Jump to content
Hamer Fan Club Message Center

Amp-In-A-Box Solutions


Recommended Posts

Howdy folks, long time no see.

I've been going pedalboard-less the last couple of years, using an old Vox Tone Lab into a 4x10 Tech21 Power Engine.  It works fine but I've been looking at various amp-in-a-box solutions so I can get more control.  I plan on getting two or three and cascading them.

I'm shooting for Plexi and Dumble type tones.  I've watched a lot of Youtube demo videos and have seen a lot of good contenders.  I've been buying and selling different pedals to audition them, but so far mixed results.  I think it might have something to do with my pedal 'platforms' - a '59 Bassman Reissue and a Mesa Lonestar set up for clean.  Seems that a lot of folks use blackface or silverface Fenders for pedal platforms with good results.

So far I've auditioned:

  • Carl Martin Plexitone Single Channel - nice tone but way too aggressive for my needs.
  • Wampler Plexi Drive Deluxe - didn't like the plexi-ness of the sound, also the boost function wasn't useful
  • Orange Getaway Driver - VERY nice pedal.  I still have it.  I can't get exactly what I'm looking for yet but that might be a function of the amps I'm using.  I really like the tone though.  Might be a keeper.
  • Boss Power Stack - this one's a keeper, best plexi sound so far, nice gain range, will definitely be part of the solution
  • Mad Professor Twimble - I really wanted to like this pedal but no dice.  It might be the rig I'm running, but it didn't sound nearly as good as the Power Stack, even at low gain settings.
  • Purple Plexi SE - On it's own it didn't work well with the '59 Bassman Reissue.  But it stacks well with the Power Stack, when used as a higher gain 'boost' for the PS.  You adjust the PS to low gain crunch and then the PP takes it to a higher gain drive sound without stepping on the great PS tone.  This may work.
  • Boss Combo Drive - the AC30 version of the Power Stack, much lower gain.  It sounded OK on it's own, best with the gain turned low to give chime and a bit of distortion.  But it did not play well with the Power Stack. Sounded better with the Purple Plexi.  It might be good for a few specific songs.
  • JHS Charlie Brown V4 - Very nice low gain pedal voiced to get JTM tones.  The drive control takes you into AC/DC territory at the top but at noon it's a very chimey tone with nice midrange. Combined with the Power Stack it allows you to get three distinct overdrive levels - Charlie Brown at the low gain end, Power Stack for crunch, and the two stacked together for heavy drive.
  • EH Soul Food - it's a keeper, takes my rig into heavy crunch with a midrange hump.

Others I'm considering:

  • Pedalpal 959 - based on what I see on YouTube this might be the best of the bunch
  • Carl Martin Plexitone Low Gain
  • Lawrence Petross Sixty 8 Drive (hard to find)
  • Paul Cochrane Timmy (this is for adding oomph to whichever amps in a box I end up with)

What else should I be considering?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 52
  • Created
  • Last Reply

I’ve owned a Simble, Tims and a Timmy, the Wampler, Plush Drive, Plush Valve Job, Zendrive I & II, the Zenkudo, and probably a few more D-types over the years. I currently have and am using Twimbles.  The Twimble is superior to the Simble IMO. The Twimble has a more amp-like feel. 

I also have a Lovepedal Amp 11, which isn’t a pedal marketed as a “D-Type”, but plugged into my BF VR, is really great. It’s quickly become my favorite go-to OD pedal.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lovepedal OD11 or Amp11 will replace the Timmy at a much cheaper price.

i would check the LP Purple Plexi as a MAIAB...I have one coming, but have heard it is outstanding.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 minutes ago, Studio Custom said:

Unloading all that junk and getting one of these:

 

spacer.png

I want to get away from the modeling amps.  I want to have more direct control over the effects, not assign them to multiple patches.  I am however considering if something like the HX Stomp would work for me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 hours ago, Jakeboy said:

Lovepedal OD11 or Amp11 will replace the Timmy at a much cheaper price.

i would check the LP Purple Plexi as a MAIAB...I have one coming, but have heard it is outstanding.

Also the AMP11 is a Timmy-inspired or Timmy-based circuit (according to schematics I've seen) with a couple modifications. Add in the COT boost on the other side of the pedal and you're most of the way there. It isn't a clone, but would serve a very similar purpose in your signal chain with slightly different, but equally amazing tones.

As a tweed guy, myself, I gotta say the combination of my JMP11 (more Marshall voicings on tap than an AMP11) and Kendrick 2410 (59 bassman) is AMAZING, and gives me Cream-to-ACDC tones with ease. Stack another gain stage (I've experimented with Analogman TS9, FT OCD, and fuzz faces, so far), and mess with the order and Cliffs of Dover ain't far off when you switch from Hamer/LP to Strat.

So yeah... highly highly highly recommend trying a couple of Lovepedal's OD+boost pedals as a foundation (all are so volume knob and pick attack responsive), but especially the AMP11 and JMP11! They do hums or singles well with the turn of a knob, and stack beautifully with other flavors of drive!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thumbs up on the Twimble, as well as the Lovepedal options.

That said. my long time "go to" has been the Ethos OD. It is NOT cheap, but sometimes you get what you pay for. If you trick it out with the HRM option, it can (arguably) do some coverage of both the D and M tones. Well, close enough for my very limited needs. It has a crapload of knobs and switches, so it does take a while to tune in to your own tastes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

29 minutes ago, HamerHokie said:

I want to have more direct control over the effects, not assign them to multiple patches.

Huh?  First off an effect does not have to assigned to a preset or a scene.  And where would you have more control than the various multiple layers of parameters? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

53 minutes ago, joshoowah said:

Also the AMP11 is a Timmy

While I haven’t sought a schematic (and I can read them) I find it difficult to accept that statement. I’ve seen it on other forums and have just ignored it. I currently have an AMP 11, and I had Tims on my boards for twelve years, and had a Timmy that I kept in my den. These pedals sound nothing like an AMP 11. Nothing at all like it. Also the right side of the AMP 11 is not a boost like on the Tim, it is a COT 50, another Lovepedal. They may have similar circuits, but don’t they all? What differences there are, serve to provide the AMP 11 with quite the discrete sound.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a Lovepedal Vintage Modern Chrome pedal for sale here on the forum.  It's the Church of Tone and the Purple Plexi in one pedal.  It's designed for them to be used separately or stacked.  It's really cool, but I just don't need a stackable pedal.  The Purple Plexi is all I need.  So, I'm selling the VMC.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

JHS Andy Timmons (or Angry Charlie), Fulltone OCD, Timmy, would be my suggestions. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Try the AC-Tone from Carl Martin as well. I have the 2 channel version and it works great in front of a Fender amp. Not too high gain and plays well with others.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Strymon is cool but it has to go direct or into a power amp....it cannot go in front of a regular guitar amp. It is designed for direct to PA or recording interface.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some might say it's a sledgehammer:fly solution for what you're seeking, but I strongly suggest you give the Wampler Pinnacle Deluxe V2 a shot. Just set your clean base amp setting to give plenty of headroom, back off the Pinnacle's gain to less than 12 noon and be prepared to use your guitar's volume knob a bit. Sounds and feels like mid-gain/JMP Marshall to me. The 3-band EQ, sag control, and switchable boost just make the whole package  "work" correctly, IMHO.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

 

marshall_jmp1.jpg.f918af99429274874a2284b28fe3700a.jpg

I don't know if you're looking for a pedal type of thing or not but this preamp above will cover pretty much every Marshall amp sound, if that's what you're looking for.  It comes with speaker-emulated and non-emulated L+R outputs, an effects loop and occupies a mere 1U of rack space.  I got myself one in the 90s after having got sick of heaving around a couple of different heads with a 4x12 cab then a JCM 900 2x12 combo.   It was a revelation to me.  I bought another one this last September.  You can switch between patches manually or with just about any brand of MIDI footswitch.  Except for my 'Crybaby' I also dumped all my pedals and bought an Alesis Quadraverb which can provide 128 programmable patches of up to 6 effects.  I'm looking into the newer Quadraverb 2 at the moment before I spend anything on effects, again except for a Crybaby.  There's always some of these preamps on Reverb but I got a better deal from Ebay with a Marshall valve power amp included for a lower price than some Reverb sellers were offering the preamp alone,  not that I'll ever use it or even move the damn thing myself.  Billy Gibbons has used this in his live rig from time to time so to me at least that's a worthy endorsement.  Maybe these can't completely replace a physical amp & speaker cab or combo but it gets very close and one of these with a rack-mounted effects system is a very versatile piece of kit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just got the Boss Power Stack and man is it good.  Nearly perfect plexi tone, very wide gain range.  I tried it alone and it was awesome.  I then cascaded it with the Getaway Driver. I was able to dial in a good lead volume and tone using it after the Power Stack.  I think that might be overkill though - something like the Timmy might be a better cascading option.

So one part of the problem is solved.  I'm hoping the Twimble can handle the low gain tones.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/6/2019 at 11:22 AM, Biz Prof said:

Some might say it's a sledgehammer:fly solution for what you're seeking, but I strongly suggest you give the Wampler Pinnacle Deluxe V2 a shot. Just set your clean base amp setting to give plenty of headroom, back off the Pinnacle's gain to less than 12 noon and be prepared to use your guitar's volume knob a bit. Sounds and feels like mid-gain/JMP Marshall to me. The 3-band EQ, sag control, and switchable boost just make the whole package  "work" correctly, IMHO.

After not liking the PlexiDrive I'm not sold on Wampler in general.  I want to exhaust my other options before trying another one of their's.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...