Members PlayaFndr Posted February 12, 2007 Members Share Posted February 12, 2007 I'm gassing a bit for one of these and wondering how these sound through a tube power amp. I have the 15 watt valvetronics amp for practice and I'm really impressed with the sound. Is the Tonelab SE a viable alternative for a good tube amp and pedals? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GCDEF Posted February 12, 2007 Members Share Posted February 12, 2007 I liked the sound of it lot. Don't run it through a tube amp though. It does the amp and speaker emulation already, so it wants a clean amp like a keyboard amp or PA speaker. The biggest drawback is it's very limited on which effects you can run at the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pepi Posted February 12, 2007 Members Share Posted February 12, 2007 I liked the sound of it lot. Don't run it through a tube amp though. It does the amp and speaker emulation already, so it wants a clean amp like a keyboard amp or PA speaker. The biggest drawback is it's very limited on which effects you can run at the same time. I've ran mine through my 5 watt EPI and my 18 watt Marshall and it sounds killer. It all depends on how you set the controls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GCDEF Posted February 12, 2007 Members Share Posted February 12, 2007 I've ran mine through my 5 watt EPI and my 18 watt Marshall and it sounds killer. It all depends on how you set the controls I'm sure you could make it sound good running through a guitar amp, but it would limit its flexibility. For example you may want to model an amp or speakers that has more high or low end than your guitar amp can reproduce. Trying to model an 8 or 10" speaker using a 12" would meet with limited success as a 12" guitar speaker couldn't accurately reproduce the frequencies the tonelab was sending it. There are lots of other ways you could run into limitations, but you get the idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ssmband Posted February 12, 2007 Members Share Posted February 12, 2007 There amazing going through power amps because you can cut the cab sim off. I thats how i used mine its good bang for the buck. There are two youtube video on this page of a tonelab through a power amp and it sounds awesome. http://cgi.ebay.com/VOX-Tonelab-SE-Perfect-Condition-w-warranty-and-receipt_W0QQitemZ290082657058QQihZ019QQcategoryZ22669QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ironhandjohn Posted February 17, 2007 Members Share Posted February 17, 2007 I run mine thru the RETURN of my effect loop on my X-100B. This way I get the power of my tube amp along with the modelling of the Tonelab. I've tried running it completely in the loop, effects only, but it's hard to tweak the harshness out of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 17 Tubes Posted February 17, 2007 Members Share Posted February 17, 2007 I liked the sound of it lot. Don't run it through a tube amp though. It does the amp and speaker emulation already, so it wants a clean amp like a keyboard amp or PA speaker.The biggest drawback is it's very limited on which effects you can run at the same time. Yeah...sorry, this is bull{censored}. I'll make a clip this weekend and show you. The Tonelab LOVES my Fender Twin and Traynor YCV Blue and my friends Carvin head. And I use the cab sims often. So not sure where you are coming from. Which tube amps have you used the Tonelab with? I wouldnt'; call the FX layout a BIG drawback. I would separate the compressor and wah. There are several FX devices that have this type of FX layout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 17 Tubes Posted February 17, 2007 Members Share Posted February 17, 2007 I'm sure you could make it sound good running through a guitar amp, but it would limit its flexibility. For example you may want to model an amp or speakers that has more high or low end than your guitar amp can reproduce. Trying to model an 8 or 10" speaker using a 12" would meet with limited success as a 12" guitar speaker couldn't accurately reproduce the frequencies the tonelab was sending it. There are lots of other ways you could run into limitations, but you get the idea. No...you don't...or *shouldn't* try to set any modeller up to try to replicate a specific sound. You SHOULD set it up for something that sounds good to you. SOme of the amp models sound similar to the actual amp and some sound nothing like them. And the cabsims? I don't see how some of those are even close. It's not like there's little amps and cabs in there. The cab sims, for instance, are just eq/filtering. To get back to the point (sorry I ranted), the tube amp imparts it's tube characteristics, if a tube amp can;thandle a frequency sent by the Tonelab, probably should be in there in the first place. A little tube amp will give you a smaller sound, of course. A big tube amp and 4x12 should give you everything you expect from a guitar tone. I dunno...sorry to disagree with you. I know you have spent some time with the TL. . I have a clip...somewhere, of the Tonelab going direct to board. And though I like it, very acceptable, I still like it MUCH better in my amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JBecker Posted February 17, 2007 Members Share Posted February 17, 2007 Yeah...sorry, this is bull{censored}.I'll make a clip this weekend and show you.The Tonelab LOVES my Fender Twin and Traynor YCV Blue and my friends Carvin head. And I use the cab sims often. So not sure where you are coming from. Which tube amps have you used the Tonelab with?I wouldnt'; call the FX layout a BIG drawback. I would separate the compressor and wah. There are several FX devices that have this type of FX layout. I've always wondered how your Tonelab would sound through a Carvin MTS...I hated the gain on those, and it was too long ago for me to be sure I had good enough taste to judge the clean (at the time, clean was clean to me), but the damn clean channel damn near never broke up with a CL80 2x12 and was loud as {censored}... I seem to remember it being very hi-fi, exactly the kind of clean I'd want to throw a modeler in rather than boost with a TS or something... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JBecker Posted February 17, 2007 Members Share Posted February 17, 2007 No...you don't...or *shouldn't* try to set any modeller up to try to replicate a specific sound. You SHOULD set it up for something that sounds good to you. SOme of the amp models sound similar to the actual amp and some sound nothing like them. And the cabsims? I don't see how some of those are even close. It's not like there's little amps and cabs in there. The cab sims, for instance, are just eq/filtering. To get back to the point (sorry I ranted), the tube amp imparts it's tube characteristics, if a tube amp can;thandle a frequency sent by the Tonelab, probably should be in there in the first place. A little tube amp will give you a smaller sound, of course. A big tube amp and 4x12 should give you everything you expect from a guitar tone. I dunno...sorry to disagree with you. I know you have spent some time with the TL. . I have a clip...somewhere, of the Tonelab going direct to board. And though I like it, very acceptable, I still like it MUCH better in my amp. Very true, that said, it is frustrating the way that some effects simply cannot be combined on the Tonelab. I think the Tonelab is the best of the modellers out there right now, and the foot switch version is a very powerful tool if you need a lot of {censored} going on sound wise for not that much money and with way less back pain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vinhoff Posted February 17, 2007 Members Share Posted February 17, 2007 I liked some of the sounds of mine and hated most, I found the High Gain sounds did not fit my tastes at all and the cab sims suck. Contrary to what some others have said, I thought it sounded like crap direct to a PA, and worse through headphones, it sounded best through a tube power amp (read not Pre-amp)/guitar cab. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 17 Tubes Posted February 17, 2007 Members Share Posted February 17, 2007 I liked some of the sounds of mine and hated most, I found the High Gain sounds did not fit my tastes at all and the cab sims suck. Contrary to what some others have said, I thought it sounded like crap direct to a PA, and worse through headphones, it sounded best through a tube power amp (read not Pre-amp)/guitar cab. Once again...I'd like to ask you which amps you have plugged the TL into the front? I'm asking becuase I have plugged my TLSE into the front of about 8-10 different amps. Mnayhad loops and I did as direct comparison as possible. IN every case, the Tonelab sounded better in the front of the amp. I keep the amp EQ controls pretty low, and I watch the volumes on the Tonelab (or the other preamp modellers I have used in the experimets). Seems you should keep the outputs on the external preamps a bit low. You might be overdriving the preamp input in the amp if the output on the tonelab.whatever is too high. You might have the amp models voluems to high, or the amp model EQ's. It's nothing to technical, especially on the Tonelab with no menus. Just some quick turns of the knobs. Also,,,the global setting it VERY important. HArd to say which one to use in any given situation,. Depends on the amp and guitar and your mood. The amp setting is dark an dsmooth. The PA setting is a bit brighter and more open. You have to balance this with the eq settings on the Tonelab and amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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