I got everything hooked up today:

Crate GX130C (Head) and 4x12 Avatar Cab (two Celestion Vintage 30s on top and two G12T75s on the bottom).

Damn this set up is LOUD!!!

I was a little disapointed in the gain (distortion) as I had read from tons of people that the gain is insane. It is still good but NOT insane. I have the gain on 10 and I could use more.

I have my Boss GE-7 EQ in the FX Loop and then guitar going into Boss CS-3 Compression Sustainer Pedal, then into Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor Pedal then into Boss TU-2 Chromatic Tuner and finally into the head.

I have the EQ pedal output level maxed out to give it some needed push. I played with the settings on everything for about 2 hours tonight and still need mroe time. I got a decent sound but not what I am looking for.

Anyone with this head have a recormendation on the settings for the pedals or how they should be run with the head?


Peter

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Well, you should use that tuner first IMO. Then run that comp, and the noise gate. If you can't get enough gain with the comp in front of that amp pushing it, then I might suggest you have one of two problems:

1. It's not tight enough even with gain maxed. Get an overdrive pedal and use it in front instead of the comp. Set the drive to zero, the level to ten and tone knob until it gets enough pick attack. You will need to lower the gain on the amp when this pedal is on, unless you like fuzzy gain.

2. You really like tons of gain. this is not necessary for extremely brutal heavy tones.....you just need more attack and low-end response. Just turn the bass slider on that eq up more, turn up the mids on it a bit more, and get an overdrive pedal to boost as said above. Most amps IMO don't sound heavy enuff straight in. They need an od pedal to get brutal. Solid-state amps sometimes don't take well to boosters in front of the preamp circuit. If this is your situation, you need either a tube amp, or a solid-state with a tube preamp circuit, like the Marshall Valvestate amps. try an od pedal with it and report the results. If it still sucks you basically need a different amp.

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Just a tip but try running all of that without using the NS-2 at all, I've heard they can suck tone and gain.
EDIT: The EQ won't actually be boosting the preamp in the FX loop. i.e. it won't be driving it harder, all its doing is making it louder. Try it out front of the amp. If you want it to do that though the EQ effect and potential is lessened.

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The NS-2 doesn't suck tone or gain at all, and true bypass is a hideously overrated feature(not to mention irrelevant when the pedal is ON) but it will cut off your sustain if you don't know how to configure it properly. I played an ISP Decimator pedal recently btw, it's good but it doesn't have a decay control, which means to kill some serious noise you lose a lot of sustain unfortunately. Palm mutes don't resonate as much as I'd want em to...

They're 120€ here so fuck that. I'd still like to try the rack one though.

First of all bloodsoaked, take ALL of your pedals out of your FX chain and in front of the amp and try to find a tone you like without using any. Then add the NS-2 to cut down on hum, then add the EQ in the fX loop and adjust how you want it for leads, or for rythm if you want it on all the time.

Compressio sustainer I think goes in front of the amp, but don't use it yet just find a decent tone without any FX first, then add them however you want.

Btw the chromatic tuner should go between your guitar and amp, OR taking the "direct out" or "send" signal from your NS2, not straight in the FX loop like the rest of the pedals.

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Thanks a lot guys for the info. I am going to print this out and bring it with me to my practice space tonight and try everything and see what I get.

I did notice that the distortion and overall sound was more and better with louder the volume, this head does not seem to good at low volumes. But I could be totally wrong as I just got the Avatar cab last night and one had 2 hours to tweak.

Thanks again and I will keep up updated.


Peter

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Guess the best solution is to play it LOUD!

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you also need to play in your speakers a bit more

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That too, especially with those vintage 30s. They're fizz at low volumes for the first couple of hours, or weeks if you don't play loud very often. Mine haven't worn in yet, mostly cuz I've been playing with amplitube on my computer at night.

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Well i had a similar problem today! Sorry for the long story though.

My 5150 was sold as a semi-defect, lacking gain, volume, bass, depth etc. It sounded thin and weak with the bass, volume and resonance maxxed out! I remember earlier from playing one of these i broke glass with the volume at 5 or so, and there was just too much with the bass on 7 (and i love a really bassy tone).

So, i read somewhere that the FX loop on these use switched jacks. This thing was completely covered in dust, so i guess they could be dirty and fucked up. This would result in the FX loop delivering an empty signal out-of-phase with the signal from the input, which would explain all the symptoms i had. Anyway i cleaned all the jacks with my beloved contact cleaner (I'll probably die from the fumes of this lovely spray at 25 or something, i use it all day long).. And guess what, it woke up! Which also means i saved some cash since it was sold with a defect, bringing the price down.

Now, the concrete is crumbling here with the bass / res. / volume on 3.. And it's so simple to dial in a good tone on this compared to my old rig. (And, it's way harder to dial in a shitty tone, it's nearly impossible )

Anyway the point here is: Try cleaning all the jacks.

Buy a can of contact cleaner, it's like $6. Pump once inside the jack (don't put the nozzle too far in, try to keep it just barely on the inside), insert a plug into the jack, twist it around a few times, pull it in and out etc so you "scrub" it a bit, then pump one more time into the jack to clean the crap out. Repeat for every jack on the amp, let it dry for 10 minutes or so, then try the amp. If it's fixed, great! If not, try again. If it doesn't work after 3 or more tries it's probably something else.

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Is the contact cleaner sold at a music store or a hardware store?



Peter

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Yeah, they doe sound a bit fizzy so I played loud tonight for a couple of hours and I am still tweaking the sound/tone.

Funny thing........when I am NOT wearing earplugs I am not that happy with the sound. But when I put in my earplugs the sound/tone is killer, thick and heavy as hell. So I am not sure what to tweak the sound for....no earplugs or with earplugs.


Peter

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Hardware stores, "cheap-o" stores, etc. Like Sears or something similar, they'll have it. Radio shack too.

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Yeah because if you find it a music shop it will cost $30 vs $2.50

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Jopop, that's pretty amazing that such a low-tech solution as just buying some cleaner and using it turned your 5150 into a different amp overnight!

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Yep! Found it on JerryP's forum.


http://www.fjamods.com/forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2

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You should post that in the Easy Amp Mod thread, Jopop. Do a little research and explain in detail how to get the best results and why one gets results. I get why clean contacts are important but I'm betting most members here would like some instruction and insight. Great amps, great cabs, and great cables will not mean shit if ones jack contacts are dirty.

I do think it is awesome you repaired an old dusty amps youth just by cleaning it

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Definitely tweak the amp with NO earplugs in, loud. You won't damage your ears if it is only for a little bit. The reason why is that your plugs are attenuating highs and you will dial way too much in the amp. It will sound great to you but horrible to the crowd haha I know from experience. Get it sounding nice and then put the plugs in. Now you will have a new problem: it will sound too dark with them in. Go to GC or any decent music store around you and get those plastic plugs with the hole going through them. I think they cost $15 or so. These protect your ears without taking out all the highs. Best plugs I've ever used. There are two great brands:

Hearos:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/prod...ters?sku=421214

Vater:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/prod...UGS-?sku=420966

Get these online too if you want, but the stores should have 'em.

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Thanks a lot man, I really appreciate the info. I am going to Guitar Center this weekend and I am going to buy the first pair you listed the link for.

I am still tweaking my new head and cab but it is sounding better and better.


Peter

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My gx130 has plenty of gain, especially with an eq pedal in the fx loop. It's enough for me anyway. You may need to experiment with a few things. If it was good enough for ccorpse it's good enough for me.

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I agree with an EQ in the FX loop there is very good gain just not INSANE amounts like people seem to be talking about. Maybe gain is different for different people.

What settings do you use on your Head and then EQ?


I don't have my head in front of me but I am pretty sure I have the gain on 10, bass on 10 trebile on 8 or 9 and the mids at 6 or 7. Then my EQ pedal is almost like a V.


Peter

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Try using the EQ in front of the amp to really boost the mids and cut a lot of mids on the amp, it will make the gain alot better in most cases. Like a /\ shape on the EQ, then like Bass 9, mids 1, treble 7 on the amp.

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Hmmmmmm.....so nothing in the FX Loop? I will try it like you said and see what I get.

I actully remvoed my compression pedal from and I liked the sound better. maybe I was not using the Compression pedal correctly but who knows.


Peter

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Well the thing is you will get less flexibility in your sound but more "good" distortion. Remember to put the output level on the EQ all the way up too.

I don't think you need a compression pedal with this amp - it's already a very compressed tone. I don't have a compression pedal and i really suck at playing clean (volume differences between each note played), so i use the Lead channel on my 5150 and roll the volume back on my guitar to get it clean (which gives a very compressed clean, it actually makes me sound half decent )

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