Members guitarbilly74 Posted February 27, 2012 Members Share Posted February 27, 2012 So I took all my new gear last night to band practice (Hughes and Kettner Swtichblade and the Marshall MF280 with the AVT speakers) to test with the band. The Switchblade sounds really cool. Very different tone than what I normally get from my Randall rig, but it fit the band really well. It's a very hi-fi and somewhat polite sounding amp, even on heavy settings. My Cyclone has this in-your-face tone that hits you in the chest like a fire hose, the HK is more of a 3D tone that sits in the mix really well and while it can sound pretty heavy, it doesn't dominate the mix as much as the Randall. Still, I liked it a lot and so did the guys in my band. They commented the guitar has more of a "studio-quality" sound now, which I agree. The clean tones sounded great and I was definitely able to get loud enough without any breakup. The lead tones are superb, probably the best lead tone I've had in a while. The heavy rhythm is ok, a little bit of flub in the low end but I am thinking that was mostly because of the AVT speakers. Speaking of the cab, the AVT speakers are actually not that bad. They are not very efficient and the low end is not really tight and focused, but they sounded better than I expected. The cab is also really light and easy to carry with the 4 AVT speakers, since they have small magnets. The size of the MF280 definitely helped the low end a bit, but it was still not quite there. I can only imagine how bad it would sound on the smaller AVT cab. But overall, they're ok. I can't wait to get the Texas Heats though. What I am really stoked about is how easy it is to play live with the Switchblade. I hate tap dancing and this amp really solves that problem. It's great to go from a dry heavy rhythm tone to a clean tone with chorus and verb then to a lead tone with verb and delay with a single click. That alone makes this amp an excellent choice for live shows so I will be gigging with it from now on. I think I still like the Cyclone better when it comes to tone, it's way more aggressive, so I will probably continue to record with it. But the SB is definitely a great sounding and very practical rig for live shows. I didn't hear any 1s and 0s either, sounds like a normal tube amp to me. tl; dr: Switchblade kicked ass, cab is awesome, AVT speakers not that bad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NixerX Posted February 27, 2012 Members Share Posted February 27, 2012 So I took all my new gear last night to band practice (Hughes and Kettner Swtichblade and the Marshall MF280 with the AVT speakers) to test with the band. The Switchblade sounds really cool. Very different tone than what I normally get from my Randall rig, but it fit the band really well. It's a very hi-fi and somewhat polite sounding amp, even on heavy settings. My Cyclone has this in-your-face tone that hits you in the chest like a fire hose, the HK is more of a 3D tone that sits in the mix really well and while it can sound pretty heavy, it doesn't dominate the mix as much as the Randall. Still, I liked it a lot and so did the guys in my band. They commented the guitar has more of a "studio-quality" sound now, which I agree. The clean tones sounded great and I was definitely able to get loud enough without any breakup. The lead tones are superb, probably the best lead tone I've had in a while. The heavy rhythm is ok, a little bit of flub in the low end but I am thinking that was mostly because of the AVT speakers. Speaking of the cab, the AVT speakers are actually not that bad. They are not very efficient and the low end is not really tight and focused, but they sounded better than I expected. The cab is also really light and easy to carry with the 4 AVT speakers, since they have small magnets. The size of the MF280 definitely helped the low end a bit, but it was still not quite there. I can only imagine how bad it would sound on the smaller AVT cab. But overall, they're ok. I can't wait to get the Texas Heats though. What I am really stoked about is how easy it is to play live with the Switchblade. I hate tap dancing and this amp really solves that problem. It's great to go from a dry heavy rhythm tone to a clean tone with chorus and verb then to a lead tone with verb and delay with a single click. That alone makes this amp an excellent choice for live shows so I will be gigging with it from now on. I think I still like the Cyclone better when it comes to tone, it's way more aggressive, so I will probably continue to record with it. But the SB is definitely a great sounding and very practical rig for live shows. I didn't hear any 1s and 0s either, sounds like a normal tube amp to me. tl; dr: Switchblade kicked ass, cab is awesome, AVT speakers not that bad The Switchblades are nice....but Ive know a couple people that had some reliability issues with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarbilly74 Posted February 27, 2012 Author Members Share Posted February 27, 2012 The Switchblades are nice....but Ive know a couple people that had some reliability issues with them. well, I hope not, too early to tell ~knocks on wood~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mizati20 Posted February 27, 2012 Members Share Posted February 27, 2012 Glad your digging it man... no tapdancing FTW!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Norton666 Posted February 27, 2012 Members Share Posted February 27, 2012 Im going to make a prediction that you do not end up keeping the Switchblade. When you get your new speaks , do me a favor and take both heads to rehearsal. Have a few beers then play a song twice , once with each head . Report the next morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NixerX Posted February 27, 2012 Members Share Posted February 27, 2012 well, I hope not, too early to tell ~knocks on wood~ Me too man. I hate to say this..but of the 2 guys I know that have the blade...both of them have had issues..something with the effects. Otherwise I would have had one because the really do sound nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RSBro Posted February 27, 2012 Members Share Posted February 27, 2012 The Switchblades are nice....but Ive know a couple people that had some reliability issues with them. Same. The guitard for a band we always book with has one and these are kinda his sentiments as well. It sounds the tits, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sleewell Posted February 27, 2012 Members Share Posted February 27, 2012 1. focus on the hot chick with tig ol bitties in the front row 2. play guitar 3. tap dancing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MyEmergency Posted February 27, 2012 Members Share Posted February 27, 2012 I have owned 2 switchblades and I have never had any reliability issues with the amp itself, the only issues I had was with the footswitch for each broke after several months with regular use (not abuse) but I managed to get both repaired pretty easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OceansBetweenUs Posted February 27, 2012 Members Share Posted February 27, 2012 Damnit. DAMNIT. Billy is describing exactly what I want from an amp as far as footswitching goes. Single button ease of use sound changing without going the POD route and huge, expensive midi effects loop route... Theres a switchblade ~2 hours away from here with a bad footswitch cable for $500 on CL. Worth a shot? Might as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sleewell Posted February 27, 2012 Members Share Posted February 27, 2012 yeah going from a clean sound with an effect to a dirty sound with no effect with just one button is tough. i fail at midi so my solution was to ditch effects and get a way better amp - lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarbilly74 Posted February 27, 2012 Author Members Share Posted February 27, 2012 I have owned 2 switchblades and I have never had any reliability issues with the amp itself, the only issues I had was with the footswitch for each broke after several months with regular use (not abuse) but I managed to get both repaired pretty easily. yeah, the footswitch looks very suspicious with that attached MIDI cable. I am not using it at all though, I am using a Rolls MIDI Buddy, which is smaller, gives me 10 patches per bank and it's bullet proof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Murdoch Posted February 27, 2012 Members Share Posted February 27, 2012 So when are you selling it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarbilly74 Posted February 27, 2012 Author Members Share Posted February 27, 2012 Damnit. DAMNIT.Billy is describing exactly what I want from an amp as far as footswitching goes. Single button ease of use sound changing without going the POD route and huge, expensive midi effects loop route...Theres a switchblade ~2 hours away from here with a bad footswitch cable for $500 on CL. Worth a shot? Might as well. I would do it for $500. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OceansBetweenUs Posted February 27, 2012 Members Share Posted February 27, 2012 I would do it for $500. Eh, offered him $425 because of the lengthy trip/broken footswitch cable. I have a friend who lives about halfway there, so I could stop on the way back and make a party night out of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RSBro Posted February 27, 2012 Members Share Posted February 27, 2012 yeah going from a clean sound with an effect to a dirty sound with no effect with just one button is tough. i fail at midi so my solution was to ditch effects and get a way better amp - lol. Recto? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sleewell Posted February 27, 2012 Members Share Posted February 27, 2012 Recto? only teh exists pre 95 mesa exists like that bro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stevetemp Posted February 27, 2012 Members Share Posted February 27, 2012 AWESOME! I knew you would like it. I hope it stays healthy for you.....handle the FS/cable like a new born angel. It's weird that the FS APPEARS to be solidly built. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarbilly74 Posted February 27, 2012 Author Members Share Posted February 27, 2012 So when are you selling it? I haven't been selling much lately. I really like this type of rig, it's as versatile as a big rack yet really portable and easy to use, so I can definitely see myself sticking to this format from now on. And since there are not a lot of amps like this, I am probably keeping this for a while. I definitely like this better than the Spider Valve, which would be the direct competitor. I haven't tried the JMD-1 yet though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarbilly74 Posted February 27, 2012 Author Members Share Posted February 27, 2012 AWESOME! I knew you would like it. I hope it stays healthy for you.....handle the FS/cable like a new born angel. It's weird that the FS APPEARS to be solidly built. The FS will be for home use only, I have the MIDI Buddy velcro'd to my pedalboard now and I will use that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ej Posted February 27, 2012 Members Share Posted February 27, 2012 That's awesome man, you're gonna be back to using the Randall before too long though. Polite sounding amps are lame. Back when I was in a band that required effects I wanted a Spider Valve so bad just the lack of tap dancing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarbilly74 Posted February 27, 2012 Author Members Share Posted February 27, 2012 That's awesome man, you're gonna be back to using the Randall before too long though. Polite sounding amps are lame.Back when I was in a band that required effects I wanted a Spider Valve so bad just the lack of tap dancing. Well the Randall is not going anywhere, that's for sure. I {censored}ing love that amp. I thought about buying the Spider Valve many times, I like it quite a bit actually, but I couldn't get past that {censored}ing lighted Line 6 logo lol I think the Switchblade sounds better though. I am also very curious about the "updated" version, the Coreblade, but that's definitely out of my price range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RSBro Posted February 27, 2012 Members Share Posted February 27, 2012 only teh exists pre 95 mesa exists like that bro rly? my singer's 3CH DR definitely isn't pre 95 exists brah and has assignable FX to individual chan's or all 3? maybe he has a Reborn one and doesn't even know it lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sleewell Posted February 27, 2012 Members Share Posted February 27, 2012 rly? my singer's 3CH DR definitely isn't pre 95 exists brah and has assignable FX to individual chan's or all 3? maybe he has a Reborn one and doesn't even know it lol was just messin, i have never owned a recto only played them briefly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ej Posted February 27, 2012 Members Share Posted February 27, 2012 Well the Randall is not going anywhere, that's for sure. I {censored}ing love that amp. I thought about buying the Spider Valve many times, I like it quite a bit actually, but I couldn't get past that {censored}ing lighted Line 6 logo lol I think the Switchblade sounds better though. I am also very curious about the "updated" version, the Coreblade, but that's definitely out of my price range. I actually like the cheesy lighted logo deal, some goes for the Ultra+ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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