hmm, you may want to try turning it down a lil and using either a clean boost or PAB for lead work. Also, make sure you have your Bass turned down a bit with the Celestions, they can get a bit fluby if ya don't.

I keep my trim at around noon, but i have found that i ride my volume and tone controls alot more with the BM to keep things balanced, i think it's the nature of the beast, especially with the G12-65's. When i had the Eminence Delta 12's in there, it was a whole other ballgame...

does yours have the OD trim on the inside or the outside of the amp? sounds like it might be set a lil high

Gregg

+1 on that. The voltages on the preamp section are very important on these D Style amps. I did alot of experimenting with voltages via my sag simulator and found that lowering the voltages on V1 and V2 had a dramatic effect on tone and gain, not just OD but overall gain

indeed. i have found that even with the BM which isn't as mid-heavy as the other OTS's, that a goodly amount of mid content is the key to good OD on these things

The BM is just how Nik describes it. I have the HRM stack swtichable, and it is two very different sounds; it is more smooth with HRM stack on more dirty and raw with it off. I like both settings, but usually stick with HRM off, just a personal preference.

Gregg

you really can't go wrong with the stock JJ's to start out with the baseline and tweak from there. After all, it's what Nik builds the amp around 

This is very true, sduck. I've though about putting one on mine so I can switch the stock bright cap on the OD level pot off. With the HRM bypassed the Level has to be dropped so it sits on the bright cap. Or maybe I should get off my butt and find the right resistor for the bypass so there won't be such a volume jump

Gregg

George was kind enough to send me an email of this as well. Here is my reply. Thanks again, George!

No problem, George! I appreciate you sending me out the pots. I can understand your response on the thread, it is your baby, after all!

The negative threads I have found are on the Seymour Duncan Forum, and I believe the mylespaul forum. I really think it was the independent setting that made the noise, looking back, as even in regular harnesses or can be a problem.

I will definitely keep it, though. As one Seymour Duncan forum member put it, it is a nice way to figure out what setup you like on a particular guitar without soldering and desoldering. Very cool indeed!

Thanks Again!

Gregg

i actually went back to the TAD shorties after one of my 6L6WGB's red plated (it was only a matter of time). Had to switch V1 and V2 out, though. With the long plate GE in V1 and the JAN 5751 in V2 it sounded very dark and uninspiring. Put Telefunken's in V1 & V2 and voila much better! 

Gregg

User JD0X0 has done alot of power tune testing in his OTS and settled on KT-88's. Yup that's not a typo, KT-88's search for KT88 or KT-88 in the overtone forum. He describes all the attributes of the power tubes he tested

Gregg

in my rig, it helps a little with the volume jump that comes with bypassing the HRM tonestack. It also helps tame the high ends and helps shape the mids in a pleasing way through the Weber 1265 Alnicos. The OD sound is very Cranked Tweed or BF Bassman depending on how you have the tone controls set and can go from fat to mildly compressed depending on where you have the OD trim and drive set, and it sings. I have found that about 11 o clock on the OD trim, and just a hair over 7 out of 10 on the drive is the sweet spot. kick the clean boost in and it will make you giddy nice cranked bassman/early marshall growl. kick in the standard PAB and the clean boost, you are in plexi country with still a fendery vibe. kick in the modded PAB (tone stack completely lifted via a 22M resistor vs the 68k standard) you are in modded plexi country. Modded PAB and clean boost, well, it's like nothing i've ever heard and it's AMAZING!

************edit*******
i should add that a like a warm, thick, singing tone and ALOT of my tone comes from the Long Plate GE in V1 and the 6L6WGB's in V4 & V5, running at 70% idle dissipation. I also have my PI set to a 7 volt swing instead of a 6 volt swing which really helped the bloom and sustain with my setup.

Gregg

Hey George!

After a lil research, the noise may have been from having the independent volume control setting activated. On hardwired versions this is known to be an issue. It was a very audible amount of noise, enough for me to check and see if i reversed the leads on the jack or the grounds had come loose, but such was not the case. There have been comments as to the unit's noise on other forums as well. My control rout is completely shielded and the shield is properly grounded and the hardwire harness is dead quiet, as was the original epi harness.  I guess it's possible i got a defective unit (anything manmade can have problems).

I am aware of the differences between the us and import knob splines, and had the proper knobs on ( i ordered both knob types from ya'll) I just had it on a lil too firm, or maybe cocked a lil, and when i went to change it, it pulled the shaft out. no biggie, it has happened to all of us with push pulls before at some point (i've been playing for over two decades i've seen alot) The bad part was that it killed the neck pickup completely, probably because it was stuck in between the contacts in the switch. To be fair, purchasing a replacement push pull from a local store and desoldering the harness from the broken one and re wiring to the new one would may have fixed it, i just had alot going that day/week needed the guitar that weekend, had the other harness sitting in a box so, in it went.

The toneshaper is a great value, which is why i'm not terribly upset and ranting and raving like a lunatic about it. If it was a $300 unit, the yeah i would be upset, but since it was reasonably priced, i saw it as a fun experiment with a product that wasn't for me.  Sorry if my tone sounded overly harsh; that wasn't my intent.

I did contact you guys with my concerns, but so far, no response. To be fair, it was a holiday weekend and my email may have disappeared into the ether. Since i put the hardwire harness in, i'm not concerned about the toneshaper now, but i will prolly be ordering a loaded pickguard for a strat sometime this year 


I want to make it clear that I have no grudge against you or Acme ( i had a toneshaper in my strat and LOVED it) and have always had great service, and you guys are local as i am in FL. I would also recommend the tone shaper products to anyone who wants to tinker and find their sound without alot of soldering, and will prolly try one again in my next axe.

Gregg

oh yeah! forgot about that. +1 to that. that should answer all your questions!


here is the link---> http://ceriatoneforum.com/index.php?topic=740.0



Gregg

You can order a stock one from Nik, or get a Mercury one. gabby sells Mecury Tranny's at a reasonable price.

Gregg

+1 to what sduck said. I believe you said Nik built it for you. Just drop him a line and he should be able to clear it up for ya.

If I had to guess, I would say one is for the LNFB and one is for the "snubbers" on V2. They are both designed to change the frequency response of the amp to a degree.

Hope you get it figured out!

Gregg