Tools of the Trade (pt. 2)

I usually don’t like to talk about my amp setup to people because it is something I took a long time to put together.  I am a firm believer in separation of tones and instruments, for example; I don’t like to use thick speaker cabinets with lots of bass response because it defeats the purpose of having a bass player.  People seem to forget how to layer tones and sound live and in the studio.  If you have super low detuned guitars with thick tone and a low bass tone, your tone isn’t going to sound huge.  It is going to sound muddy and out of tune.  So for these reasons I like to use an amp with lots of mid-range and treble projection.  My old rig used to consist of a 1986 Marshall JCM 800 (50 Watt) for my dirty channel and a 1968 Fender Bassman (50 Watt) for my clean channel.  I ran each head through a separate Orange 212 closed back cabinet loaded with Celestion V-30 speakers.  I recently however switched to a local Minneapolis company, KJ-Audio.  I now use a KJ-Audio 50 Watt head for my dirty channel and my JCM 800 for my clean.  I run each head through a separate KJ-Audio 412 open back cabinet loaded with Mojotone British V-30 speakers.  I love the sound of the open back 412’s and I highly recommend this to anyone who is seeking more full tone.  The only thing more important than the amp, are the settings.  Here are my settings for my KJ-Audio (dirty tone)

Presence - 0

Bass - 5

Middle - 7

Treble - 6

Master - 5

PreAmp (Gain) - 6

Here is a picture of my rig. (notice the beer on my head case, essential for good tone)

If you are interested in purchasing a KJ-Audio, e-mail Kris at Kjaudio75@gmail.com and tell him I sent you!