Bram576
Well-known member
Never tried one, might have to!
Wizard Wednesdays - Pics and Clips
- Thread starter TheGreatGreen
- Start date
RaceU4her
Well-known member
my iso'd guitars from full mixes i think are pretty crisp with sizzle, the first one is my own riff with my randall century and the second is my iic+ doing Slayer. way less lows/low mids, less mids, way more upper mids. more teeth to the gain structure. All i do with Wizards is describe what im hearing in whatever clips we are discussing, and its most always the rolled off, drier and open kind of thing.. why this seems to anger so many im not sure because everyone ends up describing them the same way i do and basically agreeing with me
https://app.box.com/embed/s/az503fdqcmcc0fxy0ke88uy3lvfuhbrr
https://app.box.com/embed/s/fyzu1vjjqhnfm4xomnt7n80kdwx0gux9
nightlight
Well-known member
That's a great clip. Interesting that you used a reactive load and IRs. Sounds killer.
nightlight
Well-known member
my iso'd guitars from full mixes i think are pretty crisp with sizzle, the first one is my own riff with my randall century and the second is my iic+ doing Slayer. way less lows/low mids, less mids, way more upper mids. more teeth to the gain structure. All i do with Wizards is describe what im hearing in whatever clips we are discussing, and its most always the rolled off, drier and open kind of thing.. why this seems to anger so many im not sure because everyone ends up describing them the same way i do and basically agreeing with me
https://app.box.com/embed/s/az503fdqcmcc0fxy0ke88uy3lvfuhbrr
https://app.box.com/embed/s/fyzu1vjjqhnfm4xomnt7n80kdwx0gux9
I'd say that's the IRs doing the work. I have the same problem when trying to record guitars using my reactive load. In @TheGreatGreen 's clip, it sounds like there's a bit of muffling, like a blanket over the speaker. In your clip, the blanket is not there.
Could you describe your signal chain? Would love to learn what you're doing differently.
ill assume that means me
Get same tone for boost marshall with wierd EQ setting on graphic equalizer. You can also be wizard.
Spent rest money on new grill for kabob and have saving left.
braintheory
Well-known member
We may just have different opinions here or ways of describing sound. There’s definitely less lows/low mids and more upper mids there, but I wouldn’t consider those 2 clips as crisp of a sound. I guess with the Wizard it’s the combination of the chordal clarity, definition, openness, and dryness that gives me what I interpret as a very crisp, refreshing sound. Maybe scorching is a better word for it than crispmy iso'd guitars from full mixes i think are pretty crisp with sizzle, the first one is my own riff with my randall century and the second is my iic+ doing Slayer. way less lows/low mids, less mids, way more upper mids. more teeth to the gain structure. All i do with Wizards is describe what im hearing in whatever clips we are discussing, and its most always the rolled off, drier and open kind of thing.. why this seems to anger so many im not sure because everyone ends up describing them the same way i do and basically agreeing with me
https://app.box.com/embed/s/az503fdqcmcc0fxy0ke88uy3lvfuhbrr
https://app.box.com/embed/s/fyzu1vjjqhnfm4xomnt7n80kdwx0gux9
It might partly be a difference from recording method, not sure, but I hear in the OP’s clip on the palm mutes more definition/distinction and percussive chunk and more clarity/note separation to the chords. I agree there’s too much low end rumble clouding things (not the amp’s fault), but I can look past that. His clip, other than being too dark and rumbly, has imo a more studio-ish sound, which I guess is a matter taste whether that’s preferable or not. I’m guessing it’s something about the IR’s he chose, but not an area I’m knowledgeable in at all
I don’t think anyone has been upset about you not liking Wizard clips. More so, as one gearhead to another we just encourage trying all the great amps at one point. A mark iic+, early recto, early Uber, Wizard, Blueface, they’re all special amps. Wizards and Naylor’s both have this thing where they’re in some ways dry, but in some ways also not (like with the way the notes connect and feel to play). It’s deceptive and hard to explain without trying it, but also part of what makes them cool and addictive to play. Kind of like with iic+’s or Cameron’s for you, you play them and you got it. It’s not us being upset, but more so saying you’re missing out on a fun time like with the other top tier amps. It’s like another type of addictive drug besides a iic+ or Cameron lol. Anyway, too long a rant even for me lol
EDIT: Will just add that the Hell Razor is capable of actually being quite liquidy (it has more of everything) and is far and away to me the best Wizard of the 3 I had (MTL and MC)
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Tone Monster
Well-known member
Agree. I had two well treated rooms, including a completely dead cabinet room. I had all the best microphones. I still get better tones with impulse response.
RaceU4her
Well-known member
Ive never used IR's, but greatgreen has a bunch of other clips that sound great i assume using IR's, and the clip sounds like a wizard to me so i dont know if i can blame them...
Im not doing anything special or different than anyone else, i do have a couple 4x12's with four different speakers in each, a bunch of mics, a couple cool preamps.. its just a matter of experimenting and figuring out what combos of gear give you the sounds you are looking for, as generic and boring of an answer that is. i do usually just put whatever mic right on the center of the speaker to start, usually a Audix D2, do a L and R track, get that sounding good and then just tweak from there.
Andrikos
New member
Hot damn these amps are great. I picked up this MCII MkII earlier this year and I play it as much as I can. Thought I'd throw a clip together real quick for you guys.
If you've got any other pics or clips of any Wizards you dig, feel free to throw them in here.
Dude congrats! I just made an account here on rig talk just to send you my regards and respect for the sound you got and for one other reason. If you could capture this exactly DI straight from your Suhr RL with a Quad Cortex i'd buy it in a heartbeat.
TheGreatGreen
Well-known member
my iso'd guitars from full mixes i think are pretty crisp with sizzle, the first one is my own riff with my randall century and the second is my iic+ doing Slayer. way less lows/low mids, less mids, way more upper mids. more teeth to the gain structure. All i do with Wizards is describe what im hearing in whatever clips we are discussing, and its most always the rolled off, drier and open kind of thing.. why this seems to anger so many im not sure because everyone ends up describing them the same way i do and basically agreeing with me
https://app.box.com/embed/s/az503fdqcmcc0fxy0ke88uy3lvfuhbrr
https://app.box.com/embed/s/fyzu1vjjqhnfm4xomnt7n80kdwx0gux9
Those clips sound really good!
With the way those are EQ'd I see what you mean about the crispy comment. I still think the Wizard sounds crispy but the clips you posted are more focused around emphasizing the upper mids and highs so I get where you're coming from.
I'm not upset at all about the comments that Wizards have drier and open tone btw. I tend to agree and that dry clear character is a lot of what I appreciate about these amps. I'm still not totally clear on what you mean by rolled off highs though. I'm not sure I'm hearing that.
But either way it's all good. I'm happy with my tone, you're happy with yours, that's what makes the world go round my man.
TheGreatGreen
Well-known member
Dude congrats! I just made an account here on rig talk just to send you my regards and respect for the sound you got and for one other reason. If you could capture this exactly DI straight from your Suhr RL with a Quad Cortex i'd buy it in a heartbeat.
Hah thanks man, that’s super cool. Love that!
And welcome! Rig Talk is a chill place and you can learn a ton here.
rushcentrale
Active member
Great tone and awesome playing man!
RaceU4her
Well-known member
Crisp to me is total opposite of too dark and rumbly, as is dry and scorching. If I was asking for a “crisp” snare drum or cymbals, it wouldn’t be a big and deep low tuned maple snare that is more of a open thud with a bunch of low end, it would be a brass piccolo tuned super high to get that quick and tight crack that cuts through. I’m not sure what studio-ish means, i try to record what fits the song, which I know wasn’t what great green was doing so it’s kind of apples to oranges, but if I recorded those two clips with as much low end and as dark as the OP clip, my palm mutes and chugs would become a mushy rumbling mess, I’m if recording something slower with not as much going on with drums and everything else, then that bigger and darker thing might be better.
RaceU4her
Well-known member
Those clips sound really good!
With the way those are EQ'd I see what you mean about the crispy comment. I still think the Wizard sounds crispy but the clips you posted are more focused around emphasizing the upper mids and highs so I get where you're coming from.
I'm not upset at all about the comments that Wizards have drier and open tone btw. I tend to agree and that dry clear character is a lot of what I appreciate about these amps. I'm still not totally clear on what you mean by rolled off highs though. I'm not sure I'm hearing that.
But either way it's all good. I'm happy with my tone, you're happy with yours, that's what makes the world go round my man.
It just always sounds like there is a gradual LPF kind of thing going on, they don’t have that bright chime like Marshall’s or even rectos have to me, but that isn’t what is always needed either. Like you say, just gotta be happy
Bram576
Well-known member
Beyond Black
Well-known member
The mids are set far too low on the Mark for that to be a useful comparison.
TheGreatGreen
Well-known member
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braintheory
Well-known member
No Wizard I’ve played is remotely dark or rumbly (Recto’s or Uber’s are more like that). If anything the opposite. That’s just from something about how he recorded it. Some Monomyth clips using IR’s had the same problem and those amps also aren’t rumbly. I guess this shows here one of many problems that can sometimes mislead an amp’s sound from a clip, but I think most listeners also can look past this past as most amps set well in person in general don’t give rumble like that
A bright and cutting sound isn’t necessarily crisp or scorching in the way I meant. No doubt your clips were bright, which I also prefer, but the palm mutes imho sounded a bit washed out and scratchy (maybe the pickups were too close to the strings?) where I wasn’t actually hearing the note itself with the weight and distinction I got on the OP’s Wizard clip despite it being way darker and rumbly and the chords didn’t have the clarity/separation of the OP’s Wizard clip (or other wizards clips imo). That unique clarity plus the dryness is I think what gives the crispness I get with wizards. If you listen to Pretty Reckless they also get that same crisp sound on chords (they play wizards) and of course no rumble there. Guys here won’t like or resonate with this, but playing wizards is to me a little like drinking a gin and tonic. It’s crisp, dry, refreshing and can make you thirsty for another drink. The only amp I’ve tried that I found more crisp or scorching is the Dino
The OP’s clip sounded more “studio” to me I think because it sounded more polished with less extraneous background noise and room hollowness. Not that I explicitly hear extraneous noises, but somehow the OP’s clip with the IR’s sounded cleaner or more put together to me somehow (not because of the amp used). We can all agree there shouldn’t be that low end rumble. If he can just correct that part and not be as dark I think he’d have a very solid clip. I don’t know much about recording and suck at it myself, but just what I hear