Amps for an RS-4

[ducktrapper]

duck,

Most people do it so that they can keep the tailpiece all the way down on the body (for better vibration/tone transfer) but not have the strings catching on the backside of the tune-o-matic bridge before they go over the saddles - both to avoid tuning and buzzing/wrattling issues. Some folks also claim that the extra string length from wrapping them over lowers the tension somewhat, making them easier to bend.

Never occurred to me but what the heck, it can't hurt. I'll try it. I just bought four sets of strings today, as a matter of fact. Half price sale at the local music store! Four sets of Elixirs for $36.00.   

[bacchus]

So I got my Morgan.  For anyone interested, here is a repost of my NAD thread on another forum.

As my title says, this is my first new(ish) amp day. I have been on the lookout for a new amp to go with my incoming Larrivee RS-4 - "Forum V". I have been really digging the Vox sound lately and had all but made up my mind on an AC15 or AC15HW1. Then I started to notice the praise generally heaped upon Morgan amps and did some research. This was either a great idea or a very bad one, Im leaning towards great. Anyway, long story short, I noticed one for sale in the emporium and decided to go for it. I dont know if the forum member that sold it wants to be outed or not (I am not really sure about the etiquette here), but the transaction was incredibly smooth and all I can say is that I am VERY satisfied with the results.

I have been playing on an old hand-me-down of a hand-me-down solid state Laney amp with a 200$ LTD Viper for years. The first thing I noticed when I plugged into the Morgan was that I dont actually suck as bad as I thought. There is SO much more clarity, response, and musicality; there is so much more of everything good. I love everything from clean to scream, and it does both in spades, much better than expected. Even with my cheap guitar with stock pickups and a wonky neck, this thing sounds like a million bucks. I cant wait to get my new awesome guitar to go with this awesome amp. The only problem is that I wont have any more excuses for sounding like crap.

Now, I know pics are generally a requirement on these threads, so I will post what I have. Sadly, I only have one picture that was taken right before unplugging due to a horrendous thunder and lightening storm that happened less than an hour after receiving this amp. If there is any interest, I can take a few more and upload them when I get home tonight. Anyway, here goes:

[JOYCEfromNS]

If there is any interest, I can take a few more and upload them when I get home tonight. Anyway, here goes:

[SouthpawGuy]

Looks good ! What ( watt  ) output power is it ? As for Laney amps I had one briefly in the '80s, it was a pile of poop, and that's being polite 

Put me off the brand for a long time, until that is I plugged into a recent TT50 all valve combo and was very impressed, that one followed me home !

[bacchus]

Looks good ! What ( watt  ) output power is it ? As for Laney amps I had one briefly in the '80s, it was a pile of poop, and that's being polite 

Put me off the brand for a long time, until that is I plugged into a recent TT50 all valve combo and was very impressed, that one followed me home !

This guy is a 15 watt'er.  A loud 15 watts, but with a sweet output scaling feature.  Otherwise this thing is dead simple: volume(gain), treble, bass, cut, bright switch, and output.  Nothing but sweet tones thoughout.

I've honestly got nothing against Laney, I've heard some good stuff from them.  This guy was pretty old and well used, and from what I understand, it probably needed a new ... Everything.  It was also an acoustic and electric  multi channel amp.  So I don't really think it excelled as an electric amp.  Nonetheless, I still sounded like trash on it :-)

I am very happy with the Morgan.  I'll post some more pics later.

[JOYCEfromNS]

Josh from Guitars of Pikesville is seen HERE running an RS-4 thru a Laney. Sounds not too bad  

Josh apologizes for not having an electric player around for the demo  

Anyway you be da judge  

 

[bacchus]

I said that I would upload a couple more pics of my new amp, in case anyone cares, so here you go.  I am, by the way, still loving this thing.  It just has so freaking much character. 

Anyway:

Looking good from the front


Here are some pictures, taken by the seller, of the insides.  Beautiful work.


And...


And good times were had by all (except for my dog, nothing but bad times for him...) 

Cameron

[Mikeymac]

I've been very happy with my latest "amp" purchase (I put "amp" in quotes because some folks would question whether this thing is a *real* amp): an Ethos Overdrive Amp. You can check out the website here. You can hear an excellent demo of it here on YouTube.

I tried it through some of my own amp's speakers, and also tried it through some other cabs ... I ended up bringing home a Dr. Z 2x12 cab that just sounds beautiful (rich, full, sparkly, punchy, dynamic) with the Ethos. Not a cheap cab, but it sounded so good, I went for it.

I had also ordered a Dr. Z Maz18 head, which came in a couple weeks ago. It sounds incredible, but it's so LOUD (even at 18 watts) that I just couldn't use it at home without bothering everyone (if I wanted to find some decent tones). So the head went back, and I kept the Ethos (and bought the Z cab) - the Ethos is THAT GOOD.

I've already used the Ethos as my amp on one gig (with one of my old amp's 2x10 speakers); I'm using it with the Dr. Z cab for worship this Sunday and then a gig Sunday afternoon.

A couple more quick comments: the Ethos has two channels, Clean and Drive (it can also be bypassed). The Drive channel also has a Boost button for soloing. I've got the Drive channel set up so that it sounds very similar to the Clean channel when I play lightly, then when I dig into it, it has a nice edge to it...very tube-like. The boost works perfect with the volume rolled off just slightly - on full boost it's more than I need with most of my guitars.

It sounds good with other pedals running into it, including other drive pedals. I've used a Wampler Paisley Drive with it and my Fulldrive 2. Both can provide some different overdrive flavors.

Also, the Ethos can be used as an amp to drive a cab, or it can be put in front of your amp as a pedal, or it can be run direct to your PA (or into a computer) to simulate an amp, OR you can do TWO OR MORE of these options simultaneously - very versatile and practical. 

It's so good, I've thought about selling my Carr Rambler...I won't do anything hasty, but I'm seriously considering it.

[jojo123]

I've been very happy with my latest "amp" purchase (I put "amp" in quotes because some folks would question whether this thing is a *real* amp): an Ethos Overdrive Amp. You can check out the website here. You can hear an excellent demo of it here on YouTube.

I tried it through some of my own amp's speakers, and also tried it through some other cabs ... I ended up bringing home a Dr. Z 2x12 cab that just sounds beautiful (rich, full, sparkly, punchy, dynamic) with the Ethos. Not a cheap cab, but it sounded so good, I went for it.

I had also ordered a Dr. Z Maz18 head, which came in a couple weeks ago. It sounds incredible, but it's so LOUD (even at 18 watts) that I just couldn't use it at home without bothering everyone (if I wanted to find some decent tones). So the head went back, and I kept the Ethos (and bought the Z cab) - the Ethos is THAT GOOD.

I've already used the Ethos as my amp on one gig (with one of my old amp's 2x10 speakers); I'm using it with the Dr. Z cab for worship this Sunday and then a gig Sunday afternoon.

A couple more quick comments: the Ethos has two channels, Clean and Drive (it can also be bypassed). The Drive channel also has a Boost button for soloing. I've got the Drive channel set up so that it sounds very similar to the Clean channel when I play lightly, then when I dig into it, it has a nice edge to it...very tube-like. The boost works perfect with the volume rolled off just slightly - on full boost it's more than I need with most of my guitars.

It sounds good with other pedals running into it, including other drive pedals. I've used a Wampler Paisley Drive with it and my Fulldrive 2. Both can provide some different overdrive flavors.

Also, the Ethos can be used as an amp to drive a cab, or it can be put in front of your amp as a pedal, or it can be run direct to your PA (or into a computer) to simulate an amp, OR you can do TWO OR MORE of these options simultaneously - very versatile and practical. 

It's so good, I've thought about selling my Carr Rambler...I won't do anything hasty, but I'm seriously considering it.

Thanks for the write-up on the Ethos "amp."  It sounds really impressive.     Can it do decent high gain / distortion at fairly low volumes?  (I have basement studio and can't get real loud).  Was there a long wait time?  thanks.

[JOYCEfromNS]

I've already used the Ethos as my amp on one gig (with one of my old amp's 2x10 speakers); I'm using it with the Dr. Z cab for worship this Sunday and then a gig Sunday afternoon.

So how did it fair 

It's so good, I've thought about selling my Carr Rambler...I won't do anything hasty, but I'm seriously considering it.

Any trips to Nova Scotia I will take that ol thing off your hands

[Mikeymac]

Thanks for the write-up on the Ethos "amp."  It sounds really impressive.     Can it do decent high gain / distortion at fairly low volumes?  (I have basement studio and can't get real loud).  Was there a long wait time?  thanks.

I would say it's not really designed for that purpose...but that depends on what you consider "decent" high gain sounds. I'd suggest finding a pedal that will do that for you (for a lot less money than either the standard Ethos Overdrive pedal or the Overdrive Amp).

JMHO. 

[Mikeymac]

So how did it fair 

Worked fantastic!

I'm still amazed at the depth of "tube-like" tone that this pedal produces, and the volume that's coming from this power source (I'm assuming it's something like a class D power amp, which I believe was used in the Crate Powerblock amp a few years ago). It's rated at around 30 watts; he says the volume should compare with a Fender Deluxe Reverb amp (around 22 tube watts).

But it just sounded excellent through the Z cab, and it takes other pedals really well for different kinds of overdrive. My Paisley Drive provides some nice gritty tones, and the Fulltone Fulldrive 2 offers some different textures and high gain options. The Ethos itself has a nice gain boost on it for solos ... I usually turn back the guitar volume just a hair when using the boost...during most of our set, I also kept my volume backed off to around 8 so that I could turn up for some dynamics from time to time. 

So I have it sent up for regular volume levels on the clean and drive channels with the guitar (in this case a Warmoth Strat) set to around 8 on the volume.

As I've said, I decided to keep this over a Maz18 head, which sounded great, but the volume was just overwhelming. (I also mic'd the Z cab for both worship and the band performance that afternoon - much better spread of guitar sounds and balance of tone. Several members of the band wear in-ear monitors, the others - like me and the lead singer - use a floor monitor.)