Some "input" required

Rick Lodholz · From: Wisconsin, USA

Good evening! I am fairly new at PSG and finally made the jump to a decent amp. (I have a small Crate that I have been using in my home for practice).

I have an NV 400 coming from Mr. Fox that he performed some magic on. It should be here anyday now.

Anyway my question serves two purposes; 1) Hopefully I gain some knowledge and 2) it'll give me something to think about vs. going slowly insane waiting.

For those of you who are familiar with and/or use a NV 400, what settings do you find work best for you???

I will not be using any effects; just steel to VP then to amp. Mostly I'll be playing in a large basement of a log home with some friends who have taken me on as a pet project.

I have been practicing blocking, scales, reading tab, timing and am getting into some theory-circle of fifths, nashville numbering, reading all your posts on sharps/flats/diminished, etc. I am trying to digest it all and it is daunting, but my friends have been very patient with me-(they keep telling me that I am trying to learn too much too fast). And after chucklin at me they take great pains to work through my questions.

My friends really seem to enjoy sharing their knowledge and I am fortunate for the opportunity they are providing. I am excited and intimidated but looking forward to it!

Anyway; I thought it might be beneficial to get some input on my new amp settings from you all. I thank you in advance for your wisdom! You all need to know that this forum and your posts are a virtual wealth of knowledge and us newbies REALLY appreciate all you do! (This forum itself can be somewhat addictive).

Regards

Rick
_________________
The Early Bird May Get The Worm...But The Second Mouse Gets The Cheese!

74 LDG-George L Pup & cables, NV 400 w/extreme mod by Ken Fox, Hilton Pedal, Tama Throne.

International Sho-Bud Brotherhood Member # 1974

Chris Erbacher · From: Sausalito, California, USA

this is going to be advice that others may disagree with but i have been thru this process myself and found i like this best...your milage may vary...i have found that i like my steels (zb custom D11/10, zb custom s-10) to be played thru amps with the mids all the way up...i have played thru a webb, a 70's fender twin with jbls, a nv 400, an older peavey (the chorus model but i forget it's exact model name), and a marshall...my steels sound best when the mids are all the way up, add bass (around 3 for a fender amp) until it is tight and not flabby sounding, and then bring up the highs until you are satisfied...on my twin it is around 4 or so depending on the gig and room type...i played for a year with the mids cut and never was satisfied with my sound as it felt like there was no beef so to speak in the sound...when i turned the mids all the way up, the difference was amazing...try different configurations and do some research here on the forum, there are plenty of posts that talk about this subject and good advice to use a s a guide...in many ways you are at a cool point in finding your sound and maybe just twisting the knobs till you are satisfied will get you on your way. i know i spent a lot of time trying different things and then found the sound i like the best and now i know how to set up my stuff to my liking...keep in mind that the preamps are different, or behave differently on different brand amps, so you have to sorta get used to your sound and know in general how to set it up in case you are in front of an amp you are unfamiliar with...good luck and have fun...

Rick Lodholz · From: Wisconsin, USA

Chirs;

Thanks for your advice! I understand that everybody has different tastes/ears and I am just looking for thoughts and ideas. I have always felt that the best advice was to get all the advice you can then make your own best "informed" decision and move on from there.

I'm somewhat nervous not having had a 400 before and then jumping right into one that has Ken's "intense mod" along with some other work-changed the speaker and lightened it up, etc.

So, as I said I'm just gathering info. This extended family that exists on this forum is truly a wondrous thing and again I appreciate you all taking time to post a response.

Regards

Rick
_________________
The Early Bird May Get The Worm...But The Second Mouse Gets The Cheese!

74 LDG-George L Pup & cables, NV 400 w/extreme mod by Ken Fox, Hilton Pedal, Tama Throne.

International Sho-Bud Brotherhood Member # 1974

Craig A Davidson · From: Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin USA

Rick go to the Peavey website and download the manual. There are some great settings there to start from. When I had mine I set mine like this:

Bass 3 o"clock

Mid 9 o'clock

Shift 800

Highs 11 o'clock - 1 o'clock

Presense 1 o'clock

Ray Montee · From: Portland, Oregon (deceased)

For me, I'd have to determine WHAT TONE/SOUND is it that has captured MY MIND/EAR!!!!!

Then turning all of the amp knobs to ZERO........
I'd start by dialing in a small increment at a time, on just one knob. THESE are not like the radios of olde, like Zenith, Admiral, etc. You don't just turn them on and bang, it's there.

You have to milk each knob for the precise setting YOUR DESIRE. WHen you get that first knob close to where YOU THINK YOU WANT IT, move on to the next knob.

Repeat this process and then go back and readjust as necessary. It might take YOU a little time in the beginning to accomplish this, it will pay huge dividends in the long run.

Taking your amp to another location can and often does change the sound/tone from your amp...... So,
adjust and readjust is the name of the game.

MY SETTINGs........will not meet YOUR expectations.

Craig A Davidson · From: Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin USA

Ray you are so right and that's how I determined my settings. A lot of it depends on the guitar, hand placement, pick-ups, and room make-up for starts. Also a player's own ears. Bud's will be set different than a push-pull, which get set different than a Zum or Willie, or MSA.

Mitch Adelman · From: Pennsylvania, USA

One thing I can tell you is that the Fox intense mod makes it much much easier to dial in a fantastic sound. In fact each EQ control is more responsive so every number on the dial changed can clearly be heard! The reverb will be lush and full set about 3.I still think the mids should be turned down though. I would relax and you'll find the tone you want easily and within minutes with your decision to have the mod done. Have fun and enjoy!!

Rick Lodholz · From: Wisconsin, USA

Thanks to you all, I feel I'm getting some some "sound" advice.-(Seriously I do, I just can't get away from my warped thinking).

I just downloaded the manual and will give that some study...The amp was delivered TODAY! Won't get a chance to play with it much till Saturday but it should be fun.

Regards

Rick
_________________
The Early Bird May Get The Worm...But The Second Mouse Gets The Cheese!

74 LDG-George L Pup & cables, NV 400 w/extreme mod by Ken Fox, Hilton Pedal, Tama Throne.

International Sho-Bud Brotherhood Member # 1974

Jim Sliff · From: Lawndale California, USA

After decades of stage playing and sound support I've found one very important fact regarding this subject:

There are NO "typical" settings. Tone and volume are interactive, and are affected significantly by the size and configuration of where you are playing. Carpets, hard floors, parallel walls, low/high ceilings, drapes, glass windows/doors, room size, crowd size and seating arrangement and overall band volume combine to make "stock" settings virtually unusable.

What may help is to have someone else play your guitar while you go back and forth changing settings until you find the "sweet spots" on you controls for the particular venue. However, the minute you mix other instruments into the "total sound package" things change again - you can cut through like crazy, get buried or sound like a sitar falling down concrete stairs and not tough a THING on your amp.

I have no starting point with any amp - they are all stored with controls on "zero" (much, much better for the pots!) and tuned to taste each time I play. It's not THAT complicated - but it does take some trial and error and experience. Eventually you learn what works in each type of setting. But what works at an outside fair job will likely sound terrible in a small club; and what sounds good in a small club may rattle the windows at home.

But it IS a fun quest for good tone. But please - do not use the same settings and vary only the volume depending on the size of the gig - your tone will really suffer.
_________________
No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional

Ken Fox · From: Nashville GA USA

With my intense mod in the amp conventional settings are out the window. You can run the amp with the dials at 12:00 o'clock and it will sound good. You will find you do not need the huge bass boost of the un-modded N-400 amps.

Typically :

bass +3 to =5
mids at 650 to 800 hz (Wayne Dahl prefers 650 on his modded amp)
mid cut 0 to -3 ( I have even boosted the mids on a modded amp at 2200 for the Tele)

Highs +2 to +3
Presence, just a +1 t0 3 (Wayne cuts his to -6)

The modded N-400 sounds nothing like a standard N-400 or a Lemay or Peavey modded N-400 amp. It's a whole new ball game!!

Rick Lodholz · From: Wisconsin, USA

Ken;

Thanx for chiming in! Amp arrived today and I will definitely have some fun this weekend. Again much thanx.

I do grasp the dynamics involved with sound dispersion, absorption and reflection from setting to setting along with a host of other variables that are encountered with a mix of instruments. I am excited about learning how to adapt.

Most of you have moved far beyond where I am at; this is the beginning of a long road of discovery and knowledge for me. This situation really has me jazzed up and I am going to enjoy this journey.

As I said in an earlier post I am just gathering as much knowledge as I can from all of you. I believe that it will enhance the experience.

I fully intend to continue to practice and work and learn and to savor each step as thoroughly as I possibly can.

I am curious about the idea of leaving all the pots at midrange between uses and wonder what the rest of you have to say about the rational behind that theory??

Thanks for all of your thoughts!

Regards

Rick
_________________
The Early Bird May Get The Worm...But The Second Mouse Gets The Cheese!

74 LDG-George L Pup & cables, NV 400 w/extreme mod by Ken Fox, Hilton Pedal, Tama Throne.

International Sho-Bud Brotherhood Member # 1974

Ken Fox · From: Nashville GA USA

I was not recommending that as a setting, However if you set a normal N-400 to 12:00 o'clock settings the amp would be unbearable, IMHO. A modded amp would not sound bad at those settings

Rick Lodholz · From: Wisconsin, USA

Ken;

Sorry my bad, I think I could have been clearer. I wasn't asking about playing with the knobs at 12 o'clock...I was referring to Jim's post about storing the amp-(which I took for meaning when shut off-which may have also not been what HE meant), with all the knobs at 12 o'clock, and he implied it was better for the pots...

I did take note of what you had to say about other settings; I'm getting something from every post!
_________________
The Early Bird May Get The Worm...But The Second Mouse Gets The Cheese!

74 LDG-George L Pup & cables, NV 400 w/extreme mod by Ken Fox, Hilton Pedal, Tama Throne.

International Sho-Bud Brotherhood Member # 1974

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