doc. 390pF bright cap is history, and so are my problems. It sounds really terrific, what an amazing difference.
Makes total sense too, that cap is a freeway for high freqs until you get the amp cranked up, and I was running it down where the cap has the most effect.
Thanks!
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Post by adam on May 20, 2022 17:03:52 GMT -7
Glad you got it resolved, but I was going to say at least you have the option to send it in and they know what it's supposed to sound like and would get it right. That part of the company still really blows me away. I know you know that, but not sure anyone less familiar would. Otherwise, a couple thoughts. 1, it just kind of sounds like your pickups on whatever guitar (both?) aren't maybe set to where they work the best as a team. Also kind of guessing that the way you have them set works really well in the middle position, and maybe to the detriment of the bridge pickup. To that end, and particularly with the LP, just kind of start with the neck tone on full and the bridge tone backed off some amount. You could start with either pickup, but say you are starting with the bridge, if it's too "pokey", try lowering it. You lose some bass lowering it, but you get some natural compression that way too. If you aren't happy there, start with the neck pickup and try to make that sound good. If it's too muddy, lower it, and try to find some balance in volume across low and high strings volume wise. If you can't get the overall brightness working, try raising the pole pieces. You might find your overall output is a lot lower, but so what, turn up the amp. Point being, try to get a sound you like on that one pickup. Then switch to the other pickup and just try to make it work against what you have with the neck. Basically you should have some kind of pleasing balanced sound when switching bridge and neck. If you get that, just see what the middle position sounds like, and you might say that you like that position more with the bridge tone control on full. That's ok too, and it's not that different than on say a strat where you have the bridge tone on 5, but position 2 really sounds better with the bridge tone all the way up. My only real point here is just start moving stuff, it doesn't cost anything, and you might stumble on some whole different thing that you hadn't thought about. 2, (kudos if you made it this far, it's like my damn videos), you might just find that whatever amp with the neck pickup on whatever guitar is the bomb. Point being the old Pat Travers stuff where he played only on the neck pickup on a tele custom into a Marshall. He had the most pleasing rock tone, and unlike anyone else. Really fat, but dialed in with that amp probably being too bright for what he was looking for. Anyway, you just might find that your distortion pedal now sounds better than it ever did. Just throwing out ideas. Also reiterating these ideas to myself.
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Post by premiumplus (Dave) on May 20, 2022 17:55:20 GMT -7
Great comments, Adam. I've always set my guitar pickups up with the tone controls wide open. It makes great sense to cut the Bridge tone back a little so the amp can be set brighter. The overall tone of the guitar will be more balanced that way. I've always struggled with LP neck pickups being muddy. Adjusting the pole pieces has helped but not like the simple "Why didn't I think of that?!?" of turning the bridge tone control down and going from there. It just makes great simple sense. I dig learning new stuff. I'm turning 70 this summer and the day I stop learning is the day a big part of me dies.
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Post by tumeniamps (Tom) on May 25, 2022 16:50:50 GMT -7
I may put my 390pf bright cap on a 3-way switch. Up 390pf, middle no cap and down maybe a 180pf. I'll experiment. I want the original sound available as well as less bright options. I'm glad you've found a solution that works for you.
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