Dude Ranch Amp Settings?

[blinkstillrules]

19 hours ago, daveyjones said:

it's certainly the best tube amp i've ever owned (for the sounds that i like). all the MESA boogie dual rectifier stuff i feel is a.) overpriced and b.) too 'slick' and mainstream sounding.

I'm actually still pondering getting a Mesa single or dual rectifier. I do like that sound from certain bands (Pennywise).

[blinkstillrules]

Anyone ever try zooming in on this pic and figure out Tom's settings? This would be Uranus/Lemmings EP era, correct Davey?

 

[daveyjones]

On 6/10/2020 at 5:03 PM, blinkstillrules said:

I think we may need to start an Ampeg VL series fanboy and settings thread.

i have all the lee jackson modification / repair info and documentation which i can add; lee has since taken it down from the interwebs.

[blinkstillrules]

10 hours ago, daveyjones said:

i have all the lee jackson modification / repair info and documentation which i can add; lee has since taken it down from the interwebs.

Awesome! All I have is a PDF of the owner's manual and a schematic.

 

His how-to video is still up on YouTube.

 

[blinkstillrules]

This thread reminded me I actually messaged Mark Trombino on Facebook last August to see if he had and was willing to share any notes/info about what was used to record Dude Ranch. He never responded. I also messaged Pet Secor to see if he'd sell a Buddha tape haha. No reply either.

 

 

[blinkstillrules]

On 6/10/2020 at 5:39 PM, Q182 said:

Ah there we go. To my ears I prefer four as it sounds a bit tighter but this is just my preference. The freq knob is really a unique addition that really adds another level of versatility.

Listening and comparing again, I think I concur with the FREQ on 4.

[daveyjones]

19 hours ago, blinkstillrules said:

Anyone ever try zooming in on this pic and figure out Tom's settings? This would be Uranus/Lemmings EP era, correct Davey?

this is october 8 at the whiskey opening for the descendents. i was there!

here's an enlarged and straightened shot of the ampeg heads from kerry key's photo. i've indicated the knob positions, as far as i can determine, in red. FREQ appears to be on 2??

 

[Q182]

On 6/12/2020 at 4:03 PM, daveyjones said:

i've indicated the knob positions, as far as i can determine, in red. FREQ appears to be on 2??

[ampeg rig photo]

It looks like Tom didn't have much high end in his sound in those days. Bass is maxed out, mid is halfway between 1 and 3 o clock, treble is barely at noon. Pre amp and gain look to be about the same, which is interesting that they're set on the higher side because the X2N is already an insanely hot pickup (the hottest humbucker in DiMarzio's catalog). What shocked me the most though, was how high the master volume was because with or without the attenuator these amps get loud FAST. There's a running joke in the amp world that VL stands for 'very loud', I can barely get mine set at 9 o clock without making myself go deaf.

But we all know the REAL secret to his sound is that RC sticker ? 

I'm also interested since he had two Ampeg heads in those days, did he run both heads in a stereo setup (like Fletcher from PW does) or was the second one a backup if the main one breaks down? In this image it appears channel two is engaged on both heads.

[daveyjones]

8 minutes ago, Q182 said:

did he run both heads in a stereo setup (like Fletcher from PW does)

tom literally copied everything from people he looked up to then, including fletcher. so i bet he took that trick from him (just like he was likely advised to get lee jackson's VL-1002 and have an X2N put in). 

[daveyjones]

12 minutes ago, Q182 said:

What shocked me the most though, was how high the master volume was because with or without the attenuator these amps get loud FAST.

no shit. i play with my attenuator on and the level at about 8 o'clock (zero is seven o'clock) and it's still loud enough to be heard outside my house.

[Q182]

Just now, daveyjones said:

no shit. i play with my attenuator on and the level at about 8 o'clock (zero is seven o'clock) and it's still loud enough to be heard outside my house.

I do the same, its crazy. The master volume I have to be super careful with, the level goes from 1 to 100 at the slightest movement. But when I crank it for practice I don't have to turn it up too far. 

[Q182]

9 minutes ago, daveyjones said:

tom literally copied everything from people he looked up to then, including fletcher. so i bet he took that trick from him (just like he was likely advised to get lee jackson's VL-1002 and have an X2N put in). 

Makes total sense to me. I wonder who suggested the Ampeg rig and the pickups for the sticker strat, or if there was another SoCal guitar player/band that Tom admired that used the same gear. 

[daveyjones]

15 minutes ago, Q182 said:

Makes total sense to me. I wonder who suggested the Ampeg rig and the pickups for the sticker strat, or if there was another SoCal guitar player/band that Tom admired that used the same gear. 

he put a rhythm collision sticker on everything it seems. maybe their guitar player? ?

[Q182]

Just now, daveyjones said:

he put a rhythm collision sticker on everything it seems. maybe their guitar player? ?

Honestly, maybe. Their guitar player Harlan used a Marshall (JCM 800 I think). Maybe DeLonge needed a less expensive alternative. I know he used an epiphone SG, not sure what the pickup situation was. Until then its a mystery...

[daveyjones]

16 minutes ago, Q182 said:

Maybe DeLonge needed a less expensive alternative.

the VL line was marketed as the cheaper alternative to getting a JCM, for sure.

of interest, btw. can you believe the VL-1002 MRP was like fifteen hundred dollars (in 1993/1994) and that was a bargain! i paid less than $450 for mine in 2017 dollars.

http://www.leejackson.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/TQRSep11-AtomSmasher.pdf

You can make a high quality amp in large numbers if it is designed right, and with large production runs your parts costs are extremely low. None of our amps have ever sold for more than $1500.00 retail, and they are easily built to the same standard as any $4000 amp they have been compared to. The VL-Series comfortably fit that model, built with the best parts available and never more than $1500. I was a working artist for many years and I know how important a buck is.

[Q182]

1 hour ago, daveyjones said:

the VL line was marketed as the cheaper alternative to getting a JCM, for sure.

of interest, btw. can you believe the VL-1002 MRP was like fifteen hundred dollars (in 1993/1994) and that was a bargain! i paid less than $450 for mine in 2017 dollars.

Fuck, that's insane! I paid $400 for mine in April 2016.

Did you ever find out when your amp left the assembly line using that Ampeg serial number website?

[daveyjones]

15 minutes ago, Q182 said:

Did you ever find out when your amp left the assembly line using that Ampeg serial number website?

no! got a link? and where's the serial on the unit?

[Q182]

Just now, daveyjones said:

no! got a link? and where's the serial on the unit?

http://www.ampegv4.com/dating.php Scroll to the bottom to the post-1984 section.

The serial is on the back on the left of the Ampeg logo. 

[daveyjones]

14 minutes ago, Q182 said:

The serial is on the back on the left of the Ampeg logo. 

thank dude! mine VL-1002 is unit 0058 [domestic] manufactured in march, 1993.

[Q182]

On 6/12/2020 at 6:09 PM, daveyjones said:

thank dude! mine VL-1002 is unit 0058 [domestic] manufactured in march, 1993.

That's awesome! Mine is unit 0043 [domestic] manufactured in february, 1995. 

It's interesting that yours was made earlier on in its run, and mine was one of the last as they ceased production in '95, the exact month they stopped is unclear.