I'm not much of a live player, but I do record a lot. I have the 'classic' sounds covered with my Germino Masonette, but need a high gain tone as well. I don't like using pedals to get a high gain sound, and would rather get another head to do the job. I'm thinking a Diezel Einstein (50W) or a Bogner XTC w/ an Eventide Eclipse in the effects loop will do the trick. Seems simple, but extremely flexible. I don't think I need another effects unit because from what I gather the Eclipse is pretty powerful, but I could be wrong? Any reason why I would need anything else? Remember, no switchers or midi controllers needed... I'm not using this puppy live anytime in the near future.
That's an excellent point! What the hell am I thinking? I spent a crap load on plug-ins and I'm thinking of getting another piece of hardware? Ed, you just saved me about $2000!
Never heard of Peters... and I don't see a list of resellers. Hard to buy an amp without trying it. Maybe I'll give him a call and see what I can do to set-up a demo of the amp.
Do a search on the Dealers Emporium. He has some soundclips. He knows how to get every shade of od and distortion from classic to nu-metal. All point to point handwired for about half the price of the two you mentioned- not that price should make you compromise tone - I don't think these compromise at all. Just give a listen if you're interested.
I also have a Masonette and for higher gain tones I use a pedal sized amp:the Stephenson Stage Hog. It beats any tube overdrive pedal I've ever tried and I can honestly say I've tried them all(even the most obscure ones-try me...!) It's been discussed in TGP a bit if you wanna do a search in the pedal section. It has plenty of gain and you can get to keep most of the flavor of your Masonette,a good thing in my book. It's also ptp,unlike most higher gain amps out there,another good thing,for me at least. Another alternative would be getting a Star Gain Star or Bad Cat Hot Cat as a dedicated high gain amp.They are rated at 15 or 30 watts which is a more realistic level for studio work. If I'm not mistaken there's a Gain Star in the Emporium(procos') at a really good price. Ted
Interesting... I'm still hesitant to try another pedal. I love the way the Masonette sounds, and there's nothing you can put in front of it to have it sound like an Ubershall or an Engl IMO. I've tried the Hot Cat and if the GainStar is similar in tone, then they are definitely not the sound I'm looking for. I have a couple of projects coming up that call for that super compressed Dual Rectifier kind of tone. So far, the Uberschall is at the top of my list until I try the VHT Deliverance and the Diezel Einstein. The Uber has a great Master Volume taper that can get those 120 W low enough for small club levels, which is the volume I record at.
I already have a PODxt with a Shortboard and all the upgrades and models packs! I love my POD, but there's nothing like a mic'd cabinet. I use the POD to get some of my clean sounds... the VOX AC30 is one of my favorite models!
Hi tonefreak, I sent you a 'private message' with links to my current clips earlier today. (I won't pester you further, unless of course you want more info. ) -James
