Amp suggestions to balance out MFDs

[mikemjr12]

Wondering what amps you guys are using with your MFD equipped G&Ls. Given the inherent bright character of most of my G&Ls - ASAT Special, Comanche, S-500 - do people generally compliment them with darker amps or tweak your current amps?

I've read the thread on demystifying the Comanche and whatnot, but wanted to gather more opinions. Right now I have a Mesa Boogie Mark V. Terrific amp, but it's naturally present and I find myself really scaling down treble and presence. I'm wondering if something like a Blackstar or Orange would be a more natural fit.

So let's hear some of your suggestions on amps and eq tips!

[NickHorne]

I just run the treble control on the guitar (Asat Z-3, Asat Bluesboy, Asat Special) around 7 most of the time, particularly for the back pup, unless I really want some sting, and then it's there ready for me. And I seldom run Volume right up either; from 7 or 8 upwards is just for extra, afterburner drive.
I use a Deluxe Reverb reissue, with the "bright" cap removed and an Eminence Red White and Blues. The negative feedback from the speaker output jack is also reduced, via a pot, although I don't remember the value, I'm sorry. Treble and bass both = 5 @ amp most of the time (can vary with room).
This is for a bright-ish voice (except for the Bluesboy), on the dirty edges of clean, with nuts.
The modern rethink of the DR (called the '68, or something like that?) pretty much does this out of the box.

[fianoman]

Rather than changing my amps to suit, I tried a number of guitar strings. I found that the Elixir Polyweb strings did it for me. Took the ice pick out of my Special, warming it up and really made it fit in with my gear. I have a number of different guitars and didn't want to tweak everything for the MFDs. A cheap fix if it works for you! Nanowebs=bright, Polywebs=warm. Good luck.

[john o]

like fianoman, i like the various elixir strings on some of my guitars. currently i use nanowebs on my LP and my SC-2. they are nice and silky, less new string squeak, and durable, last 2-3 times as long. i have used the polywebs as well, very nice, a little less bright. again, silky smooth.

re: amp, i have been using Carvin V3m thru 2x12 for rock gigs. with the comanche, it is just a killer rock combination that covers a broad range from slick cleans to moderate crunch that punches u in the face. i love it.
Agree with OP on tweaking the tones - with comanche, need to be careful with amp presence, I usually set to the left of 5. Amp treble 6-7 instead of 7-8 with other gtrs. Amp mids 3-7 depends on the song. On the guitar, treb depends on the song, anywhere 5-9. I keep bass 5-6

[Fumble fingers]

what kind of music do you play ??

........ I have a MK V too and find myself endlessly tweaking it when ever I change guitars and actually have it on the local CL for sale , love my early 3 channel Dual Recto though , favorite amp at the moment ..... my Fender Super Reverb and Twin Reverb sound good with MFD's .... I have a couple Carvin's that sound great , V3m and a VT 50 head that both sound good with MFD's ..... a lot depends on the music you play

[mikemjr12]

I play mostly rock, garage, blues kind of stuff. I recently traded in some gear for one of the new(ish) Fender Bassbreaker 15 Combo amps and it jives really well with the Comanche. Reacts well to the PTB system and so I'm able to get the settings on the amp and adjust the guitar. Works great going from the neck for cleaner tones to the Will Ray bridge PUP for more classic rock rhythm. Also picked up a Blackstar HT 20 Studio on a discount and that also pairs nicely with the Comanche. It's a naturally darker amp and balances out the brightness of the MFDs.

[KenC]

I've never played a Comanche, but I run all of my other G&Ls into small Fender tube combos. The current amp lineup is a mid-'70s Champ, a '68 Vibro Champ and a '65 Princeton (those are the production years, not the new "65" and "68" models). Every combination is a little bit different, but overall I'd say the Champ is the most versatile for overdriven or clean/chimey sounds with most of the MFDs. The Champ and Vibro Champ both start to break up with the volume around 3, if the guitar's volume is all the way up. A nice clean boost in the chain sends either of them to overdriven bliss.

I tend to go with the Princeton if I want to play clean or add in off-board reverb.

Ken

[Nedmundo]

I play mostly rock, garage, blues kind of stuff. I recently traded in some gear for one of the new(ish) Fender Bassbreaker 15 Combo amps and it jives really well with the Comanche. Reacts well to the PTB system and so I'm able to get the settings on the amp and adjust the guitar. Works great going from the neck for cleaner tones to the Will Ray bridge PUP for more classic rock rhythm.

That's good to hear, and I'm not surprised. I attended a Fender demonstration of the Bassbreakers at a large GC, and was very impressed. I'd love to have one of those.

My main guitar amp is a Fender '68 Custom Deluxe Reverb. The Comanche mostly sounds great, but I'd prefer a warmer amp generally, and one with more flexible EQ, largely to cut some midrange for more traditional tones from the neck pickup. The PTB bass cut helps, of course, but I suspect the Comanche would benefit from more bands of EQ, like the five-band graphic EQ on a Mesa Express. I did switch to DR Pure Blues strings for more warmth, which helped, and I'll try the Elixirs others have mentioned.

But this is all based on playing at home (I play bass in bands), and it's entirely possible the slight harshness of the Comanche/Fender combination would be fantastic in a rock band mix. I'm sure it would cut through, just like my G&L basses with MFD pickups (M-2500 and SB-2). For example, when cranked into breakup territory and with the treble suitably cut, the Comanche's bridge pickup delivers spectacular rock tone through the Fender. It's really nasty, but in the best possible way.

[mikemjr12]

Definitely true about what the context is. Volume of playing and competition from instruments makes a huge difference. The Mark V with my Bluesboy was a great combo when used live. I mostly kept the pickup selector in the neck or middle position and switched channels depending on the song. But i definitely did not have the amp eq'd correctly for the bridge MFD if I needed it. I had to add bass and decrease presence on the neck humbucker which is generally thought of as being dark.

But I would recommend the Bassbreaker 15 combo. So far I've used it with the Comanche and ASAT Special and both sounded great, though the Comanche is much less effort to dial in different tones than the special because of the PTB. ASAT Special only gets really saturated on the High gain structure, and at that point it becomes really compressed and hums. But that's why I have the Comanche for higher gain crunch and the ASAT special for clarity and lower gain settings.

[Asat1]

maybe good to understand this posting better knowing following points
1 i just recently have a asat special tribute
2 i only play at home
3 i am used to play with Bill Lawrence pickups

The asat special has a build in attitude so i had to adjust the amp settings, was not plug and play with a boomy bass.
did a complete setup and had to lower the pickups to balance bridge and neck pickup one output volume. bridge pickup seems to be lower in output than the neck.
( did a shield job on the control cave to with alu tape)
strings DR hi beam electric LHR9, used these for the setup but i think they are not right for this guitar. high e sounds very thin
so i think i go with the strings that i normally us Daddario XL nickel wound super light EXL120

amp is a engl gigmaster 310, has a mid boost switch.
bass, mid and high are just a little past 12 o clock. ( also played it with bass on 10 o clock and sounded fine to
together with the mid boost, and very good working volume and tonepot on the asat i can get all kind of sounds and it absolutely will growl if needed

[mojokorn]

I play my SC-2 through a Mark V with a custom 2x10 cab loaded with the Eminence RF10-C - sounds great!. The RF10C is the newer low-cost ceramic version of the Red Fang 10 (Alnico). Most people thing that 10s are brighter, but that's not true - the brightness comes from the coli former. Kapton is bright, aluminum (old school) is crazy bright, but the Paper and Nomex sound great. The coil former is actually a bigger difference than the type of magnet.

The RF10C naturally smooths out the top end, and the 10 inch is punchier and tighter than 12s (IMO). A great match with the MFDs.

I should also note that I only use the Mark V for the clean channel and use The Dude (D-type) drive.

Hope this helps

[themikeaustin]

Lowering the pickups will reduce the brightness, IMO. The MFDs have enough output to withstand being lower and in my experience it also improves the sustain.