3,968 posts
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Post by salteedog on Jan 31, 2019 13:25:32 GMT
It might be over-kill but the benefit of the little box is that you can just use a standard speaker cable with jacks plugs at each end to plug into a external cabinet (most of which are usually fitted with such jack sockets).
But for the immediate job at hand - yes it's certainly overkill. I just posted it so we could see if there was any de-soldering required.
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DefJef
THBC Moderator
Due to musical differences I've decided I can't work with myself any more.
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Post by DefJef on Jan 31, 2019 14:09:33 GMT
I noticed that, saltee, so I had another look. Yep, what looked like a soldered connection turned out to be a skinny spade connector, much narrower than the positive one. Combination of trying to peer behind the Kat without tipping it off its tilt peg foot 'cos then I'd have to fiddle around trying to get THAT back out again, and being upside down so my glasses were falling off my nose and onto my forehead, wasn't helping matters!
So, good. Then I found two crocodile clips and that bell wire so it was a cinch attaching the Kat to the Champ. So what did I discover? A much better sound, bigger and bolder but, I still suspect, not with quite the same lower end presence of the Bugera. Trouble is, it's been so long since I disconnected the Bugera and safely made sure I wasn't no-loading it, then making up those cables and connecting those up, that I can't quite remember! Blow me backwards if this old age ain't crippling me!
I still, of course, haven't gone into the Kat's global eq setting either. So that's next, to get the best sound I think I can achieve from the Kat on clean, crunch and maybe brown, record it and then compare with the reinstated Bugera. My hunch is that the Bugera is still going to at least inch it, if not blow it away.
What is clear, though, is that the Katana has never sounded better, is really impressing me, and making me wonder if I shouldn't possibly go for the 100 head version and sell the 50 combo. I can see a lot of plus points for doing so. It's own speaker and cab are not helping it.
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3,968 posts
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Post by salteedog on Jan 31, 2019 15:27:47 GMT
Saw this posted somewhere recently and I decided to save it. Might be handy.
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DefJef
THBC Moderator
Due to musical differences I've decided I can't work with myself any more.
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Post by DefJef on Jan 31, 2019 15:45:49 GMT
Nice, thanks for that saltee. Another thought about the 100w head: it solves the speaker/cab problem. It's lighter, by a few miles, than the Bugera. It has an effects loop and midi, line, speaker and phones/record out (and usb but ). Plus it has the presence knob, 4 channel buttons, the 100 watts so cleaner headroom...AND that little 30 watt 5" built in speaker to take it up the garden. That's probably more useful than the Blackstar id core! BUT, and it's a vital 'but', can it do Bugera goodness? And it's a LOT of money so new will probably not be an option. The head actually seems a bit overpriced next to the 100 combo. Maybe the 100w combo would be the best of all worlds if the speaker and cab make the sound better. I've read a lot of comparisons where folks say the whole playing enjoyment is improved on the 100 vs the 50. Well, I won't risk it unless the Kat50 can get close after global eq adjustments. Let's see.
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3,968 posts
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Post by salteedog on Jan 31, 2019 15:56:43 GMT
Or speaker swap on the Kat 50?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2019 16:03:44 GMT
Im not ignoring this thread. Fact is I've written 5 replies since the mention of that Sword Amp, and deleted all of them as I dont want to insult anyone with my views. Any way, in case you start thinking about an actual cab for the Bug then by all means look into the 112 Bugera cab as that Turbosound speaker is a nice sounding speaker. Here is my 8" Turbosound in the V5 version miced with 57 clone mic. Amp driven slightly with NUX Drive Core. https%3A//soundcloud.com/papa-dusko/the-cat-is-on-the-roof-staring-at-the-moon-finished-track%3Fin%3Dpapa-dusko/sets/the-harley-benton-bandIm considering buying the V22 Combo version as that Blue Turbosound is well matched for them! I remember playing that V22 Inf Combo in a shop and liked the Clean and Drive channels. ... unless I buy the VOX AC10 C1
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3,968 posts
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Post by salteedog on Jan 31, 2019 17:37:24 GMT
Will you post the recordings for us in the peanut gallery?
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DefJef
THBC Moderator
Due to musical differences I've decided I can't work with myself any more.
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Post by DefJef on Jan 31, 2019 17:40:06 GMT
Did the looper thing and I need to stop for the day. I'm on information overload and I'm surrounded by amps and stuff. But here are my general summings up of how I feel at the end of day one. 1. I haven't been into the global settings of the Katana 50 but, with the combo settings I have available via the knobs, it lacks bass presence and detail. 2. The Katana also needs a better speaker/cab. Into a decent one the tone is generally rounded up more but that bass/lower mids area is still lacking and there is not a nice top shine either. It probably records well enough, but solo in a room, it has no character that you could put your finger on. 3. The Bugera has that wider frequency range that sounds nice in the bass and in the top frequencies. 4. The Bugera's eq knobs are disappointingly limited in effect. Sometimes they interplay a little with each other but mostly, the presence knob or the mid boost has the biggest effect, and not always in a good way. I tended to prefer not to use the mid boost and I tended to prefer the normal channel and the pentode mode for a warmer, rounded sound. 5. The cleans are best but there is a disappointing lack of any form of added crunch as the clean knob volume is wound up. Max clean is just about the same as min clean. It's a nice sound, very Fendery (more of that later). 6. To get some crunchiness you have to use the 'lead' channel. A little volume dialed in and that breakup sound is achieved. Any more distortion and I'm not really keen. The eq controls seem to have even less effect here. I played that looper in and twizzled the bass knob and it appeared to do nothing very much at all, mid didn't do much either and the treble made things a but more painful. You could add harshness with the mid boost knob or by adding some presence but, all in all, it didn't feel like the valve overdrive I had been hoping for. Maybe it's not valve overdrive that I like but something else? Maybe this really is how valve overdrive should sound? Maybe that's why I didn't like the Blackstar HT Dual? Maybe that pedal did a perfectly fine valve overdrive and I just don't like it? Oh and the reverb is pretty nice and usable, not quite like my Champ's but nice enough...hmm...that Fender Champ. 7. I hadn't planned to but, in light of these findings, I thought I'd go back to playing my Champ. Undid the the speaker, plugged it all back together and played the looper into the Champ. Hell, the cleans here were equal to the Bugera. Same deep chime, lots of bass definition, and eq controls that really made a difference. All in all, and not surprisingly, very Fendery! I took the looper out and just played direct into the Champ and there I was again, just like when I swapped from the Pacifica to the tele, a sound I could really gel with. And the reverb was better than the Bugera too. 8. I had a thought, I wonder how bad this solid state drive channel really is compared with the Bugera's valves? And d'you know what? It sounded very similar. If I set the gain to as minimal as possible and found the one sweet spot on the contour control that doesn't sound goddawful, it sounded pretty similar to the Bugera. Not a sound I would normally use but certainly apparently equal to the Bugera's. So, either I don't need any new amp and the Champ is my tool of choice, or my ears and brain are shot after a day of this and I have no clue what I'm doing. I'm giving it a break. Starting afresh at the weekend. No looper next time. Just me into each amp doing the same few tunes and record them all. But, before comparing how those recordings sound I will compare just how I feel, and how my playing felt. In the end, that's all that matters. Maybe if I'd never had the Champ, the Bugera may have impressed me, I suspect it probably would, but I am beginning to think I don't need it if all it can do is most of the things that my Champ can do but less flexibly.
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Post by Vincent on Jan 31, 2019 17:54:00 GMT
Just a thought. Could it be the sampled sounds you are using in the looper that the EQ parameters are not gelling with? Live direct guitar might be different? A Digital verses Analogue thing?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2019 18:01:36 GMT
I think the biggest disappointment is finding that three valves in a pre amp don't necessarily mean instant magic. I'm very sad about that. . Let me remind you that playing Roswell pickups into my beloved Bugera V55 with 3 pre-amp tubes also sucked the magic out of it all for me. Once I plug in my Ironstone Te or St pups into it all the magic rushes back in , or out of those 3 pre tubes Maybe those Tele pups you have gel with your Champ very well and you need no better amp but to find a OD pedal that works well with your Champ.
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Post by Vincent on Jan 31, 2019 18:14:14 GMT
I have a seldom used looper and the sampled sound does not equal my direct sound to even my old ears. You are in testing mode at the moment. When you forget about it and enter playing mode the nuances will reveal themselves more readily. Have fun :-)
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