5150 setup - making the 5150 half sound more like Vai

[Allen Lee]

Ok there the deal, I have been playing for nine years, so I know my way around an amp and effects unite. but I need help. I have a wolfgang that sounds great through the 5150 halfstack (head and 5150 straight cab) but I have a couple JS series guitars and a Jem7VWH that sounds like crap. what should I do? My effects Im running are a Crybaby 535Q, a really old ernie ball volume pedal, a boss CH-5 chorus and a ART Extreme pedal board. I use that for the flange and delay effects. I run the guitar to the SKB board and dont use the effects loop on the amp, it cuts way to much out of the sound. *I want to get a Steve Vai Sound out of the 5150, or Im going to sell it. *What should I do with the settings on the 5150 head? *
thanks
Later
Allen

[Vaibanez]

It would help more if you told us your settings.

Personally, I would use the fx loop and drive the preamp hard to get a good gain level and use the master to controll overall level. Steve also uses a DS-1 pedal in his rig...you might want to start there.

J>

[Allen Lee]

I will give that a try, Ive used the effects loop before but it adds even more "noise" to the 5150 than it already has. *I dont get me wrong I love the amp but I think my music style has kind of evolved. *

[rgr]

Unfortunately running delay and reverb into the front end of a high gain amp can turn the sound to mush. *The analog Boss chorus probably sounds okay and the flange might work, but delay is a big no-no. *To get the sound you want take everything completely out of the chain and add one effect at a time. *I would also recommend a Boss DS-1 or SD-1 in front of the amp. *Try setting the amp for a moderate gain and set the stompbox for low to moderate gain and output a little past the middle. *Adjust tone controls on the amp to taste, on the stompbox you probably want to keep the tone knob less than halfway. *

Hope this helps,
Roger

[Allen Lee]

The ART Extreme stompbox I dont use the distortion, the 5150 and another distortion box sound like crap. Im right now running the effects through the effects loop and it has made the sound alot tighter. *So that worked on that asspect of it, but Im still having trouble with the distortion, even on the clean channel of the 5150 and using the ART's distortion, well a cat getting hit by a car comes to mind. *And thats at all levels on both the head and effects unit. *But I will keep monkeying around.
Thank for your help.
Later
Allen

[pri0531]

Here is my set up and my $.02:
VWH / UV777PBK and various other guitars into Boss Compressor/Sustainer - Bad Horsie Wah - 5150

Effect loop *Midiverb 4 (for reverb and delay) - Rockman 16 band eq (mids not scooped) - BBE Sonic Maximizer

5150 Lead Settings Pre - 5.5, Lows 8, Mid 5.5, Highs 4, Reverb 5, Post 2.5 - 3, Res. 7.5, Pres. 3.5

The prob with the 5150 is that the highs are in your face. *I have to use the eq to tweak the highs and play with the mids to alter the sound of distortion a bit. *I am trying to get more of a sustain distortion rather than a cruchy distortion. *

I put 10s on the VWH and the UV and it seemed to add a bit of a larger tone to the sound (IMO). *

Good Luck with your quest.

Out,
Gregory *

[toneseeker]

I use a 5150 combo with my 7VW and it rocks...couldnt ask for a better distortion sound...........my set up includes....and these first two are crucial ....... a boss GE7 and *a BBE Sonic Maximizer in the effects loop *which are always on. I also use a boss dd3 and Chorus ensemble *in the loop. In the front is a Bad Horsie .

I have a smooth *creamy distortion which I can make as hot as I want either with the guitars volume/tone *or the amps Pre gain levels... * *I also have JJ eurotubes in the amp as well,they definitely help * * * Scott

[rgr]

The ART Extreme stompbox I dont use the distortion, the 5150 and another distortion box sound like crap. Im right now running the effects through the effects loop and it has made the sound alot tighter. *So that worked on that asspect of it, but Im still having trouble with the distortion, even on the clean channel of the 5150 and using the ART's distortion, well a cat getting hit by a car comes to mind. *

The reverse of what I said earlier applies to distortion, it sounds like crap in an effects loop. *