JSX with tubescreamer?

[bibz]

Seriously it takes time to learn the jsx, I have 6l6's in mine by the way. I could never get a 5150 lead tone I liked, and whenever I came close the rythm was sent to shit. It's just not how I fly, the JSX has both in spades (and in seperate channels) with an amazing clean, so I jumped on a good deal. I have 5150/5150II at my disposal, but leave them mostly disposed

Really, you have to run the knobs and the fx loop up to get the most out of it, fxloop on and full, eq past 5 (6/6/6 sounds really good, 7/7/7 5150esque) and know the difference between the two inputs. I didn't try this on the stock tubes, I had a massively scooped sound to get rid of some of the mids I hated from the stock JJ El34's. Winged-C el34's would be a different story completely! And ironically I use more gain on my x2n-laden and dimebucker guitars then my sh6, just to show how they relate to the amp differently.

All in all, horses for courses, just some info to anyone wanting to try one out!

 

[Metaltastic]

Clips, I'm curious to hear this

 

[AudioPhile777]

Clips, I'm curious to hear this

I think you haven't experimented with it enough... i think this amp can do everything the 5150 can do and more... honestly... the right tubes, right pickups (IMHO passives sound best on this amp) and a great cab (my mesa is awesomesauce), you can achieve unbelievably metal tones with this thing...

if you can afford to hang on to it for another couple weeks (just finishing up building my new studio), I will mic everything up and give you some clips...

just make sure to PM me and remind me, studio building makes me a forgetful Fred.

 

[Metaltastic]

Ok, will do dude, cuz I am curious, but I've also made up my mind that I wanna sell this, because in the year that I've had it, I've experimented A LOT with it, recording it through 3 different cabs (the most recent being a Mesa Traditional like yours), and always it has that sort of metallic, clangy sound that I can't banish (regardless of the guitar I'm using). As I said above, I highly doubt a change in pre or power tubes (and I've got a Tung Sol 12AX7 in V1, Shuguang 9th gen in V2 + V3, and a JJ balanced in the PI) would make a big enough difference to have me to a total 180 on the amp, so I'm ready to move on, and I am not gonna change my taste in pickups and bail on EMG's just to suit the idiosyncrasies of this thing, you gotta be joking!

And I don't mean this to be confrontational or competitive, but rather genuinely curious - do you feel you could get better sounds out of yours then the "Mesa Stiletto Test" clip in my soundclick player on my myspace? That was just one 57 on the cone, btw.

 

[AudioPhile777]

i definitely think that 'metallic' sound you're hearing is because of the EMGs... have you tried at least, and 85 in the bridge?

{edit: scratch that, I checked your sig... }

I hear the metallic ness to it, but I have never heard that in any of my tones... i definitely think you should try 6L6s...

But if you're mind is made up, its made up... I'm almost tempted to offer some sort of trade for the hd147, but I have no idea what i would do with two JSXs...

 

[Norris-wf]

Cheers for all the advice. Ill try and decide on one now and I'll post some clips as soon as I get to record. Thanks again guys
Regards,
Sean

 

[Metaltastic]

Well, I just had a listen to "Furtive Monologue," one of Despised Icon's singles of the aforementioned "Ills of Modern Man" - first off, I feel it's my need to say that this music is almost unlistenable with all it's atrocious deathcore-isms; spastic tempo changes, breakdowns, dissonant chords, PIG SQUEALS, GAAAHHH I HATE IT I HATE IT I HATE IT. But also, while I admit this is the best JSX tone I've heard, I honestly do think it's still kinda thin and has that kinda fizzy metallic quality, and is way too smooth, I want crunch in my guitar tone dammit. Sorry, another tag against the JSX in my book.

 

[Sloan]

^haha I agree, i'm listening to it right now and there's fucking (pitch fucked with?) pig noise shit everywhere. HILARIOUS AS FUCK.

anyway, the tone is good, but i do see what you mean by it being a little too smooth. it doesn't have the aggressive BITE.
to me, it sounds like maybe tracked with too much gain, i can hear some fizzy in there and just a hair not enough clarity.

 

[JBroll]

$40 for a TS7 compared with 4 digits for a JSX... hmm, might as well.

Jeff

 

[iekobrid]

I want crunch in my guitar tone dammit. Sorry, another tag against the JSX in my book.

Could you point us towards examples of the sort of tone you are looking for? You might make a few converts to your crusade.

 

[Metaltastic]

OPETH'S GHOST REVERIES!!!!!! (and most stuff Jens Bogren bestows his holy touch upon) Drrrroooooollllll That's the one I always come back to when I think of the crunch I'm after (for a more extreme example, Decapitated's "The Negation" also comes to mind, I actually had a dream the other night that I got a Bogner Ecstasy and it had that exact tone, I was in heaven, and it's probably pretty telling about my obsessions in life that I dream about amps and guitar tones ).

Now, I'm not after like the Slayer JCM800 tone of the 80s, mind you, cuz that's TOO crunchy, but relatively speaking, I prefer some "bark" rather than just all the smooth saturation that I'm realizing is quite characteristic of Peavey's in general (though I still have love for the 5150, and I know it's capable of a lot).

 

[akarawd]

Hi there,
I've been having great trouble getting a decent metal tone with my JSX but here's what I've found :
This amp needs to sound tight from the beginning so pickups play a huge part (more on this following)

tubescreamer : drive 9'o clock
tone off (my taste)
level : full
I know it's not what Andy has recommended but give it a try.

Pickups that give too much of a boost (mostly frequency-wise, like the Les Paul Alnicos for example) do not interact well (excessive boominess/harshness). EMG81s (although not my favs) sound more controlled. I am in search of a good neck pick up now, I'll let you know if I come across one that interacts well with the JSX. I wonder if it takes so much effort for other amps to sound tight too.

By the way, about that "turning the volume knob on one channel changes the sound of the other" here's what Peavey have said :

"Basically despite the fact you have 3 independent channels on the amp some of the pre amp valves are common to all channels. What you have found is called anode bleed and apparently isnt uncommon in high gain valve heads."

Hope I've helped,
akarawd

 

[006]

I would just like to add that I sold my JSX because of the same reasons...it was too smooth and polished sounding for me, or rather for me right now. I needed an amp that is raw sounding but can be polished, which the JSX simply does not do. It always sounds polished no matter what you do with it and that isn't versatile enough for me when it comes to recording. You can polish a raw sounding amp, but you can't make a polished amp sound raw. Just doesn't work that way. I plan on buying a JSX again in the future but right now I have priorities.

~006

 

[Metaltastic]

Eh, I remember you saying that at the time Mike, and I see you standing by it, but honestly I can't ever see a time I'd want that kind of smoothness the JSX has - as Sloan says, there's just no bite. A Krank has its awesome grind, Mesa's have, well, almost anything, and the 5150 can get some good bark, but the JSX, eh...it sounds good in the room/live, but I just am not a fan for recording.

 

[006]

Indeed. I mean...the JSX has it's uses recorded that I can see, but I feel like it may just be a every once in a great while thing in regards to when I would use it. Also, I fear it would predominantly be used for cleans and leads moreso than rhythm guitars and honestly I feel like I have that covered anyway so it would be a waste of money to get a JSX just for that. My list of to-get items has a Tiny Terror or Krank Rev Jr. planned for my ownership by the end of the year, as well as a FatheadII ribbon mic I really can't decide on which one to get first though (rev or terror). I'm really wanting that Krank grind that you speak of, I know it very well too and it's what has me lusting for one. Meanwhile the Tiny Terror will deliver more of the smoothness that I've always liked about Orange amps and not the JSX kind of smoothness.

~006

 

[Metaltastic]

Yeah, I've actually decided I'm gonna get a TT first as well, though I too want both - after playing one at Rudy's Music Shop down in NYC through an Orange 2x12 cab and being floored by it, well, I HUNGER!!!

 

[DrakkarTyrannis]

I bought a TS808 some time back, and when trying it with DTX (what I call my JSX) I didn't like it at all. After playing around with the EQ on my amp I randomly decided to try the TS808 again, and it just worked. It sounded pretty good and I used it for a while..until. I ordered a Coffin Blood Drive, that distortion pedal made by MXR and Coffin Case, and it beat the TS808 all day long as a great boost. I will say that a JSX doesn't need a boost, but if you've get it set up to accomodate one it can be killer. I did a really short clip of my sound since my band will be heading into the studio shortly for some recording. I wanted to hear the DTX in a number of situations, check it out



And as for the lack of "aggression" the amp has, I think it can be worked on. I personally love the "refined grind" ,as I call it, that's in the amp. And of course the opposing gain volume knob tone trick helps to give it a little more hifi aggression, at least to my ears.

 

[Metaltastic]

Hmm, that sounded pretty damn cool, though I hesitate to make any wholehearted compliments until I hear it mic'ed. What cab were you using, what was the signal chain/settings, and why do you call it a DTX?

 

[DrakkarTyrannis]

For that, surprisingly..a Behringer 4X12, the jensen loaded one. I have a Vader on the way but I love the Behringer so much that I still plan to use them both. There isn't a whole lot going on with my setup, just a BC Rich Draco going to my Blood drive, into an NS-2, into the amp. In the effects loop I run an MXR 10 Band, which definately helps beef up the amp.

The DTX is set up to utilize all the known tricks for this amp, like having the effect loop dimed for maximum volume and thickness, the master volume is cranked, using the channel volumes for level, NO presence to minimize fizz (A personal option, not recommended for everyone) , A JJKT77 high gain tube set from Eurotubes, keeping the gain on both channels very low. 2-3 on ultra, around 4-6 on crunch, and of course using the crunch channel for metal. I can't stress that enough. It's the thicker channel and I find that people who hate the thinness of the amp usually go for the ultra channel and gain the shit out of it.

Oh yeah, and DTX? Because I've changed the look of the amp as well as other things and it's my "custom" signature amp..thus it's no longer a Joe Satriani X, but a Drakkar Tyrannis X

 

[Norris-wf]

Theres a lot of advice here on the amp. I decided to go for it in the end and I'm quite happy with it. This was an upgrade from a marshall AVT150 head so as you can imagine this amp blew me away! I never used amp distortion until now and It really is a world apart from the AVT. Its going to take a while to get used to the sounds and to hear exactly what everyone is on about, but so far I think its a very versatile amp and I couldnt be happier with it. Ill do some recordings in a few weeks with it, I'm looking forward to that. Thanks to everyone for the advice and help, once again iit has paid off