software

I've heard alot of great things about the Radial ToneBone Hot British pedals, anyone tried one?

I need a quot;marshall in a boxquot; to use as a second channel on my other guitar rig, which is a:

(take a deep breath and please don't laugh)

1978 model Peavey Centurion Mark III head
Custom Bulit quot;Grønås Designquot; 2x12quot; cab with Celestion Century speakers.

Anyone?

-Erlend

Hey Erlend! Where ya been buddy? Welcome back.

Edit: Just saw your quot;Helloquot; thread.

Welcome back anyway.

Depending on what ones definition of quot;Marshall in a boxquot; is I would say you might want to check into something like a Barber Direct Drive SS. I have the Tone Bone Hot British and as much as I like it I would say the type or quot;flavorquot; of distortion is more like a 5150. It's got that real high gain type of sound to it which may or may not be what you're looking for. Although the pedal had a ton of variation the amount of distortion is almost a bit much right from the get-go.
The Barber Direct Drive SS has more of what I would call a quot;Marshall in a boxquot; sound to it. No it does'nt sound JUST like a Marshall but again, the quot;flavorquot; of OD it provides is much more suited to things that require a Marshall type distortion. It also has 3 internal trim pots which are really nice for helping you to shape the sound to your lliking. One is for the harmonic content of the distortion, one's for bass and the other is for presence.

I have the hot british right now and im not keeping it.. using the MF 45 day return policy on it. On my amp i cant really tell a tone change at all.. the only thing it really does is tightens up the low mids to give a marshall style tone but overall theres no real tone change. In terms of distortion, its not real high gain. Some of the high gain marshall amps could get more distortion without a pedal. If you compare it to a metal zone, its got about 75% of that. It gets saturated, but its still not a REAL heavy crunch even with it maxed.

Well, the tone i'm looking for, is a nice, versatile tone, that can go from Maiden style soloing, satriani's singing tone (think The Forgotten) and a roaring JCM800 style rhythm!

I don't need alot of gain, not more than a JCM800 would produce at full throttle. I've learned to like tones that let's your playing come through, and not gain-heavy noise like those new nu-metal dudes.

Thanks again,
-Erlend

Tech21 TRI-AC!

I bought one from JMCorey a few months ago and haven't looked back since. I honestly could not be happier with this pedal. Three fully-programmable channels with 3-band EQ for each, and three options for amp models (Fender- quot;Tweedquot; Marshall- quot;Britquot; Mesa-quot;Caliquot;).THIS AIN'T DIGITAL!

The tweed and brit settings are VERY responsive to dynamics, the Cali is compressed and fluid in higher gain settings. Both the Tweed and Cali have plenty of bass to spare (something I've noticed common to their true-life brethren!) and the Brit setting sounds best on...you guessed it! Everything dialed at 7. Aside from differences in EQ structure (which you can tailor to your needs) you essentially have the basics for overdrive/distortion: Light grit/blues and early rock and roll on the tweed, Classic rock, punk and early metal on the Brit, and molten Vai gain-tone up to fuzz on the Cali. The models ARE models but they are VERY good and incredibly touch-responsive. If you're looking for a 19XX model with a modified transformer and the bias tweaked to hit the tubes harder....well, you'll never get that from any modeler.

I bought mine sight unseen and couldn't be happier. I had few concerns and Tech21 was very quick in their reply via email to help me, even though I was buying used.

Oh, and just for you Erlend, since you're looking for varying degrees of Marshall flavor, you COULD set each channel for a different flavor of Brit!

I honestly love this preamp and can't imagine gigging without it. I can't say how it sounds direct to a board (something it's supposed to do as well as T21's other SansAmp products) but it's a breeze to plug in to different amps. After you've programmed the tones how you like them, just leave them. I've gone to an entirely foreign amp with this pedal, set up a nice clean tone how I like it, and INSTANTLY I have my other three overdrive/distortions just how I like them. Tweak the output of each to match the nuances of the amp (it's easy to be too loud, especially going from a 1x12 to a 4x12) but I leave the gain structure and EQ alone.

The whole operation of the unit is simple. A slider switch for amp selection, gain, EQ and output level. Click the button of the channel you want to assign twice and you're DONE!

If you can find one, try it. I'd almost dare you to sit down with one and put it through the paces and NOT like it.

Thanks for the helpful review Ken, i'll see if i can get to try one.
The only problem is that there is no Sansamp\Tech21 dealers here in norway. I've seen some norwegian people selling them around, but i doubt that i'll get to try one out before i buy.

Help me out here, should i just buy one? Are they really that good? I'm sorry that i'm so sceptical about this preamp, but.....

Thanks again,
-Erlend

I'd hate to tell you what course of action to take and have it leave a sour taste in your mouth. I got a pretty good deal on mine used from a forum member here. I jumped on it because I had a good idea of what I thought I wanted and where I thought the TriAC would get me.
If you're not in too much of a hurry, the majority of my gear will be back at home (jazz band program at school is my main focus right now) in a few weeks. I'd be happy to record a few basic clips of what it does (Also gives me an excuse to start recording again!). I've owned two Tech21 pedals, the TriAC and Comptortion. Both are excellent units that seem virtually bullet proof.

Check out Harmony Central for reviews, all are fairly good and reflect my experience with the pedal.

should have some clips.

Quote from Harmony Central Review:
quot;I have to confess: sometimes, when I'm doing a solo, I have an erection because of the sound of it.quot;

I took a chance and bought mine sight-unseen, partially because I had a good deal lined up on it. I know you guys overseas tend to get raped on these sort of things so I understand why you're more hesitant to go after a unit such as this, when you can't play it in advance.

This unit is so versatile, like I said before, I can't imagine gigging without it. Even when I get old and rich like Scott_F (YEAH RIGHT!) and have nicer tube based amps, I would keep this in a bag when I gig as a back-up rig.

I want to tell you outright that it's worth the chance to bite the bullet, but I understand you're in a bit more of a precarious position because of customs and whatnot in your corner of the world. I hate to talk a unit up like this at the risk of somebody being disappointed...and there's plenty this unit CAN'T do (it IS analog-based amp modeling) but I personally feel there's a point where if you don't improve as a player, it doesn't matter what you're playing through.

The TriAC is a good unit and has some good sounds inside of it, and they aren't that hard to find. It's not a magic box, but a tool. It's easy to get set up with good tones, but the difference between good and great generally resides in your hands.

I would like to mention again the sounds I'm getting out of mine, just as a reference point. The first channel is set up for a little dirt out of a Fender. Really just more of a quot;shimmerquot; than anything else unless I really dig into the strings.

The second channel I've tried very hard to get into the realm of Led Zeppelin/Aerosmith. I kept in mind that Zeppelin's stuff isn't as heavy as you ever hear it in your head and I think I got pretty close to the mark. The channel fits quite well into tunes like quot;Rock and Rollquot; quot;Black Dogquot; or the infamous quot;Immigrant Song.quot;

The third channel has been a problem child simply because the Mesa sounds are so compressed. The first two are so dynamic that it's easy to really dig into them and get loud and then switch to the Mesa settings for an extra boost and not get what I expected (usually just stays the same level). This is MY fault and none of the unit! It's set up for a ripping metal tone...I honestly can't think of a reference point for it like the Marshall channel, but this sounds great, trust me. It just takes a little bit of time and tweaking to get the levels adjusted correctly and predictably. I think I've about got it down, and especially with a little Wah in the mix, you're in metal lead/riff world.

I don't want to tell you yes or no just because these sort of things are so objective. Check out the tech21 site, and email the tech21 guys if you have questions (or feel free to PM me). It's a great unit but as with anything in this tone world, your mileage may vary.


Originally Posted by Erlend_GWell, the tone i'm looking for, is a nice, versatile tone, that can go from Maiden style soloing, satriani's singing tone (think The Forgotten) and a roaring JCM800 style rhythm!

I don't need alot of gain, not more than a JCM800 would produce at full throttle. I've learned to like tones that let's your playing come through, and not gain-heavy noise like those new nu-metal dudes.

Thanks again,
-Erlend

Well if thats what you are wanting, the hot british will do that. Ive never personally played a JCM 800, but i think the pedal will put out a little more gain than an 800. I think its geared toward the plexi styled marshalls more than anything, but i would say its between an 800 and a plexi. It will hit maiden no prob; dont know what satriani's forgotten tone is, but with some eqing you can get some pretty smooth tones even at high distortion just by messing with the pedal. What kind of amp do you have though? I think thats the most important thing i want to know.

Thanks alot Ken bro, it's very nice of you to help me like this. I appreciate it!
I must say that the Tri Ac seems so to say perfect. I listened to the clips, and i think that they sound really good, but the Mesa channel sounds very fuzzy, and the marshall channel a bit quot;thinquot;? Do you think the same or is it just my ears
Anyway, i'm sure it sounds ALOT better than the Digitech RP-100 i've used the last 3 years .

I would love to hear a recording with it used! Just take your time btw, i'm patient .

SuislidE03:
I'm using a 1978' Peavey Centurion Mark III solid state head, and a home bulit cab with two Celestion Century 12quot;. The Peavey is a very loud and clean sounding head that was designed to let you plug everything into it. It has a parametric equalizer, which is nice for shaping the tone.

Overall, this rig, plugging straigth into the head, gives a very huge, clean and deep tone without any noticeable coloration of the sound. It's 2x130 watts into 4ohms btw.

Thanks again guys!

-Erlend

I own a 1982 JCM800 2204 AND a Barber DDSS, the Barber pedal will do exactly what you want. BUT, they just ended the production run on the DDSS, so get one ASAP before they are all gone. Check out they should have some left.

Cheers,

CJ

Thanks CJ, but i think i've already decided on the Tri ac. I will check out the barber if i can though. It's just that i think the Tri ac will work better for me, since it's a three channel preamp than just a overdrive, and my amp is very quot;transparentquot; sounding.

Cheers!
-Erlend


Originally Posted by Usurper666I own a 1982 JCM800 2204 AND a Barber DDSS, the Barber pedal will do exactly what you want. BUT, they just ended the production run on the DDSS, so get one ASAP before they are all gone. Check out they should have some left.

Cheers,

CJ

Do you know how the Direct Drive SS compares to the standard Direct Drive? And how would the Direct Drive work on a clean amp? As far as the Tone Bone Hot British, I really like it for a rhythm but for leads it doesn`t cut through as I`d like it to. I use a Boss SD-1 and Ibanez TS-9 together for a semi heavy crunch and cuttting leads. The Tonebone however works great on it`s own with a clean amp. I`m interested in this Barber Direct Drive now!

Does the Tech21 Tri-AC only allow you to use distortion?


Originally Posted by A SkaterDoes the Tech21 Tri-AC only allow you to use distortion?Theoretically no, you should be able to set the gain fairly low and get a clean sound. In all honesty though, it is my impression that this unit is made for a little bit of grit. I've never set it up for a clean tone because I'm not using it as a direct-to-board unit. I set up the clean channel on the amp and get my dirt out of the TriAC...After my final show this spring (school's ending soon!) I'll toy around and see what clean tones I can get...might be pleasantly surprised.And Erlend, to answer your questions about the settings sounding thin and/or fuzzy, I think that has more to do with the EQ section than the actual design of the model. Perhaps they just didn't quite hit what you thought they were aiming for. I haven't listened to those clips so I really can't speak on them. I DO know that the EQ is VERY versatile and that a little tweak goes a looonnngggg way. Everything is set up so well and so flexible, I'm certain you'd be able to tweak in what you were looking for. Because I play with a heavy bassist and metal drummer trying to play jazz/funk, along with a full horn section, my tone tends to be quite narrow and focused in the midrange. There's plenty of bass to be had in the unit though on all of the settings, especially the Tweed and Cali settings.

Oh, and running a bass through it just sounds monstrous.

Oh, and I'll try to keep in mind what you're looking for when I do the clips. I may have to dig up some Maiden records to get a vibe for their stuff. If you have any covers you'd specifically like as a sonic reference I'll do what I can to cop that style. I'm coming off 9 months of playing mostly funk with a little blues thrown in, so it would really help to have some songs as reference before I just sit down and say quot;Oh, that's a cool tone for heavy rock...quot;

since your amp is a solid state i think the tonebone will help your tone since it does use a tube. It is pretty expensive but i really think you should try it. My only gripe in tone is that the low end gets a little farty when its turned up around the 3 o'clock position.

Hi there!

Fellow Norwegian here!

The Tonebone Hot British is exellent. Think quot;moddedquot; Marshall. Definetly worth the money.

Also take a look at the Tonebone Classic. Almost the same amount of gain, but cleans up a lot better.

There are several of both on (kjøp/salg)

Good luck!!

I'd say go with the Tonebone. I have both a 1982 JCM 800 and a Tonebone Hot British. The Tonebone nails it. I really don't see the 5150 influence that was previously mentioned, unless they cut the mids and completely boosted the treble and bass.
Overall, I think the Hot British sounds like a JCM 800 with a SD-1 in front.