Music Man meets 70's ODS meets Trainwreck ZZ Top

[talbany]

Just finished the touch ups on this one.(going more for tone here than playing). I often thought what a good match an 80's Non HRM would sound like on a ZZ Top tune so I ran into a good backing of Cheap Sunglasses.. The line up is a s follows.. Background to the main rhythm is the Music Man.. The solo in the middle was with my 70's amp in OD no fet through 15' Weber high powered Alnico that was in my 1949 tweed Pro
The last solo was with an Express I built.. Both backing track and solo at the end was the 65's.. I thought the 70's w/ the Alnico was pretty sweet and surprised it came out as good as it did.. I messed with quite a few settings here and the best I thought was when I cranked the amp turned down the OD and let the speaker do the work.. I tried using the MM through the 15 as well but liked the 70's here better Breathy.. Guitar was my Gibson 60's Heritage series loaded JB in the Bridge.. be glad to answer any other questions.. Hope you like the track..
BTW.. The Best ZZ tone I got from the MM was Ratio 3 oclock/Level 3oclock and pulled back the Vol and tone on the Gibson..Give it a little more crunch..

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_so ... ID=9192504

Tony

[Guitarman18]

Thanks for sharing this Tony, some really great tones there.

The MM hits the spot for me. Skyliner?

Is that the 70's doing the first solo that starts @ 1:25 ?

I can see I'm going to have to build an Express also.

cheers,

Paul.

[Bob-I]

Some very cool tones and playing there. Very different than the Rev. but they all fit in great.

As much as all the jazzy guys post great tones, this is what I like to hear out of an amp, good straight forward RAWK.

[talbany]

Thanks for sharing this Tony, some really great tones there.

The MM hits the spot for me. Skyliner?

Is that the 70's doing the first solo that starts @ 1:25 ?

I can see I'm going to have to build an Express also.

cheers,

Paul.

Paul
I liked the MM too.. Stock Skyliner w/ Mid boost on.. Let it Eat
That was a no frills crank the drive/ratio throw a 57 on it Boom 1st take
Yep the 70's 1:25 took a little more tweaking but gave me a nice chime horn like throw I thought.. You can really hear that quality with headphones attached.. The 70's didn't have the growl like the MM
The TW was barely cracked and had to use an AT in V1 to calm the gain down a bit..It had a bit more of an edge to it which was cool but I thought was a bit over the top in some places..Those can run away on you pronto..Hope this helps..

Some very cool tones and playing there. Very different than the Rev. but they all fit in great.

Bob Thanks
The middle and last solo on this tune is classic BFG.. Pure feel and tone he is as you know.. Ever try to play those parts like he does is no easy task..Politician is easier..In Billy's world he is untouchable!!

As much as all the jazzy guys post great tones, this is what I like to hear out of an amp, good straight forward RAWK.

Ah How How How How!!!
Tony

[Chad]

Some very cool tones and playing there. Very different than the Rev. but they all fit in great. As much as all the jazzy guys post great tones, this is what I like to hear outof an amp, good straight forward RAWK.

Right on!! Dumbles gives up some kickass rock tones. Pretty much the only sounds coming out of mine. Chad

[CapnCrunch]

Great playing! The Reverend is hard to duplicate, but you pretty well nailed it. This was a great clip because you show case both the Dumble and the TW in ways which are not typical for either of them. Tasty. These quality clips make me realize, I should be practicing rather then reading and posting

[wjdunham]

Very nice Tony, the whole thing stands on it's own I think, more than just a cover or an amp tone demonstration. I get a headache trying to relate all the sounds back to the configurations you posted, so I just listened and enjoyed For this track, I do like the outro solos the best FWIW, very aggressive tone and playing style. Keep 'em coming.
Bill

[Structo]

Sounded good Tony.
Nice throaty lows with just the right mids and highs.

[talbany]

Thaks All
I had heard BFG for several tours back had an Express in his rack..he is now tubeless.What a shame
ODS vs Express
Express
With the right guitar and a set of greenbacks you can get some of that very early BFG waiting for the bus type tone.. The Express is a more focused beamer type tone w/ a great deal more sizzle on the top end ( think 80's)
It lacks the low end girth of the ODS by far..The Express is more raw and in your face and a little more like the Bluesmaster than the Non.. I attribute a big part of this to the 10K tail resistor in the PI that gives it that crunchy PI kind of breakup but the BM is still more refined.The Express is much better suited for shreadding than the Non HRM.. (personally I cringe when I hear someone shreading on a Non Hrm)The Express does respond to the volume and tone controls on the guitar like no other and is a blast to play but IMHO is fairly useless in a small clubs these days where volume is more of a concern.. By the time yo get the amp up to where it begins to respond and bloom it's too loud.. I have better luck with my 100w Dumble in this respect..Totally a matter of taste but for me personally don't really care for the Express as I would rather use a JTM/2204 MV with a couple pedals out live especially w/Strat.. Just me..
NON HRM ODS
IMHO Nothing does the big fat thunky chime rich tone like the ODS NON HRM in particular..There is that point when you add to much gain to try and get it to do the Trainwreck thing and the low end get mushy and the chime gets compressed out and much of the appeal is lost in all the gain..
I find when going to the ODS I have to adjust my playing style and concentrate more on feel than the TW which is more of a grip it and rip it type amp..
Both are wonderful amps and no one is better than the other just different and is the classic case of picking one that better suits your style or what the gig calls for..My ODS-TW Review..Hope it helps

Tony

[stelligan]

Cool tones and playing, Tony. Waitin' for the Bus tones really got me hooked on ZZ Top as a teenager. If your Express can get you there, I just may have another build on the horizon........