Topic: You guys are the bomb so....

I'm using a Fuchs ODS 50 for most dates.  ocassionaly an old '81 mesa MkIIB.  I'm trying to get the EJ and Joe B. violin type tone out of these amps.  I've tried countless OD pedals to try to "stack" OD's to achieve it.  I've tried a modded TS808, Barber Direct Drive, Pearl Drive, Zen Drive, Rat..a few others incl various Boss's.  The closest I've gotten was a Boss EQ pedal with 400Hz kicked up and the deep switch on the Fuchs.  Really fattens things up but not quite.  I'm running delay and verb through the effect loops so I have that part down.

These amps are amazing...  Short of adding another head what do you guys suggest?

Re: You guys are the bomb so....

Try a BK Butler Tube Driver - then just add some reverb and/or delay. Get the amp driving pretty good, set the Tube Driver to slightly less than unity gain, EQ at "0" and you should be there. You can find the Tube Driver at BK Butler's site or try TGP or eBay...not cheap but for the violin tone it's "the bomb"  wink

Gits: '03 Gibson Historic R7 Goldtop, '06 Gibson R8 Plaintop, MIJ '62 RI Strat,  and others...
Amps: '99 Marshall 1987x Plexi RI, 1969 Fender Super Reverb

My band: www.meanbones.com

Re: You guys are the bomb so....

The closest I feel like I have ever come to the violin tone is running a Fulltone ’70 fuzz into the Pearl Drive with the gain at noonish, middle dimed, treble off, and the volume to taste. The Pearl Drive really smoothes out the fuzz. I also run a Zendrive into the Pearl Drive set the same way with good results tho it’s not quite as wild and aggressive. All of this is either thru a Marshall Bluesbreaker RI or an Omega modded fender HRdv.  What guitar are you using?

Re: You guys are the bomb so....

Try running your Higher Gained OD into a Delay and then into the Lower Gained OD.

Early 80's 1957 U.S. Vintage Reissue Stratocaster (Surf Green)-Warmouth Soloist  Pearly Gates Neck, Pearly Gates Bridge- Larrivee D-03 (Mahogany/ Spruce)
Carmen Ghia Head- Marshall 112 Cab W/G12H 30  or  Custom 4 X 6v6 Head  or  Budda Twinmaster Plus Head-Traynor 212 Cab w/Eminence Texas Heats. 
Mo'D-Eternity-Blues Pro- Timmy-BYOC Chorus/Vibrato- TC SCF- Korg DT 10 Pedal Tuner

Re: You guys are the bomb so....

I am also trying to figure out how to get those tones, so I can't really help. But I do have a question for you Danny, are you running the amps clean or Overdriven if they are multi-channel amps?

Re: You guys are the bomb so....

Sorry.  I should have been more specific.  I am running the Fuchs OD channel.  I use several guitars.  Main guitars are PRS's.  A have a 335, Strat, tried a few LP's.   Looking for something out front to push the lead channel into that area.  Thanks

7 (edited by stratpaulguy86 2010-09-13 16:00:29)

Re: You guys are the bomb so....

Nothing beats the original recipe....

Stratocaster---vox wah---butler tube driver---echoplex---tube/spring reverb---compressor---old Marshall.

You can make some substitutions but to get REALLY close I think that the tube driver and echoplex are the key ingredients.  With your rig, I'd totally try the BK Butler Tube Driver first with the suggested settings above and see where that lands you.

'67 and '74 Fender Twin Reverbs, '74 Marshall 1987 lead mkII, Metro Superlead 100. Pedals from TC Electronic, Ibanez, Dunlop, BK Butler, Electro-Harmonix, Fulltone, Maestro/Gibson, Loopmaster switching, VoodooLab, Boss. Gibson and Fender guitars, Dimarzio pickups.

Re: You guys are the bomb so....

I think there is two more pieces Volume and lots of it, you need those tubes cooking, which is why I can't ever get there my amps never get much past 4. Second I think there is a lot to do with the Phrasing the way Joe and Eric both play guitar with those smooth silky like runs its hard to pull those off and have all the pieces together all the time.

9 (edited by CarljMD 2010-09-13 21:19:18)

Re: You guys are the bomb so....

KDY wrote:

The closest I feel like I have ever come to the violin tone is running a Fulltone ’70 fuzz into the Pearl Drive with the gain at noonish, middle dimed, treble off, and the volume to taste. The Pearl Drive really smoothes out the fuzz. I also run a Zendrive into the Pearl Drive set the same way with good results tho it’s not quite as wild and aggressive. All of this is either thru a Marshall Bluesbreaker RI or an Omega modded fender HRdv.  What guitar are you using?

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I have to ask....can you tell me about the Omega mods, the cost and how much it really improves the HRdv.  I have one and just bought a gently-used HRDLX which isn't getting me where I want to be, and the samples on Jim's website sound too good to be true.  I'd really appreciate some input as I have been seriously thinking about taking the plunge but want some independent viewpoints first.

I'm not a hands-on kinda guy so I don't think the Fromel kit will work for me and I can't justify 700-1000 for the Voodoo Amps/Fargen mods.  Omega sounds about right to me.  If you (or any other kind souls on here who have had the Omega mods done) could please respond, I'd appreciate it!

Back on topic....I too am searching for the elusive "violin" tone and have yet to acheive it.  I have a Zendrive I, a Barber Direct Drive and a stock recent TS9, which I am thinking about sending to Keeley for modding.  Sometimes running the TS with the Zendrive has gotten me close, but not always.  Both the Zendrive and the Direct Drive seem to respond better to my PRS (humbuckers, obviously), than my Strat.  I am a total noob when it comes to delay, the only sound I've found I really like is stuck in my Line 6 Flextone II, even though I have a Boss DD3, I can't seem to get the settings right.

Keep us posted on your progress, please.

CarljMD

Takers get the honey, givers sing the blues

Re: You guys are the bomb so....

Ditto on the DD3. I struggled getting a "warm" delay sound out of my DD3 until I realized I had a DD-3 (kind of a version 3 made in Taiwan). I sold it, bought a MIJ (v1) DD-3 and it was literally night and day. They sound SO different it's bizarre. I recall Joe saying something to the effect of "...I have three DD-3's and they all sound different..."

CarljMD wrote:
KDY wrote:

The closest I feel like I have ever come to the violin tone is running a Fulltone ’70 fuzz into the Pearl Drive with the gain at noonish, middle dimed, treble off, and the volume to taste. The Pearl Drive really smoothes out the fuzz. I also run a Zendrive into the Pearl Drive set the same way with good results tho it’s not quite as wild and aggressive. All of this is either thru a Marshall Bluesbreaker RI or an Omega modded fender HRdv.  What guitar are you using?

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I have to ask....can you tell me about the Omega mods, the cost and how much it really improves the HRdv.  I have one and just bought a gently-used HRDLX which isn't getting me where I want to be, and the samples on Jim's website sound too good to be true.  I'd really appreciate some input as I have been seriously thinking about taking the plunge but want some independent viewpoints first.

I'm not a hands-on kinda guy so I don't think the Fromel kit will work for me and I can't justify 700-1000 for the Voodoo Amps/Fargen mods.  Omega sounds about right to me.  If you (or any other kind souls on here who have had the Omega mods done) could please respond, I'd appreciate it!

Back on topic....I too am searching for the elusive "violin" tone and have yet to acheive it.  I have a Zendrive I, a Barber Direct Drive and a stock recent TS9, which I am thinking about sending to Keeley for modding.  Sometimes running the TS with the Zendrive has gotten me close, but not always.  Both the Zendrive and the Direct Drive seem to respond better to my PRS (humbuckers, obviously), than my Strat.  I am a total noob when it comes to delay, the only sound I've found I really like is stuck in my Line 6 Flextone II, even though I have a Boss DD3, I can't seem to get the settings right.

Keep us posted on your progress, please.

CarljMD

Gits: '03 Gibson Historic R7 Goldtop, '06 Gibson R8 Plaintop, MIJ '62 RI Strat,  and others...
Amps: '99 Marshall 1987x Plexi RI, 1969 Fender Super Reverb

My band: www.meanbones.com

11

Re: You guys are the bomb so....

CarljMD wrote:
KDY wrote:

The closest I feel like I have ever come to the violin tone is running a Fulltone ’70 fuzz into the Pearl Drive with the gain at noonish, middle dimed, treble off, and the volume to taste. The Pearl Drive really smoothes out the fuzz. I also run a Zendrive into the Pearl Drive set the same way with good results tho it’s not quite as wild and aggressive. All of this is either thru a Marshall Bluesbreaker RI or an Omega modded fender HRdv.  What guitar are you using?

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I have to ask....can you tell me about the Omega mods, the cost and how much it really improves the HRdv.  I have one and just bought a gently-used HRDLX which isn't getting me where I want to be, and the samples on Jim's website sound too good to be true.  I'd really appreciate some input as I have been seriously thinking about taking the plunge but want some independent viewpoints first.

I'm not a hands-on kinda guy so I don't think the Fromel kit will work for me and I can't justify 700-1000 for the Voodoo Amps/Fargen mods.  Omega sounds about right to me.  If you (or any other kind souls on here who have had the Omega mods done) could please respond, I'd appreciate it!

Back on topic....I too am searching for the elusive "violin" tone and have yet to acheive it.  I have a Zendrive I, a Barber Direct Drive and a stock recent TS9, which I am thinking about sending to Keeley for modding.  Sometimes running the TS with the Zendrive has gotten me close, but not always.  Both the Zendrive and the Direct Drive seem to respond better to my PRS (humbuckers, obviously), than my Strat.  I am a total noob when it comes to delay, the only sound I've found I really like is stuck in my Line 6 Flextone II, even though I have a Boss DD3, I can't seem to get the settings right.

Keep us posted on your progress, please.

CarljMD

No problem man.  The Omega mods really improve the HRdv. To my ears it is a night and day difference. I have a stock HDdx to compare it with also. The clean channel is what I almost always use because I am a clean amp pedal platform kinda guy.  The cleans of the Omega HRdv are in the same vein as that of a ’65 black face super reverb, original not RI.  My friend has an original ‘65 BFSR and the two amps are extremely similar when played side by side.  The cleans are organic, open and have a nice 3D shimmer to them.

The gain channels are much improved as well. I don’t use them much unfortunately but if needed I would gladly use them. The clips that are on his site are very accurate and show what the amp can do. The only nag I have is that if you flip back and forth between clean and dirty you have to make a compromise on the eq but that not Jim’s fault that’s just the way the amp is designed. I like my cleans bright and EJ like and my dirt dark and smooth and you can’t quite do that having only a global eq.

But yeah I feel like the amp is a huge bang for the buck! I’d definitely do it all over again and to boot Jim is an outstanding individual. I got my amp back in just at a week. That’s shipping both ways and the time for him to mod and test it! I am extremely happy and pleased!  Feel free to ask me any questions! …sorry to hijack the tread guys haha…

Re: You guys are the bomb so....

Hey Danny,
           Here is the trick for getting that smooth clear yet distorted tone.  You start by setting your amp with more gain than you need. Then you roll the volume back on your Les Paul to about 8.  Roll your tone down to about 5 or six, and set the amp somewhat dark.  The extra gain will give you the carry.  I used a pedal chain in the VanWeelden's that consist of a TC -Chorus, a 2290 set very short ( you can substitute any delay , you dont need a 3 thousand dollar unit. ) and a Boss Rev-5.  The reverb, chorus, and delay combo with the main delay will give you what you are looking for. 
Good Luck.. Oh and the other thing that I found about Eric's tone was its cleaner than you think.. Makes his playing even more amazing right..?
Joe Bonamassa

Re: You guys are the bomb so....

Well I guess I know what I will be working on the rest of the night! lol

Re: You guys are the bomb so....

You're no hack yourself, Joe. smile Thanks for the tips.  So, I guess I was on the right track with the EQ/400 Hz kicked.  Instead of boosting with the EQ it sounds as though i should boost the gain on the amp and roll the tone down a bit.  Thanks again.

Oh..the Boogie sounds great on Six String Theory.

Re: You guys are the bomb so....

Danny if your not getting the tone your looking for in the FUCHS then maybe you should get a Carol Ann or Two Rock or something else. 

I have gotten into big trouble when I get a desire to get a marshall tone and all I have is a fender amp.  You can try all day but your never going to get a marshall to sound like a fender or a fender to sound like a vox no matter what pedal you use.

I understand that you FUCHS is an amazing amp but if your really having that kind of difficulty with it maybe you should focus on getting your guitar into amp tone nailed first... then figure out what you need to add as far as pedals.

Good luck on getting there...

Re: You guys are the bomb so....

I know the Band DannyG is in I am guessing he has Great tone and just looking for a different flavor. big_smile

Re: You guys are the bomb so....

I dont for a second doubt his tone is steller... My only point is that he's been looking for a overdrive pedal for as long as I've been a member of this forum. We chatted for a while about the pearl drive which i guess wasnt doing what he wants.

Again with a humble heart and much respect I only advise that sometimes the last two things we guitarist look to in changing our tone is our amp and our guitar and that can be the most important part sometimes.

When he describes the EJ/Joe tone I think I'd want to try a Carol Ann or Ceriatone or any dumble type amp if thats what your looking for and the Fuchs isnt getting you there. 

I've seen pictures of Danny G playing with Bruce Springsteen so clearly he's doing something right...

Re: You guys are the bomb so....

No offense taken at all.  I'm not looking for a different tone...not as a whole.  I have a solo spot of two each night where I hear that "EJ' thing.  Yea, I've tried a number of pedals and Corby at Ocean even made me a "DG Custom"  Fantastic pedal...Still looking though.
I think Joe's response was right because even with the Fuchs I was able to get pretty darn close by kicking up 400Hz on an old Boss EQ pedal and flipping the Deep switch.

I posted this because I respect all of you.  I've seen and heard clips from a lot of your rigs and all sound great.

Thanks!