Lynyrd Skynyrd in a box? Mace preamp.

[tbonesullivan]

I never really have understood the preamp topology of the MACE, or why when tubes were still plentiful, Marshall, Peavey, MusicMan, and others decided to go into solid state preamps with tube power sections.

Is the "combine" feature of the MACE supposed to be like jumpering a four input Marshall? 

[mrjamiam]

36 minutes ago, tbonesullivan said:

I never really have understood the preamp topology of the MACE, or why when tubes were still plentiful, Marshall, Peavey, MusicMan, and others decided to go into solid state preamps with tube power sections.

Is the "combine" feature of the MACE supposed to be like jumpering a four input Marshall? 

I'm no authority, and I was a tyke back in the days of these amps, but I sort of generally sort preamp distortion as "fizzy" and power amp distortion as "creamy".  Maybe the idea was to deliver a less- (or un-) distorted preamp signal to the overdriven power section?

[Biz Prof]

Being rural NC born and raised, I always found the "Southern Rock" label to be a bit misappropriated. Skynyrd (and its spin-offs), the Outlaws, Black Oak Arkansas, and to some degree, MTB all had some fundamental similarities.

Others labeled as "Southern Rock" sound to me like other genres.  ABB was more blues rock and jazz/jam band rock.  .38 Special was a straight rock band. Molly and Blackfoot were redneck hard rock. ARS was bluesy jazz rock. 

As for the Mace sound, I think it fit Skynyrd's later sound quite well. Lots of power tube overtones.

Edited August 17 by Biz Prof

[Kookaburra]

On 8/13/2026 at 6:12 PM, RobB said:

No pass here. I’ve cut audio feeds of CEOs who tried that bullshit. Lavalier mics are designed to be clipped on to clothing, 4-6”, from the neck.

Sign of an amateur. 

I must admit that I’ve no idea re the mic discussion.  SM 57s are still my vocabulary, which says a lot about where I’m at.

[scottcald]

On 8/15/2026 at 4:23 AM, Disturber said:

I'm waiting for the Youtube vid that compares the pedal to someones home made Quad Cortex or Fractal settings, stating that they can't hear any difference from their digital modeller and the pedal. "It sounds exactly like a pedal modelled after a tube amp, you can't hear any difference at all. And the Fractal is a few grams lighter. So much easier to carry to a gig." 

And then the following week, the video saying there's nothing like the pedal, then another week later, grifting one from somewhere and proclaiming it to BE sliced bread and actual sliced bread isn't even a contender. 

[scottcald]

On 8/11/2026 at 6:05 PM, RobB said:

Skynyrd's crew hated that Peavey gear. The tube amps blew up constantly, totally unroadworthy. The bass gear was solid, it's said.

The CS power amps were too.  Knew plenty of guys who had dropped them or they slid out of the back of a truck onto the road and still worked just fine, but with a bent rackmount ear.