Members madryan Posted June 25, 2012 Members Share Posted June 25, 2012 Although i agree with you, I was only trolling as hard as i could.But the HT-5 is amazing for home use, i ised to play it through a 1960a cab! Yes... my troll-dar went off hence the "lol" part. I don't know if I'd buy any of the other Blackstar stuff. I'd have to play some of the bigger HT's but the little one sure is a great practice amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members satannica Posted June 25, 2012 Members Share Posted June 25, 2012 I would trade for a 6505, maybe with cash on their end! If it ain't working for you, move on. If you want to try, here's something I do every so often. Go rent a rehearsal studio for a couple of hours. Take all your gear and a couple of your favourite guitars and fiddle with your stuff for a while. I've uncovered some really cool tones that way. I'd also reconsider your cab; Laneys love Marshall cabs, so I'd start there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tech21man Posted June 25, 2012 Members Share Posted June 25, 2012 Ola Englund got an amazing tone from the ironheart, although through its own cabinet. Tight and dry but defined at the same time. [video=youtube;W777WXLPMvM] And maybe this will help with the tweaking [video=youtube;ObOu_8mAREM] It kind of gets close for that almost 5150/VH hybrid you'd expect, even on its single tracks. He did...reply to a friend of mine that he'd take the AMT stonehead over the ironheart any day though! Does your whitebox have a retractable back panel? You could try making it semi open back and tweak from the beggining...Pull your tone knob and volume knob on the guitar back a bit. Don't use the onboard boast toshiro warned about, it is not a tube screamer style boost and something went severly wrong with the design as a laney tech admitted through e-mail that it does hit the first gain stage TOO hard (keep it really low and gain low on the amp if you like what it does on the sound). Of course there is always the sollution of trading it for a 5150 and be done with it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members madryan Posted June 25, 2012 Members Share Posted June 25, 2012 I had a JSX. I loved the thing till exactly 2 days after the return window ended and then I noticed the "cocked wah" thing. After that I hated it. Couldn't stand it. I tried everything short of tearing into it and modding it. I spent a small fortune on tubes, speakers, more tubes, more speakers, boutique boost pedals, blah blah blah. Finally I sold it to a dude in Canada. He loved it. I was rid of it. The world was a better place. The take home point is get rid of the thing as fast as you can and get something that makes your soul sing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members timmyfirst Posted June 25, 2012 Members Share Posted June 25, 2012 I think as most people have said, Laneys really arent a "plug 'n play" amp, take everything you know about EQing and amp and throw it straight out of the window because theres nothing else out there that works like a Laney. I had my first VH back when i was 23 and i didnt like it, i found the features confusing and i couldnt get my head round dialling it in, 3 years later i bought another one and absolutely loved it, but it was on after i'd spent the time and got advice on speakers and the way the EQ works. I found the Ironheart the same, i tested the amp pre-release about 18 months ago and the guys at Laney had it dialled in so well it absolutely floored me, but after tinkering for a few minutes i had got totally lost in the amp! It does have a lot of tone shaping features and the range of tones is quite vast but all of those tones are very Laney. Maybe you're not getting on with the Laney voicing? Its something that is an acquired taste and it isnt for everyone, but you hear that core sound in everything valve that Laney make. As for the on-board boost, i've never come across the problem that a few forumites have, yes i have tried it maxed out on the lead channel with the gain maxed out and i didnt have a problem. I've found the boost really useful, especially at lower volumes. I think those experiencing problems may be pushing a lot of bass frequencies as well as gain and what they should remember is that the boost boosts all of the frequencies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members madryan Posted June 25, 2012 Members Share Posted June 25, 2012 I think as most people have said, Laneys really arent a "plug 'n play" amp, take everything you know about EQing and amp and throw it straight out of the window because theres nothing else out there that works like a Laney. I had my first VH back when i was 23 and i didnt like it, i found the features confusing and i couldnt get my head round dialling it in, 3 years later i bought another one and absolutely loved it, but it was on after i'd spent the time and got advice on speakers and the way the EQ works. I found the Ironheart the same, i tested the amp pre-release about 18 months ago and the guys at Laney had it dialled in so well it absolutely floored me, but after tinkering for a few minutes i had got totally lost in the amp! It does have a lot of tone shaping features and the range of tones is quite vast but all of those tones are very Laney. Maybe you're not getting on with the Laney voicing? Its something that is an acquired taste and it isnt for everyone, but you hear that core sound in everything valve that Laney make. As for the on-board boost, i've never come across the problem that a few forumites have, yes i have tried it maxed out on the lead channel with the gain maxed out and i didnt have a problem. I've found the boost really useful, especially at lower volumes. I think those experiencing problems may be pushing a lot of bass frequencies as well as gain and what they should remember is that the boost boosts all of the frequencies. I don't get how people can't dial in an amp. It's not rocket science here folks. Maybe it's because I used to write machine code for CNC's where you're worried about 3D geometry and trigging out angles in 17 different planes and making it all work, but to me, regardless of how an amps EQ works it takes me about 10min to figure it out and dial in a workable tone. Maybe it's because I've owned Boogie stuff for 20 years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Oops-A-Paisley Posted June 25, 2012 Members Share Posted June 25, 2012 buy a blackstar, much nicer amps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members timmyfirst Posted June 25, 2012 Members Share Posted June 25, 2012 I don't get how people can't dial in an amp. It's not rocket science here folks. Maybe it's because I used to write machine code for CNC's where you're worried about 3D geometry and trigging out angles in 17 different planes and making it all work, but to me, regardless of how an amps EQ works it takes me about 10min to figure it out and dial in a workable tone. Maybe it's because I've owned Boogie stuff for 20 years A lot of people dont understand how frequencies interact with each other, it may not seem like rocket science but not everyone has a balanced ear. Its really no different to making a guitar sound good on a recorded mix yet most people pay someone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Neilrocks25 Posted June 25, 2012 Members Share Posted June 25, 2012 I don't get how people can't dial in an amp. It's not rocket science here folks. Maybe it's because I used to write machine code for CNC's where you're worried about 3D geometry and trigging out angles in 17 different planes and making it all work, but to me, regardless of how an amps EQ works it takes me about 10min to figure it out and dial in a workable tone. Maybe it's because I've owned Boogie stuff for 20 years Dialing an amp is easy. Dialing your sound is not (on every amp). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lenster Posted June 25, 2012 Members Share Posted June 25, 2012 I play the GH not the Iron Heart, but one thing about Laneys is the tone stack is very different and "normal"EQ settings don't really work well. At the moment I am setting my treble at 4 and my mids at 3 and that's NOT a scooped or muffled tone. I would start with your eq set to zero and turn the mids and highs up gradually until you have just enough mids and bite, then set the bass knob. You may find the tones you want with some EQ settings you'd never thought it would work. Having said that, if you're after the 5150 tone, you can probably sell your amp and buy an used 5150 without any extra money out of pocket. Not to hijack this thread , but thats a great way to go about the EQ, personally i've never thought about it like that with my VH and yeah , i have my days when the tone just don't seem right, though it's the best amp i've ever owned so not complaining, Will definately give this a whirl b4 rehearsal 2moro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Valtiel Posted June 25, 2012 Members Share Posted June 25, 2012 I don't get how people can't dial in an amp. It's not rocket science here folks. Maybe it's because I used to write machine code for CNC's where you're worried about 3D geometry and trigging out angles in 17 different planes and making it all work, but to me, regardless of how an amps EQ works it takes me about 10min to figure it out and dial in a workable tone. Maybe it's because I've owned Boogie stuff for 20 years I wrote a giant rant about this that no one read. It's a mixture of human psychology (I must boost instead of cut, more is better!) and by extension the guitarist ego (my tone must be equally present in lows, mids, and highs), the homogenizing effect unchanging audio has on our brains (stick a loud box fan in a room and you won't be aware of it after an hour) and by extension the Fletcher-Munson curve (we become less sensitive to midrange and more sensitive to lows and highs as volume increases), the distorted perception professional recordings give us of what guitars sound like (everything changes in a mix), misinformation spread by pros (god damn you Van Halen) and the fact that the industry benefits from you being unaware of all the above and thus never being happy with your tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soilent Posted June 25, 2012 Members Share Posted June 25, 2012 You had it a few MONTHS and still hate it??? Why haven't you gotten rid of it?? The solution is so incredibly simple to this problem. When I got my Krank a while back I hated it and sold it within two weeks! I get the part where you're broke, but you're talking about spending even more money on something you don't like?? I'm sorry, but this thread completely baffles me. Turds. They do not polish well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Aibric Posted June 25, 2012 Members Share Posted June 25, 2012 Dialing an amp is easy. Dialing your sound is not (on every amp). Yeah they aren't all equal. I personally dislike amps with active eq and {censored} like that because it does take time to get used to. They can be so sensitive that tiny changes on the dial cause big changes in the tone, and when they then have a further effect on the other tone knobs (which you thought you already have set where you wanted them) and the gain you can get frustrated with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NaturalBornBoy Posted June 25, 2012 Members Share Posted June 25, 2012 You had it a few MONTHS and still hate it??? Why haven't you gotten rid of it?? The solution is so incredibly simple to this problem. When I got my Krank a while back I hated it and sold it within two weeks! I get the part where you're broke, but you're talking about spending even more money on something you don't like?? I'm sorry, but this thread completely baffles me. Turds. They do not polish well. This. How many times do you need to have an ice-pick shoved into your pee-pee hole before you realize that it hurts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AdrianPOA Posted June 25, 2012 Members Share Posted June 25, 2012 Yeah they aren't all equal. I personally dislike amps with active eq and {censored} like that because it does take time to get used to. They can be so sensitive that tiny changes on the dial cause big changes in the tone, and when they then have a further effect on the other tone knobs (which you thought you already have set where you wanted them) and the gain you can get frustrated with it. The active EQ on the Triple XXX is why I eventually sold it. Once I started playing out more, I began to notice how my "go to" setting (bass 7-8, mids 5,treble 6) sounded harsh and undefined. A big part of it was even at a relatively conservative setting, the midrange was just overbearing. I tried rolling the knob back to aboout 3.5, and then it was just too scooped for my tastes. IMO, Active EQs are just way too gatdamn sensitive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NinjaRaf Posted June 25, 2012 Members Share Posted June 25, 2012 I definitley believe that you should know within MINUTES of plugging into an amp if its a core tone that youre gonna enjoy or not. I felt that way about my 6505 212, JSX, mak4...its an immediate thing. With my mak4, I played 3 chords through it...literally...stopped, looked at Zach and just made a face...and I went home with that thing later that day lol. Same with my 6505 212...played through it for a few minutes, and walked away with it in my hand. Im not a tweaker, though, and I wouldnt be able to handle having something for months that I was struggling with and not able to gel with. IMO, its time to move on mang...sell it or trade it and get a 5150 again. Honestly, I havent heard ANYTHING that Ive liked in terms of Ironheart clips except Olas one video, but he does have a very specific tone that he shoots for and I think he can probably get that tone out of any amp with his post processing skills. Even though KSE is using these, and they are basically THE band that I look at for tone, I dunno man...I havent heard anything I like from these amps. Im a 5150 series fan....for sure...Ive owned 3 amps in the series...6505 212, 5150 BL, and 6505+...if you like those amps...I dont think this Ironheart is the one for you...just based on clips, so take that for what it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NinjaRaf Posted June 25, 2012 Members Share Posted June 25, 2012 I truly believe that you should know within minutes of plugging into an amp whether or not it's going to work for you... ...like Raf mentioned in another topic last week... when he first plugged into his Mak4, or his 6505 combo... he just knew they were "it".... just like you can plug into other amps and immediately know that they are "not" it... If you haven't gotten a tone you are in love with by now, you aren't going to get it... and even if you DO... chances are you may not even realize it now because of the pain in the ass tweaking mission you've been on... I've had amps that I fought with forever... and hated the tone from... and gone back and heard live clips of me playing with that amp and it sounded AMAZING... but because I was so pissed off at constantly tweaking the amp I kinda had a mental block that I just couldn't get a good tone from it... Sucks you are broke, but if you have a chance to get out from under the amp and get something you want with minimal loss I say go for it... don't get it modded, modding is for taking an amp you love and making it better, not an amp you hate and "hoping" it's gonna make it work... Good luck brother! Yup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Aibric Posted June 25, 2012 Members Share Posted June 25, 2012 The active EQ on the Triple XXX is why I eventually sold it. Once I started playing out more, I began to notice how my "go to" setting (bass 7-8, mids 5,treble 6) sounded harsh and undefined. A big part of it was even at a relatively conservative setting, the midrange was just overbearing. I tried rolling the knob back to aboout 3.5, and then it was just too scooped for my tastes. IMO, Active EQs are just way too gatdamn sensitive. I went through both a JSX and Triple XXX and couldn't jive with either, and the Eq was one of the big reasons why. Most of the dial on the active EQ is pointless, and the mid knob was extra funky. I just don't like amps that aretoo 'tweaky'. I think they sound great for a lot of folks but I don't enjoy Boogie amps because of how 'creative' the tone stacks and EQ options can be. I get so caught up in the tweaking that I hardly ever just get down and play. But tha's just me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tech21man Posted June 25, 2012 Members Share Posted June 25, 2012 This. How many times do you need to have an ice-pick shoved into your pee-pee hole before you realize that it hurts? I agree but still some amps do need volume to show what they really can do. Also who hasn't bumped to tube amps that despite doing good at the studio fall apart (or just change sound etc) when you really press them? Funny thing is that this laney has the built in watts power scaling (or whatever this is) and I'd expect to sound decent at bedroom... Or just it doesn't match with the guitars/pickups and finger tone of the OP... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NaturalBornBoy Posted June 25, 2012 Members Share Posted June 25, 2012 I agree but still some amps do need volume to show what they really can do. Also who hasn't bumped to tube amps that despite doing good at the studio fall apart (or just change sound etc) when you really press them?Funny thing is that this laney has the built in watts power scaling (or whatever this is) and I'd expect to sound decent at bedroom...Or just it doesn't match with the guitars/pickups and finger tone of the OP... Be that as it may, he's had it for a few months now. Still unsatisfied but clinging on to some inkling of hope that some minor tweaks will all of a sudden, transform the amp into his holy grail. Come on now, sell it and move on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tech21man Posted June 25, 2012 Members Share Posted June 25, 2012 The active EQ on the Triple XXX is why I eventually sold it. Once I started playing out more, I began to notice how my "go to" setting (bass 7-8, mids 5,treble 6) sounded harsh and undefined. A big part of it was even at a relatively conservative setting, the midrange was just overbearing. I tried rolling the knob back to aboout 3.5, and then it was just too scooped for my tastes. IMO, Active EQs are just way too gatdamn sensitive. Yeah it is overly sensitive. It did take me time to decode it. I mean, time time. Months. I just pictured it that in the middle position it might be a conventional tonestack and it worked. My treble knob is at 9 o'clock with my ibanez, my mid is almost full and the bass is almost maxed. The bass knob does seem to feed the rest of the tonestack somehow. If you keep it down the sound looses balls! As a result it is not spikey (which would be if one applies boost rather than cut) but more amp like if you will. Anyway the idea came from the "brown sound by turning down" setting about the XXX on the net in which the user had the tonestack to almost zero and sounded van halenish. Point is, with amps like this you can't form an oppinion in a matter of minutes, unfortunately. If the ironheart does have a unique eq philosophy like timmyfirst says then you are up to a lot of tweaking and maybe you find what you like. I mean, potentional is there, ola englunds sample showcases it as perhaps one of the tightest amp in his test-just compare it to the fryette deliverance or mesa mark which was in my oppinion the kings for this. KSE do tour for sometime with these heads and seem to get their sound. Also what speakers do you have in your cab? Timmyfirst said it maybe too spikey with V30s, here are some pretty good samples with ironheart/laney V30 cab: [video=youtube;loMIsl8Pqq4] [video=youtube;ulSFEOm2EWQ] Hope this inspire you to try it a bit more, you never know. You can always get the 6505+ in the end or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tech21man Posted June 25, 2012 Members Share Posted June 25, 2012 I went through both a JSX and Triple XXX and couldn't jive with either, and the Eq was one of the big reasons why. Most of the dial on the active EQ is pointless, and the mid knob was extra funky. I just don't like amps that aretoo 'tweaky'. I think they sound great for a lot of folks but I don't enjoy Boogie amps because of how 'creative' the tone stacks and EQ options can be. I get so caught up in the tweaking that I hardly ever just get down and play. But tha's just me... I understand you completely but I disagree about boogies. The tonestacks are there, they can be creative etc but in the end they are set and forget for me. Especially the marks. I mean, out of all the combinations usually one specific will bring the guitar you play up front. What I consider them to be is access to the circuit. Forget, pull deep, ressonance, tonestack curves and {censored} like that. Every guitar-amp combination is different I stumbled upon guitars that played great with amp A and like total {censored} with amp B, you wouldn't believe it really. All those funky switches are capacitors or just minor tweaks to signal path, nothing magic. The fact that they are there just saves you a trip to mod-land or to your tech. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarbilly74 Posted June 25, 2012 Members Share Posted June 25, 2012 You had it a few MONTHS and still hate it??? Why haven't you gotten rid of it?? The solution is so incredibly simple to this problem. When I got my Krank a while back I hated it and sold it within two weeks! I get the part where you're broke, but you're talking about spending even more money on something you don't like?? I'm sorry, but this thread completely baffles me. Turds. They do not polish well. Having something for months doesn't mean a whole lot. He still haven't had the chance to try it with a band or at proper volume, so his experience with the amp is still kind of low. I normally have the chance to open up an amp and try it in a live setting within days of buying it, so I could say I know an amp better within days than he does in a few months. I still haven't had the chance to play the IronHeart though and all the clips I've heard so far tells me I'm better off with the GH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AdrianPOA Posted June 25, 2012 Members Share Posted June 25, 2012 I understand you completely but I disagree about boogies. The tonestacks are there, they can be creative etc but in the end they are set and forget for me. Especially the marks. I mean, out of all the combinations usually one specific will bring the guitar you play up front.What I consider them to be is access to the circuit. Forget, pull deep, ressonance, tonestack curves and {censored} like that. Every guitar-amp combination is different I stumbled upon guitars that played great with amp A and like total {censored} with amp B, you wouldn't believe it really. All those funky switches are capacitors or just minor tweaks to signal path, nothing magic. The fact that they are there just saves you a trip to mod-land or to your tech. As "tweaky" as Mesa amps can be, I will say that in my experience trying them out, some can get great tones pretty instant, some need a little more time, and some are just flat out hopeless. The Rectifier series is a perfect example of that. The Single Rectifier is easy to dial in due to the simple setup, and it has the most Marshall flavor out of all of the three. I haven't heard a Dual Rectifier that I liked; to me, it just sounds like a warmer version of the "Can of Bees" tone no matter what the settings are. The last time I tried out the Triple Rectifier, I set the basic EQ like I would normally do on a Marshall, but I quickly realized that I needed to break out of that comfort zone. Once I tweaked the dials on it for a good 5 minutes or so, I was rewarded with a very tight, beefy tone. Definitely my favorite of the Recto series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarbilly74 Posted June 25, 2012 Members Share Posted June 25, 2012 A lot of what you don't like about the tone by yourself may be exactly what works in an actual band mix. If you bought this for live use then try it with a band first before you make any decisions. Dialing it in on it's own has very little relevance to what works in a band until you know what it should sound like in a band mix etc. If you're only going to play on your own than sure maybe not the right amp for you. This is true. If I was going off the tone I get with my amp at home, I would have already sold it because it's just not the best amp for it. But live it is awesome. Some amps are just not bedroom amps, that doesn't mean they're bad. I think if the OP bought the amp with the intention of getting in a band, he needs to do that before he decides what to do with the gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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