TC Electronic Plethora X1. I had an X3, and just something about it I didn't like. But, the X1 is just one-at-time, a total utility workhorse. All the effects are great, and you can really customize the pedal. The 7 slots, the mash button, the A/B switching... you can do a lot with one pedal. My only beef is the connectivity with USB and Bluetooth. The Plethora has issues staying connected and it seems like sometimes the Toneprint gets corrupted. What could be a 5 minute configuration can turn into an hour of frustration. Since that's only the setup, it's not a dealbreaker for me. I'm using it along with an analog delay pedal, and have all my modulation effects in the X1. I generally don't use more than one modulation effect at a time. I wish there was a way to switch the slot with your feet.

TylerDeadPine wrote: Thu Mar 13, 2025 10:48 am

penningtron wrote: Tue Mar 04, 2025 6:47 am

llllllllllllllllllll wrote: Mon Mar 03, 2025 7:20 pm The 50 watt YBA1 and V2s hang perfectly well, too. Tube watts through any decent cabinet aren’t really counted the same as the solid state stuff to the point to where referring to them as ~100 watt amps to those who aren’t familiar feels kind of misleading.

YBA1s are freakishly loud and bassy for 50w. The friend I bought one from used it for bass in a Dianogah-ish band. I've had plenty of other 50w heads (Marshall, Laney, Sovtek) and none of those were quite like that.

Well they were supposed to be for bass.

Yeah, though ironically I've never found that to be true of Fender Bassmans, at least for any bass tone I'd find suitable.

TylerDeadPine wrote: Thu Mar 13, 2025 10:48 am Well they were supposed to be for bass. Beyond cap choices, the Pots are 4Meg so it maintains aaaany bass through the circuit. 1Meg should be fine but maybe there's some low low's that they 4Megs are helping when dimed.

For reference that's only the first version. The MkII (schematic also calls it a YBA-1A) has 500k volume pots.

cakes wrote: Thu Mar 13, 2025 10:49 am TC Electronic Plethora X1. I had an X3, and just something about it I didn't like. But, the X1 is just one-at-time, a total utility workhorse. All the effects are great, and you can really customize the pedal. The 7 slots, the mash button, the A/B switching... you can do a lot with one pedal. My only beef is the connectivity with USB and Bluetooth. The Plethora has issues staying connected and it seems like sometimes the Toneprint gets corrupted. What could be a 5 minute configuration can turn into an hour of frustration. Since that's only the setup, it's not a dealbreaker for me. I'm using it along with an analog delay pedal, and have all my modulation effects in the X1. I generally don't use more than one modulation effect at a time.

I had the X5 for a bit and found the default settings to be more than enough to work with. The Toneprint thing seemed gimmicky to me ("oooh.. Steve Vai's chorus setting!!")

I wish there was a way to switch the slot with your feet.

There was on the X5, but it's not a smooth transition. Switch between songs (or large gaps in songs) only.

1951 Gibson L-48: Man, it's amazing what you can get for relatively cheap ($2,000 - about what a new domestic-made acoustic goes for) so long as you avoid the crap that boomers like (e.g. Gibson or Martin flat tops of the same time period). I don't think this thing was played much. I can't see any signs of a neck reset (the body-neck join still has a rounded-over fillet of lacquer) or structural issues, no top/back cracks, Bridge posts are heavily weathered but not bent out of shape, which seems to indicate they weren't under tension much. I think the frets are original (thin and low, just like I'd expect on an early 50s Gibson). Very little fret wear. Kluson tuners suck, but they work well enough, so I'll leave them. Neck angle is fine, lots of adjustment room left on the bridge; in fact, I had to raise the bridge to get the action in spec. It sounds and plays great, although I generally prefer modern frets, so I've had to man up on my fretting hand.

Used Tama Swingstar lugs off the 'Bay: well, they were dirty and a little corroded, but I got 'em for cheap and this guy was basically the only person selling full sets of Tama lugs with tension rods. I cleaned them up and used them to repair a 12" rack tom discarded from my Rockstar kit (I prefer 1 up/1 down, and both toms were missing lugs, so I repaired the 13" and benched the 12" because I like big drums and I cannot lie). I will use it as a rack tom on a portable kit I am building around a surplus kick drum discarded when I converted a floor tom on my original no-name kit to a kick drum to make a compact kit that I later gave to my 6-year-old nephew.

20" Paiste 2002 medium crash (open box, $100 or so off): sooooooo shiiiiinnnnny... guhh huhh huhhh... pretty shiny thing go pssshhhhh. *drool*. After about 10 years of replacing my original "random old cymbals I got from this guy named Royal for 100 bucks" on a one-by-one basis, I now have a full set of 2002s in decent shape (15" sound edge hats, 18" and 20" medium crash, and 24" ride). The 20" Zildjian Amir II I had been using as my right hand crash will now be paired with a cracked 21" 1950s Zildjian A on the portable kit for the lulz. Also for the lulz, that kit will get a 10" Wuhan splash as a top hihat and a random no-name antique store thiccccc AF 10" heavy cymbal that goes "tink!" when you hit it as a bottom hihat.

penningtron wrote: Thu Mar 13, 2025 10:56 amThe Toneprint thing seemed gimmicky to me ("oooh.. Steve Vai's chorus setting!!")

I agree, in that I have zero interest in e.g. Brad Whitford's OR Joe Perry's delay settings. But the Toneprint feature does make it possible to have flangers, choruses, vibratos, saved in the four free slots on the Alter Ego X4 I have. Not Crap, on balance, since I talked myself out of buying several flanger pedals by screwing around with the Toneprint editor. (but if anyone wants rid of an EHX Flanger Hoax, hit me up)

W.L.Weller wrote: Thu Mar 13, 2025 11:46 am

penningtron wrote: Thu Mar 13, 2025 10:56 amThe Toneprint thing seemed gimmicky to me ("oooh.. Steve Vai's chorus setting!!")

I agree, in that I have zero interest in e.g. Brad Whitford's OR Joe Perry's delay settings. But the Toneprint feature does make it possible to have flangers, choruses, vibratos, saved in the four free slots on the Alter Ego X4 I have. Not Crap, on balance, since I talked myself out of buying several flanger pedals by screwing around with the Toneprint editor. (but if anyone wants rid of an EHX Flanger Hoax, hit me up)

I disagree. I don't know most of these artists, but I did like a few as I was clicking around. I don't like to futz around with settings, so I found them to be a quick way to get what I was looking for.

penningtron wrote: Thu Mar 13, 2025 10:51 am

TylerDeadPine wrote: Thu Mar 13, 2025 10:48 am

penningtron wrote: Tue Mar 04, 2025 6:47 am

YBA1s are freakishly loud and bassy for 50w. The friend I bought one from used it for bass in a Dianogah-ish band. I've had plenty of other 50w heads (Marshall, Laney, Sovtek) and none of those were quite like that.

Well they were supposed to be for bass.

Yeah, though ironically I've never found that to be true of Fender Bassmans, at least for any bass tone I'd find suitable.

I love a Bassman for bass a low to reasonable volumes. In my head its how a bass sounds, but its also the first bass amp I ever owned so ts burned in. Jazz bass... Bassman. That is bass tone to me.

Kniferide wrote: Thu Mar 13, 2025 11:57 am

penningtron wrote: Thu Mar 13, 2025 10:51 am

TylerDeadPine wrote: Thu Mar 13, 2025 10:48 am

Well they were supposed to be for bass.

Yeah, though ironically I've never found that to be true of Fender Bassmans, at least for any bass tone I'd find suitable.

I love a Bassman for bass a low to reasonable volumes. In my head its how a bass sounds, but its also the first bass amp I ever owned so ts burned in. Jazz bass... Bassman. That is bass tone to me.

I've got a '64 Bassman that sounds awesome for bass on the normal channel. The French Goodbye record I played on was all P-Bass->Bassman->Mesa 1x15, might still be my favorite bass sound I've gotten on a record:

Dr Tony Balls wrote: Thu Mar 13, 2025 10:56 am

TylerDeadPine wrote: Thu Mar 13, 2025 10:48 am Well they were supposed to be for bass. Beyond cap choices, the Pots are 4Meg so it maintains aaaany bass through the circuit. 1Meg should be fine but maybe there's some low low's that they 4Megs are helping when dimed.

For reference that's only the first version. The MkII (schematic also calls it a YBA-1A) has 500k volume pots.

Really? I've specifically modded YBA-1As that had 4Meg in volume

Well dog my cats, looks like there are schematics with both with same Mark/model

https://www.thetubestore.com/lib/thetub ... XNsxtbbiDE