Man oh man... I'm smitten. Hopped on an opening slot at the Troubadour last night... killer show. I was planning to use my Ashdown thru an Orange 115... but the touring bands were happy to share their rig, and it made switchover that much faster. Plus it was bigger! Beat up, older SVT CL (I believe) running thru a beat up, older Traynor 810. The head shared the aesthetics of a modern CL, but had different controls than any I've played... single input with an active pad switch, no "hi/lo" switches, no mid selector... just the three tone controls, gain and master.
The headliner had it set with the bass cranked to 3 o clock, mids boosted to 1 or so, treble flat and the gain pretty hot. He was playing a jazz with a pick and it was bright and gnarly as hell, in the best way possible! Even with the bass boosted that high there was no boom, just a solid bottom under a lot of grind. I plugged my Rick in and it was far, far beyond what his jazz could produce. No time to really dial it in, so for the heck of it I kicked on my VT bass pedal to add a power tube distortion vibe, rolled off the highs a bit and wound up with probably the gnarliest rock and roll tone I've ever had. Somewhere between the voice of god and the hammer of doom: Rick-o-death! We weren't even that loud (they were pretty anal about stage level, actually), but the rig was just roaring. Combined with a packed house full of screaming kids, I had a PERFECT gig.
Funny thing, after years of half-heartedly trying to get away from "generic ampeg stuff" and trying to convince myself I want a flexible, lightweight smallish rig to make my life easier... I go and play a clunky behemoth and simply fall in love. Perhaps instead of a mini-rig, what I really need is a new car that can fit an 810?
Now I just need a pile of money and a roadie.
The headliner had it set with the bass cranked to 3 o clock, mids boosted to 1 or so, treble flat and the gain pretty hot. He was playing a jazz with a pick and it was bright and gnarly as hell, in the best way possible! Even with the bass boosted that high there was no boom, just a solid bottom under a lot of grind. I plugged my Rick in and it was far, far beyond what his jazz could produce. No time to really dial it in, so for the heck of it I kicked on my VT bass pedal to add a power tube distortion vibe, rolled off the highs a bit and wound up with probably the gnarliest rock and roll tone I've ever had. Somewhere between the voice of god and the hammer of doom: Rick-o-death! We weren't even that loud (they were pretty anal about stage level, actually), but the rig was just roaring. Combined with a packed house full of screaming kids, I had a PERFECT gig.
Funny thing, after years of half-heartedly trying to get away from "generic ampeg stuff" and trying to convince myself I want a flexible, lightweight smallish rig to make my life easier... I go and play a clunky behemoth and simply fall in love. Perhaps instead of a mini-rig, what I really need is a new car that can fit an 810?
Now I just need a pile of money and a roadie.
