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Marshall Live Metal Rig

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  • Marshall Live Metal Rig

    Set up:
    USA Jackson AT-1 with Armstrong covered pickups (they sound alot like PAF's to me)
    Marshall JCM900 SLX both channels set up clean. Channel 2 had the preamp level on 3 and is set louder than channel 1 (for solo boost)
    Ibanez DE-7 digital delay in the effects loop always on.
    In front of the amp it goes like this:
    Jackson AT-1--Morley Bad Horsie 2--Boss Metal Zone--Boss CH-5 Stereo Chorus--Tuner--Amp.
    The Marshall was set up:
    Bass-10, Mid-4, Treble-10.
    Cabinet was a Peavey 4 x 12 slant loaded with Sheffields.
    The Metal Zone was set up with all the settings around 50%.
    The Metal Zone controls clean and distortion
    The Marshall amp single button footswitch controls rhythm and solo boost functions.
    Here is my review:
    This is a great set up for rock and metal.
    This Marshall (model #2100 I believe) sounds pretty good by itself but with this set up it killed.
    3 guys came into the room we were playing in and complimented my sound. The other guitar player(who is soon to be replaced by one of our own JCF bro's--details to follow!!)was playing an XXL with the same cabinet as mine. He came up to me at the end of the session and complimented my sound and asked how come he could hear every note I was playing and couldn't hear his sound even though he was standing directly in front of his amp! Answer?? MIDS!!
    The XXL has a fairly scooped nu-metal type amp tone which just can't compete with my mids rich tone.
    Back to the review:
    Cleans: Outstanding. This is all the clean most of us would ever need. Tons of headroom and perfect stage presence.
    Marshall + Metal Zone Channel 1: Killer heavy rhythm channel. Even sounds good with the volume on the guitar rolled off.
    Marshall + Metal Zone Channel 2: Fantastic lead tone that cuts through, isn't compressed sounding, and has a very natural harmonically rich sustain. Perfect for soloing.
    Of course, my Bad Horsie 2 Contour wah, the DE7 and the CH-5 all helped out when needed.
    This is a great rig for the rock/metal player. It could easily handle any genre of music from blues to thrash.
    I am pretty sure it would be a fairly affordable set up too.
    Well... there you have it.
    A full review on the Laney PL100 Linebacker Pro head and my Carvin MTS3200 refitted with E34L's will be coming soon.

  • #2
    Re: Marshall Live Metal Rig

    Cool. I could never get the Metal Zone to sound good in any setup that I used it with; way to fuzzy for my liking. But lately I've been hearing that a lot of people are using Metal Zones in there setups and I'm kind of wishing I kept the pedal.

    On the subject of wishing... I only wish that the house I lived in didn't have paper thin walls and I didn't have a roommate that works nights and sleeps during the day... Then I could actually get some experimentation done!

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Marshall Live Metal Rig

      The key to using the metal zone is mids. You need to have the mids around 60% on the Metal Zone and on the particular Marshall I needed the bass setting on the MZ set to around 70%. The gain only needed to be around 40%. The fuzzy tone you are talking about is a combination of clipping and an insufficient midrange level. The MZ has such a powerful gain structure you only need to use as little as possible.

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      • #4
        Re: Marshall Live Metal Rig

        [ QUOTE ]
        The key to using the metal zone is mids. You need to have the mids around 60% on the Metal Zone and on the particular Marshall I needed the bass setting on the MZ set to around 70%. The gain only needed to be around 40%. The fuzzy tone you are talking about is a combination of clipping and an insufficient midrange level. The MZ has such a powerful gain structure you only need to use as little as possible.

        [/ QUOTE ]

        Yep. I found some decent settings but I always felt that something was lacking. Of course, this was 4 years ago almost so I probably had no idea how to dial a reasonable tone back then [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

        And you're definitely right about the gain. With that pedal, I always found that the less gain the better.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Marshall Live Metal Rig

          [ QUOTE ]
          Cool. I could never get the Metal Zone to sound good in any setup that I used it with; way to fuzzy for my liking. But lately I've been hearing that a lot of people are using Metal Zones in there setups and I'm kind of wishing I kept the pedal.

          [/ QUOTE ]

          Yes I had the same problem until I got the modified one on this site: Boss Mods

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Marshall Live Metal Rig

            I played with jcm900 and MZ on the gig once, it was Ok, but nothing special IMO. Plexi and MZ combination is what I like.
            "There is nothing more fearful than imagination without taste" - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

            "To be stupid, selfish and have good health are three requirements for happiness, though if stupidity is lacking, all is lost" - Gustave Flaubert

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            • #7
              Re: Marshall Live Metal Rig

              I was looking at this thread before i went out and put a deposit on the same amp. How wierd. I agree that the head sounds great, even manage to handle my 7 string playing really well.
              93 USA Soloist EDS
              USA HT6 Juggernaut
              Charvel DK24FR

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Marshall Live Metal Rig

                honestly, i don't see how this could sound good. when we toured with ancient their singer/guitar player used the jcm900 slx for one show (set clean, equalizer pretty much all around 12 o'clock on the marshall, with the mt2 in front of it for distortion...the settings were not very scooped or very gainy) and that was the worst sound i've ever heared in my entire life. for most other shows he used the dsl 100 head which sounded better but still very fuzzy with the mt2. and remember, that was with the treble set around 5, and not cranked like you set it up.

                but by the way, i also used the dsl 100 for all of the shows and i got some pretty nice sounds out of it, especially for an oldschool thrash metal type of tone. my only complaint is that it has not enough usable gain. i had it set to 6 on the low gain mode in the lead channel most of the time, and that was about the most i could use for rhythm playing. other than that it was pretty nice actually....although i was happy when i came back and played through my beloved mesa again [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Marshall Live Metal Rig

                  I'm sorta with Fragle...

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Marshall Live Metal Rig

                    i'm not a big fan of the SLX but i can make a jcm 900 (dual reverb/4100) sing. no pedals needed. just has to be cranked loud as hell unless you have a hotplate.
                    Widow - "We have songs"

                    http://jameslugo.com/johnewooteniv.shtml

                    http://ultimateguitarsound.com

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Marshall Live Metal Rig

                      [ QUOTE ]
                      I'm sorta with Fragle...

                      [/ QUOTE ]

                      It sounded good. Real good. Most players would be thrilled with the tone I was getting. Is it the best tone I ever got live? Nope. The Vetta 2 holds that title.
                      I am picky when it comes to tone and yes.. I do fall into the category of being able to make just about any amp or guitar combination sound good but that comes from years of practice and a willingness to turn the darn knobs and search. It sounded really good. I promise.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Marshall Live Metal Rig

                        ah, and by the way, i TOTALLY agree with dreamland rebel regarding his usual pres/treb off mid/bass/gain/volume cranked setting. it sounds great with marshalls! everytime we played a bigger venue where i was able to get the master on the marshall high up i set it up like this and it was KILLER...unfortunately most gigs we played were small to medium sized clubs...most of the time i couldn't set the master higher than 3-4 which is a volume where the marshall needed some treble (around 3-4) to sound good (and the gain backed off).

                        just an off topic side note [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

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                        • #13
                          Re: Marshall Live Metal Rig

                          Like most Marshall's not all SLX's are created equal there are some hot ones out there- a freind has one

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Marshall Live Metal Rig

                            Live, I ran a pair of 4100 Dual Reverbs 900s for quite some time. The rig defintely sang for leads, but truly lacked the heavy low end chunk no matter what EQing I used...

                            When I left them for 5150s, I found major authority, but lost some sweetness. I also found reliability as the Marshalls broke a couple times from getting bounced around in trucks etc. One 900 fried because it was dropped 18 inches into soft wet footbal field sod! Yet, one of my 5150s was ejected 30+ feet from a car into a hillside during an auto wreck and worked fine afterwards.

                            Yep, the trick with the 4100s was EQ in the loop, and a hot wireless or boost pedal in front to slam the front end.

                            Still, mostly a classic 80s-90s metal sound. Definitely not heavy like current Euro stuff. I'd still have one around if I had money to forget about.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Marshall Live Metal Rig

                              Yea definitely with you on 900's lack of reliability and low end-5150 is a great amp for the cash and probably a better purchase for a only amp if you are into heavy stuff.
                              Marshalls definitely have their place though.

                              Lately i am getting burned out on all the detuned music-there are so many garbage low end bands I am getting ready to retube my 800 and maybe have it modded some. I am starting to just get back into the straight rock sound.
                              I watched headbangers a while back and I was just kind of put of by the new formula of talking in a blink 182 voice then a chubby cheeked red-faced kid screaming aahhhaaa. Boring-Maybe I am just getting old

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