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April 2006
Posts: 972
Location: PDX | I had an old (1970's?) Crate amp collecting dust that i had been using to power my O's. I usually just flat lined the EQ and used the pre-amps to find a decent tone.
Well, i picked up a Genz Benz (from the many praises found here) recently. It certainly has a better overall tone, but i am not really satisfied with the final product.
Now, i am not a sound geek, nor am i really certain what i'm doing. When i read information about amps it is like a foreign language. "Power-stage clipping", "power saturation point", blah, blah, blah, adnauseum just befuddles this Ludite prone mind.
Is there a basic primer, or advice for someone like me, who really just wants to understand the basics, get a "good" tone, and not mess with it?
Thanks.
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gh1 |
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April 2006
Posts: 103
Location: Townsville, Australia | harmony-central.com was useful to me; it's a sponsored web site that has info on all things guitar (amongst other things)
Wickepedia.com an online encyclopedia has a surprising number of articles about contemporary music issues. Search around both sites
Just google the issue; definitions etc
Try idiots guide to guitar amps; for example
Good luck |
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April 2006
Posts: 103
Location: Townsville, Australia | Sorry the URL for Wikipedia is
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page |
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February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | Most of what you read about electric guitar amps will not be relevant to acoustic amps. Electric guitar amps are generally designed to sound good when they are driven into distortion. This is the last thing you want to do with an acoustic amp, which is essentially a small full-range PA system.
Best bet is to keep the input gain fairly low and the output volume up. Set all the amp controls flat, get somewhere near to the sound you want from the guitar preamp, then tweak at the amp (or vice-versa) Avoid excessive cutting or boosting of EQ as this can promote feedback and sound unnatural. |
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Posts: 331
Location: San Angelo, Texas | Which Genz-Benz did you get? |
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April 2006
Posts: 972
Location: PDX | Originally posted by GregoryS:
Which Genz-Benz did you get? The Shenandoah Jr (35 watt). I just use it in my living room, so i have no need for any more power. In fact it is overkill for the space i play in. I got it mainly to get an acoustic amp to bring out the best in Ovation sound.
Only problem is -- i don't know what the heck i'm doing. There are 11 controls with, basically, 10 settings. So tht gives me 10 to the eleveth power combinations -- it is a bit overwhelming. Multiply that by the available combinations on the preamps -- well, that's why i posted this question.
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gh1 |
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January 2006
Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | Although with a different DSP amp, I alternate between chorus and reverb, both with a hint of delay. I set the effects level between 4 and 6, and typically use more bass than mid or treble. As Paul suggests, keep the guitar volume down and the amp volume a bit higher. This is just my preference and the settings work well for everything I play acoustically. |
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April 2005
Posts: 331
Location: San Angelo, Texas | Nice Amp...I've got a Shen 60 at home and I'm using a Stereo Delux Pro 200 at church.
The best way to learn is to play with it...a little chorus and reverb goes a LONG way, so start low and work up on those. once you get chorus set, go to reverb, and then to delay. I try to run my 1777LX about 1/3 volume and take the amp level to about the same, this way you don't pick up the hiss/hum that can happen, and if you need more, turn the guitar up :)
Did you buy it new and if so do you have all the manuals? If not, I probably have one around here, or can get you a copy of it... |
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April 2006
Posts: 972
Location: PDX | Originally posted by GregoryS:
Did you buy it new and if so do you have all the manuals? If not, I probably have one around here, or can get you a copy of it... Nope, picked up off ebay $310 delivered. Like new, and came with the manual. However, when i read it, it makes absolutely no sense because i don't know what many of the terms they use mean.
Anyway what i have been doing is setting the preamp volume to mid point, the amp volume to 1/4, effects to 0, and putting the 4 eq controls in the middle. From there i have been using the preamp eq settings to modify the sound. It sounds WAY better than the old Crate i was using, just not completely satisfied yet.
I am keeping a log of all excursions from the base settings described above.
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gh1 |
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Location: NJ | Y'need to experiment with it . . .
(that's why they call it "playing") |
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Getting the best amp tone?
