Sound question

[Willb526]

Hey guys

My current rig is an extremely simple one
Ibanez RG565
Laney GH50l
Maxon OD9 Pro+

I like it for most things i do.. but at some point i feel as though it lacks some balls for the type of music my band plays.. which is Prog

anyways im looking to upgrade my rig and i was looking into a Vh100r because it offers a reverb tank...
i was wondering if you guys think it would be a good idea to upgrade my amp or just go with an effects processor to put in front of my GH50l
If so what are some quality processors for a decent price..
I intend to stick with my maxon to boost my amp's distortion... and i also have full intentions on getting an ISP Decimator no matter which route i take

Any suggestions on a near perfect rig set-up that does everything from PG to BTBAM would be amazing

thanks guys

Will

[Yousef]

The Laney lacks balls even with a boost? Switch the amp then.

When I got my tube amp at first I had tbe gain on full and to boost it with a TS9 all the time to get a nice chunky sound, but since I changed the tubes my gain is at 2 o clock with no TS9. Try that? A fresh set of tubes.

[rastachild]

i've got that laney head. and i also have a modded ts9, so in that respect our set-ups are similar. however, i am running the laney just slightly dirty on the low input (still gritty, but cleans up well when volume is lowered a little) and the ts9 on top is good for a rock rhythm. i also have a bb xotic preamp on top of that though for an additional boost. the bb xotic is very transparent and merely adds more gain without messing with the inherent tone. the only other thing i have running is the barber tonepress compressor. it's not a super heavy metal tone, but it is a ballsy rock tone. however, if you go into the 'high' input, that setup yeilds a decidedly more metal tone. so i'd just suggest adding another overdrive to your current set up. that is unless you just don't like the inherent tone of your amp. then you might want to look into a completely different type of amp like mesa, peavey (jsx), etc.

[Tank]

Does it also lack the balls when you play alone?

Sometimes it is only the frequencies that crash your tone when playing with the whole band. Especially Prog and speed bands have so many people playing the same frequencies that everything starts to sound mushy and without foundation.

So before investing in a new amp I would highly suggest to take someone who has experience with stage setups (a sound technician preferrably) to one of your rehersals and let him EQ your whole band (including drum setup).

Then if you still lack the balls you might want to look into an 5150 or JSX with a 4x12.

[smooth55]

+1 to what Tank said. There have been several different bands I've played with where EQing things out properly ridiculously enhanced our sound. If it doesn't give you enough on your own though, I'll second the JSX option for a new amp.

[shogun]

a processor sure isn't going to add any 'balls' to the situation

[6fingers]

Originally Posted by shogun

a processor sure isn't going to add any 'balls' to the situation

+1
Plus your bedroom tone must be completely different from your stage tone.
When you play alone in your bedroom there's no bass there so guitarists used to add too much bass too make it sound fuller.
Guitars are mid range instruments like human voice,at the stage if you add too much bass it'll embrace bass and kick drum and everything will sound like a mass.
At the stage less bass and more mids can give you more balls.
But if your amp doesn't has enough distortion,buy an amp that has all distortion you want.
That's why I love mesa boogies,without any pedal I can play from clean to death metal,I don't need boosters and distortion pedals.
You could buy a mesa boogie dc-3 or dc-5 amp on evilbay.
They're pretty cheap these days.
They have awesome cleans and powerful distortion.
DC series came right before Mark series.
I have my dc-3 for about 12 years and I'd never sell it.
Well just an idea.

[Willb526]

Thanks guys..

And by the way... I wasn't seeking a processor for "balls"....
It would be merely for the fact of having a tool to color my sound when needed...