1968 Plexi on fire!

[Strat78]

Oh, it's not literally on fire, I'm simply having fun with Star Guitars 68 plexi, it sounds pretty good plugging straight in:
https://soundcloud.com/iskra68/strat78onfire2014
I'm going to switch out the cheap El34's and put in some Sylvania 6CA7's to add a little more girth and solidity. SG bought this guitar from Allan Holdsworth manager last year. The amp had been in storage for a decade so I eased it back to life while trying to preserve and restore as much of the original amp as possible. We've been gathering period correct parts from all over the globe: Big thanks to Neikeel and Tazin!

[dirtycooter]

Sounds incredible though a bit harder and aggressive than the original its damn good
Could be some tube swappin needed only to change it up some.

[Tone Slinger]

Man, that was INCREDIBLE Those flanged fills were incredibly visceral. I felt them deep down. Definately was the spirit of early EVH summoned

[efraser68]

Wow that was pretty meaty, plexi sounds great Phil. And you recording sounds different, like a new mic or just cleaner and more direct in general. I'm I off on that?

[Strat78]

Thanks guys! It's an sm-57 on a pre-rola cone and a Sennheizer 421 on an old Goodmans cone recorded in stereo. Still wish I could warm up the recording a bit. I think when I put in the 6CA7 I'll raise the NFB resister as well, it might smooth out the hardness a bit. I'm also beginning to suspect the original TCC screens might be tired even though they formed pretty well for their age.

[Star*Guitar]

Sounds in the neighborhood home boy lol.

I will add more when I listen through my reference headphones. Change out whatever you want!! I got it covered. Lets do this right..

[dirtycooter]

Thanks guys! It's an sm-57 on a pre-rola cone and a Sennheizer 421 on an old Goodmans cone recorded in stereo. Still wish I could warm up the recording a bit. I think when I put in the 6CA7 I'll raise the NFB resister as well, it might smooth out the hardness a bit. I'm also beginning to suspect the original TCC screens might be tired even though they formed pretty well for their age.

I honestly think you should install 6ca7's and then leave that amp the fuck alone dude. I forbid you to change it! Lmao! That thing is so awesome. Maybe front end signal chain could be messed with to bring the hair/blur up some more. You got it clearer sounding than Eds recording mixwise but the amp is there. What you got for butter, salt, and pepper goin in the front?

[Strat78]

Thanks guys! It's an sm-57 on a pre-rola cone and a Sennheizer 421 on an old Goodmans cone recorded in stereo. Still wish I could warm up the recording a bit. I think when I put in the 6CA7 I'll raise the NFB resister as well, it might smooth out the hardness a bit. I'm also beginning to suspect the original TCC screens might be tired even though they formed pretty well for their age.

I honestly think you should install 6ca7's and then leave that amp the fuck alone dude. I forbid you to change it! Lmao! That thing is so awesome. Maybe front end signal chain could be messed with to bring the hair/blur up some more. You got it clearer sounding than Eds recording mixwise but the amp is there. What you got for butter, salt, and pepper goin in the front?

That's some good advise, thanks! I'll experiment more with what is pushing the amp. The guitar in the clip was an Ibanez Destroyer with an old Mighty Mite pickup going into the flanger and then to the amp. I'll try the 6-band next. Next, I think I'll switch first to Super 70, and then to an original "Tar back" Gibson pickup. I should also try putting a nickel cover on the Mighty Mite to see if it smooths out the highs a bit. Plus I love all those squeaks and chirps you get when the strings bottom out on the pickup cover. That's as much a part of the VHI Destroyer tone as anything. I'll try to keep my paws out of the amp, but I've got a hankering to try a mustard instead of the Philips .68 in V2. We also just got an RS 560pf and an RS 1M pot from Neikeel, so those will both go in. Oh, there are pics of this amp over in this thread:
http://forum.metroamp.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=43768

[mr.twistyneck]

THANK YOU for doing the live ending to this song. It just makes it mo betta.

[Star*Guitar]

Your fingers are what's "On Fire" Phil. Nice playing>.

Man that sure sounds good. I can here the push of that fire breathing Plexi. I actually was expecting Roth's vocals to chime it and was disappointed it didn't happen. lol

Still a tad stiff and bright, but not by much. I remember Michael Anthony saying that "Ed's amp actually sounded very bright". So EQ had to be added somewhere. I have both an old Boss GE10 and a MXR vintage 6 band from the early 70's. That 6 band would definitely goose and round off the front end a bit. Too bad their so damn noisy. lol. I had an old Palmer PDI-03 that I sold a few years back I am still kicking myself for. What that did was tap the signal from the amp and allowed you to use the time based effects after the amp. That is where you can really hear the difference in some of the effects like, Flanger, delay and reverb. They always sound better behind the amp. Phaser in front. But I am losing my point here, what I am trying to point out is he also had a noise gate. I think he may have used one there to cut out the bad elements of the MXR 6 band.

[Star*Guitar]

Your fingers are what's "On Fire" Phil. Nice playing>.

Man that sure sounds good. I can here the push of that fire breathing Plexi. I actually was expecting Roth's vocals to chime it and was disappointed it didn't happen. lol

Still a tad stiff and bright, but not by much. I remember Michael Anthony saying that "Ed's amp actually sounded very bright". So EQ had to be added somewhere. I have both an old Boss GE10 and a MXR vintage 6 band from the early 70's. That 6 band would definitely goose and round off the front end a bit. Too bad their so damn noisy. lol. I had an old Palmer PDI-03 that I sold a few years back I am still kicking myself for. What that did was tap the signal from the amp and allowed you to use the time based effects after the amp. That is where you can really hear the difference in some of the effects like, Flanger, delay and reverb. They always sound better behind the amp. Phaser in front. But I am losing my point here, what I am trying to point out is he also had a noise gate. I think he may have used one there to cut out the bad elements of the MXR 6 band.

[Tone Slinger]

Phil just has a knack for really getting at many of the core subtleties of Ed's earlier playing style, regardless of the gear being used....its just fundamental. Very impressive indeed

As far as the actual recorded sound of that particular amp, I hear the same hard and aggressive mids like you hear on say 'Walk This Way' or ' Hair Of The Dog'. Obviously there is a common thread to the older amps trannys, But, there seems to be even more tonal discrepencies as compared to the newer clone/reissue stuff. This particular amp is just always gonna have that bark I bet.

[Strat78]

So, I had to find VH doing 'walk this way' and found this! I have to say that this is probably the most potent demonstration of what the band did best. They are all brilliant here and Ed, well, I don't think I have ever heard him so insanely in a groove and all over the place at the same time, unbelievable! I would love to have heard this exact rendition on an album back then:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gz3aBlMQnM0
OK, back to the amp now.

[rgorke]

First, sounds fantastic and yet another example of "just a dimed plexi" getting THE tone.

What I think is missing is some of the schmear that Ed's tone had. Go listen to the rehearsal clips from the Nightmare bootleg at the Pasadena Civic. The exact tone structure and gain is there. What this amp has is a more crisp sound to it. Partly, I would bet, is the recording that Phil is doing than a gig recording. Phil's is more of what we would expect from a studio. If he mic'd it however those boots were mic'd I bet it would be dead nuts.

Well done!!! Are you running through the Echoplex? Running through all the effects may help as well.

Well done!!!!

[Strat78]

Yep, this amp is very bright and crisp, especially in the other clip with a JB pickup. I have my 6-band and an old noise gate that I'll try next. I'll do another version with the Destroyer and a Super70. Thanks Roger, yeah the tape broke in my echoplex a while ago, so I was still leaving it in the chain just for the pre amp. Well, since the tape was not squeaking and making noise, one day I forgot that the echoplex was on when I left the room. It stayed on for 24 hours until I smelled something burning, luckily I found it in time because I think it was about to burst into flames. Totally fried it! But I have another one with a broken tape, but I'm too lazy to fix it right now.