How to dial-in Clean Tones on an ODS?

[Frostbite Slim]

So I have a D-clone of an ODS(100W) and am wondering others preferred Clean settings? Do you all dime the Master Vol. and keep Preamp Vol. low?

Currently mine is set at...

Preamp Vol- 5
Treble- 4
Mid- 5
Bass- 8
Master 7 1/2
Presence- 0

[kevster]

It depends.... Sorry to be so vague, but it's true.

Are you using a C-lator? If you are, then things react differently as the settings on the amp don't necessarily correlate with true volume. The tone controls might differ greatly depending on the switch settings, the speaker mated to the amp, and the guitar itself.

I've got a 50W OTS FM ME with C-lator. Any effects I run are at parity, so I'm not pushing anything on front end. I run the amp with the Bright+/Deep/Rock switches ON and the following:

Preamp Vol- 5-7
Treble- 4-5
Mid- 3-7 (depending on the musical style and my mood)
Bass- 4-6
Master 6-7
Presence- 3-4

I keep the tone controls down so as to leave some room for the PAB to have the headroom to actually increase the volume.

You need to understand the nature of the amp and the musical style you want to play with it. Sometimes you need to push the power amp, sometimes the pre (or sometimes both), but once you know that you should know where to start with volume/gain settings. In my experience with an OTS, you have to have the power amp above 5....

If I go back to the way I was taught to "tune in" an amp... Starting with the amp pre and post volumes at a appropriate level, bring up the highs until you hear overtones, then bring it up the mids, then the bass, and then just tweak a little if necessary. That should be close to the "natural voice" of the guitar and amp. A little presence to taste at the end. That should get you close.

I'd been running the tone controls a little higher than where they are now, and that did put a little more "fuzz" on the clean channel. It sounded good, but made the PAB almost useless. That IS HOW this amp boosts volume, by bypassing the tone stack (basically, full open).... Settings on the C-lator can add a little bit of grit too...

I run my OD trimmer at 8:00-8:30, the level at 5-ish, and the ratio at whatever ends up parity with the clean channel (3.5-6).

I hope that gives you someplace to start...

[Frostbite Slim]

Thanks kevster. I don't use a C-lator. The amp is a NON-Hrm, Skyline model. Dialing it in has been a bit tricky for me, as I'm new to the D-clone type amps. Till now, I've been a BF Fender guy.

[aflynt]

With my #102 clone it's been a bit of a balancing act getting the clean channel sounding clear with the overdrive channel sounding warm. I found that swapping tubes around helped a great deal, though. I higher gain tube in V1 with a lower gain tube in V2 seemed to work best for me. Tone control settings are definitely something that really need to be approached on a case by case basis, though. The guitar and speakers as well as your own personal preferences are big unknown factors. That said, I've heard it mentioned more than once that starting with all the controls set to 12:00 and adjusting to taste is a good approach at the beginning. It worked pretty well for me when I first fired my amp up.

-Aaron

[Teleguy61]

I would suggest that you work on your lead tone before working on your rhythm tone-in other words, the OD sound before the clean sound.
The OD tone is what these amps are about. If you can get a good clean sound, that's nice. But it's not what these amps are about. They are lead amps.

[dobbhill]

TeleyGuy: I respectfully disagree. I get both, without compromise. Others struggle.

Slim:
1)It is hard to get good clean sounds without a good speaker system. By system, I mean a good speaker in a proper cabinet.
2) Personally, I can't get good clean sounds without some significant loudness. My amp likes to be loud. I just needs to push a little air around the room.
3) My amp sounds better in a band context than by itself......

Enjoy the journey.

D

[Structo]

The neat thing about running a Dumbleator with the amp is that you can set your pre-gain and master volume up where the sound is best.

Then control the overall volume with the Dumbleator output pot or return pot if you don't have the volume control.

Clean headroom is way lower on my 50w compared to my 100w.

[Max]

The OD tone is what these amps are about. They are lead amps.

In the introduction to the attached data sheet of a 4th generation "classic" ODS 100W Alexander Dumble explains "what these amps are about".

picture source: http://www.roblivesey.com/dumble/

And BTW: Some players use the clean channel of a Dumble ODS for lead:
https://tubeamparchive.com/viewtopic.ph ... 205#185205
https://tubeamparchive.com/viewtopic.ph ... 206#185206
https://tubeamparchive.com/viewtopic.ph ... 207#185207

Cheers,

Max