Best amp for PJ tone

gimmesometruth27 · December 2009

Pappas wrote:

stone also seems to be using his old jcm-800 yes?

i swear i saw it in the shows i saw, as well as recognized its tone during some songs (mainly alive)

yeah he is playing the 800, and jeff is playing the marshall lemmy signature head. mike is playing an old marshall as well, maybe a jmp or something? i love their old school tone, screw all of the boutique stuff they used the last few years. imo their guitar tone suffered greatly the last few albums and tours until they brought back the vintage amps on backspacer....while we are at it, ed bring back the damn hiwatt and batwings!!!!!

ScrapeMySky · December 2009

Geert wrote:

I just have the Vox Valvetronix VT30 en a MIM Fender Telecaster. No pedals. But the amp has many presets and effects. Till now I just played acoustic, so the electric way is new for me.
I'm just interested in rhytm guitar, like Stone or like Eddie when he plays some intro's. For example like the intro of Porch during Austin City Limits or just straight ahead like RITFW.
And which era? Don't know exactly, but I like the current sound.

In that case the tele is a good way to start. Ed has been using Teles a lot over the years whith some variations, as has Stone until the most recent tours where he seems to rely mainly on Strats and Les Pauls.
As for amps, Ed has been using Fender tweed amps for quite a while now and, as has been stated stated before, Stone is currently using his old Marshall JCM 800 and a VOX AC30. As far as I know, your amp has amp models for all of these but I don't know how good they are.
And for the rythm stuff you wouldn't need any effects in most cases. Maybe an overdrive here and there.

canvas_adam · January 2010

my sound is fairly close to the older PJ tones. i converted last year from marshall amps to the fender supseronic. it is hands down the greatest amp i have ever owned, i doubt i'll ever purchase another one. if you wanna hear it, here is a live video of my band doing Voodoo Child in Hollywood a couple weeks ago:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MaZmqC_JBA

lol i never noticed, but the way we play it, it kind of sounds like Why Go heh.

if you wanna hear my tone on my actual album, (just came out in November, you can find it on iTunes... hey a little self promotion never hurts =P ) you can hear the whole record at

http://www.myspace.com/adamsmith145

and you can see the album video preview at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz_x6CYsSUA

if you go to the youtube video, you can follow it to all my other live videos. like i said, i think the tone is fairly early PJish.

pjpjpaul · February 2010

i just ordered a fender hot rod deluxe tonight! i got a great deal on it (600) brand new from musicians friend...
I am thinking about upgrading the speaker to a celestion vintage 30 in a month or so... does anyone know what a good upgrade for pickups would be on a mexi strat to get a nice PJ tone? i have a few lace sensors in right now that have been in it for like 8 years and i think it just needs a different tone now... thanks!

Pappas · February 2010

canvas_adam wrote:

my sound is fairly close to the older PJ tones. i converted last year from marshall amps to the fender supseronic. it is hands down the greatest amp i have ever owned, i doubt i'll ever purchase another one. if you wanna hear it, here is a live video of my band doing Voodoo Child in Hollywood a couple weeks ago:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MaZmqC_JBA

lol i never noticed, but the way we play it, it kind of sounds like Why Go heh.

if you wanna hear my tone on my actual album, (just came out in November, you can find it on iTunes... hey a little self promotion never hurts =P ) you can hear the whole record at

http://www.myspace.com/adamsmith145

and you can see the album video preview at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz_x6CYsSUA

if you go to the youtube video, you can follow it to all my other live videos. like i said, i think the tone is fairly early PJish.

nice cover dude. has anyone told you you sound like mccready when you sing lol

canvas_adam · February 2010

Pappas wrote:

canvas_adam wrote:

my sound is fairly close to the older PJ tones. i converted last year from marshall amps to the fender supseronic. it is hands down the greatest amp i have ever owned, i doubt i'll ever purchase another one. if you wanna hear it, here is a live video of my band doing Voodoo Child in Hollywood a couple weeks ago:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MaZmqC_JBA

lol i never noticed, but the way we play it, it kind of sounds like Why Go heh.

if you wanna hear my tone on my actual album, (just came out in November, you can find it on iTunes... hey a little self promotion never hurts =P ) you can hear the whole record at

http://www.myspace.com/adamsmith145

and you can see the album video preview at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz_x6CYsSUA

if you go to the youtube video, you can follow it to all my other live videos. like i said, i think the tone is fairly early PJish.

nice cover dude. has anyone told you you sound like mccready when you sing lol

lol thanks! (i think lol)

i have to admit... never on the vocals have i ever had a mccready comparison, that is def a new one! one that i get allllll the time though is mark knopfler (which hey... not gonna complain about that!). even at 28 i'm a huuuuge dire straits fan! but even though i have been told that at a bunch at different shows, i don't really hear it myself.

but going back to the guitar tone... we don't play a lot of covers, just 2 or 3 at most per show, which is usually around 90 minutes.. but i need to upload one of our live Do The Evolutions or In My Trees. i think that would illustrate better the PJ tone that you can get with the fender supersonic (hey, the amp is even aptly named!). i love that thing

gimmesometruth27 · February 2010

pjpjpaul wrote:

i just ordered a fender hot rod deluxe tonight! i got a great deal on it (600) brand new from musicians friend...
I am thinking about upgrading the speaker to a celestion vintage 30 in a month or so... does anyone know what a good upgrade for pickups would be on a mexi strat to get a nice PJ tone? i have a few lace sensors in right now that have been in it for like 8 years and i think it just needs a different tone now... thanks!

i would look into some lollars for the strat.

i love vintage 30s. all of my cabs have vintage 30s. i love the nice midrangey voice they have, not too bright. my other guitarist swears by greenbacks, but IMO they break up too easily so its all a matter of opinion.

hope you enjoy the amp, but break it in before you go and start changing speakers and stuff.

GuitarEnthusiast · February 2010

xtremehardy388 wrote:

Hot Rod Deluxe and then get a Marshall Guv'nor (GV2) overdrive pedal. It's basically like adding a Marshall JCM800 to your amps. You can get that classic Pearl Jam distortion/overdrive. Think Alive/Porch tone. My Fender Roc-Pro 700 gives me the exact same cleans as Mike gets on Black/Yellow Ledbetter. It's hella cheaper than the Hot Rod Deluxe but it's an ebay find and it's not going to give you same overdrive as the Hot Rod Deluxe will. The tube screamer is great if you get a tube amp. Otherwise, it won't sound too much like PJ. Instead of the Sonic Distortion, a moded Super Overdrive by BOSS (pretty easy to do) gives you the same sound for less $$. The DeVille doesn't have a really good drive channel, compared to the Hot Rod Deluxe, in my opinion. None the less, no matter what you do, I'd get the Marshall GV2

Hi xtremehardy388 ~ I have a Hot Rod Deluxe and just purchased the Marshall Guv'nor. Out of curiousity, would you share your favorite settings for both the amp and the Guv'nor to get that early PJ tone for Alive, Porch, etc.? I've been messing around with it a bit, but want to try dialing in recommended settings from others with a similar setup. I play an Epi Les Paul Custom (with Burstbucker's).

pjpjpaul · February 2010

I too would also love to know some of the specific settings on the marshall gv2 pedal and the fender hot rod deluxe to get the pj tones mentioned before... thanks!

Hub. · May 2010

Hi!

Here’s my problem (I know what you’re gonna say: “gotta buy a new Amp and a new guitar”, but the thing is, I can't afford that, for the moment :( ): I play with a Frontman 212R Amp and an Epiphone (Les Paul signature) guitar.

With my band, we’re going to cover two PJ songs (Alive and Breath And A Scream), which means early PJ songs.

I know that miracles don’t exist and that, with such an equipment, I’ll never get the same sound.

But does someone know how to adjust this amp to get (in some way) closer to that sound. Something Early Pearl Jam-like?

Thanks a lot, guys. :wave:

ScrapeMySky · May 2010

I'd suggest investing in a Marshall Jackhammer pedal. That would bring you pretty close to that early Pj Marshall sound. I thing your guitar should do the trick just fine. Good luck!

SalJam · May 2010

ScrapeMySky wrote:

I'd suggest investing in a Marshall Jackhammer pedal. That would bring you pretty close to that early Pj Marshall sound. I thing your guitar should do the trick just fine. Good luck!

Are the Guvnor and Jackhammer still available anywhere>>> or do you have to go the ebay route?

Thanks

Hub. · May 2010

Thanks for the answer, ScrapeMySky.

Unfortunately, I can't buy any pedal for the moment (but I keep that in mind).

@SalJam: I don't know about the US, but in Europe, it's still possible (Thomann, for instance).

JW42505 · May 2010

Mike is actually playing with 2 Savage amps now. They are not cheap but they are Pearl Jam tone. He is using 2 blitz 50s. But you can get the cheaper macht 12x. Amazing amp.

Hub. · May 2010

Ouch! That's even more expensive than a pedal (and, apparently, not very close to their early soud), but thanks anyway, JW42505. :(

dissident52 · May 2010

That guitar will by all means get you to early Pearl Jam tone, but with that amp, you'll never get there. In order to get that tone, you will have to invest some into, at the very least, a pedal of some sort.

If you like, I could give you some suggestions. But i do realize that you don't have the money for a pedal.

mccreadyisgod · May 2010

Hub. wrote:

Here’s my problem (I know what you’re gonna say: “gotta buy a new Amp and a new guitar”, but the thing is, I can't afford that, for the moment :( ): I play with a Frontman 212R Amp and an Epiphone (Les Paul signature) guitar.

With my band, we’re going to cover two PJ songs (Alive and Breath And A Scream), which means early PJ songs.

I know that miracles don’t exist and that, with such an equipment, I’ll never get the same sound.

But does someone know how to adjust this amp to get (in some way) closer to that sound. Something Early Pearl Jam-like?

I hate to sound like an asshole (my wife probably wouldn't agree with me here, but anyhow...) but you're asking kind of an impossible question for us to answer. Note the following:

1. You have a solid-state Fender amp. The tone you are chasing is that of a Marshall tube amp.
2. The amp you have is *probably* not owned by anyone else here on the message board.
3. Early PJ tone is defined by their use of Ibanez TS-9 and SD-9 pedals thru their Marshall amps.

During the first year I played electric guitar, I spent a LOT of time chasing decent tone from my Fender Stage 100 solid-state amp. I never even got close. It wasn't until I went to tubes that my tone got anywhere close to good. That being said, I did spend a lot of time playing through various solid-state amps with varying results. And I have gotten decent tone (not great, but okay) from some of the Line 6 amps, and I've always been kind of a sucker for a TransTube Peavey Bandit.

The other part of this, and it sounds like a cop-out until you eventually realize it's true, is that a lot of tone comes from the way each individual plays. That means that if I had your guitar and amp here with me, and I set it for a passable PJ-ish tone, you probably wouldn't sound the same if I handed the guitar to you. For example, I've seen guys with great tone from their guitars and amps, and when I've played their rigs, I get terrible tone. You gotta find what fits your style.

That all being said...

Keep the gain around half-way, or maybe 60%. Don't use too much distortion. Keep the mids up around 8, bass around 5, treble to taste. Bridge pickup or middle position on your guitar. If you're playing the rhythm parts, no reverb. If you're playing the leads, reverb on 3. Tweak from there.

And start saving for a good amp and a couple pedals.

OffHeGoes29 · May 2010

SalJam wrote:

ScrapeMySky wrote:

I'd suggest investing in a Marshall Jackhammer pedal. That would bring you pretty close to that early Pj Marshall sound. I thing your guitar should do the trick just fine. Good luck!

Are the Guvnor and Jackhammer still available anywhere>>> or do you have to go the ebay route?

Thanks

I just picked up a used Guv'nor at a local guitar store. (around 50$) Using it through a Blues Jr, that and a BD-2, MXR carbon copy, dunlop wah...feel like I'm kind of close to that sound.

Hub. · May 2010

mccreadyisgod wrote:

I hate to sound like an asshole (my wife probably wouldn't agree with me here, but anyhow...) but you're asking kind of an impossible question for us to answer. Note the following:

Don't worry, you don't.

I mean, I know I'm asking for the moon, that’s why I thought about getting something close to that kind of sound, not the same. And I’m aware about the fact that the sound may vary according the way people play.

It’s just, I need to adjust my amp for these two songs, but the rest of our setlist is our songs with our sound.

I always play rhythm guitar since I’m the lead singer and I can’t do both things at the same time.

Anyway, thanks for the explanation and the settings, mccreadyisgod.

@dissident52: Concerning the pedal, as I said, I can’t buy one for the moment, but that’s very temporary (not before next month), and before this happens, I needed to see the results with a “not-too-far” sound.

BTW guys, between the Guv'nor and the JackHammer, what would be your choice?

Thanks a lot. :wave:

dissident52 · May 2010

Alright I gotcha. Between those 2, i've always been suggested the Guv'nor. Hope it works for you.

Best amp for PJ tone

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