Members ck3 Posted November 23, 2007 Members Share Posted November 23, 2007 Given the number of threads regarding rack preamps, I thought that this lounge might be a useful contribution to this subforum. After I acquired a Peavey Rock Master early last month, my interest shifted from amp emulators to rack preamps. Unfortunately, my budget, like that of many other musician-types, is quite limited. I managed to score a cheap/2nd hand Boss GL-100 recently. Thus far, I have been impressed with its unique/fuzzy distortions and variety of lo-fi clean tones. It is ideal for industrial/noize-type music and even adequate for modern blues/jazz fusion in some respects. What are some decent-sounding/flexible tube and solid state rack preamps that are typically priced under $250 US? I'm particularly interested in learning more about the following ... ART Power Plant Crate TDP .. but feel free to chime in with any ideas that come to mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jimosity Posted November 23, 2007 Members Share Posted November 23, 2007 In the right hands, the Behringer V-Amp Pro is actually pretty dang good for the price...If you decide you wanna move that GL-100, let me know.I have one and they are AWESOME for clean tones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ck3 Posted November 23, 2007 Author Members Share Posted November 23, 2007 In the right hands, the Behringer V-Amp Pro is actually pretty dang good for the price... If you decide you wanna move that GL-100, let me know. I have one and they are AWESOME for clean tones. Doesn't the GL-100 basically have the same tone stack as Roland's JC-series amps? I really like the "Cutting" mode of Channel II. It allows me to create acoustic/piezo guitar sounds with much lower action than the real deal. Preamps aren't as expendable as pedals, so I probably won't be looking to liquidate the GL-100 too soon. In addition, Channel I/Drive II is one of my favorite dirt tones of all time ... and sort of reminds me of the Dumble sims on the Behringer V-Amp2 and Line 6 POD 2.0. How reliable is the V-Amp Pro? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ocnor Posted November 24, 2007 Members Share Posted November 24, 2007 I had an ART Powerplant back in the early 90's. It had a very amp-like sound when running direct into the mixer. The distortion is more of a vintage Marshall tone which is good for classic rock. I ended up selling it because I needed a preamp with midi channel switching. The V-amp Pro is a good sounding preamp but it works much better for recording than live use. The Digitech 2120 is a very flexible pre [tube + solidstate] and it has just about any effect that you could want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ck3 Posted November 24, 2007 Author Members Share Posted November 24, 2007 and it has just about any effect that you could want. I used to have an ART ECC many years ago, which allegedly had distortion modes that were similar to the Power Plant. I recall them sounding like a really crunchy/fuzzy/industrialized tubescreamer. Is the Power Plant pre tube or solid state? Is it closer to a distortion, fuzz, or overdrive in terms of its base tonality? I've owned the Digitech GNX2 and was initially impressed by it, but eventually grew weary of its boxy/synthetic EQ curve. Is the 2120 a bit more "natural" sounding? Does it function like an amp modeler, i.e., have numerous modes designed to emulate popular sounds? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members HMKRich Posted November 24, 2007 Members Share Posted November 24, 2007 used voodoo valve? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ocnor Posted November 24, 2007 Members Share Posted November 24, 2007 I used to have an ART ECC many years ago, which allegedly had distortion modes that were similar to the Power Plant. I recall them sounding like a really crunchy/fuzzy/industrialized tubescreamer. Is the Power Plant pre tube or solid state? Is it closer to a distortion, fuzz, or overdrive in terms of its base tonality?I've owned the Digitech GNX2 and was initially impressed by it, but eventually grew weary of its boxy/synthetic EQ curve. Is the 2120 a bit more "natural" sounding? Does it function like an amp modeler, i.e., have numerous modes designed to emulate popular sounds? The ART ECC sounds horrible and nothing like a Power Plant. The Power Plant is solid state with more of an overdriven tube amp tone. The notes retain clarity and are not overly distorted even on max setting. The best description would be that it sounds similar to ZZ Top's "LaGrange". The 2120 is not an amp modeler. It gives you choices of different distortions but it has no amp models. You need to run it into a tube power amp for best results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ck3 Posted November 25, 2007 Author Members Share Posted November 25, 2007 used voodoo valve? What do these typically go for used? Are they similar to the Rocktron Pirhana? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rich4Once Posted November 26, 2007 Members Share Posted November 26, 2007 The ADA MP-1 is a great preamp, and usually they're pretty easy to find on the cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Inazone Posted November 26, 2007 Members Share Posted November 26, 2007 I have a Peavey Rock Master and an ART DST-4. The Peavey has the "crushing" tone that I like for rhythm tracks, but for live use and recording leads, the ART's combination of distortions and effects are my preference. A single two-button footswitch is enough control for gigging. $150-200 seems to be the going rate for the DST-4. I previously owned a modded ADA MP-1 that was great too, but I was trying to free up space on the floor, not use more by adding a MIDI controller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rusholmeruffian Posted December 9, 2007 Members Share Posted December 9, 2007 I have a GL-100 and love it. I use Drive II on the lead channel and Drive I on the rhythm channel. It's amazing that a $100 solid-state preamp can do those complex "in-between" (clean with a little hair on it) tones so easily. In fact, I'd say that the "Drive" voicings are a lot more useful than the "Distortion" ones. The semi-parametric EQ is really helpful, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ck3 Posted December 10, 2007 Author Members Share Posted December 10, 2007 I have a GL-100 and love it. I use Drive II on the lead channel and Drive I on the rhythm channel. It's amazing that a $100 solid-state preamp can do those complex "in-between" (clean with a little hair on it) tones so easily. In fact, I'd say that the "Drive" voicings are a lot more useful than the "Distortion" ones. The semi-parametric EQ is really helpful, too. I got my GL-100 for $50 .... but it didn't have any rack ears, so I had to spend another $15 on a universal rack shelf. The breakup tones of the GL-100 are, indeed, amazing. They sound far more smooth than similar settings on my (all tube) Peavey Rock Master. The clean tones of the GL-100 also eclipse those of my other preamp in certain respects. I am able to emulate a piezo pickup with the Channel II/"Cutting" mode and the Drive setting on Channel I sounds a great deal like a JC-120 (minus the built-in chorus, of course). I have found that tweaking is necessary before the GL-100's distortions will yield useable results. With some careful knob twiddling, I've been able to get distortion sounds reminsicent of earlier recordings by My Dying Bride, Pantera, and Godflesh. I've also managed to coax some pretty mean fuzz out of Channel I/Dist II and Channel II/Dist, the latter of which sounds like a really high-dollar Big Muff Pi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rich4Once Posted December 10, 2007 Members Share Posted December 10, 2007 I'm very happy with my *sonically* unmodded unit, but others have a different opinion. See the MP-1/MP-1 Classic thread for more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rusholmeruffian Posted December 10, 2007 Members Share Posted December 10, 2007 ck3, I'm curious about the settings you use to get useful sounds from the distortion voicings on the GL-100. As mentioned, I get a great general rock distortion sound with my lead channel set to Drive II and the controls in the following positions:Volume: 5Master: 6Low: -4Low Mid: Freq 400, Level +4High Mid: Freq 2k, Level +4High: -4 Note, though, that I use a ton of compression on my Ibanez UE405 (all-analog pre-MIDI rackmount FX unit--killer!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FastRedPonyCar Posted December 15, 2007 Members Share Posted December 15, 2007 Mesa studio preamp - $375 http://www.drewlankford.com/Music/Timmons_Track.mp3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ck3 Posted December 16, 2007 Author Members Share Posted December 16, 2007 ck3, I'm curious about the settings you use to get useful sounds from the distortion voicings on the GL-100. As mentioned, I get a great general rock distortion sound with my lead channel set to Drive II and the controls in the following positions: Volume: 5 Master: 6 Low: -4 Low Mid: Freq 400, Level +4 High Mid: Freq 2k, Level +4 High: -4 Note, though, that I use a ton of compression on my Ibanez UE405 (all-analog pre-MIDI rackmount FX unit--killer!). Hmmm ... though that compressor probably sounds pretty nifty, it may render my settings pretty darn near useless ... but here goes anyway ... With the Channel I dist I&II modes, I've had the best luck with the low mid freq about 3 notches above 100 khz and the low mid level about one beyond 0, the volume one hash below 12:00, low right around 0, and the master at 2.25. All other settings will have to be adjusted according to the dist mode that you are using. Given its inherent EQ curve, Dist II will require far less upper mid enhancement than Dist I. I'll have to tinker with channel II some more before I stumble upon the dist settings that I liked again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pizza Combo Posted December 16, 2007 Members Share Posted December 16, 2007 Mesa studio preamp - $375 http://www.drewlankford.com/Music/Timmons_Track.mp3 damn that sounds so sweet notes ring like bells I want taht lead tone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FastRedPonyCar Posted December 17, 2007 Members Share Posted December 17, 2007 damn that sounds so sweet notes ring like bells I want taht lead tone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pizza Combo Posted December 17, 2007 Members Share Posted December 17, 2007 http://youtube.com/watch?v=CZoyXPmyFRkhttp://youtube.com/watch?v=aX4PrU7E8Ew no doubt about it, it sounds great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FastRedPonyCar Posted December 17, 2007 Members Share Posted December 17, 2007 I still am in disbelief that the tone I'm getting out of it only cost me $375. Eventually I'll get a 2nd one and have one setup for cleans and the other setup for overdrive. Which I guess would essentially be a studio quad type setup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Inazone Posted December 17, 2007 Members Share Posted December 17, 2007 The ART DST-4 sounds intriguing. How many tubes are in its gain stage? Can it provide tight, thumping metal rhythm tones? The DST-4 has NO tubes on any of its overdrive/distortion channels, only on the clean channel . . . which seems a bit backwards. The distortions are analog though, and can get a tube vibe quite easily when EQ'd right. The EQ section is great, by the way. For a very portable gigging rig, I just use the DST-4, a Peavey Classic 60 power amp, and a Furman PL-Tuner. The DST-4 covers all of my live tones in situations where I can't bring my pedal collection, although the "cornerstone" of my pedalboard is an ART Xtreme that is basically the DST-4 in pedal format. Here is a clip, with the clean and rhythm parts done on a Rock Master, and the solo on the DST-4. I have others that I can post too, but this covers the most ground. http://www.under-eden.net/Audio/UE-Future.mp3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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