Billy Blades Update

[TrueTone500]

Are these Jose/Aldrich/Cameron mods just for '80s cock rock? Why doesn't anybody ever turn that mid knob up higher and play something a little more contemporary? Would love to hear another iphone clip like this but with less presence/treble, more mids, and less Van Halen. How about something from the '90s or later?

Something like the first 25 seconds of this? A little more aggressive and modern sounding. BTW, this CCV clips is one of the few I think I like. But the CCV I owned sounded nothing like it.

This sounds awesome also...

 

[Mailman1971]

I posted a thread several years ago about this very thing.
An amp that sounds BETTER/WORSE in person compared the clips put out.

Only way to know? Buy the damn thing and check it out yourself.
Been fooled and SURPRISED on doing this.

Dont judge an amp by the video clip. Everything makes a difference in the signal chain.
The clip can give a good idea but unless you have the amp...play it in the space you want to play it...with your cab....your guitar...How else will you know right?

I like the tone of his amps in the clips.
In person at my place? Have no clue.
I dont like how he came across as an ass. But you cant help how he is.

 

[Anonymous]

All drama aside, this is hands-down the best Van Halen tone I've EVER heard! The Blades Firebolt is a must have!

I like the VH tone I got on this better:

Romeo Delight (the full song)

or this:

Jamie's Cryin' (snippet)

Streve

Stunning! Awesome playing, impeccable tone! If I'm not mistaking, these were done through an AxeFx II.

Actually, the AxeFx Ultra - it's a must have!

Steve

I love the digital modeling stuff for home play and recording, but it just doesn't sound right at higher volumes. Not to me anyway...

I only use 'em for recording and for that, they are unbeatable. everything else - real amp... I actually have a Kemper now, which I prefer to the Axe...

Steve

I thought you preferred the Axe? Does the Kemper sound better at higher volumes than the Axe?
Have you profiled the Cherry Bomb? How does it compare to the real thing?

I don't think you can go wrong with either for recording. I don't think either stands up to a real amp at gig volume.

Yeah I profiled the CB briefly. I think I can get it closer, but here is a comparison between the real amp and the profile. I spent literally 10 minutes profiling the Cherry Bomb in my Kemper. I just took my input straight from the mic rather than from my mic pre (which I think would be better. I then re-recorded this clip:

Kemper Rock-n-Roll Rebel

and here is the original clip with the Cherry Bomb mic'd through a Great Rivers mic pre into my system:

Mic'd Cherry Bomb Rock-n-Roll Rebel

They are definitely different, but I think I could come closer if I had actually spent a few seconds refining the profile and if I profiled the mic through the Great Rivers. I used no EQ on the Kemper output and I used the delay directly from the Kemper. I basically added nothing to the Kemper guitar recordings... Interesting huh?

Steve

 

[mooncobra]

All drama aside, this is hands-down the best Van Halen tone I've EVER heard! The Blades Firebolt is a must have!

I like the VH tone I got on this better:

Romeo Delight (the full song)

or this:

Jamie's Cryin' (snippet)

Streve

what amp is that?

 

[mooncobra]

Yeah... That looks really bad. I hope that's not his idea for a standard production combo?

apparently it is!!!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Blades-Custom-A ... 5074&rt=nc

 

[midnightlaundry]

Built to last, made to blast..

 

[steve_k]

Bump

 

[Anonymous]

All drama aside, this is hands-down the best Van Halen tone I've EVER heard! The Blades Firebolt is a must have!

I like the VH tone I got on this better:

Romeo Delight (the full song)

or this:

Jamie's Cryin' (snippet)

Streve

what amp is that?

AxeFx Ultra.

Steve

 

[maddnotez]

1. Moriano and Himmel...who in the hell are these people? No offense. but i never even heard of them until now! lol. ...well its true.

2. Billy IS just cloning others designs. It's already been proven. He conned Mensur out of the schematics and is reproducing them verbatim, adding some add-ons like switchable 10k/39k slope resistor, etc. and badging it as a Firebolt (Cameron Jose) and Venom (Cameron Aldrich) and marrying it to whatever power section to make it a 20 watter, 50, or 100w. How do we KNOW....well, he's boasted about it in postings on forums for years. Further, we...me/Steve have had amps MODed or completely built by him. Once reverse-engineered, it as determine they were exact duplicates of others designs! Again, due to his limited engineering aptitude, we also concluded he did not know how to scale the power section appropriately.

I'm sorry you guys are getting sucked in like some users to a drug dealer due to his bullshitting ability. Yes, the amps sounded well, but when you compare a boutique amp or modded amp to a low-gain plexi or stock 2204 provided...duh, you answer your own question!. It's gonna "sound" significantly better! That doesn't mean as good as it could or built well, only what you're used to.

In any event, this thread is going nowhere n things being rehashed. Either folks are listening or not and it appears a couple refuse to listen and with vested interest and i dont think have the years of insight and background we have.

 

[Luca79]

2. Billy IS just cloning others designs.

When others use the schematic of a Marshall for the 99% of the amp.
Ceriatone uses others mods too. I don't see the problem; mods aren't proprietary and are all over the web.

 

[TrueTone500]

All drama aside, this is hands-down the best Van Halen tone I've EVER heard! The Blades Firebolt is a must have!

I like the VH tone I got on this better:

Romeo Delight (the full song)

or this:

Jamie's Cryin' (snippet)

Streve

Stunning! Awesome playing, impeccable tone! If I'm not mistaking, these were done through an AxeFx II.

Actually, the AxeFx Ultra - it's a must have!

Steve

I love the digital modeling stuff for home play and recording, but it just doesn't sound right at higher volumes. Not to me anyway...

I only use 'em for recording and for that, they are unbeatable. everything else - real amp... I actually have a Kemper now, which I prefer to the Axe...

Steve

I thought you preferred the Axe? Does the Kemper sound better at higher volumes than the Axe?
Have you profiled the Cherry Bomb? How does it compare to the real thing?

I don't think you can go wrong with either for recording. I don't think either stands up to a real amp at gig volume.

Yeah I profiled the CB briefly. I think I can get it closer, but here is a comparison between the real amp and the profile. I spent literally 10 minutes profiling the Cherry Bomb in my Kemper. I just took my input straight from the mic rather than from my mic pre (which I think would be better. I then re-recorded this clip:

Kemper Rock-n-Roll Rebel

and here is the original clip with the Cherry Bomb mic'd through a Great Rivers mic pre into my system:

Mic'd Cherry Bomb Rock-n-Roll Rebel

They are definitely different, but I think I could come closer if I had actually spent a few seconds refining the profile and if I profiled the mic through the Great Rivers. I used no EQ on the Kemper output and I used the delay directly from the Kemper. I basically added nothing to the Kemper guitar recordings... Interesting huh?

Steve

That is interesting. I actually prefer the profiled sound on clip #1 - especially the rhythm tone. It's a bit bright on the top, but the presence is perfect. Clip #2 has the rhythm track nearly buried by comparison. Lead tone sounds slightly compressed, but not really... Lacking in presence?

 

[TrueTone500]

Yeah... That looks really bad. I hope that's not his idea for a standard production combo?

apparently it is!!!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Blades-Custom-A ... 5074&rt=nc

Yeah... I would come up with a completely new enclosure. An amp that sounds as good as the Firebolt deserves an enclosure to match.

Maybe RT can come up with some ideas for a new enclosure? Here it comes...

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

What are billy's sales like I wonder? There are what, 4 or 5 firebolts on ebay now plus this abomination combo? I'm thinking sales are likely slow. Might be a great bargain amp when the price drops to 999$ though!

 

[charvelstrat_81]

I was ready to get the Axe II, but when I heard George Lynch say that he didn't care for it..

yeah so fuckin GL says HE did not care for it? WTF does that have to do with anything unless you are a total fanboy of his
I think the marshall JVM satch version head sounds as good as that firebolt and it is built a hell of a lot better!

 

[charvelstrat_81]

Heres a Iphone clip of Mike Himmel, slight delay and its ALL PHONE….raw

man the satch JVM will sound every bit as good as that. those other himmel clips were all post production and this cell phone clip proves it.

 

[TrueTone500]

I was ready to get the Axe II, but when I heard George Lynch say that he didn't care for it..

yeah so fuckin GL says HE did not care for it? WTF does that have to do with anything unless you are a total fanboy of his
I think the marshall JVM satch version head sounds as good as that firebolt and it is built a hell of a lot better!

What your language... This is a family forum.

 

[TrueTone500]

Heres a Iphone clip of Mike Himmel, slight delay and its ALL PHONE….raw

man the satch JVM will sound every bit as good as that. those other himmel clips were all post production and this cell phone clip proves it.

- I've never played the JS JVM.
- Mike Himmel never claimed his YT clips were pre-production, so no proof was needed.

 

[charvelstrat_81]

- I've never played the JS JVM.
- Mike Himmel never claimed his YT clips were pre-production, so no proof was needed.

you should
it proved it to me, who actually likes the firebolt amp but now is convinced that there are other options for the VH tone

 

[charvelstrat_81]

What your language... This is a family forum.

says the guy who posted diarrhea vids

 

[TrueTone500]

What your language... This is a family forum.

says the guy who posted diarrhea vids

All people get diarrhea... Technically, this makes it a family approved clip!