advice about marshalls

cobrahead1030 said:
i also find the dsl to be kinda dull sounding with the matching marshall cab...however thru an orange or splawn cab, i've gotten some really great tones from the dsl100 heads

ditto
 
i've always found dsl and tsl's to be way too flabby and missing a lot of treble when trying to get a usable metal tone. although, they can sound amazing using a good dist pedal through the clean channel in my experience
 
Dead Winter

Read this and understand it before trying anything (my method is further down in this post):

http://www.bossgtcentral.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=11871

As long as the "Loop" is set to on in the GT-8, your Amp's preamp will be in your gt-8's "Loop". Position the "Loop" in the desired position in the GT-8's effect chain.

Most users of the 4CM with the GT-8 have reported a slight loss of punch after sending through the GT-8's effects loop (I guess it's not that transparent). A few Marshall users on that GT-8 Forum have had a few more problems than others, I seem to have noticed.

Here is the front page:
http://www.bossgtcentral.com/modules.php?name=Forums

Make sure you check out the "GT8 Connections" Thread, before posting any questions, they will most likely have been answered.

A typical effect chain for the 4CM that I use is (along these lines):

Wah>OD>PRE>LOOP>NS>EQ>FX1>FX2>CHO>DEL>REV

NS - Noise Suppressor isn't normallly there for me (usually near start of chain) but the GT's Loop introduces some noise so put the NS here to get rid of it.

The "Effects Return" LEVEL is very important to get right. Read the tutorial thoroughly.

I used the tutorial as a guide, and went a bit further to level match the sounds by micing my cab and looking at an Input Level Meter in my recording software. I did the following with the amps Master Volume on 5 to check that the level matched at decent volumes.

MAKE SURE YOUR GT8'S EFFECT RETURN IS ON 24 (DEFAULT 100) IN CASE AS MENTIONED IN OTHER TUTORIAL IN CASE YOU HAVE A LINE LEVEL ON YOUR AMP (AND NOT AN INSTRUMENT LEVEL)

Step One:

Guitar>Amp Input - play your guitar and note the largest input volume

Guitar>Gt8 Input>GT8 Send>Amp Input - make a new patch with NO preamp or effects ON and set "Effect Send" Level to 100. Play guitar and note level (is it the same as with no GT-8? If yes good, if NO make sure "Patch Level" is on 100 (no other effects, EQ are on, etc...) and adjust GT-8 "Effect Send Level" until it matches (it should be close anyway, if not firstly make sure your "input level" is set correctly on the GT-8, mine is set at -3db for my EMG pickups for example)

Guitar>Gt8 Input>GT8 Output (left mono for example)>Amp Return
MAKE SURE "OUTPUT LEVEL KNOB" ON BACK OF GT8 IS ON MINIMUM AND ADJUST THIS UNTIL YOUR LEVEL MATCHES THE ORIGINAL GUITAR>AMP INPUT LEVEL You shouldn't need to adjust this again, I covered mine with some duct tape. This is slightly different than in the other tutorial, but makes more sense to me, but who am I:heh: .

Guitar>Gt8 Input>GT8 Send>Amp Input>Amp Send>GT8 Return>GT8 Output (left Mono for example)>Amp Return
MAKE SURE YOUR GT8'S EFFECT RETURN IS ON 24 (DEFAULT 100) IN CASE AS MENTIONED IN OTHER TUTORIAL IN CASE YOU HAVE A LINE LEVEL ON YOUR AMP (AND NOT AN INSTRUMENT LEVEL)

Play your guitar and note the level, if too low, raise the "Effect Loop Return" on the GT8. If your amp's Loop is Line Level it should be 100 (or slightly higher to allow for the loss from the GT8's loop). Don't go too much higher, you will hear it. It will introduce too much noise and mod effects will be muddy, etc...

As an example, I am using a Krank Revolution, I have read someone from Krank saying that their effects loops are not designed for individual pedals but for rack type units with Send/Returns due to the pedals having some sort of compounder thing or something that keeps the levels at guitar/instrument levels. This gave me the impression that I would need ot set the "Effect Return" Level low. I tried it and the level was far too low. I raised ti to 100 and was much closer. There is a slight loss of volume, but I thought it is better to be slightly under than over so not to boost the input to the poweramp. It does take away some of the crunch as well (ever so slightly but noticeable, and still useable).

I think that's about it. Once those levels have been set up, when you make new patches, just be careful not to introduce any clipping from the GT8 by using the Level meters in the GT8 and move through the effects chain to make sure you are keeping unity gain with each effect.

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS JUST MY ROUGH GUIDE, USE AT YOUR OWN RISK.:loco:

You can now use your amps tone in your GT-8's loop when the "LOOP" is switched on, or turn the loop off and use the GT-8's preamps into your amps poweramp. The cool thing is that things like your wah, pickup simulator, OVERDRIVE (put that Tubescreamer on and boost the REAL Amps preamp), etc... is before your GT-8's preamp or your REAL amps preamp (if the loop is on and the gt8 preamp is off) and mod effects, delays are after the preamp where they should be, as you can see here:

Wah>OD>PRE>LOOP>NS>EQ>FX1>FX2>CHO>DEL>REV

where "LOOP" is your REAL Amp's preamp and "PRE" is the GT8's preamp.

Overall this 4CM is not perfect (due to the small losses and introduced noise - remember to have the noise suppressor after the LOOP), but is easy useable/tolerable with my amp at least, I hope it works for you, even though a few guys with Marshalls are having problems with it as I mentioned. Good luck.



Here is a quick clean sample I did the first day I got my Krank Rev. It is the Kranks clean channel (in the LOOP of the GT-8 ) with the GT-8's chorus and delay after it going back to the Krank's poweramp

Chain:

BC Rich EMG85 (Neck)>Boss GT-8>Krank Revolution>Mesa Trad 4X12>SM57>M-Audio Firewire Solo>Cakewalk Guitar Tracks. No post EQ, anything (raw recording) just volume boosted.

It was just a test recording one-track, one-take, bum notes and all.

http://www.keepmyfile.com/download/c7601b1144870



Hope this post helps, I know its rough, but I'm in a bit of a hurry.

Thanks dude! I am familiar with bossgtcentral, but some of my questions weren't answered. I'll continue to fiddle with it, but maybe you can answer a simpler question.

Which loop should I use? Direct, External, etc? I really don't know, but what I do know is that when I use the 4cm, all the controls on the amp are bypassed and I can only tweak it from the gt8. That's not really what I'm looking for. Your post was great and I will use it in the future as a reference, rather than thumbing through page after page of forums in bossgtcentral.
 
Oops, almost forgot...

On the back of the JCM 2000, there aren't any loop level knobs, only a pushbutton loop level boost...I think it's 20db or so. I keep this pushed in when I have something in the loop. Is this good or bad or neither?
 
Dead Winter

From the Tutorial on Bossgtcentral: (did you read it dude, it's the first couple of paragraphs:p :lol: )

-Depending on the brand and model used, THE MASTER VOLUME OF YOUR AMP CAN BE DISABLED WHEN YOU PLUG AN EXTERNAL PREAMP in it. Check it by plugging your axe in the GT and the GT output in the loop return of your amp: if the first riff played destroys your ears, maybe you’ll have to control the master level with the volume pedal of the GT…

From memory this is part of the problem Marshall guys were having, sorry can't help you if this is the case.

-THE TONE STACK OF YOUR AMP CAN BE ACTIVE OR NOT WHEN YOU PLUG AN EXTERNAL DEVICE. Again, try it “live”, with the GT direct in the loop return: do your bass / mid / treble controls modify the tones from the GT? If it’s the case, choose one of these output options: JC 120/ small amp/ combo amp / stack amp. If your “tone stack” is disabled (no action from your pots), choose JC return or combo return / stack return / line-pa… The output option won’t modify the tone of your loop. But it is a key to obtain a good tone from the onboard preamps of the GT;

When I am using the GT8 as my pre-amp (Loof Off on GT-8) my amp controls do NOT work either. These controls are for the PRE-AMP and if you have the GT-8 Loop OFF, you will not hear a change in your tone since you are not using the real PRE-AMP. You have to set up the GT-8 as your pre-amp using IT'S Bass/Mid/Treble/Level just as if you were using your amps REAL pre-amp. With the GT-8 Loop ON your amp controls (pre-amp that is) should work as normal since you are using your amps REAL pre the controls should adjust its sound.

Again from the tutorial:

-Set the loop on NORMAL mode.

On the back of the JCM 2000, there aren't any loop level knobs, only a pushbutton loop level boost...I think it's 20db or so. I keep this pushed in when I have something in the loop. Is this good or bad or neither?

Again it would depend on what was in the Loop I guess. If you were using Pedals with "guitar-level" signal you would maybe use the boost to get it back up to a "Line Level" that your poweramp requires, maybe, I don't know for sure, I am not familiar with your amp. I would have NO BOOST when the GT8 is in the loop and first try the tutorial and my method as far as GT-8 Loop send/return levels and see what the result is.

Again, read the tutorials, most of your questions should be answered. I know, it's long and boring, blah, blah, :loco: :zombie: but every amp is different and YOU will have to fine tune it to best suit your needs and you need to understand how it works to make it work unfortunately.

Good luck.:headbang:
 
I used to have a DSL100 and got some really decent metal tones by sticking a GE-7 eq in the loop, cutting at 400Hz and 1,6 - 3,2 Khz, while boosting at 200Hz and 800Hz a bit.

I also boosted it sometimes with a Marshall Shredmaster (not exactly a boost pedal but it did a pretty good job) and got a much tighter sound out of it.

And again: Tone shift always OUT!
 
Chaosmonger, you're right- Tone Shift more or less = Tone Shit. I've found the Deep switch to be a waste in a band mix, as well.

I used to gig with a TSL 60 head through a 1960AV 4x12- that's the one with the Vintage 30s. My lead channel settings were something like:

Bass- 7, Mids- 8, Treble- 4, Presence- 2, Gain- 7, Channel Volume- 8, Master Volume- 7. Tone Shift and Deep both off.

Note the volume settings. That's the key here, I think, as with any Marshall. Pummelling volume. It was never a good low volume amp; it needed to be pushed to 4 or higher on the master. The tone I got was a dark, percussive chunk. It had plenty of gain for my needs, though I was never a gain monster.

I did run a mix of JJ ECC83s to darken the tone and thicken it up along with a Mesa SPAX7 or two for added gain. I also rebiased it, as the Svetlana EL34s that came stock are good tubes, but biased very cold from the factory.

Incedentally, through a VHT Fatbottom 2x12, I was able to cop Opeth's Deliverance tone fairly convincingly, though it lacked the thick mids I prefer.
 
Dead Winter

From the Tutorial on Bossgtcentral: (did you read it dude, it's the first couple of paragraphs:p :lol: )

-Depending on the brand and model used, THE MASTER VOLUME OF YOUR AMP CAN BE DISABLED WHEN YOU PLUG AN EXTERNAL PREAMP in it. Check it by plugging your axe in the GT and the GT output in the loop return of your amp: if the first riff played destroys your ears, maybe you’ll have to control the master level with the volume pedal of the GT…

From memory this is part of the problem Marshall guys were having, sorry can't help you if this is the case.

-THE TONE STACK OF YOUR AMP CAN BE ACTIVE OR NOT WHEN YOU PLUG AN EXTERNAL DEVICE. Again, try it “live”, with the GT direct in the loop return: do your bass / mid / treble controls modify the tones from the GT? If it’s the case, choose one of these output options: JC 120/ small amp/ combo amp / stack amp. If your “tone stack” is disabled (no action from your pots), choose JC return or combo return / stack return / line-pa… The output option won’t modify the tone of your loop. But it is a key to obtain a good tone from the onboard preamps of the GT;

When I am using the GT8 as my pre-amp (Loof Off on GT-8) my amp controls do NOT work either. These controls are for the PRE-AMP and if you have the GT-8 Loop OFF, you will not hear a change in your tone since you are not using the real PRE-AMP. You have to set up the GT-8 as your pre-amp using IT'S Bass/Mid/Treble/Level just as if you were using your amps REAL pre-amp. With the GT-8 Loop ON your amp controls (pre-amp that is) should work as normal since you are using your amps REAL pre the controls should adjust its sound.

Again from the tutorial:

-Set the loop on NORMAL mode.

On the back of the JCM 2000, there aren't any loop level knobs, only a pushbutton loop level boost...I think it's 20db or so. I keep this pushed in when I have something in the loop. Is this good or bad or neither?

Again it would depend on what was in the Loop I guess. If you were using Pedals with "guitar-level" signal you would maybe use the boost to get it back up to a "Line Level" that your poweramp requires, maybe, I don't know for sure, I am not familiar with your amp. I would have NO BOOST when the GT8 is in the loop and first try the tutorial and my method as far as GT-8 Loop send/return levels and see what the result is.

Again, read the tutorials, most of your questions should be answered. I know, it's long and boring, blah, blah, :loco: :zombie: but every amp is different and YOU will have to fine tune it to best suit your needs and you need to understand how it works to make it work unfortunately.

Good luck.:headbang:

Dude, you are the fuckin' man. Sorry that I've taken so long to reply, but I printed out your instructions and tweaked have found exactly what I was looking for!!!! You are the fuckin' man!!!!

It's still a work in progress, as everything is with the GT8. I basically needed a blow by blow (so to speak) account of what to do, and although I had a general idea, I didn't trust my instincts because I'm still a GT8 retard. The only thing is that the GT8 preamp distortion setting before blows my fucking eardrums when engaged, yet the others don't so much. I just turned down the patch level to a decent, yet loud level and fixed that quickly. I also noticed that when I engaged the compressor, the sound shot out of my speakers with clarity and power that never did before. I think the biggest problem was using my FX chain setup properly. I looked at everything, and realized that all of my presets were using both LOOP and PREAMP in the FX chain! No wonder they bypassed everything!!! Now, I have a perfect medium; natural distortion boosted by one of the distortion stompboxes, compressor, and a little EQ as well, not to mention some kickass effects that fit in the FX chain WHERE THEY SHOULD BE! You, sir, are a lifesaver. Although I still continue to tweak and perfect the sound, at least I have a good, solid starting point and not lost like a goose in a snowstorm.

One more thing: EQ. I like my sound tight, punchy, and heavy, yet with a lot of sustain. In other words, Metallica's And Justice For All is a little TOO punchy for me, but Master of Puppets isn't so bad. I like the sustain in Hypocrisy's Roswell 47, but there seems a bit too much midrange there. Arch Enemy's Bury Me An Angel has a really good sound to my ears, along with their new works. I know they use 5150s and 6505s for their sound, but the tonation of sound is what I like and what I'm trying to achieve. Any suggestions for the EQ setting besides the stereotypical V sweep? Hell, even a small tweak would be appreciated. Again, thanks a million to all of you!!!
 
One more thing...

The Tubescreamer doesn't cut it with a DSL...The DSL in my opinion has TOO MUCH gain and not enough distortion. The Tubescreamer makes a noticeable difference...if you're in a grunge band. I had to use the Heavy Metal Stompbox and tweak some of the settings with it to get the sound I wanted because I do_not_like the Metal Zone. It reminds me of mosquitos buzzing in your ears.

It's loud as shit, though. Goddamn, it's loud. I can't take anything away from Marshall in that area. The Peavey XXX shoulda taken notes from Marshall in that department, because although it's got balls, it just doesn't have the face-melting factor of Marshall when it comes to sheer volume.
 
I used to have a DSL100 and got some really decent metal tones by sticking a GE-7 eq in the loop, cutting at 400Hz and 1,6 - 3,2 Khz, while boosting at 200Hz and 800Hz a bit.

I also boosted it sometimes with a Marshall Shredmaster (not exactly a boost pedal but it did a pretty good job) and got a much tighter sound out of it.

And again: Tone shift always OUT!

Dude, I just can't get into that high mids-y sound from the Tone Shift out. I need that scoop; not too scooped because I love the sustain as well, but it just has a hollow sound if the Tone Shift is out. It works better for sheer volume, though, with it out.

I'm in a couple of bands and my first is always the metal band...we're doing something akin to Anaal Nathrakh meets Dimmu Borgir meets Fear Factory meets Mnemic meets old Samael meets Zyklon meets My Dying Bride or Anathema. Basically, a BLACKENED (not pure black, such as AN) symphonic (DB) death metal with cold industrial touches (FF and Mnemic) and a few classical influences (MDB, as well as classical compositions). My wife may play some violin parts on the album, and I'd like to add a string section on a couple of parts. Pretty strange, huh? We're drawing from all sorts of influences...the drummer is cold and precise and a fucking maniac behind the kit and I love the emotion from doom metal, as well as symphonic black metal such as AN and Emperor. Anyway, if I get a new amp, it will be a metal one for this band...probably a 6505 when I get the money. However, I won't get rid of my Marshall because I like grunge a lot too and it's a perfect grunge/borderline metal amp, such as Alice in Chains or Soundgarden. I think I'll just save my money for a 6505...I heard they have power and tone that's just unbelievable, even compared to the 5150. But I'll keep my Marshall. It's like an old car; it will never break down because it's tough as hell.

I don't really like the sound from a Mesa Boogie, though. It's not bad, but it sounds too raw for me. To me, if sound was a cheese grater, it would be a Mesa Boogie. The tone is devastatingly heavy and raw, but it just sounds too rough...like gravel. I like a smoother crunch, like some Marshalls and ALL 5150s. Instead of a sound like "CRACK, CRACK, CRACK", which I get from Mesas, I like the "CHUG, CHUG, CHUG" CRUNCH. It sounds stupid, but that's the best way I can explain it.
 
jcm800 had pretty good tone.

And the JPM1 (or whatever the initials are) wasn't too bad either.

And their v30 loaded 4x12 is a widely used favorite for years.

I could care less for any other product they've made.:puke:
 
Dead Winter

Glad things worked out for you. :kickass:

Unfortunately some of those GT-8 preamps can't handle the gain set above 30 before destroying themselves and your eardrums.:puke:

As far as EQ, it's pretty patch dependant so I have any hard 'n fast rules to share unfortunately. Try some of the "Ez tones" for the EQ (press "EQ" button and then "Parameter Left Arrow" until "Quick EQ" is displayed and then use the Jog Wheel to scroll through different EQ presets such as "Fat Lead", "Mid Boost", etc...) until you get close to the desired sound and tweak to suit.

Are you using any of the software the guys wrote over at BossGTCentral? Mr Sleepy's was the first and I still use it to transfer to and from the GT-8 and there is a new one called GT-8 master which is very easy to use, especially for assigns (absolutely brilliant for a complex task to be simplified like this). GT8master doesn't up/download to gt8 so MrSleepys is used for this. You will need USB to Midi cables though for it to work. Some cables also require you to plug the "Midi In" plug of the cable to the "Midi Out" socket on the gt8 and vice versa, some do not. Apart from that its piss-easy to use/setup.

One other cool thing to try is putting the Wah after the Pre-amp (real or GT-8 pre-amp) in the effects chain. Check out some weird combinations, they're endless.

Good Luck.
 
i shall be bringing my dsl 100 back from the dead with the help of this

headbone-vt-wedge.jpg


dsl for clean and marshall crunch, footswitch to 5150 filth all in one cab. coz well 5150's just dont do clean now do they!
 
Dead Winter

Glad things worked out for you. :kickass:

Unfortunately some of those GT-8 preamps can't handle the gain set above 30 before destroying themselves and your eardrums.:puke:

As far as EQ, it's pretty patch dependant so I have any hard 'n fast rules to share unfortunately. Try some of the "Ez tones" for the EQ (press "EQ" button and then "Parameter Left Arrow" until "Quick EQ" is displayed and then use the Jog Wheel to scroll through different EQ presets such as "Fat Lead", "Mid Boost", etc...) until you get close to the desired sound and tweak to suit.

Are you using any of the software the guys wrote over at BossGTCentral? Mr Sleepy's was the first and I still use it to transfer to and from the GT-8 and there is a new one called GT-8 master which is very easy to use, especially for assigns (absolutely brilliant for a complex task to be simplified like this). GT8master doesn't up/download to gt8 so MrSleepys is used for this. You will need USB to Midi cables though for it to work. Some cables also require you to plug the "Midi In" plug of the cable to the "Midi Out" socket on the gt8 and vice versa, some do not. Apart from that its piss-easy to use/setup.

One other cool thing to try is putting the Wah after the Pre-amp (real or GT-8 pre-amp) in the effects chain. Check out some weird combinations, they're endless.

Good Luck.

Yeah I'm familiar with MrSleepy's software, and I intend on using it. However, I'm just now getting internet in my house right now, so when that's finished I plan on uploading tons of patches to try. I have a serial to midi cable, but that probably won't work...guess I'll have to buy a USB to midi. In any case, thanks a lot for the advice, and I didn't even know about the quick EQ thingy! Thanks again!!!!