Roll off volume to clean up

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blueskies

blueskies

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I own a Rebel 30 112 combo (I usually use a PRS with 57/08 pickups) for a mix of classic and modern rock like Drive By Truckers, Michael Franti, Sublime, and Wilco. Channel one is nice and sparkly. It sounds amazing with a Tubescreamer for some situations. I like channel two when I use quite a bit of gain, yet it doesn't seem to have a great presence if i turn down the gain for more gritty/clean sounds.

I know this is a relatively inexpensive amp, but I wonder what technically makes some, like the 65 Amp Soho, for example, have such a nice distortion that can be cleaned up (still with an edge) by adjusting the volume knob? I just can't get there with this amp, using the gain on ch2 or with the Tube Screamer on ch1. The sound just gets muddy and weak (I'm being pretty picky here) when I roll back the volume on my guitars. By the way, I don't believe it's the pickups because I've seen demos with both of my guitars where the volume roll off worked great.

Check out the 65 Amp video for reference:
http://proguitarshop.com/store/amplifie ... -head-p-59

This leaves me wondering if the Rebel 30 could be modified, retubed, or even biased differently to get more of that aggressive, yet clear sound out of the second channel.

Another question I have is whether or not a good distortion pedal (other than the Ibanez) could get me there. I am leaning towards something like the Les Lius pedal, but would like some input.

Thanks for reading!
 
Alot of this has to do with the first thing the guitar pickups "see." Long cables, or an inexpensive buffer are likely culprits many times. Having the first thing that your pickups see be a high quality buffer, or using 12' or shorter cables straight in to the amp are typically the best scenario.

What kind of Tube Screamer are you using, and are there any other effects in your signal chain before the amp?
 
Great questions!

The Tube Screamer is a TS-808 Overdrive Pro. Perhaps a modded version would be better?

I usually play out with two Mogami Gold 18 foot cables (one into the Tube Screamer and another out to the amp). I just tried a Fender Gold 12 foot cable strait in and I think it's slightly better. Unfortunately it's late and I can't crank it up to really try it out.

Do you mean the first cable is the most important (use the 12 ft cable first) and then a few pedals would be ok? I also wondered if something like an MXR Micro Amp would do the trick.

Thanks for taking the time, and I'll follow up tomorrow.
 
The Micro amp would probably work really well, especially if you leave it on set for a pretty neutral setting. What I've done for the last 7 years is I always have my compressor turned on, for just a very gentle, transparent compression, to drive the rest of my signal chain. Any good buffer (axess BS2, MI Boost n Buff, etc) or pedal should do the trick.
 
I think there may be a money factor here. You pay roughly 800 bucks for the combo, but the 65 is 2300 just for the head! You do get something for that money. You can't ask a lower priced amp to handle everything!

:rock:
 
Hi guys,

I agree the Rebel 30 isn't a boutique amp, but of course, I'd like to maximize what it can do. I confirmed the advice about the shorter cables. I assumed that two great quality 18 foot cables would be ok, but the short cables made a slight improvement to the pickup's power. Next, I got to thinking about the 65 Amp demo (using a Les Paul) and other demos I've seen using PRS guitars. Then came the aha moment--I switched on the humbucker setting and the power I was looking for appeared. I admit this was a stupid thing for me to miss, but I really go after that single coil sound the PRS coil tap can do. What I didn't realize was that the humbuckers really do have more power behind them to get this other sound I imagined. With the combination of humbucker, Tube Screamer, short cables, and a fair amount of distortion on ch1, I can roll off the volume down to about 8 for just that perfect sound. I also discovered I needed to crank the treble up a bit! It looks like the Boost and Buff will help the neck pickup work better for this setup too.

Thanks so much for your time and effort and keep the ideas coming. I still wonder if a small investment here and there could further improve the amp.
 
Some volume pots will also make a difference in your guitar. The RS kits work great....they seem to keep the treble/tone really well when rolling them back. Also if you can get just the right amount of gain, that will be key. If too much, then it's almost impossible to keep it sounding good when rolling back. And of course, certain amps do it better than others. Good luck.
 
Thanks for all of the helpful advice--the RS kits look great. I'm having excellent luck using the humbuckers with the band, but I'm still experimenting. I'm hoping that a good buffer with a slight amount of boost will help me get there with single coils someday.
 
blueskies":3v465qsh said:
Thanks for all of the helpful advice--the RS kits look great. I'm having excellent luck using the humbuckers with the band, but I'm still experimenting. I'm hoping that a good buffer with a slight amount of boost will help me get there with single coils someday.
Click to expand...

I have noticed that I enjoy a lower gain tone from the R30 with my settings on channel 1 with the volume straight up at about 12, vrs channel 2 with the gain a little less than 12.
I under stand this is not the optimum volume, but this setting really makes the amp shine at a low gain settings. Play around with those wattage adjusters too while you have channel 1 cranked. ;)
 
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