Odd amp settings

GuitarGuy08

GuitarGuy08

Well-known member
Sounds funny, but it has taken me years to start using my amp's controls to their extremities. The first amp that pushed me to do this was a small Marshall, where the treble would basically be 0, I ran the bass all the way up and the mids all the way up. I tried it after just sitting around one night. I ended up reading a forum where someone said they always set their Marshalls like that.

It got me thinking and I started dialing around a bit on my Rivera. It changed the tone in ways I did not expect. In my case, when you dial up the bass or treble, it not only adds that to the spectrum, but seems to shift the focus as well. That is the easiest way to describe what I am trying to. I have been trying to achieve certain gain sounds and when I kicked it on today, it was marvelous. I looked and I had the treble and mid cranked almost all the way up and the bass pushed as well. This amp doesn't flub out at all like that and sounds like it is roaring when you play chords.

I took my small practice amp and dimed all EQ bass/mid/treb. Sounds so much bigger than I ever thought it could.

Don't be afraid to spin those knobs or put them in really odd places. I thought dropping the bass down in the Rivera would have made it thin, but it didn't, just focused more on the midrange.

Experiment all you can!
 
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GuitarGuy08 said:
Sounds funny, but it has taken me years to start using my amp's controls to their extremities. The first amp that pushed me to do this was a small Marshall, where the treble would basically be 0, I ran the bass all the way up and the mids all the way up. I tried it after just sitting around one night. I ended up reading a forum where someone said they always set their Marshalls like that.

It got me thinking and I started dialing my around a bit on my Rivera. It changed the tone in ways I did not expect. In my case, when you dial up the bass or treble, it not only adds that to the spectrum, but seems to shift the focus as well. That is the easiest way to describe what I am trying to. I have been trying to achieve certain gain sounds and when I kicked it on today, it was marvelous. I looked and I had the treble and mid cranked almost all the way up and the bass pushed as well. This amp doesn't flush out at all like that and sounds like it is roaring when you play chords.

I took my small practice amp and dimed all EQ bass/mid/treb. Sounds so much bigger than I ever thought it could.

Don't be afraid to spin those knobs or put them in really odd places. I thought dropping the bass down in the Rivera would have made it thin, but it didn't, just focused more on the midrange.

Experiment all you can!
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What Rivera are you using
 
It can work the other way too. I remember when I got a Mark IV in a deal because the shop thought it didn't sound right. I got it to fix it, because it's a Mesa Mark IV, and I figured for the price I'd flip it. When I got it home and dialed it in, I used my usual amp settings to start, and it was a flubby mess. I had all the EQ knobs way up past noon and couldn't fix it with the Graphic EQ. It wasn't until I read the manual that I learned about the sweet spots Mesa puts in their EQ curves. Once I dialed the EQ knobs back around 3 and tweaked from there, the amp got tighter and more responsive.

Before I could sell it, my girlfriend at the time took interest in the amp. She brought her guitar over and I left her alone with the amp to try it out. She dialed it in the same way I did at first, and ended up with the same flubby mess. She loved it though (good for me, I guess). When I explained how the amp worked and dialed it back to show her, my "mansplaining" triggered the feminist part of her brain and she got mad. She just moved the knobs back up and went back to playing. In the end, it matches her sloppy and choppy playing style. She was terrible. I will never date another feminist.

My only regret is that I sold it to her for what I paid for it and not what it was worth. She did get it dialed in properly when she started playing in a band. I guess her bandmates intervened.
 
The only 'trick' I do is to always dime the presence first; then B, M to taste and start with the T on 0 and bring it up slowly. I started this after getting my first SLO; and reading about EVHs settings on the SLO forum long ago. I found the amp gets the high end 'bite' I need to hear.
Every amp I have is dialed in this way.
 
Kipple said:
What Rivera are you using
Click to expand...
I have a Rivera Clubster Royale Recording Top (6V6 25w Head). I have it paired with a 2x12 with Avatar AV75 speakers. It's wild how I can make this setup sound like other setups by messing with the knobs. The amp, along with the speaker and tubes, present the full frequency range, as it were. It has been a ton of fun. I highly recommend checking out Avatar speakers btw.

To expand: I have RCA blackplates in all inputs and outputs. The AV75 speakers have extended top and bottom ranges but also has full mids. I have been able to 'mimic' other speakers and amp sounds, and I believe this is why, along with the versatility of the amp itself, of course.
 
Racerxrated said:
The only 'trick' I do is to always dime the presence first; then B, M to taste and start with the T on 0 and bring it up slowly. I started this after getting my first SLO; and reading about EVHs settings on the SLO forum long ago. I found the amp gets the high end 'bite' I need to hear.
Every amp I have is dialed in this way.
Click to expand...
Funny as I had a couple of rpevious amps that worked best at the opposite end of the range in a sense. I would drag treble down to 0 and use the presence knob to control the top end. I did find myself cranking the presence to max with a warm and wooly tele I have. I hear the bite you are describing. The M65 speakers from Avatar remind me of having my presence cranked a bit without needing to on the amp, as that speaker really brings out those frequencies and harmonics.
 
Unless I find published settings to try for a new amp (e.g., my JP-2C has some in the manual, and there are vids of JP showing his exact settings; also found a rig rundown of Kiss that showed Paul Stanley's settings on the Engl Artist Edition which work great IMO). I start with these "known settings" and often make my own adjustments to get to where I like what I hear.

For amps without "known settings" to start, I usually set everything at noon, the sweep each control from min to max to see what it does, some amps are "interactive" like Vox, if you want to boost the mids, there's no mid control you have to reduce the bass and treble...and adjust top boost.

On my Marshalls with MV, I crank the master to 8+ or max, then dial in from there. I usually have boosted presence, cut resonance, cut bass; mid set between 11 o'clock to 1 o'clock, then back and forth with presence and treble, and tweak again if I change the gain...getting closer to the sound I want.

Works well for me. (edits: spelling)
 
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GuitarGuy08 said:
I have a Rivera Clubster Royale Recording Top (6V6 25w Head). I have it paired with a 2x12 with Avatar AV75 speakers. It's wild how I can make this setup sound like other setups by messing with the knobs. The amp, along with the speaker and tubes, present the full frequency range, as it were. It has been a ton of fun. I highly recommend checking out Avatar speakers btw.

To expand: I have RCA blackplates in all inputs and outputs. The AV75 speakers have extended top and bottom ranges but also has full mids. I have been able to 'mimic' other speakers and amp sounds, and I believe this is why, along with the versatility of the amp itself, of course.
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Nice, I just listened to a chap called Tim Pierce doing a you tube demo, sounds killer.
 
Kipple said:
Nice, I just listened to a chap called Tim Pierce doing a you tube demo, sounds killer.
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I honestly think his demo doesn't do the amp justice at all. I found a guy who did a self shot YT video with the combo that came closer to what I actually hear in the room but no one seems to have the amp. The people who do, do not seem to really give it a good overview. I guess I'll have to step up to the plate LOL I can make my strat window shakingly huge, yet controlled. Same with an LP, I can tame back the bass end if needed without becomng thin or shrill. Here is a great demo from Andrew S. of basically just the clean section from my amp. The baritone section at 5:46 just nails it especially.:
 
Kipple said:
Nice, I just listened to a chap called Tim Pierce doing a you tube demo, sounds killer.
Click to expand...
Tim's demo isn't as bad as I remember. The 'Big Small' amp Joe Bonamassa is playing here is my amp head in a 1x12 cabinet.
 
GuitarGuy08 said:
Paul Rivera designed the Super Champ, so that's definitely a good call lol
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The Super Champ is also new to me I googled and it seems like it was favoured by a lot of people, George lynch and Warren De Martini apparently.
Can't seem to find any decent clips of one though. I don't know if it's true but I read one account claiming De Martini used the Super champ to record Lay it down.
 
Kipple said:
The Super Champ is also new to me I googled and it seems like it was favoured by a lot of people, George lynch and Warren De Martini apparently.
Can't seem to find any decent clips of one though. I don't know if it's true but I read one account claiming De Martini used the Super champ to record Lay it down.
Click to expand...
Idk about all that but I know that every single person who has heard and played my amp has loved it, which is not worth too much, but I have been around a variety if players from all ages. I would also say that my father, who has extremely bad hearing and frequency loss, commented on how rich and full the amp is able to sound at low volumes. I now find myself playing on lower settings more often than too high, having young ones around.
 
Racerxrated said:
The only 'trick' I do is to always dime the presence first; then B, M to taste and start with the T on 0 and bring it up slowly. I started this after getting my first SLO; and reading about EVHs settings on the SLO forum long ago. I found the amp gets the high end 'bite' I need to hear.
Every amp I have is dialed in this way.
Click to expand...
Took me forever to get a tone I liked out of my Nitro. This is what worked. Looking at the knobs it should sound like ass. Dial in with your ears not your eyes.
 
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