Peter/Olaf/Terry......... I need your SERIOUS answer here...

[FourT6and2]

Once again...Schmidt is everything. It´s really unbelievable. It can sound vintage but it can sound like really heavy amp!

Sounding "vintage" doesn't mean it can get the tone the OP is looking for. If you are looking for something like Two Rock, Carol-Ann or Ceriatone, keep in mind Diezel still sounds like Diezel. You need to play one first before you get get caught up in the words of others. Don't get me wrong, I love my VH4's sound. But, I like it because it sounds like a VH4, not like some other amplifier...

The Schmidt can NOT do everything. It is a Class A, 30 watt amp and those specs come with limitations. It can get "heavy" but only when compared to itself. Put it side by side with "heavy" amps like the Herbert or VH4 and it won't sound as "heavy." I'd say the Schmidt is comparable to a Bad Cat Hot Cat, which I used to own and have played side-by-side with a Schmidt.

Bottom line, go play one for yourself.

I like the way you explain.

I understand exactly what you mean... I must say though that the Two Rock, Carol-ann, mention, was just reference..... I'm not really trying to emulare those amps.... I named them, because the two rock cleans are very different from the herbert cleans....and not because the two rock is a two rock and the herbie is a diezel, but because the two rock is a class A/AB with a different feel, than the herbert regardles of how Peter likes to tweak his amps in the tonal spectrum versus how Joe likes to tweak his amps......

does it make sense?


now, FourT6and2, what did you find in the Schmidt when you played it? compared to your bad cat, and based on the fact that I'm NOT looking for a rock/hard rock/metal amp in the schmidt, I'm after a softier, looser, cleaner poprock/blues amp.

The cleans on the Schmidt were a bit more "clear" than my Hot Cat, which had a clean channel more closely related to a Vox AC30 or that typical "Matchless" sound. The Bad Cat's cleans were darker, moody, and mellow with a smooth top end and a thick mid-range. The Schmidt could get that dark tone, but it always remained clear and present, if that makes sense. The gain channels had a nice breakup and could get "heavy" on Channel 3 with the gain almost maxed and a good amount of volume. The amp's character was still stereotypically Diezel. It was clear, slightly compressed, and a bit more hi-fi sounding than my Hot Cat (which was very saggy and had a prominent mid-range growl and smooth top end). The Schmidt was very close to the Hot Cat, only (again) it had that typical Diezel sound.

It's really hard to describe an amp's sound and feel in words. The only way you'll really get to know for sure is to play one. If there are no dealers in your area, then you'll have to buy blind.

 

[VH4_BigRig]

Hey Joey, hope I'm not too late to the party, but just wanted to chip in!

Unfortunately I can't say anything about the Ceriatone/Two Rock/Carol Ann amps as I've never played them, but given the amps you own, I think you should be able to get at least somewhat close to what you're after with them...My main question is what kind of OD/reverb pedals or effects do you have kicking around?

I wasn't 100% sold on my VH4's cleans being a Fender clean guy myself, but as soon as I bought a reverb pedal and stuck it in the loop of channel 2, I was MUCH happier...I mean it's still not as "watery" or "sweet" as a real Fender, but boy did it help kill some Twin GAS I was feeling, it sounds f'n awesome! Having the pedal set to either light spring/plate reverb, turning the master up to 12/1:00, turning the channel gain up a bit, and then adjusting the channel volume to taste sounds really awesome with my strat....and the higher the channel volume gets the better

Also, I see that you have a princeton now, what sort of OD/Distortion pedals do you have kicking around? I got my bandmate who has one (our two babies are in my avatar) an OCD for Christmas based off of reviews/advice on RT, and that sounds pretty amazing as well! I'm not sure what the sound in your head is, but there are a whole whack of OD pedals you could run into that amp that might get you what you're after and save you from buying a whole new amp! I dunno though, only you can be the judge of that! All I know is that your neck pickup is your friend, strat, LP or otherwise

Cheers
Bigrig

 

[Joeytpg]

Hey Joey, hope I'm not too late to the party, but just wanted to chip in!

Unfortunately I can't say anything about the Ceriatone/Two Rock/Carol Ann amps as I've never played them, but given the amps you own, I think you should be able to get at least somewhat close to what you're after with them...My main question is what kind of OD/reverb pedals or effects do you have kicking around?

I wasn't 100% sold on my VH4's cleans being a Fender clean guy myself, but as soon as I bought a reverb pedal and stuck it in the loop of channel 2, I was MUCH happier...I mean it's still not as "watery" or "sweet" as a real Fender, but boy did it help kill some Twin GAS I was feeling, it sounds f'n awesome! Having the pedal set to either light spring/plate reverb, turning the master up to 12/1:00, turning the channel gain up a bit, and then adjusting the channel volume to taste sounds really awesome with my strat....and the higher the channel volume gets the better

Also, I see that you have a princeton now, what sort of OD/Distortion pedals do you have kicking around? I got my bandmate who has one (our two babies are in my avatar) an OCD for Christmas based off of reviews/advice on RT, and that sounds pretty amazing as well! I'm not sure what the sound in your head is, but there are a whole whack of OD pedals you could run into that amp that might get you what you're after and save you from buying a whole new amp! I dunno though, only you can be the judge of that! All I know is that your neck pickup is your friend, strat, LP or otherwise

Cheers
Bigrig

hey man, thank for the input, you're not too late hehehe

I love all my amps so far... I love my VH4s cleans and well as channel 2, 3 and 4...... I don't really ask anything more from it. My egnater Renegade is AWESOME, the clean is based on egnater's Bman module (fender Bassman) and it REALLY sounds like a fender amp. The PRRI is awesome too for a small combo amp, it sings with my Xotic BB preamp. I also have an awesome Duesentrieb 20watt amp (Little Joe) that has a clean channel based on a Deluxe reverb circuitry.

I can get the tones I'm after perfectly well with ANY of my amps..... and like Stephen (C-4) said, the audience doesn't really notice tone that much. I want to get a Class A amp.....something entirely different from what I already have..... and I think the Schmidt or a Ceriatone Overtone Special is the way to go. I've been eyeballing the new E2 preamp from egnater (two modules on a preamp, which you can slave to ANYamp you already own and use it's poweramp. Egnater already makes awesome modules that'll get me to where I want (T/D, Bman, COD).

For now I can't buy anything (I have to wait till summer time if not later -got to buy a new imac 27" first, for my studio-).

As far as FX I have a Xotic BB preamp, a Boss FBM-1 (Bassman pedal), and a Boss ME-50 multi Fx unit. I want to get a Hermida Zendrive and a Line 6 DL4 pedal next month.

 

[glassjaw7]

Hey Joey. I'm going to throw this out there and confuse matters even worse.
SAVAGE GLAS 30! Totally nails what you are describing. Or at least my interpretation of it.
http://www.savageamps.com/index.cfm?id=5&s=1