The Matchless amps are astounding. I almost bought one, but ended up going for the VHT for that Voxy mess.

What's the guitar? I guess if you use a 12-string, you have a few...

I was just curious, because the whole chain can make or break how well any pedal works. I was a wild pedal hog until I got a decent amp and guitar...

rayj wrote:The Matchless amps are astounding. I almost bought one, but ended up going for the VHT for that Voxy mess.

There are many ways to get the Vox tone, and I like them all. I hear that sme of the Laneys do a great job on a budget.
I would have just bought an actual Vox, but at the time AC15s were selling for what a Matchless was going for. Plus, I wanted more watts, but in a 1x12 cabinet. The Dr. Z amps sound good too. VHT's certainly are great.

I liked the Matchless the most, and it's configured perfectly. The second channel is very different, and that's cool.

What's the guitar? I guess if you use a 12-string, you have a few...

Well, I do have a few. I've been struggling with this instrument for 25 years and have picked up things along the way.
It depends on what style I'm playing. It's hard to argue with a slab of Telecaster. I'm using an SG frequently, although I'm pretty new to Gibson. I love the P90s. I've been using a Bean lately, again. It's been a few years. I used to use Ricks a lot, and they are a perfect match for the amp. Wow! And I'm crazy for Shergolds. Sometimes I play a Jag because I love the tremolos on them.

What do you play through the VHT? Is it a "classic match" for that kind of amp (it has EL84s, right?) or something unique?

I was just curious, because the whole chain can make or break how well any pedal works. I was a wild pedal hog until I got a decent amp and guitar...

I absolutely agree. I used to just hook up everything, but now I only plug in what I need.

I think this whole "true bypass" thing is waaaay overdone. Sure, it has benefits, but read what Pete Cornish, a very respected effects builder, said about True Bypass Here.

In the end, I didn't really care about True Bypass, just how things sound. As you said, as the amps and guitars/pickups get better, the weak links get exposed. Shit in = shit out.

-A

alex maiolo wrote:[...] and a reverb (E-H Holy Grail)

Clunky quote, sorry.

What's this pedal like? It seems reasonably priced and I'm in the market for a half-decent reverb pedal.

Rimbaud III wrote:

alex maiolo wrote:[...] and a reverb (E-H Holy Grail)

Clunky quote, sorry.

What's this pedal like? It seems reasonably priced and I'm in the market for a half-decent reverb pedal.

I had to buy a reverb pedal b/c we were going to be borrowing an amp on tour and I wouldn't get to bring my Twin.

I hated mine, and returned it, borrowed a boss reverb pedal instead. The problem was that the level couldn't be set, so anytime I'd turn it on, my overall volume would drop. I hated the idea of having to calibrate all my pedals to the one new one. I believe the Holier grail or the Holiest Grail have a level knob. might be worth checking into. the actual sound of the pdal was nice, but the thing was CRAP.

alex maiolo wrote:What do you play through the VHT? Is it a "classic match" for that kind of amp (it has EL84s, right?) or something unique?

In the end, I didn't really care about True Bypass, just how things sound. As you said, as the amps and guitars/pickups get better, the weak links get exposed. Shit in = shit out.

-A

I just play a G&L Asat Classic Telecaster. When I put new strings on it, I get the guitar sound I have wanted for the last 10 years, pretty much exactly. I am something of a greasy heeb, however, and after one measly long practice, the strings deaden noticably, regardless of any attempts at cleaning...

The thing about this VHT Special 30 (little 30wt, 1X12, loud) is that it will never have clean sounds. The 'clean' channel is the Early Beatles channel, really. Not clean. Not a problem for me, but...

When I am playing more bar-chordy, classically 'rock' fare, I will use a Fuzz Factory to make more interesting sounds. However, I find that I can make all kinds of clunk and scribbey chinky racket by changing the approach to playing...I'm not even using weird tunings anymore.

Yeah, the true bypass thing seems overplayed. While it's good to experiment from a knowledgeable base, I have used several 'less than ideal' ways to get an interesting sound...yanking tubes, PA cabinets, etc. I love the sound you can get with several older ElecroHarmonix pedals, and they load the hell out of your input while providing a nice hissy pillow of noise for your sound to sit in.

From what little I've heard, those guys in 'The Stunning' get some awesome sounds...Wish that album was out.

kerble wrote:

Rimbaud III wrote:

alex maiolo wrote:[...] and a reverb (E-H Holy Grail)

Clunky quote, sorry.

What's this pedal like? It seems reasonably priced and I'm in the market for a half-decent reverb pedal.

I had to buy a reverb pedal b/c we were going to be borrowing an amp on tour and I wouldn't get to bring my Twin.

I hated mine, and returned it, borrowed a boss reverb pedal instead. The problem was that the level couldn't be set, so anytime I'd turn it on, my overall volume would drop. I hated the idea of having to calibrate all my pedals to the one new one. I believe the Holier grail or the Holiest Grail have a level knob. might be worth checking into. the actual sound of the pdal was nice, but the thing was CRAP.

Yeah, that sounds like a pretty irritating feature (or lack of, really). Might explain why they're relatively cheap too.

Any alternative suggestions? The Holier/Holiest Grail are a little more than I can afford at the moment.

Rimbaud III wrote:

kerble wrote:

Rimbaud III wrote:

alex maiolo wrote:[...] and a reverb (E-H Holy Grail)

Clunky quote, sorry.

What's this pedal like? It seems reasonably priced and I'm in the market for a half-decent reverb pedal.

I had to buy a reverb pedal b/c we were going to be borrowing an amp on tour and I wouldn't get to bring my Twin.

I hated mine, and returned it, borrowed a boss reverb pedal instead. The problem was that the level couldn't be set, so anytime I'd turn it on, my overall volume would drop. I hated the idea of having to calibrate all my pedals to the one new one. I believe the Holier grail or the Holiest Grail have a level knob. might be worth checking into. the actual sound of the pdal was nice, but the thing was CRAP.

Yeah, that sounds like a pretty irritating feature (or lack of, really). Might explain why they're relatively cheap too.

Any alternative suggestions? The Holier/Holiest Grail are a little more than I can afford at the moment.

yes.

buy yourself 15' of ductwork:

and place your amp on one end.


hth!

kerble wrote:yes.

buy yourself 15' of ductwork:

and place your amp on one end.


hth!

Can you make it true bypass?

Ben

benadrian wrote:

kerble wrote:yes.

buy yourself 15' of ductwork:

and place your amp on one end.


hth!

Can you make it true bypass?

Ben

sure.

put a hinge on it.

alex maiolo wrote:I think this whole "true bypass" thing is waaaay overdone. Sure, it has benefits, but read what Pete Cornish, a very respected effects builder, said about True Bypass Here.

In the end, I didn't really care about True Bypass, just how things sound. As you said, as the amps and guitars/pickups get better, the weak links get exposed. Shit in = shit out.

-A

Well, for a long time it seems like pedals came in three varities: true bypass, crappy buffer, and non-true bypass where there was always something like a 10-100k resistor to ground no matter what.

I think people got hooked on the true bypass = good idea when it was almost always the case. In the mid 90s, when I was playing with a lot of pedals, I had a very big amount of signal loss when I used 6 or 7 boss pedals, plus a few more. Of course, I didn't care because I always had at least 3 on at a time.

Now, I don't care as much because I use many less pedals. However, I CAN hear a difference if I put ONLY my Boss DM-2 analog delay in the path... it sounds worse with the pedal in there. On the flip side, I had a Jekyll & Hyde pedal with a well designed buffer, and I could hear an improvement with that in line (as opposed to 30 feet of cable straight to the amp).

Of course, none of this matters when I play live.

Basically, I'd rather put better sounding that wors sounding devices in series with my guitar.

Cheers!
Ben Adrian