Hi all. So THIS is what this place is...

[Mind Riot]

Hi everyone. I've been on the HC forums for two years and I never checked this place out for some reason, even though I have a rack setup for my guitar rig. I guess it was the fact that it said discussing the Harmony Central rack service. Other than the forums and the product reviews, I'm not too interested in any services HC has to offer. I didn't know it was about rack gear, though in retrospect I guess there was only so many things it could have been. (slaps forehead)

 

Anyway, I don't know if I'll have a whole lot to contribute or even much to ask (my setup is very basic) but I thought I'd introduce myself just in case I do so I don't just pop up out of nowhere.

 

My meager setup is:

Guitar: Ibanez RG7421 seven string with a Dimarzio Blaze neck model in the bridge (nice medium output pickup, like a PAF for seven string with a bit more kick)

 

 

Preamp: Digitech Valve FX. I know this probably isn't held in very high esteem as a preamp, but I've gotten some very good sounds out of it with extensive tweaking. I tweak because my budget is pretty much nonexistant, so I get the best sound with what I have. Tube selection is key in this thing, I have a Penta Labratories 12AX7 in it that came with it from a guy on ebay. I thought it was going bad so I put a Sovtek in there and it sucked the personality right out of it. The problem turned out to be interference from my TV, but I have also since learned to be more selective with tubes. The four band sweepable and parametric EQ helps a lot, and there's a decent simple compressor in there as well. I get better sound out of it than I thought I could.

 

Outboard: BBE 462 Sonic Maximizer. I know these things are the subject of some debate, but I dig what it does for my guitar sound. And hey, when it comes to guitar, if it sounds better it IS better, right? I use it with discretion.

 

Power: Carvin DCM150 power amp. 50 watts a side into 8 ohms, 75 a side into 4ohms. Nice, solid little power amp. Clean and uncolored, does the job quite nicely.

 

Cab: Legion Sound 2x12. Cheap cab, cheap speakers, as I said I'm on a budget. I did pop a Celestion G12H-80 in there and disconnected the other stock speaker (it has dual jacks on the back, it was wired in parallel, now I wired it in stereo so I can just use the Celestion but still have the other if I need it), and it did wonders for the overall sound. Nice speaker, the G12H-80, I hear it's supposed to be identical to the Classic Lead 80. Neutral and clean. I don't want cone breakup, I like things tight and clear, and it does the trick nicely.

 

Had one problem with the G12H-80. When I got it I noticed it was flubbing out on some palm muted notes. Thought it was just breaking in, but it persisted. I called the guys at Avatar, they told me the G12H-80 isn't really known for it's bass response. I thought, ok, but this is at bedroom levels here. Long story short, after some tweaking, the problem went away when I reduced the output from the Valve FX. It wasn't about too loud a signal or too much bass, it was TOO MUCH signal. I guess, anyway.

 

Well, I'm rambling. Anyway, nice to be here, y'all!

[Robotechnology]

Cool man. One of my rack boxes is a Digitech Twin Tube which came before your Valve FX (although I don't know why they took away a tube as part of the upgrade to the new unit ).

I get good tones out of it (that's why I keep it around). Playing thru crappy speaker(s) is like covering your tone with a THICK blanket. See if you could get yourself another good speaker. You'll get another 6dB or so of clear volume/headroom and a little better bass response over just using one speaker.

 

I'm curious how that $42 speaker sounds though--what do you think of it?

[Mind Riot]

Originally posted by Robotechnology Cool man. One of my rack boxes is a Digitech Twin Tube which came before your Valve FX (although I don't know why they took away a tube as part of the upgrade to the new unit ). I get good tones out of it (that's why I keep it around). Playing thru crappy speaker(s) is like covering your tone with a THICK blanket. See if you could get yourself another good speaker. You'll get another 6dB or so of clear volume/headroom and a little better bass response over just using one speaker. I'm curious how that $42 speaker sounds though--what do you think of it?

 

I suppose I'll get another one eventually, but right now I don't need but one because all I do is record and practice in my second floor apartment.

 

As I said in the first post, the G12H-80 is supposed to be almost identical to the Classic Lead 80. Just what I heard, I've never played a Classic Lead 80, but some of the other info I've heard is that it is a very neutral speaker, no real cone breakup to speak of and it's pretty even in frequency response (as much a guitar twelve ever is, truly). This makes it good for modeling amps, as it tends to faithfully reproduce whatever is fed to it rather than coloring the sound with it's own signature. That's what I heard.

 

My personal, real world experience with it is that it is very midrangey and clear. Not harsh, although it very well could be if someone used the wrong eq settings. It's very present, really sticks out, nice presence peak in the frequency response around 3 to 4 khz I believe. It is lacking a bit in the bass department, not that it's weak but it's definitely a screamer, not a thunder type speaker.

 

Seems like the response really drops below about 95 hz, but hey, that's a guitar speaker. I've been able to compensate for it with eq and I also adjusted the polepieces on the seventh string bridge pickup for a bit more kick, and now everything sounds nice and even across the board. I don't run a really scooped sound, I like the distorted tones heavy but edgy and clear, so if someone wanted a scooped sound I don't think this would do it very well above bedroom levels. It's a screamer.

 

All that being said, I love the thing. It really was the last piece of the puzzle to finish out my guitar setup. It responds quickly, forcing me to play better because mistakes really stick out, and it puts my sound out of amatuer and into professional sounding territory. I'd recommend it, but if you like a bassy signal I would probably get something else or at least not run it very loud; it doesn't seem to be designed for bass heavy signals. But hey, it handles my seven string playing, so what do I have to complain about?

[realkman666]

We could make it the boobie forum if you want.

[Terrorizer]

Welcome to this place.

:D ;)

[El Grinder]

Wow, someone else that uses the G12H-80!

 

I have NEVER had a problem getting enough bass from my G12H-80 speakers or having them waffle out at all. I use A LOT of bass in my tone and these have always delivered clean, powerful and smooth bass. The mids are clear and the highs are never piercing. Honestly there's no other speaker I would use if given a choice. The fact that they can be gotten for less than the Classic Lead 80's makes them even better. (Though I have yet to do an A/B comparison in tone.)

 

Anyway, they're the best speakers for my tones (both clean and distorted) that I've used. I wouldn't have it any other way.

--------

And just for background, the rest of my rig:

B.C. Rich neck-through Warlock standard tuned to C

Mesa/Boogie Triaxis version 2.0 with fat mod (telefunken ECC83s)

Eventide GTR4000 Ultra-Harmonizer

Mesa/Boogie Strategy 500 Stereo power amp (w/ GE 6550s)

Crate GS412S cabinet with Celestion G12H-80s

Monster Performer 500 rock & jazz instrument cables

Monster Performer 500 speaker cables

Monster "New Monster" speaker cable in the cabinet

 

[Mind Riot]

Originally posted by realkman666 We could make it the boobie forum if you want.

 

Yeah, I was crossing my fingers when I first came in here: "Oh please, let it be boobies, oh please oh please oh please...DAMN IT!! Just more freaking music gear talk!!"

[Mind Riot]

 

Originally posted by El Grinder Wow, someone else that uses the G12H-80! I have NEVER had a problem getting enough bass from my G12H-80 speakers or having them waffle out at all. I use A LOT of bass in my tone and these have always delivered clean, powerful and smooth bass.

 

 

I guess there's probably a lot more bass to be had from four of 'em, I'm only running one. Another possibility is that mine still isn't fully broken in; I've had it for about two months and play it regularly, but from what I hear there can be a lot of range in how long a speaker takes to break in. Anyway, I love it!

[El Grinder]

A lot has to do from previous gear in the line too. The Strategy can deliver heaps of bass even without the deep mode enabled. Also, I think upgrading the speaker wiring in my cabinet was an improvement in responsiveness as well.

 

That's one thing about rack systems, some combinations of gear just tend to give more than the sum of their parts.

 

You might want to check the H-C reviews on the G12H-80 and see if anyone else mentions similar response to what you're getting out of them and see if they had suggestions for getting more out of them.

[Mind Riot]

 

Originally posted by El Grinder You might want to check the H-C reviews on the G12H-80 and see if anyone else mentions similar response to what you're getting out of them and see if they had suggestions for getting more out of them.

 

 

Well, I'm actually very happy with it, but I would be interested in looking at some reviews on speakers just out of curiosity. Where are speaker reviews on HC? Would it be under amp reviews, or what?

[El Grinder]

http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Data/Celestion/G12H_80-01.html

 

Yeah, under amp user reviews..

[Mind Riot]

Thanks!