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Jim,
As promised, a tale of the new amp's 1st night out.
Background: Band plays covers and originals; blues, classic rock,
modern rock, and country.
Equipment:
Guitars:
Gibson Les Paul Classic w/ Lindy Fralin PAFs; 8.0k neck 9.0k bridge
Fender Lone Star Strat; stock items, bridge set flat to body using 5
trem bridge springs Monster cables
Effects: VHT Valvulator I > Boss TU-2 > Fulltone Clyde Deluxe
Wah > Fulltone Fulldrive 2 S-FY > Ibanez TS 808 > Sweet Sound
Ultra Vibe > Guyatone MD3 (digi delay) > Fulltone Fat Boost.
All
connections between pedals made with George L cables. Pedal board to
amp is Monster cable.
Amp: OmegaAmps Hot Rod Mod 4x10 w/ Mercury Magnetics Axiom FBFS-O40
(Black Face Super Reverb) output tranny, KT-66 power tubes, and JJ preamp
tubes
Able
to dial in a pristine clean sound with tons of headroom. Used drive
channel 1 with drive at 10 o'clock master at 12 o'clock. Drive channel
2 for dirtier lead work. Omega amp boost used to fatten clean leads
and cut through he mix for dirty leads. May have to sell the Fatboost!!
I run a generally flat EQ (all at 6 o'clock) but decided to push the highs
a touch (7o'clock). I was able to go from jazz cleans to Allman
dirt to SRV leads without the use of the pedal board. For a true
SRV sound, I did punch in the 808 just to push it a little over the top.
Touch dynamics are amazing. Each pick stroke was accentuated perfectly,
regardless of attack. Guitar volume and tone knobs are more usable
since the amp is more responsive. Rarely did I use more than 2 pedals
at once (usually delay and vibe) because the natural sound of the amp had
everyone in the bar floored. I am now able to rely on the amp for
tone and just use effects sparingly for color; not so in its previous
state where I had to find a horrid clean tone from the original Fender
and the "fix" the tone with the pedal board. What used
to "woof" now chimes; what used to pierce now rings.
Due to the crowd enthusiasm for the amp's tone (based on compliments,
comments, and dancing), the amp has been nicknamed "Wicked Mojo".
Most folks, including band members, commented on the organic resonance
of the tone; it sounded like a guitar and amp should and not overly processed
or muddy. The warmth of the neck pickup was perfectly matched to
the clean channel and made for excellent rhythm work all night; not too
muddy and not too glassy and still able to pull off country
fill and, when boosted using your boost mod, superb lead work. The
only way I can describe the sound is that the amp seems to breathe.
It's able to cover all territories in one song, or even one moment, without
being in your face or washed out; again this goes back to the dynamics
of your tone circuit creating this tension and release. The amp
seems to have a palpable pulse which can be heard and felt by everyone
in the house.
I can't say enough about the performance of this amp and I've only begun
to feel it out. The tones coming from this amp are hard to believe
but I suppose I have to. It allows me to change my sound mid song
(or even mid solo) w/o the obvious coloration that pedals provide with
nothing more that a flick of the toggle switch or by engaging the boost.
Amazing amp. Period.
Your loyal friend and customer,
Brian W.
Chester, VA
PS The amp was accused of starting 4 fights on Friday night (bottles
and chairs went airborne!!) and 1 fight on Saturday night (drunk
guy shoving match).
Honestly,
my amp was blamed....I was told that my sound just made people lose their
heads (too many people dancing and singing and drinking!!!!) HAHAHA How
about THAT for a slogan!!??
Omega
Amps: Tone so good, people lose their minds!
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