Re: Behringer V-Amp2 or Line6 Pocket POD?

On Dec 14, 7:39 pm, Jim <as...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
housemouse wrote:
On Dec 14, 3:49 pm, Jim <as...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I am a bit cranky, lately. A couple weeks ago, some moron rear
ended me while I was sitting at a red light, so my neck and back are
causing me some real hurt. The kicker? She gave me a bogus insurance
number, hasn't had insurance for MONTHS because she didn't pay her bill!

Well, I hope you feel better soon. Sucks about the insurance, that
would make me mad as well.
There are lots of people driving around like that I'm sure.

In your case, I know you really love tube amps and have stacks of
them, and that is what I meant by tube snob. It's sort of like an
hobbiest/expert who is SO into the minutia of something that it's
really hard for them to step back from that, and think about it from
the viewpoint of a beginer who has just a casual interest.

Hey, I fully admit to being infected by the tone bug. I can literally
sit for over an hour, tweaking effects, EQ, amps, etc. without really
playing a song. I get enjoyment out of the quest for the Holy Grail of
ultimate tone, but it really does interfere with playing for a purpose.

I guess that is a hobby in and of itself. There is nothing wrong with
that. Myself, I long ago realized I like buying, selling, and
collecting music stuff more than I do playing out in a band.
Half the time I'm in a band it is just an excuse to get new stuff.
Also, I have realized that when I try more expensive stuff I'm very
critical of it, unless it is clearly WAY better than cheaper stuff.
And to me, it often isn't THAT much better. I've never been so much
into getting the ultimate tone or whatever. I can understand if that
is your thing, that is cool. If I was making an album or something, I
guess I would worry about that stuff to an Eric Johnson level of
obsession. But for playing at home or jamming, or playing in some
crappy bar I just don't care that much as long as it gets to the point
where it's pretty good tone. I'd probably be inclined to play
something weird and junky just for the novelty of it, rather than it
being the super perfect tone.

I guess part of this comes from when I have made an effort to put a
lot of good stuff together - decent amp, good tubes, expensive pedals,
etc. ,etc. listening to it on recordings half the time it sounds like
crap. And when I brought the backup amp, and cheap guitar it usually
sounds as good or better. What sounds really good to me on one day can
sound really bad to me on another day. So I guess I've accepted that I
will never be 100% happy with it all the time, so I just have fun with
it. For me it's all about fun, so the tone doesn't have to be perfect
- just good enough for me to be having a good time playing, and it
doesn't take that much to get there. I don't have any sort of POD
anymore, but I think I'll be getting one soon for recording or low
volume playing. Sure they aren't perfect, but it's a lot of bang for
the buck, and for recording it's easy to dial in a good sound. I need
to try out one of the POD X3 models...

Maybe my VJ is defective or something - I have to turn it up pretty
loud to get something coming close to AC/DC level distortion.
Probably louder at that point than a lot of people would want to play
at for long. So, I'd consider it "mildly distorted". Maybe you are
getting more gain because you use the EMGs?

No doubt. I'm sure I'm pushing the preamp harder than you are, and in
this amp, that drive the power amp hard. Yes, it does get fairly loud
before the power tube gets saturated. And the stock Sovtek isn't a tone
monster by any stretch. I do NOT like the stock tone when fully
cranked. But it sounds good in the clean to OD to moderate distortion
area. With a Mullard EL84, full saturation sounds better. But I'm not
suggesting guys spend $100 on a power tube for a $130 amp. If you can
find a used one at a reasonable price, I say it IS worth it.

I replaced the sovtek with a groove tubes one (Maybe it was a GT-EL84-
R, I don't remember). It cut the volume WAY down, but didn't make it
sound any better that I could tell.
I've also replaced the preamp tube several times. Never really been
too happy with any replacement, but honestly I just threw in old
random stuff I had around to see what it would sound like. Right now I
have the stock stuff back in it, because I was planning on trading it.
It's an OK amp, but I have other amps that do everything it does and
better I think.

I'm sure a $100 tube would probably help, though...


Don't get me wrong, it's
nice - but it's sort of a one trick pony to me, anyways.

That's why I'm working on my own modification. ;^) So far, I've
modified the gain levels, put in a fender tone stack, bright switch,
L-pad for attenuation, and line out for instrument to preamp level (pot
for line out level). And, if you pull the speaker cables, it engages a
dummy load. Turns it into the biggest stompbox I've ever seen.

I have two new output transformers to install, and a few more tricks up
my sleeve. I'm design it as clean to moderate distortion, with a focus
on that "sweet spot" where clean begins to break up. I think that's
where the EL84 excels.

Sounds cool, like you have a good project there. I think Epi should
start selling a kit version of the VJ or something, that way modders
can just substitute parts in and put it together themselves. Most of
the time I hear anyone talking about these things they are talking
about getting them to mod. It's almost like they designed these things
with older electronics hobbyist type guy in mind rather than the young
kids that would usually buy a $140 amp.


.

Relevant Pages

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