NAD: PRS MT15

[Bandersnatch]

After suffering a financial setback, I wasn't able to buy this thing after I had sold my Rocker 15 Terror. I finally did my taxes today and got a very nice return so half of my return went to this thing. What people say about it is true. It's loud as fuck but holy hell it's awesome sounding. Much happier with this thing than my Rocker 15 Terror.

I'm running it through my Fender Bassbreaker 112 which has a very dark sounding speaker, so I've found that I had to set the Presence knob quite high. I've been thinking of switching it out for a WGS Reaper but I can't find anywhere in my area that can get them so I'll be hunting for that for a while.

 

[Bentaycanada]

Just wait until you try the Red channel....

 

[Bandersnatch]

Just wait until you try the Red channel....

I already did

But I really like the clean channel. So clean. I got my Tom'sline blues pedal in last week and it didn't play nice with my EVH amp. The MT15 blue channel likes it much more.

 

[Wolfhorsky]

Just wait until you try the Red channel....

Welcome to PRS MT15 fanboi family With Boss eq in loop it can do even more...

 

[Bandersnatch]

Welcome to PRS MT15 fanboi family With Boss eq in loop it can do even more...

TBH, I don't feel the need for an EQ pedal to add to this just yet. The dedicated 3 band EQ for each channel is already a vast improvement over the Rocker 15 Terror that I had (where the EQ on the dirty channel did just about nothing and it was non-existent on the "natural" channel). I may add an EQ in the future, but right now I think just changing the speaker in my Bassbreaker 112 cab is going to make the biggest difference.

 

[Bassman1]

Welcome indeed! The Seven String community steered me towards this amp head not long ago. I am beyond impressed. The lead channel is just so unique. I agree with you about the clean channel. I recorded with it last week, and I was astounded by how good it sounded. Also, it takes pedals like a CHAMP.

I recently picked up an Ibanez Tube Screamer Mini to put in front of the amp. I thought it wasn't possible for it to sound better, but apparently it is.

I am using mine with a PRS Stealth 2x12 (Vintage 30 and Hellatone 25 instead of stock speakers). I, too, would say that it's pretty dark. So, I wonder if that is more so the amp itself. In any case, badass!

 

[Wolfhorsky]

I set prescence on 3-5 o'clock when I use the red channel. Yes, this amp is dark. When I use blue channel as a clean pedal platform I basically set all controls at noon. I takes dirt pedals really really really well. I have mine for over 1,5y and I still love it. And I am very picky - that's why I use eq pedal in loop.

 

[Bandersnatch]

Welcome indeed! The Seven String community steered me towards this amp head not long ago. I am beyond impressed. The lead channel is just so unique. I agree with you about the clean channel. I recorded with it last week, and I was astounded by how good it sounded. Also, it takes pedals like a CHAMP.

I recently picked up an Ibanez Tube Screamer Mini to put in front of the amp. I thought it wasn't possible for it to sound better, but apparently it is.

I am using mine with a PRS Stealth 2x12 (Vintage 30 and Hellatone 25 instead of stock speakers). I, too, would say that it's pretty dark. So, I wonder if that is more so the amp itself. In any case, badass!

Definitely not just the amp. I used this cab with the Rocker 15 Terror I had and also with the Micro Dark. It's just a dark sounding cab.

 

[viifox]

Congrats! It's a little monster of an amp! As good as the red channel is, the blue channel is just as amazing, and severely underrated, imo.

Try putting a 5751 in V3 to get more useable gain, as well as a 12au7 in V6 to make the fx loop quiter and more transparent!

 

[Bandersnatch]

Congrats! It's a little monster of an amp! As good as the red channel is, the blue channel is just as amazing, and severely underrated, imo.

Try putting a 5751 in V3 to get more useable gain, as well as a 12au7 in V6 to make the fx loop quiter and more transparent!

I was thinking about this last night. I found in the upper ranges of the gain, it gets quite fizzy so I thought I should try a lower gain tube in the preamp. I'm not really using the FX Loop at the moment since all of my effects run into my EVH. The thing I really want to do to this amp is swap out the master volume pot for one that's more linear.

 

[Bentaycanada]

I was thinking about this last night. I found in the upper ranges of the gain, it gets quite fizzy so I thought I should try a lower gain tube in the preamp. I'm not really using the FX Loop at the moment since all of my effects run into my EVH. The thing I really want to do to this amp is swap out the master volume pot for one that's more linear.

Try this out, I used one with my Peavey 6505 212, and it helped.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/LittleBAB--jhs-little-black-amp-box-passive-amp-attenuator

 

[Bassman1]

I was thinking about this last night. I found in the upper ranges of the gain, it gets quite fizzy so I thought I should try a lower gain tube in the preamp. I'm not really using the FX Loop at the moment since all of my effects run into my EVH. The thing I really want to do to this amp is swap out the master volume pot for one that's more linear.

vilfox and I have spoken before about tube swapping. I ended up doing the same thing with my FX loop with fantastic results. I recently picked up a 5751 tube to put in V3 as vilfox mentioned. I will report later on results.

As far as what Bentaycanada mentioned, I also have a JHS Little Black Box. It works great for managing volume without picking up an expensive attenuator.

 

[Wolfhorsky]

With eq pedal in fx loop You can dial out the annoying freq AND set vol lower to get into more linear territory of Master pot. Sorry for being boring..

 

[Bassman1]

With eq pedal in fx loop You can dial out the annoying freq AND set vol lower to get into more linear territory of Master pot. Sorry for being boring..

The EQ pedal in the loop can really do a lot. I run an MXR 10 Band through mine, and it just makes the rig sound stupid good. I mean, I have dreams about this thing!

From my experience though, the JHS black box helps make the volume much more manageable than the volume control on the EQ pedal. In any case, different lawyer, different opinion! Whatever works for you is the best option.

 

[Carl Kolchak]

No sound clips? I feel cheated.

 

[Bandersnatch]

Try this out, I used one with my Peavey 6505 212, and it helped.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/LittleBAB--jhs-little-black-amp-box-passive-amp-attenuator

I was looking at one of those on Amazon since they're only $60 CAD. My problem with that solution is that even though I can roll the volume on the amp higher, the black box doesn't allow the full signal into the power amp to saturate the tubes and allow the power amp to add its own colouration to the sound. That's why I prefer attenuators sitting in between the amp and the speaker cab. I already have a Two Notes Torpedo Captor that's hooked into my EVH and can swap it over any time, but I still may pick up a black box just to make the master volume on the MT15 more usable.

No sound clips? I feel cheated.

I'll record some clips on Sunday.

 

[Bassman1]

I was thinking about this last night. I found in the upper ranges of the gain, it gets quite fizzy so I thought I should try a lower gain tube in the preamp. I'm not really using the FX Loop at the moment since all of my effects run into my EVH. The thing I really want to do to this amp is swap out the master volume pot for one that's more linear.

So, I tried out the 5751 tube in V3 as suggested. It does what was expected. The gain was certainly tamed. However, I found myself wanting more. I found that by using a tube screamer as a boost (drive 0, level max, tone to taste) in front of the amp, I could roll back the gain on the amp to about 1 o'clock or noon. This makes for a SUPER tight low end with plenty of saturation. So, I am keeping the stock tube in V3.

But, like I said, different lawyer different opinion! I would try out the 5751 anyways if I were you just to see if it's what you're going for.

I still can't believe how good this amp sounds on both channels.

 

[Elric]

I was looking at one of those on Amazon since they're only $60 CAD. My problem with that solution is that even though I can roll the volume on the amp higher, the black box doesn't allow the full signal into the power amp to saturate the tubes and allow the power amp to add its own colouration to the sound. That's why I prefer attenuators sitting in between the amp and the speaker cab. I already have a Two Notes Torpedo Captor that's hooked into my EVH and can swap it over any time, but I still may pick up a black box just to make the master volume on the MT15 more usable.



I'll record some clips on Sunday.

Power amp distortion and saturation is generally not desirable in a metal amp, IMHO. You are better off with a good master than you are cranking the power amp with the attenuator and then using it to control the volume. The entire point of huge metal amps like a dual or triple rect is they have the headroom in the power amp to run really loud at 3 or 4 so you can get the volume where you want it without the power amp getting loose or saggy. IMHO. Master volumes are a great thing.

 

[Bandersnatch]

Power amp distortion and saturation is generally not desirable in a metal amp, IMHO. You are better off with a good master than you are cranking the power amp with the attenuator and then using it to control the volume. The entire point of huge metal amps like a dual or triple rect is they have the headroom in the power amp to run really loud at 3 or 4 so you can get the volume where you want it without the power amp getting loose or saggy. IMHO. Master volumes are a great thing.

I don't dial a whole lot of gain in my metal amps because I like to balance preamp with power amp distortion. If you see how high I have the volume knobs on my 5150, they run high enough to where the power amp starts to contribute its own colouration to the sound, which include power amp distortion. It gives me more of a controlled aggression type of sound and exactly the kind of bark I look for in a good amp sound, so for me and metal, a balance between preamp and poweramp distortion is a good thing.

Anyway, the JHS Little Black Box came today. I initially had it hooked up wrong, so I RTFM. It does what it says. Having the JHS knob set to noon makes the master on the amp more usable. I would still probably want to change the master volume pot out for a more honest one.

 

[youngthrasher9]

I don’t know if it’s still this way but as I recall, WGS only does direct sales, which is probably why you can’t get a reaper in a store.

HNAD!! I’ve wanted to try one of those little bastards since the first demo I heard.