harddriver
Well-known member
Mr Amp Chaser came here stating that Ed's amp had to be modded, either with a Jose mod, Cerrem mod or some other gain mod and set out to prove his statement by posting clips and article excerpts from numerous sources.
Many of the RT membership who had contrarian views posted the unmastered Eruption outtake recording and the Jamie's Cryin room mic recordings both from Sunset Sound Studios as well as numerous YT videos if listened to without a preconceived bias appears to illustrate that Marshall plexi's and superleads can get the unmastered gain and tone that Ed had in front of his speaker cabinet. One can clearly hear the plexi/superlead qualities of these unmastered clips versus what many known Jose mods sound like. Now the cerrem mod is technically not a gain mod, it essentially is lowering the volume of the amp with resistors much in the same end result as a variac does by lowering the B+ voltage to the tubes, maybe that method is still in play who knows but it would still be a more or less stock amp.
The audio evidence supports that a Marshall Plexi or Superlead can and does achieve the gain and basic tones heard on those unmastered outtake clips whether or not you can play like Ed. If you can it sounds even better, the guy from Spain proves that out, I did not post any clips from Jacob Deraps with a stock 68 Germino plexi who plays his ass off and Al Estrada with his stock Superleads and Suhr SL68's. Watch how hard Deraps picks and digs in, he plays similar to a young Edward...IMHO
Amp: Germino Lead 55 / Variac 91vSpeakers: Celestion Greenbacks ReissueGuitar: Ernie Ball Music Man AxisPedals: EVH Flanger, EVH Phase 90, Boss DD-2Mic: Shure SM57
Rdodson eloquently explained Donn and Ted's method of Japing the amp tone to what became the VH1 recorded album tone we all love and chase but it is a studio produced tone. The amps in question still get the core tones but not exactly what we hear on VH1, that's why VHII was a departure from VH1 becasue Ed did not like the tone Ted and Donn gave him and by album two he had enough clout to make the mastered amp tones what he liked and wanted to hear.
No one said Jose amps or cascaded circuits don't sound good or help a player achieve all the gain they want to achieve good VH1 mastered tones without the investment of the entire Ed rig, Sunset sound plugins or OXBox setups... they said the gain structures and characteristics of those amps audibly sound different to what they hear on those outtake clips and live clips.
Anyone is still free to reach whatever conclusions they want about how Ed's amp produced the tones but the audible evidence to back up the more or less stock plexi statement is abundantly available to anyone who listens without bias and a predetermined conclusion. If only one Jose modded amp out of the many posted in this thread had nailed the tones as good or better than a stock plexi, superbass or superlead I'm sure people would have no problem agreeing in saying, damn.... that did nail the tone, good job.
If he loves his Jose, Cerrem mod or cascaded mod tones that's his prerogative but he is going to get honest feedback from others who have played actual vintage Marshall plexi's, superleads and clones that can and do produce Ed tones with or without the entire publicly known Ed rig.
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