I'm playing my Hot Rod at home with a couple of pedals through it; ie. a MI Audio Tube Zone for one, and the thing is just 'flat'. I've bought this up before. Just 'honky' with no thick tone.
I took it up to the local guitar shop and did an A/B with one of theirs and it sounded fantastic - full of rich thick tubey goodness.
But we had our first rehearsal with the new guys today; and in a small rehearsal room with a concrete wall it went back to sucking tone...
Could it be the room involved???? We were playing real loud too thanks to the drummer, so we're not going back to those rooms. We need a bit of space....
Any comments????
A concrete room could well suck the tone. I'd suggest the following: -
1. Make sure the amp is off the floor - on a table for example, so that tone doesn't get lost in the floor.
2. With a band mix, you'll need to raise the mids to cut through
3. An inexpensive 7-band EQ can really make your amp sound big & full, and give way more EQ control than is possible just from the amp. Experiment with the EQ both direct, and in the EQ. If the FX loop is serial (or parallel with full 100% mix facility - not all do) you'll probably find it's best in the FX loop. IMHO an EQ is vital especially if you gig, as you never what the acoustics are going to be like. I use a Boss GE-7 with my Laney VC30, and it makes a staggering difference - as well as giving more volume if you need it.
Rich ;)
PS which Hotrod version do you have?
Put hi gain JJ preamp Tubes in it, and hotter power tubes from JJ in it. Then set the BIAS around 80-85. That will cure most of it's ills. I tried all the Hot Rods during my last amp quest at GC and believe me, mine is way different, much fuller/fatter sounding even on the native overdrive channel.
Room surfaces make a HUGE difference. The fact it sounded good in the shop should be a hint-and-a-half. My Mark V sounded very different in the shop than the house (actually a lot better at the house).
That said, listen to DBM. He knows his HRD and how to get the most out of em!
Also, Voxy's recommendation to get it off the floor is excellent.
7-band eq is a great idea, but I'd either opt for an MXR or a BYOC EQ. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the Boss. IMHO, it's a big tone-sucker.
Dearthian: — May 17, 2009
7-band eq is a great idea, but I'd either opt for an MXR or a BYOC EQ. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the Boss. IMHO, it's a big tone-sucker.
I haven't had a problem with the Boss, but I concur the MXR's are the bees knees, especially the 10-band which also has separate gain and level controls which is excellent.
+1 on the MXR 108 10 band, just bought one a couple of weeks ago, amazing little box! I wouldn't have bothered with it, had my Boss 7 band for 100 years or so, lol, never had a problem with it, not even the noise everyone whines about....but it finally died on me so I grabbed the MXR, NOW I understand the difference!