bstaley
New member
My M4 arrived this morning but I was stuck at work and had to sit there all day waiting to get home. Once I got home I hooked it to my poweramp (VHT 2-90-2) and tried it out. Here are my initial thoughts on each module.
T/D:
Channel A sounds very nice. One of the best cleans I've heard. It seems almost impossible to get this channel to break up. If you turn the gain up it almost seems like you have a mild compressor on it. It's really cool. Channel B is neat and seems like it has the ability to get a little dirty. Usually when I want mildly dirty tones I just roll back my volume on my distortion channel so this is new to me. I'm sure it will open up a bunch of new ideas.
COD:
This is not quite what I was expecting. In the description on the egnater website it mentions something about Dream Theater and I was expecting something similar to Petrucci's Mark IV lead tone. This module does not do that. It doesn't have as much gain or saturation. To me, it sounds similar to Santana's tone. The notes have a "sweetness" to them. It is a very nice sound, but I don't know that it is one I will use. This module does seem to be the most tweakable and I really need to spend more time with it before deciding to keep it or not. I imagine this mod would sound really good with a overdrive pedal in front of it.
SL2:
Everybody says this module kills and...they are right. Channel A sounds like a great JCM-800. It's not exactly like AC/DC's tone but similar enough that if you are in a cover band that does AC/DC this module will suit you just fine. This channel works great for all types of classic rock. Channel B is described as a hot rodded Marshall and it was not what I expected. When I think "hot rodded Marshall" I think Lynch, Demartini, etc.. To me this does not do it. The sound that I did get was more like a hot rodded "vintage" tone. The best example I could give is Jake E Lee's tone on the first Badlands CD. It nails that tone. It sounds slightly "Brown" and will work just fine if you are covering some VH (which my band does). There is a slight flubbiness to the low end that I could not dial out. Nothing bad, but it is there.
EG5:
I have always liked the tone of other people playing SLO-100's but every time I played one it sounded harsh to me. This module seems to cop the SLO vibe very well without sounding like an icepick in your ears. THIS module really nails the Lynch, Demartini sound. This module will work terrificly for lead work and rhythm work. It was tighter than the SL2 but not quite as tight as I would like it.
Overall I am very impressed. Not quite blown away as I had hoped but I am glad I purchased it. I think if I mess around with tubes I can dial out a little of the flubbiness in the low end. I was comparing back to back with my Rockmaster and my Triaxis and they were tighter in the low end. My Triaxis is dialed in and tubed so that I have never heard another one sound as good as mine. I owned two at one point and sold the other one. No other one I've tried has come close. I do miss the MKII/MKIV lead tone. I REALLY wish there a module to get that tone....cough..PLEASE BRUCE...cough. Ideally I'd like to keep my Triaxis as well as the M4 but finances don't permit it.
One thing I REALLY love is that the feel is more like I'm playing an amp head than the Triaxis. I've had a Triaxis for so long I just am used to its feel and I rarely play heads. The M4 modules are extremely dynamic and on the SL2 and EG5 the notes have a "depth" to them like you can hear the lower fundamental and then you can hear the high end on top as separate entities. I've only heard that in a few amps and I hear it again.
If I send the COD back I am wondering which module to get. I want a module to do more modern, very heavy metal and I'd like to get the Recto/Engl type of sound so maybe the Recto module will suit me. Does anybody have one of those who can offer an opinion? If I don't try the Recto I might want the EG3/4 since it is voiced slightly darker and I like that sort of tone as well.
T/D:
Channel A sounds very nice. One of the best cleans I've heard. It seems almost impossible to get this channel to break up. If you turn the gain up it almost seems like you have a mild compressor on it. It's really cool. Channel B is neat and seems like it has the ability to get a little dirty. Usually when I want mildly dirty tones I just roll back my volume on my distortion channel so this is new to me. I'm sure it will open up a bunch of new ideas.
COD:
This is not quite what I was expecting. In the description on the egnater website it mentions something about Dream Theater and I was expecting something similar to Petrucci's Mark IV lead tone. This module does not do that. It doesn't have as much gain or saturation. To me, it sounds similar to Santana's tone. The notes have a "sweetness" to them. It is a very nice sound, but I don't know that it is one I will use. This module does seem to be the most tweakable and I really need to spend more time with it before deciding to keep it or not. I imagine this mod would sound really good with a overdrive pedal in front of it.
SL2:
Everybody says this module kills and...they are right. Channel A sounds like a great JCM-800. It's not exactly like AC/DC's tone but similar enough that if you are in a cover band that does AC/DC this module will suit you just fine. This channel works great for all types of classic rock. Channel B is described as a hot rodded Marshall and it was not what I expected. When I think "hot rodded Marshall" I think Lynch, Demartini, etc.. To me this does not do it. The sound that I did get was more like a hot rodded "vintage" tone. The best example I could give is Jake E Lee's tone on the first Badlands CD. It nails that tone. It sounds slightly "Brown" and will work just fine if you are covering some VH (which my band does). There is a slight flubbiness to the low end that I could not dial out. Nothing bad, but it is there.
EG5:
I have always liked the tone of other people playing SLO-100's but every time I played one it sounded harsh to me. This module seems to cop the SLO vibe very well without sounding like an icepick in your ears. THIS module really nails the Lynch, Demartini sound. This module will work terrificly for lead work and rhythm work. It was tighter than the SL2 but not quite as tight as I would like it.
Overall I am very impressed. Not quite blown away as I had hoped but I am glad I purchased it. I think if I mess around with tubes I can dial out a little of the flubbiness in the low end. I was comparing back to back with my Rockmaster and my Triaxis and they were tighter in the low end. My Triaxis is dialed in and tubed so that I have never heard another one sound as good as mine. I owned two at one point and sold the other one. No other one I've tried has come close. I do miss the MKII/MKIV lead tone. I REALLY wish there a module to get that tone....cough..PLEASE BRUCE...cough. Ideally I'd like to keep my Triaxis as well as the M4 but finances don't permit it.
One thing I REALLY love is that the feel is more like I'm playing an amp head than the Triaxis. I've had a Triaxis for so long I just am used to its feel and I rarely play heads. The M4 modules are extremely dynamic and on the SL2 and EG5 the notes have a "depth" to them like you can hear the lower fundamental and then you can hear the high end on top as separate entities. I've only heard that in a few amps and I hear it again.
If I send the COD back I am wondering which module to get. I want a module to do more modern, very heavy metal and I'd like to get the Recto/Engl type of sound so maybe the Recto module will suit me. Does anybody have one of those who can offer an opinion? If I don't try the Recto I might want the EG3/4 since it is voiced slightly darker and I like that sort of tone as well.
