Neo-classical shred "at home" tones

[Pilgrim of the Dark]

Hi all!

My current "at home" rig is a POD HD500X running straight into a Tech 21 Power Engine 60 (60 watt, single celestion 70/80 loaded powered cabinet) and my "live" rig is an Engl Fireball 100 head with various FX in front and in the loop running into a POS Bugera 212 loaded with Celestion V30s.

I'm finding the Engl to be straight up overkill even in live settings. I can't crank it to the sweet spot without getting an earful from the sound guys. On top of this, I'm just not really impressed with the shred tones I'm getting out of it either, it's almost too sterile and dry sounding. It doesn't have those sweet percussive, buttery low gain tones that I like to drive with an OD pedal.

I'm looking for an all-around solution; basically, I'd like to get rid of both my current rigs and start from scratch. The POD HD500X rig is great and all and can get plenty loud if I need to, but there's something missing there.

My needs:
Low watt (under 30) tube tone (will be mic-ed up live)
Marshall JTM tone and gain range
Built in reverb a plus, but could do pedal
Good, simple OD pedal
Noise suppressor
Nice delay

I need to have a very sweet low gain tone that I can push into crazy land (a la Malmsteen) with the OD pedal.

Help me build the ultimate at home/live neo classical shred rig, please! Thank you!!!!

 

[Given To Fly]

I would look into the Bogner Atmos. It isn't talked about much here but it seems to be right up your alley. There are some great videos on Bogner's website but be careful, some of them are unnecessarily long. As for the other parts of your rig, my advice probably wouldn't be helpful other than an ISP Decimeter for noise suppression.

Bogner Atma 18-Watt 3-Channel Tube Head | Sweetwater.com

 

[Pilgrim of the Dark]

Seems pretty legit. I'll definitely keep the Bogner in mind, thanks for the suggestion!

 

[Les]

If you are looking for Marshall tone, why not a DSL15?

I'm not a Marshall guy, so I don't know much about them, but it would be worth looking into...

 

[Pilgrim of the Dark]

If you are looking for Marshall tone, why not a DSL15?

I'm not a Marshall guy, so I don't know much about them, but it would be worth looking into...

You know, I was actually looking at a DSL40C, but I think it might be a bit too much in the wattage department. I know it goes down to 20 watts, but I'm not sure how it'd sound running only 1 power tube...

Also, the DSL15 uses 6L6 or 6V6 power tubes (can't remember which), so I'm not convinced it could get a really convincing marshall tone.

I'm thinking maybe something in the Orange Terror series.

 

[protest]

Are you set on a Marshall tone, or are you just looking for a mid focused sound? The Mesa Mark IV could work for you. It has a great master volume, and if that didn't work for you, you can drop the wattage down to 25w (I think, might be 35w).

If you want Marshall-ish and low watts I would look at Blackstar over Marshall or Orange. I didn't like the DSL15 I tried. Could have been the cab, but it really reminded me of the Blackstar HT Metal pedal's 2nd channel. Just too much unusable gain. The DSL40 was much better. If they had that in a head I would probably trade my OR15 in for it.

Maybe try the Blackstar 20w head if you don't like the DSL40.

 

[Les]

You know, I was actually looking at a DSL40C, but I think it might be a bit too much in the wattage department. I know it goes down to 20 watts, but I'm not sure how it'd sound running only 1 power tube...

Also, the DSL15 uses 6L6 or 6V6 power tubes (can't remember which), so I'm not convinced it could get a really convincing marshall tone.

I'm thinking maybe something in the Orange Terror series.

I bought an OR15 not too long ago and i absolutely love it. Its between the Tiny Terror and Dark Terror gain wise. Very versatile for a one channel amp, and like you said you want to drive it with pedals. It has an fx loop as well.

 

[Pilgrim of the Dark]

Are you set on a Marshall tone, or are you just looking for a mid focused sound? The Mesa Mark IV could work for you. It has a great master volume, and if that didn't work for you, you can drop the wattage down to 25w (I think, might be 35w).

If you want Marshall-ish and low watts I would look at Blackstar over Marshall or Orange. I didn't like the DSL15 I tried. Could have been the cab, but it really reminded me of the Blackstar HT Metal pedal's 2nd channel. Just too much unusable gain. The DSL40 was much better. If they had that in a head I would probably trade my OR15 in for it.

Maybe try the Blackstar 20w head if you don't like the DSL40.

I had a Blackstar ht40 for a few months and disliked it very much. It was way too stiff and dark sounding, but I could get decent tones out of it. It was sort of a jack of all trades, not very good at most sort of amp. My biggest disappointment was how it got unbelievably lost in a mix.... Such a disappointing amp.

 

[GoldDragon]

I say Laney Ironheart 60h. It has a wattage control that lets you drive the power section hard and get tube saturation at any volume. So you can dial back the gain and get a more percussive and liquid lead tone. Good for recording and live use. But you do need to upgrade the first stage tube to something hotter, imo for high gain. Its a tweakers amp.

You will also need the right guitar and pickups.

 

[kaaka]

This is very hard. Lead tones are very personal and it's both the sound and especially the feel of the amp that matters to me in a good lead sound.

What price range do you talk about? Tha helps a lot. And how heavy rhythm sounds do you need? Many more hard rock oriented amps sound better for neo classical than pure metal amps is my opinion.

 

[ArtDecade]

ISP. Fantastic gain structure and a splendid EQ.

 

[nlaplante]

I have had very good results with this:

Maoghany guitar with Gravity Storm neck pup ->
EHX East River Drive (level maxed, tone almost maxed, drive 1/4) ->
Laney Ironheart 60w head on rhytm channel (gain 4, tone to taste) ->
Mooer Ana Echo (slowest, 4 repeats, 1/4 mix) in the loop

Not Malmsteen, but something that could do the job and sounds awesome.

Just my 2c

 

[troyguitar]

Soldano Astroverb aka Jet City JCA20.

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

I'm surprised no one brought up the Marshall Class 5.

It's pretty close to a Marshall JTM, and with a boost, can get you something perfect for neo-classical tones.

That, or get the Matrix VB800.

 

[troyguitar]

I'm surprised no one brought up the Marshall Class 5.

It's pretty close to a Marshall JTM, and with a boost, can get you something perfect for neo-classical tones.

That, or get the Matrix VB800.

Marshall also just made some 1 watt heads for each range, JTM1, JMP1, etc. They are supposed to be good but I haven't tried them.

I kind of want to get one myself:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MARSHALL-JM...505?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item51bf876539

 

[shredmaestrobri]

ID15 or ID30. The ISF and tube emulation knobs will help you get there. Also the amp firmware update will gives you the middle, resonance, presence functions via the TAP button.