AC15 Both Channels
Who knew there was another amp inside the AC15?
After playing for the past couple of months on the new tubes (the Tung-Sol 12AX7 in V1 warmed up the tone considerably), and playing with the 'normal' and 'top boost' channels, I have discovered that the 'normal' channel is the one I use most.
The 'normal' channel sounds gorgeous with my strat, and it also is the best for the neck pickup on my semi-hollowbody Epiphone Dot. The normal channel has a well-balanced, chimey tone that is lovely for clean tones and it goes into a subtle overdriven crunch fairly nicely -- note I am talking about basement volumes, where the preamp tube is saturated, not the power tubes. When I put my Tube Screamer in front of it for a heavier overdrive sound, it's pretty fabulous too -- especially since I swapped that 12AX7.
The 'top boost' channel is brigher, more aggressive sounding, possibly with more scooped mids. It's designed for leads, I think. But even set clean, it flatters my Dot's PAF-style bridge humbucker, which sounds a little thin on the normal channel. The 'top boost' here livens things up and makes the thing sound more dynamic... so when I play the Dot, I typically go to the top-boost side. The top-boost channel does not pair as well with the Tube Screamer, though... it has a high-end peakiness that can sound kind of harsh. So the pedal stays on the 'normal' signal path.
Now, however, I have found the third option, which is to play into both inputs. I do this via my LS2 line switcher pedal. I set both channels just to the edge of breakup (roughly 12 o'clock, depending on the pickups). These combine for a completely different sound; it's considerably fatter than either channel alone, and the two together produce an overdrive which is -- again, this is at fairly low volume, so the power tubes still aren't saturated -- much more interesting and usable than either channel alone. The two channels in parallel, both at the edge of breakup, combine to produce a pretty convincing Brian May-ish distortion, which is to say, a lot more like what this thing would sound like cranked all the way up. It is rich and dynamic and big and crunchy. No Tube Screamer required (well, never say never).
After playing for the past couple of months on the new tubes (the Tung-Sol 12AX7 in V1 warmed up the tone considerably), and playing with the 'normal' and 'top boost' channels, I have discovered that the 'normal' channel is the one I use most.
The 'normal' channel sounds gorgeous with my strat, and it also is the best for the neck pickup on my semi-hollowbody Epiphone Dot. The normal channel has a well-balanced, chimey tone that is lovely for clean tones and it goes into a subtle overdriven crunch fairly nicely -- note I am talking about basement volumes, where the preamp tube is saturated, not the power tubes. When I put my Tube Screamer in front of it for a heavier overdrive sound, it's pretty fabulous too -- especially since I swapped that 12AX7.
The 'top boost' channel is brigher, more aggressive sounding, possibly with more scooped mids. It's designed for leads, I think. But even set clean, it flatters my Dot's PAF-style bridge humbucker, which sounds a little thin on the normal channel. The 'top boost' here livens things up and makes the thing sound more dynamic... so when I play the Dot, I typically go to the top-boost side. The top-boost channel does not pair as well with the Tube Screamer, though... it has a high-end peakiness that can sound kind of harsh. So the pedal stays on the 'normal' signal path.
Now, however, I have found the third option, which is to play into both inputs. I do this via my LS2 line switcher pedal. I set both channels just to the edge of breakup (roughly 12 o'clock, depending on the pickups). These combine for a completely different sound; it's considerably fatter than either channel alone, and the two together produce an overdrive which is -- again, this is at fairly low volume, so the power tubes still aren't saturated -- much more interesting and usable than either channel alone. The two channels in parallel, both at the edge of breakup, combine to produce a pretty convincing Brian May-ish distortion, which is to say, a lot more like what this thing would sound like cranked all the way up. It is rich and dynamic and big and crunchy. No Tube Screamer required (well, never say never).
posted by jmax at
12:35 PM
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