I grabbed inspiration from Warren Haynes and TPS

jrockbridge

jrockbridge

Stealing Your Riffs
One of the things I love about the internet is access to great information. I watched an episode of TPS with Warren Haynes and took to heart the way he likes to set his Klon Centaur with his amps. And, I found info from a different TPS episode for amp EQ settings.

I have a USA, 60 watt, Fender Blues Deville 410 based on a Bassman circuit. Back in the heyday of Harmony Central, the “experts” told me my amp was the same circuit as the Hot Rod series and it was junk. I disagreed with the opinion about it being junk but did not know anything about the circuit. Turns out it’s closer to a tweed Bassman circuit.

For years, I used my Blues Deville as a clean pedal platform. When I bought a Klon KTR it seemed to be a match made in heaven for my Deville.

I used Warren Haynes Centaur settings on my KTR combined with a KOT. Also, I took to heart how Warren Haynes approaches his volume and tone settings on his LP. And, I used TPS tips on amp EQ settings.

My signal chain: Sire H7 semi-hollow guitar > Analogman Bicomp compressor > Klon KTR > AM KOT > Fender Blues Deville 410 with Dr Z Airbrake attenuator. Amp EQ settings pic below.

I varied my guitar volumes between 4-9 similar to the way I watched Warren with his LP in the TPS video. Some great amp tones.

I had the guitar tones set full up. But, I probably would have backed them down a bit if I had turned up louder.

Warren said he never sets his LP bridge volume above 9. I’ve found that’s typically true for myself on most of my guitars. IIRC Warren had said his guitar volumes are typically somewhere between 5 - 8.5 on his LP’s. I was using a 335 copy and stayed between 4 - 9.

Also, I came across a tone strategy for LP’s a few months ago that’s been useful. It came from an unknown studio musician who got the info from a producer. On an LP, or any guitar that has two volumes, two tones, set bridge pup volume max, switch to bridge + neck, roll off volume on neck pup until you hear the tone hit a sweet spot, usually between 7.5 and 8.5. You end up with a sound that’s similar to just the bridge pup but less treble harsh and a slight bit meatier. It also works with bridge volume at 9 instead of 10, but then the sweet spot for backing down the neck volume is much less.

TPS amp settings (input #1)…

IMG_9470.jpeg


I give this guy credit below for making me realize that my Deville was closer to a Bassman than I had realized. That 59 Bassman sounds sweeter though….

 
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Back in the 90’s several guitar slinging pals of mine owned the early tweed Deluxes and I thought they sounded really good as opposed to the later Hot Rods which I think do not sound all that good at all. Moist ass is the term that comes to mind when think of Hot Rod Devilles.
 
Dew Knot Humps said:
Back in the 90’s several guitar slinging pals of mine owned the early tweed Deluxes and I thought they sounded really good as opposed to the later Hot Rods which I think do not sound all that good at all. Moist ass is the term that comes to mind when think of Hot Rod Devilles.
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Maybe, it had a lot to do with the speakers they put in them. I don’t know that much about it but I think I read that Fender put the dreaded Celestion Seventy 80 speakers in the Hot Rod amps at some point.

Those speakers seem to be hated by most people. I tend to agree that they are cheap speakers that sounds harsh and raspy in most circumstances. But, there are some who claim they are great for old school metal, particularly with certain Marshall amps.
 
A guy in the video below claims that Seventy 80’s are better than Vintage 30’s. I’ve seen other people argue in favor of 70/80’s for metal as well. But, most people argue that they’re crap and use V30’s to prove the point.

Some people claim 70/80 speakers are great with Marshall DSL amps. Others claim they are great speakers with modeling amps. Both Blackstar and Line 6 use them in their cabs.

Personally, I’ve compared them and it’s a lot easier for me to get a good sound out of V30’s with multiple amps for a variety of tones. Yet, V30’s have become a bit cliche in both rock ‘n’ metal. They are extremely common in today’s cabinets. I think that’s because they are relatively versatile and difficult to make sound bad.

There are lots of other great speakers including greenbacks, creambacks, classic lead 80’s, etc. I know Celestion is not the only company that makes great speakers but I’ve stuck with them because it’s what I know.

Seventy 80’s often sound like ass to me with multiple amps. But, they can be made to work for certain things. And, I do actually have a cab loaded with them that I use for specific things. Still, I suspect they may be the main reason Fender Hot Rod amps don’t sound better. Maybe, it’s a bad match for that amp. Or, perhaps, the amp circuit is crap and, therefore, the speakers don’t matter. I do like using my cab with 70/80’s for my digital profiler/modelers but not exclusively.



 
The reason Seventy 80s are great for modeling amps, and why Blackstar uses them, is that they have a sound that’s tonally neutral between Fender and Marshall speakers. They don’t color the sound. So if you’re on an American setting you get a American sound and if you’re on a British setting you get a British sound.
 
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