Members honeyiscool Posted December 1, 2011 Members Share Posted December 1, 2011 Over the last year or so, I've gotten to the point where if I have to keep exactly one piece of guitar-related FX or amp, I might choose the Tech 21 SansAmp Oxford. I love it that much. It lets me easily tap into consistently awesome tones no matter what guitar I'm playing or what I'm playing through, whether it be my powered monitors, Magnum 44 + cabinet, or into my computer. It has awesome cleans, amazing crunch, and even sounds great with a bass guitar. Anyway, I am hooked and want another one of these Character series pedals. From the demos I've seen, the Leeds (Hiwatt) seems like more of my kind of sound, but at the same time, I can't help think that the British (Marshall) one would give me more versatility. I don't think the Liverpool (Vox) or Blonde (Fender) are as impressive sounding to me, so it's between the Leeds and British for me. Anybody have any opinions? Also, our bassist put up a video of our Pixies gig. This is with the Oxford pedal and gives you an idea of the kind of lead sound I like to get: [video=youtube;3GyWVypxEc0] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted December 1, 2011 Members Share Posted December 1, 2011 If you buy locally, you could just buy them both, keep them clean and return whichever you didn't prefer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members honeyiscool Posted December 1, 2011 Author Members Share Posted December 1, 2011 Yeah right. If I buy them both, I'm keeping them both. I'm trying to stay away from that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted December 1, 2011 Members Share Posted December 1, 2011 Well, you probably have a point. I think between the two, I'd go for the Leeds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jimash Posted December 1, 2011 Members Share Posted December 1, 2011 Leeds. Let it rip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members honeyiscool Posted December 1, 2011 Author Members Share Posted December 1, 2011 I have a feeling that I'll get the Leeds, try to play "Magic Bus," fail badly, and never pick up guitar again... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted December 1, 2011 Members Share Posted December 1, 2011 Okay, well the GAS Man is qualified to speak on this topic so let's see if we can get him to chime in - Oh GAS Man, would you care to comment on honey's thread? Wha, what? Oh yes of course Sans Amps. Well grasshopper, I've bought The- Tweed British Oxford California Liverpool Leeds British US Steel (for my son) My synopsis is like this The Tweed takes a bit of time to figure it out. I'm liking it more now than I did in the beginning. The British is fine but there's so many OD pedals that can get you into the same ballpark that it doesn't really stand out. My faves - Oxford - Congrats you already own one. Leeds - sounds awesome (it will have you playing "Can't Explain" in a heartbeat.) Liverpool - sounds awesome (great for OD Vox tones or Vox cleans - you want to cop some Brian May tones or early Beatles' tones? - here it is) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jimash Posted December 1, 2011 Members Share Posted December 1, 2011 So start with "Shakin' all over" . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members honeyiscool Posted December 1, 2011 Author Members Share Posted December 1, 2011 Thanks for your input! I think you're right about the British. It sounds great, but so does my OD-3 plugged into anything. Haha, oh yeah, the first video for Leeds I found played a bit of "Can't Explain" and yeah, I was like, holy {censored}, this sounds like the real thing: [video=youtube;wiyqIh99P2Q] Of course, he isn't letting the treble ring out like Pete would, but we can't all be perfect. The Pink Floyd bass riff sounds amazing as well. Have you tried bass on Liverpool at all? I do consider bass performance to be somewhat important because I currently have two pedal boards with similar things on them (tuner, boost, dirt/preamp) and they back each other up and when one's on guitar, the other's on bass, so I would like to know that if I go with Liverpool, it can serve some time on bass. I also have a Tech 21 Para Driver, but I tend to record with it and I don't like it as much for live playing, plus it has a lot of good sounds but not enough signature sounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted December 1, 2011 Members Share Posted December 1, 2011 Have you tried bass on Liverpool at all? I do consider bass performance to be somewhat important because I currently have two pedal boards with similar things on them (tuner, boost, dirt/preamp) and they back each other up and when one's on guitar, the other's on bass, so I would like to know that if I go with Liverpool, it can serve some time on bass. No I haven't tried it on bass. But I'm sure you've noticed that all of the Sans Amp Character pedals are very sensitive to their EQ settings (and all the other settings for that matter). So you can really get a lot of different tones out of each one of them by tweaking the controls. I have a bass guitar out but I'm not inclined to run and plug it in because I wouldn't know exactly what bass tone you're looking for. But we're in total agreement on the Oxford (I didn't mention above, but I haven't been able to figure out the California yet - I assume it's just better suited to a style that I don't and can't play) but the Oxford, Leeds and Liverpool are all "must haves" in my book. Possibly the Tweed would be in my 4th position, but it does take you a while to reconcile to the fact that it is the Tweed tone and doesn't do Black Face or Silver Face with any particular ease. I run them through one of these, which I view as a helluva bargain. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/kustom-kpc15p-15-powered-pa-speakerI would imagine there are better PAs out there, but OMG, you'll be surprised how good that thing sounds with a Sans Amp Character pedal + a reverb pedal up front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members slushpup96 Posted December 1, 2011 Members Share Posted December 1, 2011 I think you should go with Leeds for the sound you want, but the Vox one stood out as the most distinctive to me. In other words, I've never heard a pedal that sounded quite like the Vox one, but many overdrives can get the other sounds. By the way, watching you rock out on a Hello Kitty strat was pretty damn impressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Squier Fat Telecaster Posted December 1, 2011 Members Share Posted December 1, 2011 L E E D S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BeanoBoy Posted December 1, 2011 Members Share Posted December 1, 2011 I have the British. Doesn't thrill me. A bit brittle. I like the clean tones best. My Lovepedal Cot and xOtic BB preamp get me a lot closer to Marshallville. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members csm Posted December 1, 2011 Members Share Posted December 1, 2011 'Fraid I'm not familiar with the 'Oxford'. Which celebrated amp is that supposed to emulate? (The other names are decoded in the OP ...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Woody_in_MN Posted December 1, 2011 Members Share Posted December 1, 2011 I had the Leeds for a while. I found it was not that versatile. Of the ones metioned Liverpool would be my choice. The ones I have now are the Oxford (early Mesa), and XXL. I love both. The Leeds I was not so wow'd with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Squier Fat Telecaster Posted December 1, 2011 Members Share Posted December 1, 2011 Oxford is ORANGE!!!!!!!! [video=youtube;BdWcMxXoG7U] [video=youtube;cU2kNwu3IZo] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members csm Posted December 1, 2011 Members Share Posted December 1, 2011 Oxford is ORANGE!!!!!!!! Riiiiight .. as in 'Frank Cooper's OXFORD Marmalade'! Wow, that's really oblique ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members noisebloom Posted December 1, 2011 Members Share Posted December 1, 2011 Leeds. First thing I'd do on it is "Pictures of Lily." And now I'm gassing for the Oxford, damn you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members honeyiscool Posted December 1, 2011 Author Members Share Posted December 1, 2011 Leeds. First thing I'd do on it is "Pictures of Lily." And now I'm gassing for the Oxford, damn you. Read this entire thread and you will have seen zero criticisms of the Oxford. Kind of amazing, really, since we all play different types of music and we all independently agree that the Oxford is a beautiful sounding pedal. As for the subject on hand, I feel like I'm leaning a bit toward Liverpool now haha. How about a splitter with one Liverpool channel and one Oxford channel? It'd be the most badass recorded guitar tone for under $400. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tone Deaf Posted December 1, 2011 Members Share Posted December 1, 2011 Modelling technology has come a long way, but I've yet to experience one that really nails it. No pedal/PA configuration is going to move air in the same way that a classic tube amp can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jjpistols Posted December 1, 2011 Members Share Posted December 1, 2011 Modelling technology has come a long way, but I've yet to experience one that really nails it. No pedal/PA configuration is going to move air in the same way that a classic tube amp can. Way to really answer that question! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members noisebloom Posted December 1, 2011 Members Share Posted December 1, 2011 Read this entire thread and you will have seen zero criticisms of the Oxford. Kind of amazing, really, since we all play different types of music and we all independently agree that the Oxford is a beautiful sounding pedal. Order placed. Amazon has four Oxfords for $114.08 each, and I jumped on that. I never see that much of a discount on SansAmp pedals. I didn't want to see it go away. All the other Character pedals were at $169, as usual. And I thought I was done buying pedals for the time being. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members billybilly Posted December 1, 2011 Members Share Posted December 1, 2011 I like your tone in that vid. Something funny about it coming from your hello kitty, just goes to show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Angry Tele Posted December 1, 2011 Members Share Posted December 1, 2011 I just got (literally 10 minutes ago) a Dano TOD and it has a Leeds setting that sounds very much like Petes bright ass HiWatts. Not sure how it would work with bass though, but for $50 its pretty good option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members honeyiscool Posted December 1, 2011 Author Members Share Posted December 1, 2011 Modelling technology has come a long way, but I've yet to experience one that really nails it. No pedal/PA configuration is going to move air in the same way that a classic tube amp can. 1. SansAmp aren't really modeling technology, they're 100% analog circuitry.2. They don't move air the same way, but the audience doesn't care about air moving, they care about how it sounds.3. You can play a SansAmp through a cabinet by using a power amp. That's what I do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.