Members Cliff Fiscal Posted May 21, 2009 Members Share Posted May 21, 2009 It's a truly amazing amp. I can only imagine what the Bivalve and Flexi sound like..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members newholland Posted May 21, 2009 Members Share Posted May 21, 2009 after only a day? pretty high praise indeed! you keeping this one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members petejt Posted May 21, 2009 Members Share Posted May 21, 2009 Agreed has one. He loves it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cliff Fiscal Posted May 21, 2009 Author Members Share Posted May 21, 2009 You bet it's staying. The myriad of tonal possibilities alone make the amp a great. On top of that the build quality is amazing.....and on top of that the amp sounds spectacular! I think it will make a great amp for the studio.......I'm envisioning crunchy overdubs galore. Actually, yesterday....I thought I had made a mistake....the amp was bright and had a really bad high end zing. Today, I tried a different cab, and tweaked the amp properly.....using my ears rather then my eyes. You can get some really amazing rock tones at reasonable volumes (even though, with a bigger tube it can get pretty loud). It's a lot meaner, bigger, clearer and growlier then I expected. I even like the "Roll" input......great clean tones....the catch is that it's only at lower volumes. The noise reduction can tame overly bright tubes....and even attenuates the volume a little bit. The hot plate works well too.....especially when only knocking off a few dbs. Not much more one can ask for in an amp. The Bivalve looks very attractive too.......since you gain headroom....and I would assume a touch more volume. I don't know enough about the Flexi yet..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members newholland Posted May 21, 2009 Members Share Posted May 21, 2009 You bet it's staying. The myriad of tonal possibilities alone make the amp a great. On top of that the build quality is amazing.....and on top of that the amp sounds spectacular!I think it will make a great amp for the studio.......I'm envisioning crunchy overdubs galore.Actually, yesterday....I thought I had made a mistake....the amp was bright and had a really bad high end zing. Today, I tried a different cab, and tweaked the amp properly.....using my ears rather then my eyes. You can get some really amazing rock tones at reasonable volumes (even though, with a bigger tube it can get pretty loud). It's a lot meaner, bigger, clearer and growlier then I expected. I even like the "Roll" input......great clean tones....the catch is that it's only at lower volumes.The noise reduction can tame overly bright tubes....and even attenuates the volume a little bit. The hot plate works well too.....especially when only knocking off a few dbs. Not much more one can ask for in an amp.The Bivalve looks very attractive too.......since you gain headroom....and I would assume a touch more volume. I don't know enough about the Flexi yet..... nice! yeah-- i gave that one some serious thought before i bought my .22 because it really did seem like a great amp-- less so for the flexibility, but moreso for the 'just right' wattage, and what seemed like just the right amount of 'stuff' to the amp.. nothing unnecessary. and it seems to tread the line of midgain/clean really well.. the multiple instances of 'it's got this bright fizzy thing going on' did put a cramp on it though.. although it seems like you've got that worked out. that {censored}'s my achilles heel.. hence my 'love' of the v30....(NOT) i remember being kinda sad that you couldn't switch between rock & roll channels... that seems like it'd be a great option if you could do it with an a/b box! there's one locally i can give a go-- sounds like a cool amp! what's the front side gain character like? any analogs? sound best with the blues, or something darker? you having to turn yer treble OFF or something extreme? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GCDEF Posted May 21, 2009 Members Share Posted May 21, 2009 Report back after you try and gig with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GCDEF Posted May 21, 2009 Members Share Posted May 21, 2009 Not much more one can ask for in an amp. Channel switching, reverb, effects loop, clean headroom, more than one useful sound come to mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members newholland Posted May 21, 2009 Members Share Posted May 21, 2009 Report back after you try and gig with it. have you had bad luck with them cutting? wattage doesn't seem the issue at all.. i play with a drummer all the time with 20 watts (close 'nuf to a thd with a 34, 6550 or something similar)-- but i play pretty mid heavy compared to a lot of guys. now... tonal balance.. well... that might be an issue. did y' have a not so hot experience with 'em? and gads man.. you can HAVE my channel switching, reverb, effects loop, (i don't HAVE clean headroom.. don't need it), and multiple sounds. don't need ANY of those things for what i do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members squealie Posted May 21, 2009 Members Share Posted May 21, 2009 It's a truly amazing amp. I can only imagine what the Bivalve and Flexi sound like..... It's been a while, and I can't attest to the tube selection in the amps.... I liked the Uni far better than the Flexi, when I checked them out at the store. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GCDEF Posted May 21, 2009 Members Share Posted May 21, 2009 have you had bad luck with them cutting? wattage doesn't seem the issue at all.. i play with a drummer all the time with 20 watts (close 'nuf to a thd with a 34, 6550 or something similar)-- but i play pretty mid heavy compared to a lot of guys.now... tonal balance.. well... that might be an issue. did y' have a not so hot experience with 'em?and gads man.. you can HAVE my channel switching, reverb, effects loop, (i don't HAVE clean headroom.. don't need it), and multiple sounds. don't need ANY of those things for what i do! No, the gain channel was plenty loud. I found the complete lack of flexibility a show stopper for me. If you play short gigs and can get by with only one sound for the entire show, and you like that particular sound, I guess they have a place. For that kind of money, there are hundreds of amps that sound as good or better and do way more. Tube swapping may be kind of interesting for a day or two, but it isn't really practical for performing. Even if you do swap tubes, you don't go from Fender to Marshall, just different flavors of Univalve. If you want a lot of variety for recording, there are digital options that sound as good or better and do a whole lot more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members newholland Posted May 21, 2009 Members Share Posted May 21, 2009 No, the gain channel was plenty loud. I found the complete lack of flexibility a show stopper for me. If you play short gigs and can get by with only one sound for the entire show, and you like that particular sound, I guess they have a place. For that kind of money, there are hundreds of amps that sound as good or better and do way more. Tube swapping may be kind of interesting for a day or two, but it isn't really practical for performing. Even if you do swap tubes, you don't go from Fender to Marshall, just different flavors of Univalve. If you want a lot of variety for recording, there are digital options that sound as good or better and do a whole lot more. i gotcha-- they are a bit hefty in price for such a simple critter.. but i guess so are things like tweed fenders, ac15s, plexis, or any other NMV amps- which aren't noted flexibility champs either! i guess different strokes-- but i dunno if they're any less practical than any other NMV amp-- even if they're one trick-ers, they definitely suit one kind of audience.. i know i'm in it! but if you're rockin a lotta different territory in a long set-- i can surely see how they'd be the wrong tool for the job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dughaze Posted May 21, 2009 Members Share Posted May 21, 2009 I have been wanting to try the Univalve for quite a while and have almost pulled the trigger on getting one several times. But gigging with a single channel amp would be extremely limiting...like twice as limiting by not using a two channel amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cliff Fiscal Posted May 21, 2009 Author Members Share Posted May 21, 2009 It's been a while, and I can't attest to the tube selection in the amps....I liked the Uni far better than the Flexi, when I checked them out at the store. Why is that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members newholland Posted May 21, 2009 Members Share Posted May 21, 2009 aw- sorry bout that-- what i meant was, in regard to the dirty sounds-- does it sound marshally, voxy, fender-y? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cliff Fiscal Posted May 21, 2009 Author Members Share Posted May 21, 2009 aw- sorry bout that-- what i meant was, in regard to the dirty sounds-- does it sound marshally, voxy, fender-y? Ahhh.....it's got it's own vibe.....hard to explain.....you can hear it pulling some characteristics from each of those manufacturers. Last night, I was getting some really nice higher gain crunch tones with a 6G6......and it would have boardered on Marshall type tones. This morning I was using a KT88 in the Roll input, and I thought it had the bottom end of a Fender clean, and the top end of a Vox. A nice mix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrelusive Posted May 21, 2009 Members Share Posted May 21, 2009 can it clean up by rolling back the volume knob on your guitar? A buddy of mine wants one of these, but i'm not sure he realizes it's a one-channel NMV... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cliff Fiscal Posted May 21, 2009 Author Members Share Posted May 21, 2009 can it clean up by rolling back the volume knob on your guitar? A buddy of mine wants one of these, but i'm not sure he realizes it's a one-channel NMV... Depending on how it's set....yes. Seems like 1 or 2pm on the volume and you can back the volume off the guitar and cop some quasi-clean tones no problem. With the amp cranked full blast.....you have to back the guitar farther to get clean-ish tones. The Univalve, IMO was made for cranking up.The Roll channel has clean head room but at the price of volume.Really, the perfect studio amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members "sasquatch" Posted May 21, 2009 Members Share Posted May 21, 2009 can it clean up by rolling back the volume knob on your guitar? A buddy of mine wants one of these, but i'm not sure he realizes it's a one-channel NMV... i'm not sure you realize that it is not a single channel nmv amp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MalcolmTex Posted May 21, 2009 Members Share Posted May 21, 2009 I love my BiValve. I'm in metro Atlanta if you ever want to try it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members newholland Posted May 21, 2009 Members Share Posted May 21, 2009 i'm not sure you realize that it is not a single channel nmv amp it is a non-master volume amp-- all it's got is one volume knob that's global-- there's no channel volumes on it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cliff Fiscal Posted May 21, 2009 Author Members Share Posted May 21, 2009 I suppose you could call it a two channel amp........but you don't call a Fender Twin a 4 channel amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GCDEF Posted May 21, 2009 Members Share Posted May 21, 2009 can it clean up by rolling back the volume knob on your guitar? A buddy of mine wants one of these, but i'm not sure he realizes it's a one-channel NMV... Mine didn't. Another thing I didn't like about it. As I said, you get one sound all night, unless you go over and mess with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cliff Fiscal Posted May 21, 2009 Author Members Share Posted May 21, 2009 Well....it ain't going to sound good or clean up with EMGs..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ron Burgandy Posted May 21, 2009 Members Share Posted May 21, 2009 Mine didn't. Another thing I didn't like about it. As I said, you get one sound all night, unless you go over and mess with it. Did you realize what a Univalve was when you bought it? It sounds like you meant to order a Dual Rectifier, and somehow ended up with a THD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Agreed Posted May 21, 2009 Members Share Posted May 21, 2009 Best host for preamps and pedals ever. All of the dirt in it comes from the power section and its preamp and tone-shaping can be totally transparent. It excels at versatility in an environment where you can twist the knobs between takes, but I understand that some would want to hit a foot-switch to get it done. I think that explains the lack of an effects loop, as well... This is a studio dream amp, all of the features make that clear (I mean, come on, it has a transformer-isolated line out AFTER the power section, how rad is that?). Live, you might indeed want a different set of features. The only thing I wish is that it was a true two-channel; the Roll channel just shorts half of the preamp to deliver less signal to the power section. Rock channel uses the whole thing. But again, that's only a problem if you aren't free to fiddle with it when you want different sounds. I will definitely say it has been one of the most amazing values I've ever had. Best bang for the buck in a studio, ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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