Carol Ann Amps MK XI

[jimpridx]

Originally Posted by wishkahdaddy

Brother, you have great taste for tone! I love Alan's amps and I also love those Glaswerk's. Plenty of room for great amps in this world IMO!

Thanks, Randy, but I'll bet that Van Weelden sounds pretty incredible with your JB, too! Gary (GW) modded my Zingaro a few months ago with an HRM circuitry mod, and it completely changed the overall character of the amp, not necessarily for better or worse, either, but much more aggressive. But, I was simply blown away when I blended the two amps together. I usually don't like the hassle of setting up two amps on gigs, but this is definitely a "must" thing to do with these two amps sometime soon.

[Carol-AnnAmps]

Originally Posted by jimpridx

Thanks, Randy, but I'll bet that Van Weelden sounds pretty incredible with your JB, too! Gary (GW) modded my Zingaro a few months ago with an HRM circuitry mod, and it completely changed the overall character of the amp, not necessarily for better or worse, either, but much more aggressive. But, I was simply blown away when I blended the two amps together. I usually don't like the hassle of setting up two amps on gigs, but this is definitely a "must" thing to do with these two amps sometime soon.

The VW is a non-HRM 70's style amp with a Fender Twin style oupt stage. Kind of the polar opposite to a HRM amp FWIW.....

[B-Squared]

Played the Triptik at band practice last night, through the 1x12. I did a bit of a makeover to my R7--dressed her up like Joe B's...I think I like it--a lot. I put some J. Rolph '59 Pretenders in it, and it sounded fantastic through the Triptik.



Yeah, I know--I'm getting a black switch tip this weekend. Forgot to order it.

That amp takes pedals wonderfully, I ran delay and chorus through the FX loop, and kept wah, compressor, TS9, and an octave pedal (Boss brand!) out in front.

The clean channel with delay and compressor on it is something to behold. What a load of fun.

BB

[bobcs71]

Originally Posted by B-Squared

That amp takes pedals wonderfully, I ran delay and chorus through the FX loop, and kept wah, compressor, TS9, and an octave pedal (Boss brand!) out in front.

The clean channel with delay and compressor on it is something to behold. What a load of fun.

That's a sweet looking guitar!
Is the compressor/delay combo good for clean lead lines?

[wishkahdaddy]

When it comes to amp circuitry, designs, etc, I'm not even qualified to deliver lunch to Alan's shop! So on paper, I'm not sure if these two amps (Van Weelden and JB 100) should blend well or not??? With that said, the VW and JB 100 sound damn good together! The JB has a bit more aggressiveness to it and a bit more "bite", if you will. It's smooth when you want it to be and it has some snarl to it depending on how you approach it. Your pick attack really comes to play with this amp. It's tighter than the VW and chords very well.
The VW is so smooth and overall easier to play. I have had a couple Van Weelden owners overseas contact me. They say to hang in there as it's so difficult to play but once you get the hang of it-"watch out". I laugh as after spending a year with the JB 100, every amp seems super easy to play!
With all that said, the lead tone of the two together is jaw dropping good. So thick a musical but with zero fizz. I've gigged this pair more than once and, thus far, it's been my favorite pair to gig with-especially for soloing. You better be on your game, but if you are it's an inspirational experience when you step on the boost pedal! Peter Van Weelden and Alan Phillips certainly know what the hell they are doing!

Originally Posted by Carol-AnnAmps

The VW is a non-HRM 70's style amp with a Fender Twin style oupt stage. Kind of the polar opposite to a HRM amp FWIW.....

[B-Squared]

Originally Posted by bobcs71

That's a sweet looking guitar!
Is the compressor/delay combo good for clean lead lines?

Absolutely. In fact, I sometimes use two delays; I use an EH Memory Man RI for my short delay, and a Boss DD6 for my long delay. For clean stuff the long delay adds a nice full ambiance.

When I get my Fulltone TTE fixed I'll probably start using that--it just sounds too good not to.

The compressor is great for doing funky clean chording (for songs like 'Moves Like Jagger') and for the couple of slow tunes we do. The delay/compressor sounds awesome on our version of 'Stand by You' by the Pretenders. I kick in the TS9 for the little solo bit.

BB

[B-Squared]

@Wishkadaddy

Can't wait to hear it when I get up that way. One thing's for sure--you cannot hide behind a CA amp. Like Joe B says, the audience hears everything you play...even the bad notes. I think it makes you a better player.

I'll be gigging the Triptik tonight, then it gets packed up and sent home. I'll try and get a song or two recorded tonight.

BB

[jimpridx]

Originally Posted by wishkahdaddy

When it comes to amp circuitry, designs, etc, I'm not even qualified to deliver lunch to Alan's shop! So on paper, I'm not sure if these two amps (Van Weelden and JB 100) should blend well or not??? With that said, the VW and JB 100 sound damn good together! The JB has a bit more aggressiveness to it and a bit more "bite", if you will. It's smooth when you want it to be and it has some snarl to it depending on how you approach it. Your pick attack really comes to play with this amp. It's tighter than the VW and chords very well.
The VW is so smooth and overall easier to play. I have had a couple Van Weelden owners overseas contact me. They say to hang in there as it's so difficult to play but once you get the hang of it-"watch out". I laugh as after spending a year with the JB 100, every amp seems super easy to play!
With all that said, the lead tone of the two together is jaw dropping good. So thick a musical but with zero fizz. I've gigged this pair more than once and, thus far, it's been my favorite pair to gig with-especially for soloing. You better be on your game, but if you are it's an inspirational experience when you step on the boost pedal! Peter Van Weelden and Alan Phillips certainly know what the hell they are doing!

I'm with you on this! I don't know squat about the circuitry or if there are any technical rules that I should be abiding by other than to have the two amps in phase with one another, but I do know that it's quite a cool sound that gets produced when blending two nice flavors together. My Zingaro is probably equally as aggressive as my OD3 but in an entirely different way..... smoother in nature (Dumble'ish, I guess).....but the two together just have this whopping big tone that's simply heavenly bliss.....

[wishkahdaddy]

I have aspirations of blending a Glasswerks Santa Cruz with a Carol Ann Triptik. Pan left and right through the bands line array speakers...Now there is a rig that could cover a lot of territory!
Actually, I never gigged this pair but my Tucana and JB 100 was a downright mean pair in the studio! I read here awhile back where a guy gigged an OD3 and a Triptik if memory serves me correct. I'd like to hear that rig. I'd bet it kills!

Originally Posted by jimpridx

I'm with you on this! I don't know squat about the circuitry or if there are any technical rules that I should be abiding by other than to have the two amps in phase with one another, but I do know that it's quite a cool sound that gets produced when blending two nice flavors together. My Zingaro is probably equally as aggressive as my OD3 but in an entirely different way..... smoother in nature (Dumble'ish, I guess).....but the two together just have this whopping big tone that's simply heavenly bliss.....

[B-Squared]

I have an OD3 and Triptik here at the house, but quite frankly it's too much rig for the venue we play tonight.

Talk about killing a fly with a sledgehammer...LOL.

BB

[stratovarius]

You guys are killing me! I'm still trying to figure out pedal stacking and speaker combinations and now I have to worry about multiple amp set ups. Aye carumba!

[rick13]

Originally Posted by B-Squared

I have an OD3 and Triptik here at the house, but quite frankly it's too much rig for the venue we play tonight.

Talk about killing a fly with a sledgehammer...LOL.

BB

If you are going to kill something....best to overkill than underkill.
Rick

[B-Squared]

Originally Posted by rick13

If you are going to kill something....best to overkill than underkill.
Rick

You know it!

The rig sounds incredible, BTW...I hope the recording turns out.

BB

[B-Squared]

Well, the gig last night went swimmingly well. We were firing on all cylinders.

The Triptik and my Goldtop are a match made in heaven--superb tone all night, and several folks came up and asked what amp I was using. Of course I was happy to tell them all about it.

I think this amp is my favorite from the CA stable. Our lightest tune is 'Need You Now' by Lady Antebellum, and out heaviest is "You Got Another Thing Coming" by Judas Priest; this amp did both in spades. During the outro part of the Priest tune (I had the lead boost kicked ON) my bass player looked over (also a great metal guitar player) and just gushed over the tone. It sounded like I had a wall of stacks on stage (when in actuality it was a 1x12!) LOL

We had a friend shoot some video on a few of our tunes--hopefully they turn out.

Alan--I LOVE this amp!

BB

[gtrs]

Triptik is the next CA to try on my list!