“Only they who believeth in their guitar quest shall be granted passage”

Category: Amplifiers

Marshall MS-2 checksound on soundcloud.com

For us guitarists, there are lot of ways in introduce our music to world. this time I’m using soundcloud instead of YouTube to share what really it sounds like. i made a playlist about this, not too deep in details since this mini pocket amp (?) is simple gear for our needs in practicing our guitar learning. but this mini amp somehow satisfies me inside my room (this marshall ms-2 rocks ! ). so here they are, some sound samples:
Marshall MS-2 clean set 1 – volume at 9 o’clock, tone at 12 o’clock , clean mode

clean set 1

clean set 2 – volume at 12 o’clock, tone at 12 o’clock , clean mode

clean set 2

clean set 3 – volume at 5 o’clock(full), tone at 12 o’clock , clean mode

clean set 3

Marshall MS-2 OD set 1 – volume at 9 o’clock, tone at 12 o’clock , OD mode

OD set 1

OD set 2 – volume at 12 o’clock, tone at 12 o’clock , OD mode

OD set 2

OD set 3 – volume at 5 o’clock(full), tone at 12 o’clock , OD mode

OD set 3

for this record purpose I’m using my fender telecaster spalted maple guitar and my Zoom Q3HD camcoder directly without any edits (and without amazing guitar licks, one thing i totally forgot about).

umm, actually i put the marshall upside down for this record purpose, so the right picture is right down below:

well, i guess anyone who read this hopefully get some thoughts about this mini amp. here i share you the checksound playlist on soundcloud.com

good day virtuosos!

August 6, 2014
Direct Input for (much!) better Output

Have you ever consider using DI box for your live performances, or your recordings? what is EXACTLY a DI Box anyway? does it really a tool for better sound output? all these questions are being asked around here and there, but actually, for me, i can’t hear the differences,at least, not with passive DI box. okay, so what’s the point in this post anyway?well, i tried to read and summarized all sources i can get which brought me to some conclusions. yes… (one of stupid things I’ve done is writing something i don’t actually know, but here it is)DI box is important it regains the lost signal of your guitar sound. it converts high-impedance, line level, unbalanced output guitar signal to a low-impedance microphone level balanced input to mixers. the low impedance allows the signal to be sent over long cable runs with significantly less signal loss.

…. the lower impedance (around 600 ohms is normal) allows an insignificant load to the input of a mixing console or preamp which is also designed to accept input from low impedance microphones. – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DI_unit

something you might find on stages is, you don’t hear the honest sound from the stage output. it is different from your sound set while you want the output is exactly the same as you hear on stages. A direct input box will help you to get that. by lowering the risk of lost signal, you will get your sound much better.

which one do i choose? passive or active DI box? that’s a good question. well, honestly, what i’ve done to get the answer is by searching on the internet and find stuff with “built especially for guitar: label.. hahaha, and i got a DI Box, not too cheap, The ULTRA-G GI100 active DI box made by Behringer.

Behringer ULTRA-G GI100 active DI box

things i got from using this active DI box are great. the cabinet simulator button helps me so much in getting the warm tone at the output sound from the mixer. it’s really helpful for you who uses analog effects with hi gain distortion and overdrive. sometimes our analog effects are just too harsh for the PA speakers, the cabinet simulation button will handle that problem. you can see on the next picture here, the ‘virtual 4×12″ cab’ button, yes, that button helps me in any stage conditions.

Behringer ULTRA-G GI100 active DI box

this DI Box has a dB cut feature. it cuts -20 dB plus more -20 dB , so you don’t have to worry about damaging your Head-cabinet Amp. you can see the connection examples provided by Behringer in PDF file. the pad button will cut your frequency as you can see on the next picture here:

Behringer ULTRA-G GI100 active DI box

well, this DI box isn’t like the class A DI box, and i haven’t try other DI Box. if you need suggestion, of course i will say that i wanna have a Radial JDV™ Active Super Direct Box on my setup, hahaha.. see you next post.

Radial JDV™ Active Super Direct Box
January 30, 2014
Marshall MS-2, cute little hard rock served on your desk

This Marshall MS-2 sounds louder than you think. yes, it’s a mini-amps product by +Marshall Amplification and you can have much fun with this. I bought this new and it’s made by Marshall manufacture in Vietnam. Marshall Amplification is a British company, well-known as one of the best guitar amps builders. You may have the big ones, but for this Marshall MS2 Micro Amp, I’d say this is my good stuff.one thing i like about Marshall Amps is that they are being honest about the guitar tones. they will amplify anything that came out from any kind of guitar honestly. if your guitar has ugly sound (like my lovely first electric guitar), then Marshall amps will take that ugly tone into the loudest sound you’ve ever heard. Actually it’s a real good thing, if you want to buy a new guitar, please consider to hear it through Marshall Amps. (hear check sound: marshall ms-2 here)

here few pictures i made:

quite nice isn’t it? here i shared a video about Marshall MS 2 with some effects pedals. here it is:

well, what do you think about this Marshall MS2 Micro Amp?
September 30, 2013
how many times i met Roland Jazz Chorus JC-120 ?

Roland Jazz Chorus JC-120 is my favorite. i met few combos on stages and this combo amp impressed me. in a week, i play on at least minimum 2 stages those use Roland Jazz Chorus JC-120 and i see no reason to explain why. almost all know that Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus has a great tone enhancements. some metal users might not like it because it is not big enough or any other reasons, but for me Roland Jazz Chorus JC-120 helps me a lot on my playing and sound options.

here i shared some pics about Roland Jazz Chorus JC-120.
Roland Jazz Chorus JC-120 has a great way to modify guitar tone. it has overdrive and reverb effect, vibe and chorus switch-knob effects. try them, those effects will changes our guitar tone significantly.

some might think i never met other one 🙂 but i made some comparisons while playing combos on stage, some might like PEAVEY bandit 112 on my previous post about combo amp, but we should explore stuff and being open-minded about these things right? i love learning and finding new things, especially anything about my love, guitar.
May 23, 2013