Ever come back to an amp rig after an absence and HATE IT?

[axpro]

Hey guys,

I have a Marshall clone i built years ago, it's a complete one trick pony, crunchy gain. THAT IS IT.

Played it through a Dr.Z Zbest 2x12 for years, it was massive sounding with a smooth drive. It was all i needed.

Then between my drummer buddy getting married, my bass player buddy getting married, and myself facing the power of the ring later this summer, we haven't jammed in a year. My gear has sat in my workshop at home waiting to be played. After getting a few new guitars, I decided we should jam.

I went to the drummer's place, plugged in... and.....

YUCK!

Now part of it was dirty power, amps buzz twice as much as they do at home in his basement, but DAMN. I FOUGHT with my tone for hours and finally gave up and just dealt with it. I don't know if its my ears or his terrible basement power, but something was DEFINITELY wrong. I may bring my Dr.Z RX-ES next time and see if that and my normal pedalboard works for me....

Anyone else face this after along absence?

 

[Ilduce]

A similar experience just happened to me although rather than a long time it was only a couple of days if that. I plugged into my rig yesterday and it just didn't sound right, it seemed like there was just way to much gain for how I had it set. So I lowered the gain, but it still seemed like it was higher than normal. I'm thinking that maybe my Tweaker is having issues. Kinda hoping that I'll plug in today and everything will be cool. Maybe it's just my imagination? We shall see.

 

[MaClyver]

I came back from a very heavy weekend away and my DRRI sounded like shee-it no matter what I did. Strangled top end, horrible exaggerated mids, just horrible. In my addled state I couldn't figure out if it was my hearing or something was wrong with the amp.

Was about to start unplugging pedals to troubleshoot when I accidentally brushed the wah and realised it was on and about 3/4 of the way up..

Now, if that was the first time I'd ever done that it wouldn't be so bad.

 

[Fuzzdog]

Was about to start unplugging pedals to troubleshoot when I accidentally brushed the wah and realised it was on and about 3/4 of the way up..

If I had a penny for every time I have done that over the years, I'd have enough to retrofit every wah I owned with a giant LED and and large sign which says "You left the wah on again you moron!"

That said, I still occasionally do it, even though my current wah does indeed have an LED. I'm doomed.

Usually, though, when my normal trusted rig sounds like crap, the problem is either my ears, or somewhere between them.

 

[MaClyver]

If I had a penny for every time I have done that over the years, I'd have enough to retrofit every wah I owned with a giant LED and and large sign which says "You left the wah on again you moron!"

That said, I still occasionally do it, even though my current wah does indeed have an LED. I'm doomed.

Bugger, I was hoping an LED might be the solution.

Maybe I'll just stop drinking instead.

Nah.

 

[Blue Strat]

Hey, I can go through a love/hate relationship with an amp on a daily basis...

 

[Silent Sound]

Something could be going wrong with the amp. Amps don't like to sit unused for extended periods of time. Also, have you played in the room before? Some rooms just plain sound bad and no matter what amp you use, you're going to hate the sound. Basements, with their concrete surfaces everywhere can be notorious for that. The sound just doesn't have any place to get absorbed into and it just reflects around making everything sound mushy and indistinct.

Or you could be remembering something that never was. I've revisited a few homes I lived in during my childhood as an adult and was quite surprised at how different everything was from my memory.

 

[Nelson89]

Sounds like the mystery of valve amps to me...sometimes they just work, other times they buzz and moan and what not...but that's the price we pay.

Onto the wah thing...i LOVE my wah (Vox v847), but i almost NEVER use it live because it doesn't have an LED on it, and as much as you think you'll instantly be able to tell it's on live, you really can't tell one way or the other if you're on a cramped stage.

 

[Flogger59]

If the power was dirty you may have been missing volts. Browned out tube amps sound pretty choked, unless you're EVH.

 

[Guinness Lad]

I've come back to amps I've owned after a week break and thought, "Wow is that harsh!" BTW, they were Matchless amps in every case.

 

[Fatboy666]

I have 2 or 3 amps that I use for gigs

I gig a few times a month

Every 6 months or so I try a different one of the three

It is instantly "THE ONE", and how could I have been playing that other POS

Until 6 months from now when I try another one of the same three

now THIS is the one

till I try the 1st one again a few months later

and so it goes...........

 

[SeanMc]

Yes... I have experienced that, more so in the past. I have one vintage amp that I have a bi-polar love/hate relationship with.

 

[shanesiegle]

I have amps in the past that sounded different from day to day and especially at different places where voltage can vary. I the amp was noisier than normal I bet that's the issue. Acoustics can make or break tone for sure no matter how much you spend on gear.

 

[yardbird mac]

I also have a similar problem, and I think it might be inconsistent voltage to/in my house. Some days when I practice it's an "organic" experience... the next day I'm ready to pitch BOTH of my MESAs and my DRRI out the window. Since I'm retired, I have the luxury of being able to practice 1 - 2 hours in the morning and another 1 - 2 hour session in the late afternoon. Late afternoon seems to be the time when my amps tend to either sound shrill and raspy (no matter how much Treble I try to dial out) or dull, lifeless, and muddy.

I live in a small town. Seven years ago we lived in another house on the opposite end of town. The power coming into that end of town sucked. In the evenings (at no particular time or interval) the lights would dim for 1 - 2 seconds. Sometimes it was severe enough that we would notice it in our old CRT type TV. Initially I thought it was the wiring in that house (very old 2 conductor wiring - 110 volts. The 3 conductor stuff - 220 volts), but I noticed that the street lights would also dim at the same time.

Just before I moved into my latest residence, they (AEP) strung a second high voltage feeder into the opposite side of town. That seemed to cure the obvious problems with the lights and the TV. I was still working then, so I wasn't able to compare/contrast the sounds of my amps via two split practice sessions per day. I just figured if my tone sucked at the time, it was my fault (either my ears, or lame playing skills!).

Even though I'm not having lights dim at this house, I'm not convinced that the voltage coming into this place is consistent.

One thing I've noticed with my Express 5:50s is that they seem to be very finicky about the quality of power supplied to them.


The acoustics in my basement are at best - horrible, but on a really good day I was able to get all three of my amps dialed in to my liking. I documented those settings so I could refer to them if I decided to tweak my settings to try to compensate for whatever was affecting my tone in a negative way.

 

[Tone_Terrific]

For 10 years I played Vox AC30s exclusively. My playing changed, I moved on, and now I play through very clean amps. I recently plugged into an AC30, and absolutely hated it. (I still love that sound, and they're great amps, but they're no longer the amp for me)

What?
An AC 30 is not clean enough?
Something is broken.

 

[Dale]

It varies based on my tastes which vary over time. The tweeds have been really consistent. An AC15C1 loved the cleans on but grew to dislike the preamp gain sounds.

 

[critter74]

I have went to loving the both the Fender BF sound and the Mesa Dual Rec. I have started to to mean more towards the Fender Tweed, Mesa Mark series and Vox cleans. Some BF and SF amps have a glassy sheen with no "oomph" for me now.

In short I think I went from A very mid scooped sound to a more mid prominent sound. My SF and BF Fenders aren't doing it for me anymore. The exception is the Bassman. Tweed, BF or SF all sound awesome.

 

[louis]

I had a love-hate relation with a Sound City 50 R,
It was so sensitive that a fly's in the club could ruin your
tone just by laying egg's on the tone pot's !

But man did it sound good when the sweet spot was dialed in !

And the Fly's were gone !!

 

[shanesiegle]

I also have a similar problem, and I think it might be inconsistent voltage to/in my house. Some days when I practice it's an "organic" experience... the next day I'm ready to pitch BOTH of my MESAs and my DRRI out the window. Since I'm retired, I have the luxury of being able to practice 1 - 2 hours in the morning and another 1 - 2 hour session in the late afternoon. Late afternoon seems to be the time when my amps tend to either sound shrill and raspy (no matter how much Treble I try to dial out) or dull, lifeless, and muddy.

I live in a small town. Seven years ago we lived in another house on the opposite end of town. The power coming into that end of town sucked. In the evenings (at no particular time or interval) the lights would dim for 1 - 2 seconds. Sometimes it was severe enough that we would notice it in our old CRT type TV. Initially I thought it was the wiring in that house (very old 2 conductor wiring - 110 volts. The 3 conductor stuff - 220 volts), but I noticed that the street lights would also dim at the same time.

Just before I moved into my latest residence, they (AEP) strung a second high voltage feeder into the opposite side of town. That seemed to cure the obvious problems with the lights and the TV. I was still working then, so I wasn't able to compare/contrast the sounds of my amps via two split practice sessions per day. I just figured if my tone sucked at the time, it was my fault (either my ears, or lame playing skills!).

Even though I'm not having lights dim at this house, I'm not convinced that the voltage coming into this place is consistent.

One thing I've noticed with my Express 5:50s is that they seem to be very finicky about the quality of power supplied to them.


The acoustics in my basement are at best - horrible, but on a really good day I was able to get all three of my amps dialed in to my liking. I documented those settings so I could refer to them if I decided to tweak my settings to try to compensate for whatever was affecting my tone in a negative way.

I agree on the voltage part but the human ears can become fatigued as well and that might be why you are experiencing the issues after three or four hours of playing as well. Just a thought.

 

[robertkoa]

Yes !

I plugged in my ADA MP 1 after a few years ( I use for clean tube and smooth, clear OD medium
gain) and it was not smooth and clear...

Next day and ever since it has been fine- maybe needed to warm up for 10 minutes cause it hadn't been on in so long ?

It's fine now, warms up in 30 seconds....I thought that it had turned into the buzzier MP1s I hear on Youtube , lol.


Wonder if you should try a few new preamp tubes ? Especially V1.