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Topic: Steelaire owners tip |
George Kimery
From:
Limestone, TN, USA
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Posted 10 Apr 2016 1:59 pm |
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I got my rack mount Steelaire this past November and have always had it set on the channel 1 + 2 setting to get the maximum volume. I accidently had it set on #2 two gigs ago. I had the best sound I have ever had, hands down. Volume was not a problem with the #2 setting. Just thought I would pass along my experience with the channel settings.
BTW: I am running a 1982 Zum with stock pickups, Goodrich 120 pedal, Wet Reverb pedal in the effects loop instead of the amp reverb, a three cord hookup to the volume pedal, George L cords, and a Lil Izzy. |
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Malcolm McMaster
From:
Beith Ayrshire Scotland
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Posted 10 Apr 2016 2:03 pm
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Thanks George, very interesting .
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MSA Millenium SD10, GK MB200, Sica 12inch cab, Joyo American Sound Pedal/ Jay Ganz Straight Ahead amp, Telonics 15inch in Peavey cab, Digitech RP150, Peterson tuner.Hilton volume pedal.Scott Dixon seat and guitar flight case. |
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Chuck Blake
From:
West Virginia, USA
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Posted 10 Apr 2016 2:24 pm
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Thanks George, I'll give it a test drive.
Chuck
_________________
2010 Rains 3x5 SD10, 2006 Rains 3x5 SD10 Powered by Quilter Tone Block 202 and 15' and 12' Custom Speaker cabs |
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Dick Wood
From:
Springtown Texas, USA
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Posted 10 Apr 2016 6:44 pm
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What were the changes from one to the other setting?
_________________
Cops aren't paid much so I steel at night. |
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George Kimery
From:
Limestone, TN, USA
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Posted 11 Apr 2016 7:53 am Steelaire owners tip
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Dick, with my rig, the #2 setting has a smoother, fuller, and just a better quality sound overall. More like a tube amp sound. The Lil Izzy adds a little zing, sort of an overtone that makes the strings sizzle and sound more like new strings. It sounds great without the Izzy, but I like the Izzy better, so for now, it is staying in my chain. Another gig in another venue, the Izzy may come out. I experiment. Room acoustics do make a difference.
Here is a photo of my current settings:
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Chuck Blake
From:
West Virginia, USA
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Posted 11 Apr 2016 8:20 am
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George thanks for sharing you settings. Can you share the difference between the Wet Reverb and the on board reverb tonal qualities?
Also I notice your gain and master volume setting seem robust. I guess you play either with a loud band or a large venue.
I use a Hilton pedal with my Rains guitar. I find the Lil' Izzy creates very brittle highs. My Rains has the BL 705 pup on it.
Would appreciate your info.
Chuck
_________________
2010 Rains 3x5 SD10, 2006 Rains 3x5 SD10 Powered by Quilter Tone Block 202 and 15' and 12' Custom Speaker cabs |
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George Kimery
From:
Limestone, TN, USA
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Posted 11 Apr 2016 10:02 am Steelaire owners tip
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Chuck, in the Stellaire owner's manual, page 6.Tip #1 says "For maximum clean headroom, use full MASTER and moderate GAIN settings" Tip #2 says "For more overdrive,use lower MASTER and higher GAIN settings."
If you get the GAIN higher than the MASTER, you are asking for distortion unless the limiter is set to tame it down. On most amps I have had, unless I get too much circuit noise or something, I run the masters full open and adjust volume with the gain control. I do not need the GAIN as high as I have it set, but sometimes my band does get too loud and I have to be able to keep up. I don't know how much my pot pedal sucks out volume compared to your Hilton.
Concerning the Lil Izzy. I know very well what you mean about the high brittle end it can create. I bought an Izzy when they first came out in the 70's. I bought a regular one and a Plus model,which is no longer made. It has a volume adjustment that boosts the output by 6 db. I don't use the boost and have it set full off, so it should be the same as a regular Izzy. I sold the normal Izzy and only have the Plus. When I plug it in, I get more bass, not highs as my other Izzy had. Maybe there is something wrong with the one I have, but if there is, it is wrong in a good way for me. I always had to pull the highs down a little with the other Izzy
Ever since I got the Wet Reverb pedal several years ago, I have been a big fan of it. To my ears, it does more than just reverb. If you listen close, it has a tiny bit of delay. Also, for some reason, it just gives me a higher quality sound on top of being a great reverb. The Steelaire Reverb is very good. But to me, it has more of a "honky" sound. I don't know how to describe it, but to my ears, it just doesn't have the sound quality that the Wet Reverb does.
All this talk about gear is great, but the bottom line is, it seems like what works for one doesn't work for another. Besides our ears and hands, we all have different guitars, pickups,strings, cords, volume pedals,amps, speakers, etc ect. so what works for me probably will not work for anybody else. I still love to try other people's settings though, just to see if they are something I can use, maybe with a little tweaking. |
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chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
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Posted 11 Apr 2016 10:32 am
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| chuck...i don't think you need the izzy since the hilton pedal has a buffer in it also. 2 is overkill. |
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Malcolm McMaster
From:
Beith Ayrshire Scotland
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Posted 11 Apr 2016 11:04 am
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George just out of curiosity how does that BX500 compare to Steelaire?
_________________
MSA Millenium SD10, GK MB200, Sica 12inch cab, Joyo American Sound Pedal/ Jay Ganz Straight Ahead amp, Telonics 15inch in Peavey cab, Digitech RP150, Peterson tuner.Hilton volume pedal.Scott Dixon seat and guitar flight case. |
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Tony Glassman
From:
The Great Northwest
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Posted 11 Apr 2016 11:20 am
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| chris ivey wrote: |
| chuck...i don't think you need the izzy since the hilton pedal has a buffer in it also. 2 is overkill. |
Like George, I use an Izzy with my Hilton/Steelaire rig. There is a significant sound quality difference with it in the signal chain regardless of the active VP's internal buffer capability.......same thing when using a Telonics pedal too. |
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Chuck Blake
From:
West Virginia, USA
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Posted 11 Apr 2016 12:07 pm
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I own two Rains guitars both equipped with BL 705's, my 2010 model seems to exhibit higher frequencies as opposed to my 2012 model which is considerably less and can tolerate the Izzy better, both using Hilton pedals.
I need to test the pups on both guitars to determine if this is related to pups or the natural guitar tonal qualities. I said that to get to this question, "Can the pups be measured while they are wired thru the 1/4 jacks? I should know the answer but not sure if the jack itself would add to resistance. 
_________________
2010 Rains 3x5 SD10, 2006 Rains 3x5 SD10 Powered by Quilter Tone Block 202 and 15' and 12' Custom Speaker cabs |
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Chuck Blake
From:
West Virginia, USA
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Posted 11 Apr 2016 12:12 pm
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George thank you for the other comments on the Steelaire, I need to improve my skills suggested usually on the first pages of most manuals. "Read manual entirely before proceeding"... 
_________________
2010 Rains 3x5 SD10, 2006 Rains 3x5 SD10 Powered by Quilter Tone Block 202 and 15' and 12' Custom Speaker cabs |
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chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
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Posted 11 Apr 2016 12:29 pm
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tony..i was going by my experience .when i normally use my goodrich 10k pedal the sound is just right without the izzy.
i do like the izzy with my normal pot pedals.
of course there are so many variables ...cords, effects, etc. |
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George Kimery
From:
Limestone, TN, USA
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Posted 12 Apr 2016 6:00 am Steelaire owners tip
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Malcom, to answer your question about the BX 500 vs. the Steelaire: The 500 is a great amp and was my main amp for about a year. It is not as clean and clear as the Steelaire and the string separation is not as good. I am keeping the BX 500 in my rack as a backup and I practice through it sometimes. It only weighs 5.8 LB and is 500 watts. Should I ever get in a situation where I need more volume than the Steelaire can deliver, it will only take me a minute to switch a few cords and I am up and running with the BX 500. The 500 is loaded with features. It just amazes me that Carvin sells them so cheap, relatively speaking. I think it is a perfect backup amp that anybody should be very pleased with should their main amp be down for repairs.
Last edited by George Kimery on 12 Apr 2016 10:13 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Malcolm McMaster
From:
Beith Ayrshire Scotland
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Posted 12 Apr 2016 7:35 am
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Thanks George.
_________________
MSA Millenium SD10, GK MB200, Sica 12inch cab, Joyo American Sound Pedal/ Jay Ganz Straight Ahead amp, Telonics 15inch in Peavey cab, Digitech RP150, Peterson tuner.Hilton volume pedal.Scott Dixon seat and guitar flight case. |
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George Kimery
From:
Limestone, TN, USA
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Posted 12 Apr 2016 9:46 am Steelaire owners tip
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Not that it matters, because you are going to set things the way they sound best to you, but on a gig, I normally increase the high end a bit by moving the High Mid and Treble from #3 to # 2 or even #1 to cut through the mix.
Also, with my passive pedal, it sounds a lot better to use the 3 cord hookup for the volume pedal. This hookup adds a buffer that is built into the amp. So I have a buffer in the amp and a buffer with the Lil Izzy. It seems like you can't have too many buffers, especially with a passive pedal. As far as I am concerned, whether it applies to music or gear, the golden rule is: "If it sounds good, do it" and to heck with what is correct or incorrect. (assuming it is something that will not cause damage) |
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Alex Cattaneo
From:
Quebec, Canada
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Posted 12 Apr 2016 8:15 pm
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| George,mI see three cables plugged in your amp. Do you have your guitar in the leftmost input and volume pedal in/out in the other two? |
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George Kimery
From:
Limestone, TN, USA
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Posted 13 Apr 2016 5:51 am Steelaire owners tip
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| Alex,the guitar is plugged into the channel #1 IN. The Pedal send/return is send to volume pedal input, return from volume pedal back to the amp. This is what this loop is designed for and add's a buffer when used. ( per owner's manual page 3) |
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Dick Wood
From:
Springtown Texas, USA
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Posted 13 Apr 2016 10:20 am
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This weekend, I will be playing in Texarkana TX and I will attempt to unlock the secrets that hide in channel 2 versus 1.
_________________
Cops aren't paid much so I steel at night. |
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Chuck Blake
From:
West Virginia, USA
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Posted 13 Apr 2016 12:05 pm
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I changed the setup on one of mine last nite at home, in my music room. I ask my wife to listen and she claims she heard something different but I know that's no real test cause she's a bass player...lol
I too have gigs this weekend one with and one without a drummer.....
I did dial the Master volume full on and the gain at one click, afraid of ear damage. Very pleasant.
Added Li' Izzy too brittle with my Hilton.
Played with on board reverb, then added Holy Grail along with on board.....NOPE
Disable the on board reverb and used only the Holy Grail not to bad but the wife says she preferred the on board, I think it was the slight Hall effect with the HG.
Bottom line, crank it up and play it with the two bands.....I'll report back after that.
_________________
2010 Rains 3x5 SD10, 2006 Rains 3x5 SD10 Powered by Quilter Tone Block 202 and 15' and 12' Custom Speaker cabs |
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George Kimery
From:
Limestone, TN, USA
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Posted 13 Apr 2016 3:49 pm Steelaire owners tip
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| Chuck, using an active pedal like the Hilton, the owner's manual says to go guitar to channel #1 input and set mode to Channel #1. Set volume with Gain #1. Just to cover all possibilities, have you tried the 3 cord hookup with your Hilton pedal? Did you try rolling some of the highs off when using the Lil Izzy? BTW, females hear high's better than we do. |
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Chuck Blake
From:
West Virginia, USA
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Posted 13 Apr 2016 4:41 pm
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George I have not tried the 3 chord hook up but I have tried channel 1 and the 1+2 mode but never channel 2 only until you posted it.
I actually like channel 2 with out the Izzy using the Hilton. Gigs this weekends will be a good test.
_________________
2010 Rains 3x5 SD10, 2006 Rains 3x5 SD10 Powered by Quilter Tone Block 202 and 15' and 12' Custom Speaker cabs |
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Chuck Blake
From:
West Virginia, USA
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Posted 13 Apr 2016 4:42 pm
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George I have not tried the 3 chord hook up but I have tried channel 1 and the 1+2 mode but never channel 2 only until you posted it.
I actually like channel 2 with out the Izzy using the Hilton. Gigs this weekends will be a good test.
_________________
2010 Rains 3x5 SD10, 2006 Rains 3x5 SD10 Powered by Quilter Tone Block 202 and 15' and 12' Custom Speaker cabs |
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George Kimery
From:
Limestone, TN, USA
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Posted 13 Apr 2016 5:17 pm Steelaire owners tip
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| Chuck, are you aware that the volume pedal return jack is also the input for channel 2? Have you tried that instead of going into the channel 1 input? |
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Chuck Blake
From:
West Virginia, USA
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Posted 13 Apr 2016 5:38 pm
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No I wasn't aware of that George. ..
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2010 Rains 3x5 SD10, 2006 Rains 3x5 SD10 Powered by Quilter Tone Block 202 and 15' and 12' Custom Speaker cabs |
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