I was noodling around the other day, and came up with a riff. The riff turned into a jam track, then the jam track turned into a full song. I’m still working on the song, but thought I’d post it for folks to give it a listen. Here it is:
Here’s what I used:
- Rhythm Part: Clean Strat in Neck/Middle position. My Aracom VRX22 in the Clean channel, with the Master cranked and volume at halfway. Used a Red Bear Trading Tuff-Tone pick to get that percussive sound out of the chords.
- Part 1 Solo: Strat in Neck Position into my MicroVibe and the same amp settings. Also, used the Tuff-Tone pick to get a more percussive attack to the notes.
- Part 2 Solo: Strat in Bridge Position into MicroVibe. Amp was set on Channel 2 with the Master dimed and volume at 6 for some nice, but not over-the-top breakup. I love that 6V6 breakup! Here I used my V-Picks Psycho to smoothen out the attack and give the bright bridge pickup a bit of extra oomph.
- Part 3 Solo: Strat in Neck position, nixed the Vibe, into the clean channel with Master and Volume fully dimed. Used the Psycho here as well, but used a percussive attack.
In order to get those kind of high power settings from the amp, I used a soon-to-be-released Aracom attenuator that’s like NOTHING I’ve played through before! This thing is completely transparent because it maintains reactance between the amp and speaker; something that a lot of attenuators have a problem with (please don’t get me started on the UA, which I think is the biggest bunch of hype I’ve ever run across as far as attenuators go).
Another word about the VRX22. When the Master is fully open, and the power tubes are getting lots of juice, this amp just oozes all sorts of tone. And as the rectifier circuit kicks in, this amp feels as if it has built in reverb! As you can tell, I love this amp! Check it out at: http://www.aracom-amps.com.
I know that you might think I’m a bit nutso for using different picks; obviously in a live situation I’d probably only use one. But the in the studio where I can do pretty much anything I want, using different picks to affect my tone is totally cool. Check out Tuff-Tone picks at http://www.redbeartrading.com and the Psycho pick at http://www.v-picks.com. I swear by these two brands, and while I don’t work for either of these companies, like the Aracom Amps, they’ll always be part of my “rig.”
Guitar Gear 
FANTASTIC SONG and AWESOME TONE! You out did yourself this time Goofydawg!
Thanks, 56!
I have to tell you, that attenuator was what did it for me. Its transparency while attenuating to reasonable sound levels allowed me to peg my amp. What I discovered in the process was that when amps are cranked, they take on a completely different character. I think this has a lot to do with the power tubes getting lots of juice, so they can finally contribute to the tone of the amp.
Unfortunately, under normal, unattenuated circumstances, being able to feed enough power to the power tubes isn’t an option as even a lower-wattage amp like the VRX22 will be way too loud when you dime the Master volume. This is where an effective attenuator comes into play.
I’ve played a bunch of ’em, and the Aracom by far kicks ass on any that I’ve played. I love the fact that it’s completely passive and doesn’t require any EQ boosting like you have to do with the Webber or the Hot Plate, and I totally dig the fact that the amp and speaker are always reacting to each other, something that can’t be said of the Ultimate, which uses a cheap, $15 resistor and a solid state amp to re-amp the attenuated signal coming from its single 32ohm fixed resistor! Where’s the transparency there? What a load of shit!
The plain fact of the matter is that people do like the Ultimate Attenuator. I can’t argue that, and as a fellow gear slut, I will never put people down for the gear they choose to buy: If it works for them, that’s really all that matters. But many of these same people hype that unit despite the numerous reports of problems running it with a low resistance amp, and speak about its transparency. Sorry, I just don’t see how a re-amped signal will be transparent! For chrissakes! With the UA, the speaker is interacting with the SS amp, not your amp!
I guess that kind of defines the fine line between acceptable tone versus transparent tone… Okay… I gotta stop this rant… time for another cup of coffee. 🙂
One word for you dawg: DECAF.
Seriously, who really cares about transparency anyway? I just can’t “see” it. If you like the way your amp sounds using the attenuator of your choice, then it’s all good right? 😉
You’ve got a good point there, Phil. Too bad it’s covering your head. 🙂
You’re right, but that’s why I mentioned the fine line between “acceptable” versus “transparent.” There is a big difference. But users and manufacturers tout “transparency” as one of the features of the attenuators they use, and really what they mean is “acceptable.”
I actually re-mixed the song this morning, and re-amped the third solo through a ’59 Bassman to add some texture to the track. I also removed all the echo and spatial reverb that I had layered onto the second solo track. I wanted a more pure sound.