enough said

Yo Whacker, when was the 50's released? I was performing at a prom once and saw a golden strat- very beautiful- but too bad the band sucked ass hehe

Do you think we should include the price as well in the reviews? might help people understand that price=quality (or not)

one thing with fender strats is that they're all mostly diff...
like a 97 model may play better than a 04 model....

Eh the new line of Fender American Strats and Teles have push/pull knobs to enable new sounds, have you tried them??? How do they sound??? XD XD XD

Since you've tried them all, how about a review of the Squire Telecaster??? Not sure which model but the one with maple neck.

No one else writing reviews???

Great reviews the Whacker!!! How about the Squier 51 or Squier Affinity Telecaster??? I'm looking forward to those!

whacker,
does this Harmony Music Center has the ibanez case i posted on price list thread?
thx...

I'll try to review them if I ever come across them. However, if you come across them then you review la .....

Try checking with modD. I think he has one ....

is that the bassman?
damn.... i thought fender wouldve at least keep teh vintage look of it..
the fender bassman goes for 3k AUS$ is australia....
3350MYR is actually quite good....
hey whacker maybe do a review on the other fender amps... such as the blues junior.. or the HRD

Hah evo.com, this Bassman is catered for bassist, not the vintage one where us guitarist took advantage of.
And you know bassists, unlike us, they've moved on... active pickups, compressors etc... the modern look makes perfect sense, doesn't it?
We're still stucked in the 60s/70s/80s.

when it comes to look, i love the vintage one...but seems to me, that old one should change the name to Guitarman.

I love Parametric EQ...easy and enjoyable

For a 100w Fender, RM 3k can be considered "tame" price. Hehehe~

oh cheh... i tot it was the reissued bassman...
so shocked to see the design...
theres a vintage bassman for sale in the music shop here....
goes for a "pretty" price of NZD9000 = RM24000
would really like to try the bassman someday... heard nothing but good stuff bout it

Well the Fender Reverb series is made of Bassman-type of amps, aren't they???

Well, I would like to try a tweed amp e.g Blues junior & a British Class A amp - particularly VoxAC30 - some day! *Evil Grin*

For me, the thickest sound you can get, hands down is the 81/85s. The difference between buying 81/85s and the ZW set, is that the ZW set comes with extra long cables for the narrow tunnels of the Les Paul. That's it.

And yes, the upper switch is just for show only. Doesn't do jack squat.

And funnily enough, the info says it has 2 volume, 1 tone knob... but when I tried, it's 2 tone, 1 volume...... Weird huh?

sean392 & tanton82,

PM your questions to Blacktrix viz PM. Others want this thread to be clean as possible.

anything PM me

wow... I didn't realise that people actually brought in so many ESP guitars! I thought they were mostly ordered in by demand. What amp did you use these ESPs with, blacktrix?

I didn't buy them. If I did..... You think I'll be slinging an Epiphone Les Paul-100??? I'd already get myself Zakk's FULL setup! I mearly tested them at The Guitar Collection of Megamall (Big Props to them for their great guitars). I used whatever amp that was available there. I think it was a Kustom tube amp.

Kustom TUBE amp ?? with actual tubes inside ? weird...
Whacker and Blacktrix, i'm very impressed by your master of english, you both do know how to write !
BTW, i'm gonna copy your guitar reviews to the pinned-up thread "guitar dictionnary" , i hope you don't mind.

sure no problem.

But's let's keep this thread free from comments (as minimum as possible) shall we ? Others want this thread to be as organized and neat as possible

Yes, in the pre-amp section....but if u want tubes in both pre-amp and power amp sections, go for Epiphone or Vox.

yes, i think those two brands are the main brands that come to mind when talking about guitar tube amplifiers. Especially Epiphone
One would say Marshall, Fender, Mesa Boogie and Peavey, but they are totally less famous, and it's not yet proven they're using tubes. Those tricky Americans.

Bloody sarcasm! Epiphones do produce tube amps which are very cheap! And they're selling pretty well too!

led zep, you're a freak ! how did you know about that ?!? woaw... i didn't know
sorry for the sarcasm...

Alright guys, further questions and answers please be done via PM.

Thank you.

great review ! and at least you're giving cons..! most ppl who just bought an amp will be giving only pros, they're so biased...

thx !

Awesome review man!
Hope you can post more, when your collection grow!

Great review nerd! But I have something to point out.

I think you are missing the point of tube amps when you say that the clean channels are too soft. For me I love the clean sound where the valve starts to breakup, so perhaps you should try pushing the gain knob a bit and see if you like the sound too? Otherwise try the Boutique amp model, I think that's the "cleanest" of all amps modelled and won't 'breakup' easily.

ledzep, you like CLEAN sounds when the valves start to BREAK UP ?
for me (and many others), that's called CRUNCH.


it's true i don't really understand how a clean sound is "SOFT". You mean the attack of the note is not dynamic enough ? Or the sound is just too low ? Because with 30W, you can't have a clean (with unbroken up valves) sound very loud... just live with it. As long as it is good, it doesn't matter if it's not loud...
I tend to play 90% of the time using the lead channel, modifying the amp gain and the guitar tone & volume when needed. I don't care much about having a clean channel actually... unless i'm using my pedals (which i'm not so far... too lazy). I'm just fine with a slightly crunched tone instead of pure clean bright channel.

(note for nerd : never agree with LedZep, even if you're doubting )

thanks pix and chapree! well I was just being honest about how I feel about my purchase.. and that's what reviews are for, no?

Thanks!

Well that was my initial experience, max gain with Clean Boutique as most of the time I'm using the Mesa or JCM800 modeller.. so I have experienced that breakup sound at loud volumes. I don't like the sound it produces.

As for the clean boutique, it's clean but still gain-ey at max gain. But I'd say it's the best clean sound along with the Tweed amp. I'm using Tweed as my main clean sound now, like the bluesy feel to it.

Yeah it's crunch indeed. But crunch is not my forte.
When I mean "soft" it means that the overall volume, it sounds too low. the note dynamics are pretty good, excellent even.
Pix, so are you saying it's normal to have a lower volume on cleans on a tube amp? But I haven't really tried it at maximum volume and maximum output (at the power selector) but I think the sound should be fine. It'd better be coz if I get a gig in college this amp will be my companion.
Yeah I play 90% lead too.. as my main songs are Metallica. But I'm also planning to learn some clean songs with this.. that's why I prefer a clean bright channel.

This post has been edited by nerd: Dec 11 2005, 09:27 AM

u can't avoid that little overdrive on the clean channel, cause vox meant it to emulate the way the amp works in real life. well, playing a clean amp with the gain maxxed isnt really ideal. but then again, setting the gain to a point where everything starts to clean up, will result in a softer sound , relative to ur other hi gain setting.

yes, i do experience this, but i was nvr really too picky on my amp. seldom bother abt a really clean channel too, and i do like the raw crunch and overdrive . (nerd, don't listen to this, u'll be fine with that clean setting)

so, only 3 of us got ad30s? i thought they were poised for world domination.

nerd... i don't really understand... you put a lot of gain on your clean setting, but low volume ? that should be the opposite : volume knob at maxxximum, and then you only increase the gain so you have a decent overall volume.

furthermore, don't say your amp is a tube amp because it is not true : your amp is a solid state amp with a tube in the pre-amp section. breaking up that particular tube is OK for more distortion (that can be discussed), but for the cleans and crunch, it is usually agreed that it shouldn't breakup. (in a tube amp, the tubes that are meant to break up are the ones in the power amp section). The main impact of your tube in the preamp is to provide a good and warm dynamic attack (here also, that point is subject to discussion..). Actually I don't care about theory, i'm totally turned on by my Line6 Pod, so I'm convinced your amp is Da Bomb too !

tweed amp should modelize the sound of the Fender Bassman, Fender DeVille and Peavey Classic... way to go, dude

Well, for me crunch also refers to the sound a cranked Marshall produces, crunchy clean is what I call it.

nerd, yeah it's strange that they didn't model the Roland Jazz Chorus too. The Roland Cube has an amazing clean channel.

pix, let me correct u there a little okay ?

the tube is in the power amp section. its a preamp tube tho, just stuck in the power amp section. that gives it the dynamics and blablabal. gawd i suck at technical jargons. the preamp is digital modeling.

yes, i forgot to stress out to nerd that, this is indeed a hybrid. while , we might want to forget that we're playing a solidstate(in a way). but i think vox has done it, by sticking a tube in the power section. most other hybrids hv their tubes in the preamp section..with a solidstate power amp..

well, im no pro ok..just..stating a little point..dont mean to act like one too.

hmm.... actually i like the way the knobs are not labeled....
i mean..... u feel ur way around to get the perfect sound.....
the cleans are crunchy when the gain is set high....
but the programmable channels can write everything la....

i put mine like this,
channel 1 - black 2*12, gain set @ half, volume full
channel 2 - UK 80's, gain set @ full, volume 3/4...
voltage regulator i set slightly more than half
then overall volume use the master volume control lo....
settles the volume difference.... [i rarely switch channels anyway, roll down the volume knob immedietely it cleans up]

hmm.... i'll make my own mini review
cons in the amp??? shitty wah >.> even after changing its attack still doesnt sound nice [to me la]
the other effects are pretty nice tho... the rotary effect sounds nice
sounds very zakk when playing momma im coming home...
i also dont like the fact the knobs are made of plastic.... doesnt feel sturdy enuff....
n i really dont understand y they didnt include JC120.... its clean is superb!!!!! ugh.... but im pretty happy with the blackface..... but the cleans doesnt sound sparkly, for clean freaks plz note this.... cuz usually songs i play are mixed between cleans n hard distortion

another one of the cons is i personally find the UK 80's [jcm800 2203] moddeler sounds like it lacks gain when palm muting..... tak cukup kow hmm..... maybe l8r i'll try adding an OD pedal

oo btw, controlling the effects is hell if u dont read the manual =/ n im one of those who dont bother the manual

this amp sounds really nice.... its modellers sounds realistic to me.... but my knowledge of full tube amps are limited so i can't say bout all of em. n i luv the retro look of it.... when i bought my amp there was an AC30 beside it, n it was HUGE XD.... but i dislike the chromed grill [personal] i'd prefer it black sleeker IMO

i'd give it a 8.5/10
may sound biased but i dont think it is..... hopefully not haha... dont have any effect pedals to test it with so i cant say how well it takes pedals....
PLUS i got it cheaper than nerd HAHA i got it 50 bucks cheaper
wahah... means i'll have more cash for the footswitch

oo btw the VSF2 footswitch
the button on the left switches between the programmable channels
the one on the right bypasses the effects or turns on the manual settings i've ordered mine. hopefully i'll be back when it arrives then i'll pick it up while my LP is being repaired

This post has been edited by sean392: Dec 11 2005, 03:16 PM

the AC30 model on the AD amps are excellent
works well with single coil equiped guitars

yeah I guess so. but I'm cool with it. I saved a preset with my favorite clean, the tweed with the treble and midrange turned up and bass and gain turned down.

I think they won't be poised for world domination until they add the Roland Jazz Chorus and a dedicated clean volume control

I never said mine was a tube dude.. I just asked about the softer cleans on tube amps generally in my previous post. .but then the AD30 does share the characteristics of a tube like what drake said. It's a tube preamp stuck in the poweramp section. So it has that break up at high gain on the clean channel.

Yeah I made a mistake, what I really meant that, when I just bought the amp, I maxed out the gain and straight away changed to a clean amp and found the distortion. After much tinkering and with drake's help, I managed to tinker around and find a clean, usable amp. BUT.. the overall volume is still pretty low. And THAT's my main gripe about the amp.

And yeah, I think my amp is Da Bomb too!

Yeah that's what I heard too.. but then you gain some you lose some I guess. At least at that price.


Okay that aside,

Today I really got to test the true colours of my Vox AD30VT. I brought it to a jam session in my cousin's house in Taman Tun. He lives in a bungalow so we could just crank up the damn volume. I played the Vox with all the volumes maxed, and the voltage selector about 1-2 bars from max. Hell yeah, we created havoc.

My cousin has his LTD MH-50 hooked up to a Zoom GFX-5 and a Kustom KLR16 and I must say, it really stood on it's own against the Vox. Impressive lineup. Very impressed with the Zoom mainly. It's wah effects are really awesome and the modelisation is really good. Okay, we're here to elaborate the Vox not my cousin's setup.

So anyway, with those settings maxed above, and my MH-50 cousin on lead (he's better than me but he's 2 years younger! ) we began to jam Enter Sandman, Fade to Black, Nothing Else Matters, For Whom The Bell Tolls, Master of Puppets and Wherever I May Roam. I switched between playing rhythm with another cousin, and used the Tweed for my clean and the Numetal for distortion.

Paired with the "Higain" amp modeller on the Zoom, we really managed to create a deep, growling sound. Not really Metallica but I would say that was one of the heaviest sounds I've heard. Palm muted riffs sound extremely good on the Numetal setting.

When playing For Whom The Bell Tolls, I sat out as my other cousin took my place in playing rhythm. That, combined with the Zoom again, really created this roaring thunderous sound that could bring down the whole house. In the harmonics part of Fade to Black, the two guitars blended in flawlessly.

When I got to the clean parts in Master of Puppets and Fade to Black, I used my CH1 Tweed Preset which I stayed up until 2am to tinker, and I got a pleasant surprise.. it sounds pretty much okay, very gig-able. So I guess only on lower power outputs the volume problem occurs.

But, question is, how often do you get to blast your amp like that? At lower power outputs it still.. to put it plainly.. sucks.

So, even after a jam session with the Vox.. the verdict is..

Disappointing, but very much usable cleans at low output.

Very sweet, but not sugar cleans at high output.

I shall increase my verdict to an 8/10.

This post has been edited by nerd: Dec 11 2005, 11:46 PM

sorry, double post

This post has been edited by nerd: Dec 11 2005, 10:43 PM

a sudden invasion of the AD30 posts. oooohh..aaahh..

ledzep, yeah, the ac30's nice on the AD. like it a lot, even tho i dont hv a single coil.

on a lighter note, nerd, when u turn it up real loud, after an hour or sth, check the tubes. they glow!:D yeah la, we kids nvr experienced full tube amps before, so this is as close as we can get.

oops. i think this is way off topic.

sry.

Can you all stop posting semi information on a reviewed instrument ? If you have extra information you like to share, PM the person who did the review so that he/she can add it to his/her review.

As I said, others (not from LYN) would like this thread to be clean and neat.

yes... clean, neat and easy to read. (you may delete my post after this)

azxel, if you really want a clean thread, you link all the reviews posted in the first post. You don't prevent ppl from discuting about a review. That annhilates the whole purpose of a forum (communication), in favour of a database oriented site (check Harmony Central if you want that)...

Pix, I think u'd better talk that over with thewhacker.

No offense to thewhacker.

ok, we pinned up a pure review thread... we'll do a bit of clean up in the pinned threads because there are an awful lot of them. I'm thinking about merging some of them together, when i'll have time
next reviews in a new thread (1 thread per review), and we'll copy the main review to our new pinned up thread.

since it's pretty boring to copy a review, i had to MOVE the existing reviews to the new thread, meaning it deletes them from the original thread and put'em in the new thread. For the next reviews, we'll take the time to copy them properly.
Thx for understanding, and sorry for the inconvenience.

No review yet, but here's a short clip recorded easier using the Vox AD50VT on the Black 2x12 settings. Gain & Volume - 3'o clock, bass - 10, treble - 2, mid - 1, & a light touch of reverb. Connected the amp's line out into my Audigy's microphone input lol.
Guitar used - Yamaha Pacifica 112, Position 4.
Slight EQ-ing was applied with Cubase.

 Vox_AD50VT___Black.mp3 ( 1.05mb ) Number of downloads: 217


This post has been edited by led_zep_freak: Jan 3 2006, 11:17 PM

VOX AD15, AD30 and AD50 and ROLAND CUBE15 / CUBE30 users, please keep on posting a review whenever you can : i'll create dedicated posts for you guys in the review database and will put all reviews + samples in there. thanks !! (and thanks again nerd, for your ad30 review)

ps : led zep, i'll check out your sample in few hours


This post has been edited by Pix: Jan 4 2006, 04:45 AM

ok, i updated the thread's index, and i copied some reviews that were in the guitar dictionnary but should rather be in that database.

please let me know if there is any review that i missed out in the past !

no problem pix.

how about we create a seperate thread for Vox owners?

It could be titled : Vox : Relentless Pursuit of Tone!

Over there, all the Vox users can post their Channel Settings or talk about getting the perfect sound..

yes nerd, that would be a good idea indeed. but really, there are only a few vox users here...and its only the AD series...hehe...so i dont see much interaction other than a few buncho ppl spamming a thread.

so this thread is opened again for us to post reviews/replies, then get transfered to the stickied right?

hmm...i wonder if i should come up with a review, considering i got the amp long ago, my points would be quite stale and overdue...

btw led zep, that was a nice clip of yours. it sounded really great actually. kinda warm and twangy at the same time. just to let u knw, if u choose the line out, it bypasses the tube power amp circuit, so there's no interaction and all that tube saturation jazz with your signal. its goes through the preamp then line out like a digital preamp...but still...i love my amp...

oh yeah, hv u posted up pics of it? i wanna see how big...and heavy... hehe..

This post has been edited by nick_drake: Jan 4 2006, 12:22 PM

Yes, go ahead a review your amp. We encourge you all to do so as it's the number one R&R of this forum .... "Community spirit and learning"

Make sure it's content will make us learn something

alright...i'll try and muster one up now while i can.. i always love reading reviews, but nvr tried it hands on myself...cause i hv kinda a low knowledge on guitar tech and musical genres and guitar techniques...

so this is mainly my opinions ok? as unbiased as i can be...

The Long Overdued Vox AD30VT biased review/opinion by inactive forum spammer nick_drake.

Okay, i'll be straight with you guys. i bought this amp without even trying it. was such a gamble. but i thought, how can u go wrong with:

1) 11 carefully selected amp models and some buncho effects bundled together as a bonus.
2) a tube power amp section (not really tube, but works in that way...or so.. )
3) VOX. VOX. VOX. need me to repeat that again?
4) power selector behind to control the wattage.



Well, what can i say, they have given you 11 amps, you choose the one that suits your style. then tweak it. eq wise and the gain knob. i hv to admit that i wasn't too impressed with the sound quality for the first few days i got it. then i got around to tweaking the eq knobs.

another thing is,on my fave model(mesa boogie) , when u turn it up kinda loud, (wattage selector pass halfway) u hv to retinker your EQ again to suit the situation, ie: band jams, so that u can cut thru the mix. for example, playing softly in my bedroom, i would turn the treble way up , bass and mid at 12. that wld sound just fine. but during loud jam sessions with my band, i turn down the treble to just abt 3 oclock..as the increase in volume seems to make the sound thin out a lot...whereas if i left the treble cut down at 3 in a bedroom level...it would sound kinda muffled...sorry if i was abit confusing here.

I hv to say tho, this amp is a tiny bit under powered. during jam sessions, i maxed out/nearly maxed out the volume...and sometimes...sometimes i couldnt hear myself. or maybe its just the rest of my band playing too loud. but you might agree with me once you use this amp with a band, unmiked. other than that, gigs with a amp miking system, this amp should pull thru fine.

So far, due to my narrow musical tastes and skills, i favour the mesa boogie(numetal) amp for dirty stuff, and the tweed (bassman) for cleans. but normally, i just get too lazy, and turn down the volume knob on my guitar on the mesa setting, and voila..i get some nice clean sound...not realy that clean tho..

I wouldn't really comment on the other amp models, as i guess , its universally known how they sound like. and i wouldnt dare to comment on the accuracy of the modelling as i hv nvr tried any of the real amps they modelled. but what i can assure you all is that, you WILL find something you love in this amp...and eventually marry that amp setting..

I would like to comment tho, on the marshall jcm900/2000 model (uk modern). it sounds kinda muffled and bassy. and lacks the definition and clarity. the jcm 800 is a very well defined amp tho. i play with it sometimes, and just like the unique punch it gives. but it kinda lacks gain on it, not that heavy. maybe a pedal will fix it?


Effects, there are plenty, but some of them are tied to another effect. like chorus+reverb, tremolo+reverb... but its alright, as there are parameters where u can turn down the reverb to zero, and leave the tremolo working by itself. other stand alone effects include delay, reverb,autowah(not good),rotary speaker...
what is cool is that, you can really control the individual effect parameters such as the time, rate, feedback. such unexpected depth for a cheap combo amp. a real winner here if ur talking about your bang for the buck.



This amp , is wrapped up in that black plastic thing...uhm..what do u call it? tolex? heh, im kinda afraid i might scratch that plastic layer on top...

other than that, its a pretty sturdy amp. traces of plastic everywhere, but the front metal grille really gives it a sturdy reaffirmation that it can hold up, just dont treat your amp like you're a rockstar. hehe...it wont make you one anyway. i dont mind sitting on it, i use it as a stool too sometimes.



There we go... im done. a little abrupt..

Thanks, didn't know about the tube bypass thing. But one thing I realize is that the higher gain (UK70s onwards) models sound better on line out than the actual speaker. Do you get that problem??? Because all the high gain models sound muffled and muddy through the loudspeaker!

i hv to admit 2 things, i hardly line out to other speakers for recording or what. and i think the loudspeakers in this amp is a little muffled too. read lotsa reviews recommending to change the 10 incher to another branded one...would make a difference of some magnitude...

so anyone knws abt buying guitar amp speakers here?

Yeah, but the 50's loaded with Celestion Custom Speakers, it shouldn't sound so muffled as it does lol! I'm thinking about a change to the Celestion G12 speakers but my warranty would be void if I change. Anybody has a spare cabinet?
Tho, I must say the cleans are bloody good, tight bass and bloody warm.

Oh yea, great review btw.

oh yeah i forgot , its a celestion for the 50s...thx for your comment. i think its a cheap entry level review for a not so entry level but cheap amp..

uh, sorry to burst your bubble again, u were saying speaker cabinet? hehe..i considered spending a little more for the 50 for that speaker out feature...

well, as far as i read in reviews and forums extensively on this amp, u can only hook it up to a 2X12...something to do with the ohms or sth... i really dont get it...

and i wonder if the speaker out does hv tube interaction...

btw, this thread can be littered with replies right?

This post has been edited by nick_drake: Jan 4 2006, 01:41 PM

Yeah I suppose it could because we already have a dedicated thread for the reviews. (Great review of the Classic, Pix! )

Yup, the speaker out MUST have tube interaction, otherwise it's pretty pointless. Yeah, I meant speaker cabinet, anybody has extras? Just wanna try out the amp with other speakers lar, nothing else lol.

Btw, 2x12 is more than enough alr for medium gigs lol. I've used my 1x8 SS in large halls before and it works, albeit a little poor sounding lol.

nick drake, thanks for the review ! i pinned it up and added some extra pictures to it, to make it sexier
led zep, can't hear your mp3 today... but i will later.

if i use it as a stool during my jam sessions, i will feel my ass burning coz of heat from the tubes escape from the grilles.

u sure are a very dedicated forummer/moderator. i appreciate that.

pix, ur in jamtank too right? under what nick? cause i see pics of your podxt thru ur classic 50...thats like your main tool right? you put it thru the effects loop of your c-50 i suppose...

ok, uh, someone's gotta tell me what is offtopic and what can be posted here... i dont want to break any forum rules.

This post has been edited by nick_drake: Jan 4 2006, 07:15 PM

i don't care about rules, that's why Whacker is around...

this thread is made to discuss about the pinned-up reviews, as long as we want.

i go rarely in jamtank, and talk only if the topic is directly concerning me (ibanez JS thread for instance). My nickname is Pix (how suprising) and i never posted pictures there... all my pictures are in "flash us" thread.
And I only connected my podXT once thru my amp, but i didn't enjoy the sound so much. I should give it another try, because i'm sure it'd sound oh-so good !

if u dont want ur pod xt, i wud gladly take it for free

a few months into ur vox and you're already cheating on it. hmph.

Screw it, if he doesn't want it, I'ill take it!

hey led zep, i just listen to your sample ! i'm not sure you should put gain on the blackface amp, but maybe should use a stomp box (TS808 like) in front of it. In the pod, the blackface gain isn't real nice either. And in real life, the amp itself is not so famous about his crunch, but maybe i'm wrong. Well, just observing here... quite nice overall ! ok, gotta go... keep posting samples, it's very interesting ! we can even try to compare pod and vox sound with same settings..

That's probably the line out, on the loudspeaker the gain sounds much better, really. I hope to capture that on mp3 one day.

i can sell the pod for xtra dough man
lol

ugh..... i think im gonna need a kickass overdrive pedal.... the JCM800 modelller needs lotsa xtra gain

@ ledzep

the line jack on our amp is a line in or line out? you connect the amp to your com from there?

its a line out. it takes the digital modelled signal out straight, bypassing the power amp. like a pre-amp la.

How many of you collect your guitar hero's items which they used for their recordings, performances and their photo shoots ? Some will go crazy to obtain their guitar pick, guitar strap and what more, the guitar itself. (would you actually collect your guitar hero's underwear ? ) This review was done by my friend (my friend wish to remain anonymous) but since I'm the one that drove both of us to the shop, I think I have the rights to post this review . What both of "us" are doing to review are two Tremonti guitars from PRS which are PRS Mark Tremonti Model and PRS Tremonti SE. It will be very interesting to put these rather similar guitars side by side for comparisons.

The looks .....

(Tremonti SE)
My friend owns a PRS Tremonti SE guitar. The SE stands for Student Edition. Well, you guess it, since most students are "not-so-rich", the Tremonti SE is the lower-end model made in Korea of the more excellent Mark Tremonti Model. Lower-end or not, the Tremonti SE has the looks of any expensive guitars out there. The body is made from Mahogany and there's a 3-way toggle pickup selector near the neck pickup, similar to Les-Paul guitars. There are also four control knobs which are controls the volume and tone for each pickup. To add some icing to the cake, there's white binding on the Mahogany body which looks real cool with the black colour body. The guitar has 22-fret neck with rosewood fretboard with PRS very own tuners which keeps the guitar in tune. And all this is still the Student Edition folks; I haven't mentioned anything on the Mark Tremonti Model yet.



(Mark Tremonti Model)
Now it's the more expensive version. Comparing the Mark Tremonti Model with the Tremonti SE is like comparing a Ferrari F50 with a Proton Gen-2. First look at this made in USA guitar and you'll notice the superb pearl bird inlays on the 22-fret rosewood neck and the special 12th fret Mark Tremonti inlay. The guitar's body is a carved maple top with thick mahogany back and has an opaque color with natural maple edge. The guitar has a unique Tremonti Bass and Tremonti Treble pickups with a PRS adjustable stoptail bridge. Everything else is pretty much the same with the SE version, there's a 3-way toggle pickup selector near the neck pickup and four control knobs which are controls the volume and tone for each pickup. The Tremonti SE is thinner than the Mark Tremonti Model.

The sounds .....

(Tremonti SE)
My friend says that the guitar has a pleasing mix of full and well-defined lows and brilliant mids on the neck pickup, and howling leads with some real AC/DC moments on the neck. The entire sound feels quite modern and punchy, but the output isn't too high and this gives it enough raunch for classic rock stuff. The guitar has a thin neck which means playability is awesome or in other words, the action is good stuff. It pleasingly winds up the clean channel with clean crystal clear sounds.
Overdrive turns the neck pickup into rythmn heaven, with the punch at low gain good for a wide range of driven backings, with the top end biting nicely. Winding up the gain gives a much more metally tone, as the benefits of a set mahogany neck show through. My friend plays this guitar with a Marshall AVT100X, and this guitar is good for metal and rock playing guitarists.



(Mark Tremonti Model)
The amp used with this guitar is a Laney HCM65R. My friend is doing all the testing and I'm doing all the writing. The clean sound on this guitar is crystal clear and pristine, and when my friend switches on the overdrive channel on the amp, it's just pure ecstasy. Warmth and sustain for days with the fullest body of sound we have ever heard. This guitar is perfect for hard, guitar-driven rock...this is how Mark Tremonti makes those fat and warm crunch for their songs (listen to Creed's "What If"). As I mentioned earlier, this guitar has a unique Tremonti Bass and Tremonti Treble pickups installed. The fat and warm crunch is the result of the combination of these pickups. The Tremonti Bass pickup never sounds overdriven when playing clean, and the Tremonti Treble pickup will add extra presence/ brightness. There's no unwanted feedback at all with this guitar. My friend did point out that the action is super low & super fast, the guitar practically plays itself. Those who love Nickelback, Hoobastank, P.O.D., Linkin Park, Puddle Of Mudd just to name a few (and of course Creed) will surely love this guitar.

So which guitar to buy ?

Haha, seriously speaking ... we don't know. Well, it depends on your wallet. My friend bought his Tremonti SE for Rm2,999 and the Mark Tremonti Model is a cool Rm10,999. Basically, the Tremonti SE has less cosmetic finishes and the unique pickups then the Mark Tremonti Model. Both guitars are perfect for metal and rock players, but of course the Mark Tremonti Model provides the better sounding and better looking then its smaller brother has to offer.

Tremonti SE
Pros: Great for metal and rock guitarists, excellent workmanship, very comfortable
Cons: You'll get jealous with those who have the "real" Tremonti guitar .

Mark Tremonti Model
Pros: excellent workmanship, very comfortable, unique Tremonti pickups which sounds awesome, excellent presentation (pearl bird inlays and Mark Tremonti inlays)
Cons: Price , not suitable for blues and jazz



*Note to Pix, there's a copy at the Database review thread already*

This post has been edited by TheWhacker: Mar 5 2006, 08:56 AM

the whacker, as ever, very nice writing... but i feel embarassed : are you being paid to write this review (by Mahogany) ? I can't read any actual critic, except that the SE has low output's pups. No offense, maybe that's the case : everything is good about those guitars
Very weird anyway... it's like the critics in some low profile guitar magasines : they can't allow themselves to write anything bad about anyone... otherwise, they'll loose publicity funds.

does the mark tremonti worth 10,999 RM ?

Nope, i'm not being paid by anyone to post those reviews. Well, i mention earlier, it's my friend who did the review .... not me. I'm the one who drove both of us to the shop but he said it's no problem posting the review here. I wanted to give credit to him but he wishes to remain anonymous.

Both guitars are good, seriously. I do make a point to critic any guitars (like what i did with the previous Fender reviews), but you know PRS makes superb guitars. Maybe, i should add in that it's only good for metal and rock theme. Bluez and Jazz on these guitars don't really sound "good"

Rm10,999 is last year's price ..... , worth it ? ..... depends la, i mean its because of the pickups you know. Even Santana has his own set of pickups to create his "sound" in his solos.

This post has been edited by TheWhacker: Mar 5 2006, 08:53 AM

thx for clarifying. well, it's one's opinion and I've nothing against PRS at all. To make things clear and show my un-bias, I did like the Soapbar SE very very much..
anyway, it's really great for us you actually take time to do some reviews, and such into details.

I have something to add...
Regarding the Tremonti SE... it's TOO LIGHT! The feel is as if you're playing with a guitar made of plastic. If you hit the strings hard enough, you can feel the whole body vibrating lol. It might be a good thing for some ppl, but don't expect Les Paul sustain from it.

Also, being a signature guitar, it doesn't come cheap. Unless you're a Tremonti fan, you could get something at the same quality (or better) for a lower price.

Ask any musicians' you know of and chances are they will own at least one acoustic guitar along with their endless list of electric guitars. Playing a gig with an electric guitars take some time to set up, from plugging your guitar to those pedals on the floor, to setting those controls on the amp and finally having the best pedals, amp and guitar in the world won't do a thing if you can't find a power plug. Acoustic guitars are a "take and play" instrument, similar to "plug and play" in most computer hardware.

Some songs require both acoustic and electric guitar in order to play the song properly and accurately. So how do you switch between your acoustic guitar and then back to your electric guitar at an instant on the live performance?

The Modeler

To solve that problem, allow me introduce the Behringer AM100 Acoustic Modeler pedal. This effects pedal allows guitarists to achieve realistic acoustic guitar modeling using any electric guitar. The pedal has dark brown colour which may be representing the wood theme here, hence acoustic guitar. The pedal has a switch to choose what type of Acoustic Guitar sound you want (standard, large, piezo pickup style or bright). Standard mode produces a typical acoustic guitar sound while at the Large mode delivers a large and more resonant acoustic feel. The Piezo mode simulates distinct brightness of a classic piezo pickup and the last mode Bright gives a brilliant and ultra-present sound which is good if you're playing in a live environment.



On top of that, there's also 3 knobs for level, enhance and resonance. Level basically adjusts the output level (the volume). The Enhance control determines the amount of brilliance as well as upper harmonics and the Resonance control adjusts the resonance of the simulated acoustic guitar body.

Sadly, the manual is only a sheet of paper (like all Behringer effects pedals), and to be honest the manual should have at least give more information, such as where to put the 9V battery (because of this I actually unscrewed the whole thing looking for where to put the battery, only to find out it is under the actual pedal). The locking system for the battery also needs about 5 different hands to unlock and lock again. See the picture below.



If you stomped on the pedal, it would probably break due to the fact that it is mainly plastic. I said before "throwing a Boss pedal to the wall will crack the wall and the Boss pedal will be fine" but don't try throwing this Behringer pedal to anything, so press it and treat it gently.

Acoustic Sounds ?

The pedal was used with a 70's Fender Stratocaster and a Marshall MG50DFX amp. When in use, it makes a slight hissing noise, but it is very easy to ignore when playing with it. The sound when used is very similar to an acoustic guitar, but the highs, even when the enhance knob is turned up full, just aren't good enough. When the Resonance knob is turned up, the bottom 4 strings sound great.

I played the song "Some Day" by Nickelback and I was able to play the whole song only on the electric guitar with the AM100 plugged in. I played the song using the 'Piezo pickup' mode, with the 'Enhance' knob turned nearly to full, and the 'Resonance' knob set at about halfway. When the pedal is turned on it create a slight "pop", which can be a nuisance when turning it on an off mid song. You have to turn down the volume on the pedal itself it avoid the "pop" sound.

So I throw away my Acoustic guitar ?

No, keep it. If you're playing a song which uses only the acoustic guitar, then you should use an acoustic guitar to play it, not with this pedal. This pedal helps a lot if you don't want to switch guitars in a middle of performance. If you're looking for your first Acoustic Modeler pedal, this is the pedal to buy because it's only Rm120. However, if you're a seasoned guitarist, you should skip this pedal and settle for the Boss AC-2.

Pros: Super cheap; great acoustic sounds

Cons: Changing batteries is a big hassle; it's made of plastic; creates a "pop" sound when activating the pedal.

*Note to Pix, there's a copy at the Database review thread already*

Anyone here knows where Pasar Road is located ? This is the place where all the cheap electronic items like microphones, mixers, cables are being sold at very low prices. Don't think very low prices means very low quality, the catch is to find the right item at the right shop so a little abit of window-shopping is required to get the best bang for your money.



I have seen alot of guitar cables in various shops with all the advance features like a muted button or an anti-tangle construction and all these cables don't come cheap. Some of them can reach over Rm200 price tag. Almost all guitarist and bassist will agree of the importance of having a good quality cable. This is because the cable acts as the middle man between your guitar and your amp. Some would settle for a cheap cable that will break or snap after awhile due to the cheap construction of the cable. But there's one cable under the same category of cheap but has the expensive features of an expensive cable.

The MaxCable

When I first saw this cable, my first taught is this cable is not going to be cheap. Its construction is a solid rubber base, you can slash someone's back with this cable and it will leave a mark on the skin. The connectors have a reinforced padding (see the picture below) to protect the wires inside the cable so that they will not break or snap while you move around with your guitar plugged on. This cable is 3 meters long, not that long for those who want to move around the stage during a live performance, but should be enough for most musicians. And to add the icing on the cake, the connectors are a 24k Gold Plated. Gold is the best conductor for electricity to inprove the connection between speakers or instruments.



Max Sounds ?

Comparing this cable with a cheap cable (the ones the music stores will give free when you purchase a guitar from them), the MaxCable gives a more brighter and clearer sound on both clean and overdrive channels while on the cheap cable it gives abit of muddy sounds. I did an experiment with this cable by moving 3 meters away from the amp. The cable poped out from the guitar but there's no sign of cracking whatsoever and still works like new. The cheap cable however didn't suffer same the fate as its now in the rubbish bin because the connector broke while I was doing the same experiment.

The best cable ever !

So how much this cable cost ? Its only Rm25. Yes, Rm25. So go and get it

Pros: It's Rm25, good construction, 24K Gold Plated connectors

Cons: If I have to say something bad about this cable, it would be the length of the cable, which is only 3 meters.

*Note to Pix, there's a copy at the Database review thread already*

This post has been edited by TheWhacker: Jul 6 2006, 04:04 PM

and where would we find this cable??
petaling street aint exactly small =/ any landmarks???

also do they have L shaped cables?

petaling street or jalan pasar?
1st time i'm hearing of petaling st selling cables, where exactly anyway?

Sorry, its Pasar Road not Petaling Street.

The thing is, i bought this cable last year so i can't give an address as there's alot of shops there in Pasar Road.

And its Rm25 ....

"the best cable ever" ... or rather "the best cheap cable ever" ?

I dunno .... i ran out of ideas for that tag line. Whatever you want to call it, I love this cable. No more PlanetWaves or Jim dunlop cables for me when this cables owns them all.

i had a few of PlanetWaves cables (the one with the mute button) which just dead on me after while. The wires inside the cables snapped out of nowhere.

This post has been edited by TheWhacker: Jul 6 2006, 06:17 PM

but what about the sound ? monster cables do bring a noticeable improvement on the sound, so i'm wondering if that cable also gives that extra sparkle, compared to a standard "rm20~30" cable..?
My monster cable never died on me. Feels really solid ! (that's just to average out your experience with your own cables...cuz' I don't want other guitarists to think monster builds crap !)

Hey Pix, how much did you spend on your Monster Cable and where did you get it??? Haven't seen one so far.

monster cable? must special order.
or get it from singapore.
thats where my friends got theirs from anyway.

there is a monster cable distributor here but they specialise in high end audiophile stuff.

This post has been edited by Everdying: Jul 7 2006, 07:19 PM

btw...what's the price of a monster cable? how about if i get it from ebay or somewhere else?

I would say about RM100-200? I'm not too sure but they're pretty pricey compared to other brands.

You could get it from Ishibashi too.

Wow. Cable can reach up to so high. I have seen one gold head cable RM500 or so. Is it really that good?

it's not gold head bro...it's gold plated to improve its conductivity.....so it's in gold colour.....it's definately good...but would u think that everyone could afford it ? monster cable is the most famous among guitarist and bassist i think...

did i say monster ?? oooops... my age coming back at me...

what i actually have is planet wave cable... sorry for the mistake ! i think i bought monster cables in france, a very long while ago, but i can't remember how solid it was. So maybe they broke up on me too, can't remember
Planet Waves are enhancing the sound and are rather solid though. 70RM for a cable. In Yamaha, for instance.

i think u can get moster cable in SMX timesquare

rm 200 + per cable

and its not that long IIRC

best part, its not just the connector gold plated, the whole bloody thing is gold plated [thats what my friend said when he read the description] and its pretty solid =/

dam freakin pricey tho

monster cable? never heard of it.... Dont hit me
Are the planet waves with the cutoff/mute/watever u call it button any good? I do normally switch between fretted and fretless bass and i was thinking of getting it. Is it worth the money?

mine doesn't have the mute button, but the only benefit is that you won't hear the "plop" when you unplug...

yeah, and for me it's one very loud "plop". I was just wondering if it is lasting. Looks bomb proof with it's oversize head, but looks can be decieving. And that cable cost here in germany about 250 for 3m, and thats rather expensive for me....for a cable anyway...

U can actually get the monster cable from sinamex at Berjaya Times Square...its above Rm200 for sure..

You guys might wanna check out canare cables too..cheers