We got your POD right here, pal! :-)

[James Steele]

Okay... did some experimenting tonight. I bought a used Groove Tubes GT-66 tube mic out of the paper from a kid for $250. I thougth it was a good deal. I'm even sure now that I tried it on my guitar cab tonight. I didn't dig it for vocals... I'm using a Red Type B for that which I love. I tried the Red on the guitar cabinet and the amount of presence it has which works nicely on my voice is not a good thing on the guitar cab.

Below I've posted a sample recording of me just doing some noodling so I could post it here and see what you guys think. Yeah, yeah... I should've left of the reverb and delay, but it sounded so cool... lol. The MP3 file is at 256kbs rate so it should give a good idea of the sound. If you look at the pic, my intention was to use the mic on the left cabinet, a Cascade Fat Head ribbon mic combined with the GT-66 on the right. Turned out I got some nasty cancellation and anyone who might have some suggestions on how to elimate that (you can see I tried to get the mics as far apart as possible-- hence two cabinets side by side) please give a suggesiton. I'm guessing maybe a soft surfaced barrier between the two cabs... dunno.

Either way, I really liked the sound of the GT-66 on the guitar. I'm not using a purist type chain either. Yes... that's a wireless receiver on the top of the head. I'm in the control room with the guitar. The reason for the wireless is that I played for years in clubs with it and ended up getting the head so dialed in with that wireless that I've grown to like what it does if you can believe it. I'm also running through a Rocktron Intellipitch as well using the digital HUSH noise reduction in the effects loop of the Marshall, so there's an A>D>A conversion happening in the effects loop (albeit 24 bit). Not exactly purist stuff, yet I'm so far very pleased with the results. Monkeyman, give me your opinion. I think the sample demonstrates to me anyway, that a POD is great for what it does, but I'll choose my amp. The other factor is of course that I know my amp and how it responds to touch... it gives me more feedback and dynamics.

Oh... FYI, the head is a 1979 Marshall MKII 100-watt that's been significantly modified. She's my baby...

Oh... one more thing. The cabs are your garden variety 1960B cabs loaded with Celestion Vintage 30s. I ordered a set of four 25 watt Greenbacks and loaded up a cab and tried it and then turned around and sold them later. The greenbacks were a little soft sounding... I might have liked to have saved the greenback cab for an occasional time I'd want that sound, but for me the Vintage 30s are still my favorite guitar speaker. (I'm always anxious to try others, but it gets expensive!)

Audio Sample:
http://www.jamessteele.com/marshallsample.mp3

Ugly Rig:

[mikebeckmotu]

I like reverb. A lot. So I don't mind that you left it in!
I've also had an eye on the Cascade mic, especially for that price.
Now you've got my interest turned up a notch or two.
That's some pretty massive tone, and it does have a full body to it, which can sometimes be elusive with the emulations.
I wondered if you happened to try this mic combo on a clean setting? (sorry, didn't mean to make you choke on your cornflakes...) But I ask, since I use tones from clean to filthy.
There's no question it sounds great on the overdriven, drool-worthy Marshall sound.

[wylie1]

Thanx for the post James,I'm surprised you've ever considered using an emulator.
I've got thousands of hours of guitar tracking under my belt and that has to be one of the cleanest sounding tracks I've heard from a Marshall.
Is that the Rocktron or the mods to your amp?
I've never used a Rocktron so I'm not sure what the effect is.

[Mr_Clifford]

Haven't you heard James, it's not about the gear. You just have to get ahold of the Pick of Destiny.

Nice tone BTW. For about 3 seconds I thought you were about to launch into 'Eruption'.

[monkey man]

I like. I like a lot.

Can imagine that tone cutting through a mix pretty darn nicely.
Big, beefy and bearded. OK, maybe not the latter.
A comparison wit' a '57 or such could prove enlightening for us, but you know where you sit.

Yeah, POD, SCHMOD; you got that right, Jimbo.

Have fun chasing your tone, James.

[James Steele]

I like reverb. A lot. So I don't mind that you left it in!

I absolutely, positively adore Altiberb. By the way, that's the Lexicon 480L IR.

I've also had an eye on the Cascade mic, especially for that price.
Now you've got my interest turned up a notch or two.

You know, I'm still undecided as to the Fat Head mic. The reason was in the picture, I thought that if I got the mics far enough apart they would not cancel each other out, but that was not the case. I couldn't have both mics on at the same time wihout it sounding awful, so I used only the Groove Tubes GT-66 into the HV-3C.

I wondered if you happened to try this mic combo on a clean setting? (sorry, didn't mean to make you choke on your cornflakes...) But I ask, since I use tones from clean to filthy.

I didn't try that yet, I ought to. I don't know that this amp does clean particularly well. Have never tried to record it that way, yet, so I don't know. The whole rig is MIDI controlled and in the top space in the rack is a Ground Control GCX switching system, (see http://www.voodoolab.com/gcx.htm), which in default routes the signal from the wireless receiver to the input of the Marshall head by default, or can switch it to the input of an old Rocktron Pro G.A.P. pre-amp. I use this for the clean sounds. I'd like to buy another rack pre instead, but had this already.

One thing that is *always* inline is my Rocktron Intellipitch for its HUSH noise reduction circuit.

There's no question it sounds great on the overdriven, drool-worthy Marshall sound.

Thanks! Also by the way, in the rear of my rack, secured down is a Boss Graphic GE-7 graphic EQ pedal which is used as boost during solos as it has slider that will add gain in addition to some EQ adjustment. It's always on, and whenever I want a lead sound, I call up a patch that switches it into the signal path via the GCX switcher. That's why, in the example MP3 it might not sound like the best rhythm tone. If I pull the boost out of the signal, it get's a bit cleaner and more crunchy and makes a great rhythm tone as well.

[James Steele]

Thanx for the post James,I'm surprised you've ever considered using an emulator.
I've got thousands of hours of guitar tracking under my belt and that has to be one of the cleanest sounding tracks I've heard from a Marshall.
Is that the Rocktron or the mods to your amp?
I've never used a Rocktron so I'm not sure what the effect is.

Thanks, Wylie. No, I *never* considered using an emulator! It works for some people with good results I guess, and it's been suggested to me at various times, but I just cant "go there."

Thanks so much for the compliment on the recording. The "clean" is definitely not the mod... because normally the amp has plenty of hiss. The clean is from the Rocktron. The unit I have in the rack is a discontinued Rocktron Intellipitch. I hunted down a unit on eBay primarily because the pitch transposition algorithm was designed by Wave Mechanics. It allows you to stack up to two additional harmony parts on a solo that will remain diatonically correct through each degree of the scale. So I can program in the program in the tonic, then the mode, and than an interval for the first voice and then the level and harmonize with myself.

Any way... I THOUGHT that's why I bought it. The main purpose it serves now is noise reduction. It has Rocktron's HUSH algorithm built in too. It's digital however, so at all times, the signal from the pre-amp stage of the Marshall is being processed by this. It goes in, is converted to 24-bit digital, the noise reduction (it's pretty much a glorified "squelch" control) is applied, then it's passed back to the main amp stage of the Marshall via the effects return.

The funny thing is I played live in clubs in San Diego for about two years and really dialed in my *live* rig. So when I approached recording for the first time in a while and did what you're *supposed* to do (i.e. use a cable and plug guitar directly into the head with no effects... minimal, pure signal path) I did not like the sound I was getting. So I threw convention out the window and dialed in my live sound and used my rig just as I had live. So the example is recorded using a guitar wireless, which is heresy, but part of the sound I grew to like was the result of something my Sennheiser wireless was doing... attenuating the sound.

For what it's worth too, the guitar is my Dean custom USA V and the pickup is a Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro. I found I prefer lower output pickups, again counter to popular opinion... although many guys I respect don't are for "hot" pickups. I also back the pickup down away from the strings some rather than as close as I can get it. This gives me more crunch and less "buzziness" for chording. My guitar is strung with Ernie Ball regular slinkys (.10's).

[James Steele]

Haven't you heard James, it's not about the gear. You just have to get ahold of the Pick of Destiny.

Nice tone BTW. For about 3 seconds I thought you were about to launch into 'Eruption'.

I LOVE Jack Black and Tenacious D! I need to rent that movie.

No "Eruption" for me. I never learned it and honestly not sure I could even play it right now. I'm still working on my guitar chops as I really think of myself as a lead singer first... it's just that my love of guitar accounts for my adamant refusal to put it down and be a traditional "lead singer."

Actually the first part of the sample is taken from Ritchie Blackmore's intro to "Difficult to Cure" which was Rainbow's rendition of a Beethoven's 9th symphony I think. Embarassed to say I have forgotten... been so long since school!

[mikebeckmotu]

I forgot to mention how clean your overdriven sound was (lack of buzz, hum, etc.) - nice work!
Thanks for the detailed tech info - you really spent some time with your rig setup, and I have to agree that once you like a tone, it's not a bad idea figuring out how to capture it rather than starting from scratch with completely different equipment.
I'd say your result in the sample speaks for itself. And it speaks with conviction.
As for the Cascade mic, I also have wondered about the Shinybox ribbon mics. I must have a compulsion to get a ribbon for a ridiculously low price, I guess.

[Budmas21]

James, I just had my wife go out and purchase me a BBE Sonic Stomp (Foot pedal version of their Sonic Maximizer). Man, it rocks. Have you ever considered getting one or have you ever tried it? My Krank's dirty channel sounds a lot "tighter" now. I love it!!!

[James Steele]

James, I just had my wife go out and purchase me a BBE Sonic Stomp (Foot pedal version of their Sonic Maximizer). Man, it rocks. Have you ever considered getting one or have you ever tried it? My Krank's dirty channel sounds a lot "tighter" now. I love it!!!

Hmmm... no I haven't. I've heard of guys putting those in their racks years ago. I'm sort of leery of the BBE "exciter" type stuff. I have nothing to base it on other than just that they scare me. I have an old Behringer Ultrafex II which a similar device that I could try, but right now I'm kinda happy with what I'm getting now.

[Budmas21]

Without a doubt you have a killer sound. Yeah, guys are still putting these things in their racks, just not as common anymore. If you or anyone would like to hear demonstrations of it, you can just type in BBE Sonic Maximizer for a search on Youtube.com and see the videos they have. Couple of guys have demoed it and recorded their results. I still have to convince my better half that I need a Marshall, too I've been eying those new JVM410's and the Vintage Moderns, but there's no one in my town that has any in stock so I can play with them. Rock on...

[James Steele]

Without a doubt you have a killer sound. Yeah, guys are still putting these things in their racks, just not as common anymore. If you or anyone would like to hear demonstrations of it, you can just type in BBE Sonic Maximizer for a search on Youtube.com and see the videos they have. Couple of guys have demoed it and recorded their results. I still have to convince my better half that I need a Marshall, too I've been eying those new JVM410's and the Vintage Moderns, but there's no one in my town that has any in stock so I can play with them. Rock on...

I heard the new JVM head at NAMM and the thing is insane. Honest to God... tone up the wazzoo and versatile. Setups can be recalled via MIDI program change and it covers all the bases. They're going for about $1700 or so street, but I'm *very* tempted... to the point that I'd maybe even sell off my 79. I would possibly by at Guitar Center for their 30 day return policy and make sure before I unload the old heads (I have a 100 watt DSL for backup).

[Kind Of Loud]

What's that old Campbell soups commercial...???
"Mmmm...Mmmm,,,,Gooood..!!!"

Just sweet, James..!!!
Total, to die for, "Marshall Tone"....
Don't touch a thing, or I'm gonna slap ya..!! (...just kidding... )

What blows me away, is using the wireless...Had somebody mentioned that to me, I would have told 'em to shove it..!!

If I recall, your amp is out in your garage, and your studio, is in your house..???
And you're getting those tones using the wireless..???
HAH..!!!.... To hell with Monster Cable...!!!!
Thanks for making me do a 360....

Another thing is, I like your approach to using your LIVE tone....
My favorite tones have always been those, from live recordings....
Have you heard that DVD of Led Zeppelin, and the show from 1970..??
Jimmy Page....( as great as he was in the studio)...never came close, to grabbig that live tone he got, from that era, with that rig.....That Les Paul, just fuckin' GROWLS...!!!

And.....
DON'T sell that head...!!!!
Put it in the attic, and carry on..!!!

[James Steele]

What's that old Campbell soups commercial...???
"Mmmm...Mmmm,,,,Gooood..!!!"

Just sweet, James..!!!
Total, to die for, "Marshall Tone"....
Don't touch a thing, or I'm gonna slap ya..!! (...just kidding... )

Thanks, man... I appreciate it. If I had the dough, I'd love to be able to try the Pacifica preamp Chrispick is hot for. Right now it's the Millennia HV-3C.

What blows me away, is using the wireless...Had somebody mentioned that to me, I would have told 'em to shove it..!!

If I recall, your amp is out in your garage, and your studio, is in your house..???
And you're getting those tones using the wireless..???
HAH..!!!.... To hell with Monster Cable...!!!!
Thanks for making me do a 360....

I know, huh. That's the thing I almost don't want to admit, because it's contrary to everything I've learned and also what "feels right." My garage is pretty much soundproofed, the previous owners had made it into a rec room and storage. I'm single so the master bedroom (which was the largest) is converted into a control room. (There's logic to that. Can you imagine telling the missus that your studio is taking over the main bedroom?)

Any way, the converted garage is not very far from the control room, so I could easily run a cable to the amp rig. But instead I use the wireless. And again... you'd think that's nuts to do. But I was frustrated having dialed in a great tone on my live rig... (to the point that sound guys from local venues that have heard everything would comment on my tone during soundchecks)... only to do something different in recording. So when nobody's looking... LOL... I use my wireless. As I said there's a weird attenuation that goes on with the wireless that I like. That said, with a different head that might be a bad idea, but it works for me.

Another thing is, I like your approach to using your LIVE tone....
My favorite tones have always been those, from live recordings....
Have you heard that DVD of Led Zeppelin, and the show from 1970..??
Jimmy Page....( as great as he was in the studio)...never came close, to grabbig that live tone he got, from that era, with that rig.....That Les Paul, just fuckin' GROWLS...!!!

And.....
DON'T sell that head...!!!!
Put it in the attic, and carry on..!!!

Yeah... that's all very true. You know what... I'm playing my Dean V in that example. I'm itching to break out my Les Paul Standard tomorrow and see how it goes on rhythm tracks. Leads would probably sound great on the Paul, but it's just harder for me to play than the Dean. The LP I own is heavy as all get out. I actually bought it because it was the heaviest one in the batch of them the store had. Weird. All the same except for the finish, yet mine was significantly heavier. I don't know why. I went with the black finish too, even though I had originally wanted a gold top. (Sighs wistfully as he thinks back to the beautiful gold top he sold as a kid!)

Yeah... you're right about not selling the head. In reality though it's been modded like nobody's business and is not collectible. The mod consisted of adding an effects loop as well as an additional gain stage in the pre-amp. There's a fourth pre-amp tube installed, as well as additional preamp controls on the front panel, which necessitated the presence control to be moved to the rear panel. Let me say for the record, I swear by these heads. There's something about the 6550 power tubes that I like a lot. I've been told that these heads shipped with 6L6 in England and 6550 for the American market. I was also told that the amps were pretty much voiced with the Les Paul in mind.

Any way, I'm eager to try this rig with the Les Paul tomorrow. The Paul is brighter and more present. My V tends to be a bit darker/warmer.