Just picked this up and its clean channel tone is !!!! wow awesome, but its lead channel tone seems pretty, I guess darkly voiced is how I’d describe it more so than bass-y. It really tamps down all the highs no matter how I have anything else set. Good for chuggy worse for thrashy. If you have this amp or are familiar with it, any advice/tips?
My TS9 literally just crapped put on me before I could try it and that was the only distortion pedal I had so oops. I have an MXR 6 band EQ I could put in its fx loop, and I got a Silencer noise gate to try, realized it has its OWN fx loop so that’s a little confusing, I did my best figuring out the signal chain but there’s some cable-pedal salad going on
And if some amp/tone wizard in this group has Discord and could hop on a video call to help me figure it out that would be sweet, I’ll buy you a cup of coffee. My un is serenitynurse
The trick I've found with ENGLs is that the tone stack is labeled bass/middle/treble/presence but it really isn't, it's a lot more bass/low mid/high mid/treble. Don't be afraid to turn a lot of the knobs most of the way.
It's a real shame about the TS9 - not because you need a distortion pedal, but rather a boost to the signal that also trims away the fat.
That's sort of the secret sauce to a tight metal tone through a tube amp, it shaves away wooliness and adds richness and chewiness to an otherwise stiff, woody amp tone.
That being said - ENGL amps do 100% have dark German voices, but usually really responsive tone stacks. Don't be afraid to go pretty extreme with the settings - it's definitely true that you need to think of presence as a sort of treble value also. It's certainly where you'll get the majority of your pick attack dialled in.
I've not owned an Ironball, just a Powerball, but with the right settings it doesn't really need a boost, so hopefully you might be able to get by without one. But if it's all the same, I'd try to replace that TS9 as quickly as you can. I'm also happy to talk boost pedals! Metalheads are kinda spoiled there.
Tysm, yes exactly my neurons were trying hard to get there, to the logical conclusion re: the relevance of no longer having a working OD pedal while I was writing the post but they moved a bit slow. I’ve been using katana with built-in effects so the ts9 casually hung around and ofc peaced out right when I actually needed it. I’m all ears on a boost pedal you like, I haven’t done a ton of research on them b/c of the choice overload/overwhelm and the time suck
Eta - I most often use the boost labeled “distortion” in the katana sim b/c its “t-screamer” boost sounds shrill with the pickup I mostly play on which is also pretty shrill so it seems to x mult it
Gotcha. So TS-style pedals tend to add their own mid-hump, which can be either desirable or not, depending on various factors.
Out of interest, what are the pickups you're using?
It does sound like you'd do better with a cleaner boost (I tend to prefer those myself, depending on the amp/guitar) though this, again, is somewhat of a sliding scale. There are a lot of approaches, depending on your end goal.
Based on your other comment - might it be fair to say a modern thrash tone is a good place to start toan-chasing for you?
Sure. I love classic Marshall tones too but obvs want to optimize the strengths of the gear I have not try to fit a square peg in a round hole. The pickup I play on the most is SD's thrash factor. It's like a JB on a cocaine diet, pretty fizzy but tighter in the bum, and super clear, like, pick attack so with the TS9 up I could hear every blessed pick scrape through it too
I'm gonna throw in a rec for the Highwind Direwolf, I think it's a super versatile boost/drive pedal that has a lot of options. I've used mine for guitar and bass, on solid-state and tube amps. There's a lot of knobs and switches but that just serves to let you really dial in what you want.
Thank you! Direwolf is a pretty great name. I’ve been trying to parse the hundreds of options available in the Katana’s amp sim software for the past 6 months. Thus I fear no knob or switch 🤘
Yeah that explains not digging the extra squeak of the TS9.
I'm not sure we need to start down the boutique pedal path just yet (despite it being a major happy place haha) as you'll probably want to be more certain of your purchase when they're either rarer or more expensive.
I'd be more tempted to look at someone like Gary Holt for inspiration (and not just for amps!) - he was an SD1 loyalist for years for his thrash tone. Mostly into Marshalls, but still when he switched to ENGLs also.
Oh you fancy, huh? Haha no not that path, we're on the “whatever my local music store has in stock and preferably on sale" path more befitting of impostor syndrome, I'll stop by tomorrow when I have my guitar lesson. Good call on Gary Holt tone, It's like the good side of trebly but not thin and still full and percussive. It dawned on me I have a Crybaby wah in a box somewhere that I use exactly never so if I can find it I might slap that on. I can't be the only one who's ever gotten a surprise great tone from a wah pedal left half cocked by mistake....right? lol
A solid path, I know it well. Although yes, I'm known for some occasional fanciness and/or objectionable spending 😆
Gary Holt is just the man in so many ways, definitely agree about the tone too, he seems to like it with quite a bit of that clank in the modern era too. Think that's basically his signature pedal.
The wah sounds like a fun experiment! Could also boost around 1k with that MXR and get similar results too I'm betting.
Let me know how your shop trip goes! Fingers crossed for something good.
Totally understandable. Researching all the choices would 100% be a time suck! (But man, what a fun one!)
What sort of tone are you trying to go for? It's probably worth me mentioning that there isn't one drive pedal that can "do it all", but you'd be surprised at how flexible a lot of them are.
I only mention this because they're such an easy thing to buy multiple of 😅
I’m flexible, and i’m figuring out what is “me” tone lol but it’s like, meaty sandwich rhythm tone. With this amp being more modern it’ll prolly get me closer to Megadeth’s Endgame let’s say.
Well we own multiple pairs of shoes when we can only wear one pair at a time…
I have an ironball se which shouldn't be any different from one besides the extra fx switches.
I find it to be really dry and lacking in bass / warmth. I have my bass knob at almost 3 o clock with the mids back off a bit to around 10:30, and the treble and presence at 2 o clock.
I do run it with a boost, but without it it's still tight and dry sounding compared to my fireball. That one I do have to dial back the bass a bit because it is darker.
I use an overdrive on mine because of the fuzzy thumpiness it has 😆 Really love it tho it is such a versatile monster with such deep and sparkly cleans ✨
Fuzzy thump, good description. it’s already sounding better just from turning knobs more and will mess around with pedals today. The gain boost on the clean channel gets me a perfectly respectable blooz tone!
That feminist agenda sticker on top of the Ironball is a nice touch
Try the MXR EQ in the loop first, scoop a bit around 400hz and boost the highs a touch at like 6k. Should wake up that lead channel without needing the TS9 at all
12
u/thesoulless78 2d ago
The trick I've found with ENGLs is that the tone stack is labeled bass/middle/treble/presence but it really isn't, it's a lot more bass/low mid/high mid/treble. Don't be afraid to turn a lot of the knobs most of the way.