They are SO GOOD sounding. This RMC4 Picture Wah has a pretty similar sweep to my old Vox wah, only the treble at the peak of the sweep isn't so brash and annoying, and it's a little less microphonic overall, but still microphonic juuuust enough to achieve those cool harmonic overtones when running into a dirty amp.
And of course they have others with knobs that tweak several unique aspects of the sound, things that Dunlop and Fulltone wahs don't even do, they've got another one with a multi-band EQ on it, several others. I only tried the RMC4 Picture Wah though, so I can't speak to what the others sound like. I just wanted a plain old one-size-fits-all kinda wah.
I've gotten over the tweaking thing. I got tired of that rack rig because there were just too many options and variables to deal with. I ended up removing the Digitech unit from the chain because it was too difficult to quickly adjust things. The manual for it is this big 200 page thing that I printed out and stuck in a 3-ring binder. And without the manual, there's NO WAY you'd be able to figure out how to work the damn thing on your own. And even with just the Marshall preamp and the Peavey poweramp, it was still annoying to deal with the button pushing bullshit on that Marshall JMP1.
While amp shopping the other week before I bought my Orange, I ran across this little guitar shop not too far from my house, that's apparently been there the whole time I've been living here, and I never knew it. But they had a used 90-watt Mesa Boogie Mark5 head that they were asking only $900 for. I think they typically go for about $1700 used. I don't think these people knew they were asking too little for it. It worked perfectly, sounded pretty good. But like you'd expect with the latest and greatest top-of-the-line Mesa Boogie head, it's got options and functions out the mother funkin' wahzoo. I hadn't even considered a Mesa Mark5 when looking for an amp because I thought it would be too expensive. But 900 for the greatest Mesa head ever made? It was VERY tempting. But I had to pass. Too many knobs... plus it was used. I don't trust my luck enough. Sure enough I'd buy it and get 2 days past the return cutoff date and it would've stopped working.
And the latest top-of-the-line Marshall's are even WORSE. There's like 30 knobs on it. 3 channels... with 3 distinct "modes" per channel. It's just too much to deal with. They want about $2,500 for them... and the reverb isn't even spring, it's digital. They do sound pretty good, but the reverb is just... sad, lol. I dunno, I guess some people PREFER that digital crap to the old fashioned organic sounding spring stuff. Weirdos.
But I'm liking the Orange amps these days. They're simple to operate with fewer knobs than anyone else, they sound good, they're damn near idiot proof. Less time screwing around finding "the right sound", more time getting on with it and just playing.
Hauled my Rockerverb up to the Atlanta Guitar Center today and got someone else to take a look at it and give me a 2nd opinion about the noise happening in the dirty channel with the gain knob. He said it was normal just like the people at the other Guitar Center where I bought it. I dunno though. I'd still like to attempt to figure out how to at least somewhat diminish the noise. I first have to find out if swapping preamp tubes will void the warranty.
From what little I've seen online, they're apparently re-branded cheap Chinese made tubes. "Here at Orange, we only use TOP QUALITY tubes in our amps..." Yeah, right.
Anybody else tinkered with tubes and tube rolling, 12AX7's specifically? Recommendations? Tips? Advice? Tales of tone miracles from the baby jesus? Horror stories from Clive Barkers butthole?
BadBrent, Oh but how I have missed our long walks on the beach at sunset, our endless deep meaningful conversations about Oprah Winfrey, and... uh... other shit.
All of it now belongs to someone else, with the exception of the DigiTech GSP2101, the shitty plywood roadcase, and the pedals.
I kept the Digitech unit. I figured selling it would probably get me $100 or likely even less, and since it does work and it does have a whole host of effects, I can still get occasional use out of it.
The grey Aphex compressor unit (3rd unit) I sold probably 2 years ago. I didn't have a power cord for it, didn't even know if it worked, and a used music shop gave me $5 for it towards a used Ibanez Turbo Tubescreamer pedal.
The Marshall Jmp-1 preamp I sold at Guitar Center for $250, and they sold it 2 days later for $399.
I was going to sell them the Peavey Classic Series 120/120 poweramp as well but... apparently all these stores are using fucking ebay as their working barometer for the current market values of things. The most they would offer me was $120, and he said they'd resell it at $199... a 240 watt ALL TUBE POWERAMP that WORKS. Meanwhile, they had a fucking late 90's Peavey Bandit 112 Transtube combo sitting over amongst the amps that they were asking $225 for! Assholes. Pisses me off. Ebay is NOT always current market value. People put shit on ebay ALL THE TIME asking far too little for it simply because they want to move it as quickly as possible. It's "garage sale" prices, not "market" prices.
So instead, I hauled it over to Atlanta Discount Music in Chamblee and consigned it over to them. I put $399 to $350 on it, worried that it might sit there a while. Nope. One week later, they had a buyer. So minus their 17% consignment fee, I got $290 out of it. Pretty sure I could've gotten the $399 out of it had I remained firm on that price.
Anyways, I finally have myself a new amp. A brand new Orange Rockerverb 100 mkIII in black. Don't have any pics yet. I'll post one from the web instead. Kinda having problems with it though. I can't turn the gain up past about 55% on the dirty channel without an annoying electrical buzz in the background. It ain't the power in my house. I actually bought 2 different Rockerverb 100's thinking it was just a fucked up amp. It did the same thing in the store. So maybe it's the tubes, maybe it's something else, I dunno. According to the owners manual... Orange uses top quality tubes in their products. But according to guitar forums I've seen all over the web, some people claim their stock tubes are crap and should be replaced immediately. Might try swapping out the 2 dirty channel tubes with the tubes in the Digitech unit and see what happens. I dunno, gonna ask around a bit more before doing anything. Hopefully I can fix it by just swapping preamp tubes and leave the power tubes alone. Power tubes COST MORE... and this amp isn't self-biasing, so I'd have to have someone bias the new tubes as well, probably another $100 just for the labor.
It's only "somewhat" easier to tote due to the single handle in the middle. But I'm pretty sure it's actually HEAVIER than my old rack with that huge two-sided 3-space Peavey poweramp, by at least 10 pounds. Jesus Christ, this damn thing is heavy. I'll bet you it weighs more than the 4x12 speaker cabinet. Still using the Carvin Steve Vai Legacy 412 cab with Vintage 30's.
Also got myself a new wah pedal.
I tried to no avail to find a replacement long-shaft 100k pot to refurbish my old mid-90's US-made Vox V847 wah. Apparently no one else EXCEPT Vox ever used such a thing. Instead, I just went and bought something new. I wanted something very old school 1960's sounding like my old Vox was. I had heard good things about the Fulltone Clyde wahs, but I didn't like them. And the Dunlop Clyde McCoy's were pretty good, I was more than likely gonna buy one. But then on a whim I tried this Real McCoy wah. This thing is GREAT! Fairly silent sweep, it's pretty much a part-for-part reproduction of the old Italian made wahs like Hendrix and Clapton used. It's also got this filter toggle under the treadle that shifts the sweep range a bit to accomodate single coils vs humbuckers better. It is Wah PERFECTION! Has the perfect sweep, the perfect harmonics to the upper range. Think I paid $235 for it at Atlanta Discount Music, so it might be a little cheaper at Guitar Center, I dunno. Still worth the price though.
I don't have HBO. I was downloading the show and keeping it in my Videos folder on my PC, then streaming it to my XboxOne through the Media Player app on there. I do that with tons of shit, and I've got all sorts of shows I can watch from my library any time there's nothing worth a shit on regular TV.
But... Game of Thrones folder got deleted right after I watched the last episode. Bwip, deleted. Not gonna watch that again. I'd rather watch fat women model ugly shoes on QVC.
Braves are doing surprisingly exceptionally well this year. I can't remember a time EVER when they were hitting so well. I saw a graphic they threw up the other night where they showed that 6 different Braves had 15 or more homers. I don't recall that happening even back in the 90's when the Braves were THE team to beat, AND people were using steroids. The last 3 days they've had a series against the Marlins, and for some reason, they can look terrific against the Mets and the Phillies, but they kinda lose steam and get jinxed when the Marlins come to town. Just barely won the first one with a 9th inning rally, lost the second one, and barely skated out of the third game with a 1 run lead after loading up the bases.
Their pitching isn't great, but if they can keep the offense this hot come September, they might actually stand a chance against the Dodgers or the Yankees or whoever else makes it to October play.
The devil told me the Rams will lose to the Patriots in the Superbowl.
Already made my prediction and I stand by it. It will happen. I don't want it to happen... but it will. If it doesn't happen, I'll be thrilled. But let's be real... it's gonna happen. Like they say: Hope in one hand and shit in the other - see which one fills up first.
Yes, the Superbowl will be in Atlanta. No, I will not be AT the game. FUuuuuuuUUUUUuuuUUUUuck that. Have you seen ticket prices? Not to mention,... I've seen the feds scanning the city in helicopters for radioactive material trying to find possible dirty bombs, etc. I don't think they'd be doing all that unless they had a reason to suspect something.
Dear terrorists,
Please don't. Because if you do, then we'll have to hear about moments of silence and dramatic stories of "first responders" (a word that was never used before 2001) and touching memorials to the "fallen victims", etc. And I don't wanna do that. I just wanna watch the fuckin' game. Is that alright? Please?
But no, I'm not gonna be at the game. I know a couple people who actually finagled their way into possession of some tickets that they could easily hock for 5 grand each, but they're actually gonna GO. Pfft. Not me. I'd sell those fuckers. I can do way cooler shit with 5 grand than see a superbowl between...
...the team who got to the Superbowl on a no call vs the team who picked heads in OT...
Nah, I'm gonna sit home and drink a couple beers while woofing down some of my cheddar, salsa, and cream cheese tortilla rollups. It's like tradition in my house. I spend hours making MOUNTAINS of these fuckin' things and then eat on them for a week or two afterwards until my asshole becomes a Philly cheese and hot sauce dispenser.
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But they had a used 90-watt Mesa Boogie Mark5 head that they were asking only $900 for. I think they typically go for about $1700 used. I don't think these people knew they were asking too little for it. It worked perfectly, sounded pretty good. But like you'd expect with the latest and greatest top-of-the-line Mesa Boogie head, it's got options and functions out the mother funkin' wahzoo. I hadn't even considered a Mesa Mark5 when looking for an amp because I thought it would be too expensive. But 900 for the greatest Mesa head ever made? It was VERY tempting. But I had to pass. Too many knobs... plus it was used. I don't trust my luck enough. Sure enough I'd buy it and get 2 days past the return cutoff date and it would've stopped working.
"Here at Orange, we only use TOP QUALITY tubes in our amps..." Yeah, right.
The most they would offer me was $120, and he said they'd resell it at $199... a 240 watt ALL TUBE POWERAMP that WORKS. 
Meanwhile, they had a fucking late 90's Peavey Bandit 112 Transtube combo sitting over amongst the amps that they were asking $225 for! Assholes. Pisses me off. Ebay is NOT always current market value. People put shit on ebay ALL THE TIME asking far too little for it simply because they want to move it as quickly as possible. It's "garage sale" prices, not "market" prices.
