Opening Up An Amp's Dial

Ah, I was wondering about #16. So it's made for an actual acoustic guitar, rather than being an acoustic simulator for electric? Interesting ... that will make it nice to practice with, as I often use delay and other fx amplified when I play acoustic at church. Never know what it will sound like when I practice un-amped at home.

I am digging #1, the Champ setting. Simple, no fuss, and this one likes my MI Audio Crunch Box pedal.

I tested #7, the "early British combo" setting, against my Vox Pathfinder (a cool, cheap, almost-really-tube-sounding, solid state amp; I modded that one with a 10" speaker and it sounds so much better than the all-tube AC4!) I used an A/B-Y pedal to switch between the two. At gain 3, with some EQ tweaking, the XD sounds very similar to the Pathfinder with gain at 1:00. Nice light overdrive with a bit of Voxy chime. At higher gain the XD gets very congested sounding on this setting, to my ears. But at lower gain, where I spend most of my time, I think the XD has better clarity on the lower strings. But it's close! The Vox will be going to church as our main electric guitar amp as that one sound is all we need.

What is #12 supposed to be? The manual lumps it in the "Hot Rod" section but all is says is "more gain, more sustain." I like this with a bridge humbucker.

I've got no idea what 12 is supposed to be. Just increased dirt?

My problem is that I never really remember what I dial in for a good distorted tone. I need to write these things down. I learned "Highway Star" rhythm portion a few weekends ago on something I dialed in. Switched to something else later and can't remember what I did. :x

Same thing goes for "The Pusher" too.

I guess based just on the description, I should be able to get some really good Neil Young distortion on #3. I think I'll try that today.

One thing I've discovered is that the EQ settings need to be changed quite a bit to match up with each voicing. Some of them really need the treble cut way back; others need the bass boosted.

I also find that the higher gain voicings work better with lower gain ... :shock:

Try this with a bridge-position humbucker and see what you think: setting 14 (the Fender "Metal Head"), with gain way down at 2, treble at 3 to 3.5, bass between 4 and 5. Crank up the reverb+delay to around 7. Roll down the guitar's tone knob a little bit, if needed. Man, I get a really sweet tone from that.

Yours might differ with the different speaker, but it should get you close.

I've decided to experiment with the amp ... a guy on the Agile guitar forum posted a very simple mod to add a Line In jack that goes directly to the tubes, bypassing the digital preamp. So it would be like running a signal to a small tube PA system. This would allow me to run my Liverpool pedal into the amp ... and really make it sound like an AC15! And with an a/b switcher, I could also get all the Super Champ sounds by using the normal input jack. It would be like two amps in one! But I'll wait a while before doing this ... want to make sure there are no issues before I go and void the warranty. :lol:

That mod you speak of, it would still need some sort of pre-amp, yes? Is that what your Liverpool pedal gives you?

Yea I don't think a 15w amp would be loud enough for anything more than solo practice.

It would be good enough for very small venues, and anything larger will have a sound system. Mic it and run it through the house board. You'll have to run your signal to a board anyway if you want to use floor monitors.

Most people grossly over-estimate how much wattage is necessary.

KP absolutely I should have been a bit clearer in what I was trying to say. If you mic it to a PA you can probably get along with a 5w. I was thinking in an un-miced setting and if you had a drummer and other guitars.

But the other problem is that I've never really heard a 15W amp that really had good tone and what might sound good by yourself in your basement doesn't always sound good when playing with other musicians.

But there's no doubt they can be used for more than solo practice.

But the other problem is that I've never really heard a 15W amp that really had good tone and what might sound good by yourself in your basement doesn't always sound good when playing with other musicians.

True, and that can be for a whole hose of reasons from how room acoustics impact your optimal effects chain setup, to an inability to get a good mix between folks trying to hear themselves play and so on.

That said, most small wattage amps out there today which come through the retail and on-line stores are focused on cost. And you're not going to get high quality sound out of most low-quality components. There are some excellent values out there, but really in the low wattage market for top end sound quality you're either going to be doing a lot of upgrades to get quality, or you're going to have to go the boutique route -- generally speaking.

However, none of that is a factor of the wattage.

As an example of a non-boutique 15w that is good enough for serious gig work with the utmost sound quality, you can't go wrong with a THD UniValve 15W head. But a around a grand a pop plus whatever you'd pay for a top end cabinet, they are simply not in the same category as a Super Champ XD. It's like comparing a hunk of wood with runners to an olympic bobsled.

That mod you speak of, it would still need some sort of pre-amp, yes? Is that what your Liverpool pedal gives you?

Yes, it can be set hot enough to run directly into a power amp. In fact, Tech 21 makes a stand-alone power amp for it, but it's solid state, more expensive, and much bigger than the SCXD. The Champ will be ideal for this sort of thing. 8)

I've only run the Liverpool into a PA system before ... looking forward to hearing it through a tube power amp at volume. (There, now back on topic!)

"Hats off to" Roy Parker: have you tried an attenuator with your amp? On the original topic of cranking it for better tone, I'm thinking this might be an interesting element to add to the mix. I'm finding it tough to get over volume 3 at home with the stock speaker, and a really efficient speaker like your Ragin Cajun is quite a bit louder.

As an aside, I put the Fender 10" speaker in my Vox Pathfinder (had to cut a bigger hole) and it really improved the sound of that amp. I'm running the Super Champ into a small PA cab while I have a 1x12" combo cab made ... Might build an attenuator into the cab.

Anyway, jus' wonderin' ...

Great thread guys. I have a SCXD as well. I will add my 2 cents worth. I got it almost two years ago and i like it quite a bit. The tubes went after about a month but I got them replaced ant the amp has been great ever since.

I have read a lot about replacing the speaker with a Rajun Cajun but my resarch led me to believe it was only a significant factor at higher volumes so I didn't bother. I find it plenty loud for home & I generally have it set on 2-3. It seems every couple of months I find a new setting I like best but the clean channel is always good, especially with a little OD added. I also like number 8 for a more british setting (at least that is what I think it is right now). I also find that 16 gives a usable acoustic type sound from my Hagstrom Viking (although I don't use it much).

I agree with whoever said that the treble settigs have to be adjusted with every amp model I dial in but maybe that is just a function of my taste and the room I am in etc.

My neighbors are too close to take the amp outside and crank it up but maybe I will take it to the cottage this summer and crank it up.

My biggest complaint about the amp is the on switch is located at the back of the amp!!

A good many amps in the past were made with the controls on the back, on the theory that you'd be standing behind the amp to play.

Ah, but the original Super Champ (on which this is based) had the toggle in front by the jewel lamp. Looks much better that way. 8)

The new one has a cheapo plastic switch.

RoundI, yes #8 is supposed to be an early Marshall model, I think a Plexi type of sound. It's nice and crunchy.