The Chetboard

I have a Musicman 112 RD50 with the stock Musicman speaker, a Gibson CG, and a Gretsch 59 NC. Playing either guitar through the Musicman, I have the bass on 7-8 and the treble on 2.5-3.5. My amp seems to have a very bright sound more toward the treble side.

I was wanting to know what EQ settings other guys using these amps find best. I wondered if my amp is unusally bright or if this is characteristic of these amps. I bought the amp used and have never had a tech look it over. It seems to work fine, but it is very bright when compared to a Fender DR, etc..

Does anyone know what Paul's or Chet's EQ settings typically were when they were using the MM 112 RD50?

I realize this is effected by room, guitar, effects, etc., but just some average settings as a starting point would be nice.

Thanks alot,
Jeff Stovall

You're in luck.
From the Archive:


"...I only remember the settings on the MusicMan RD-50. He didn't used very much reverb. On the MusicMan amps the settings we used were: the clean channel on the left with the treble at 3 and the bass at about 8..."
__Paul Yandell cgp

Thanks Norm. That makes me feel better about my amp. My settings are right in line with Paul's info. I thought I might have problems since I had to run the bass so much higher than the treble.

The reverb on my amp doesn't work, so I've been using a small amount of reverb from a Boss Digital Reverb pedal and some echo from a Boss DD3.

Thanks again for thr information.

I'll say it again, we Chet fans/fingerpickers owe a lot to Paul and his willingness to share his wealth of knowledge. He is surely missed.

Jeff Stovall

Do you guys use the bright channel or normal? I find myself using the bright channel because the normal is too dark.
Alex

Alex,

I have the opposite situation with my amp, so I always use the normal channel. With my guitars set with the tone and volumes at max, using the clean and normal channels on the amp, and the EQ set as Norm mentioned that Paul and Chet used, I can get a good sound. With the bright channel my amp is 'very bright' - I would say the trebles/highs sound very harsh.

That's the reason I posted this. I thought I might need to have my amp checked out to ensure everything is ok, but with the treble at 3 and the bass at 8, I am very happy with it. My Gibson and my Gretsch both sound good through it. It sounds similar to my Fender DR, but is lighter and more compact to carry.

My reverb doesn't work, and I've debated on getting it fixed. I am using a Boss digital reverb pedal now. How does the reverb sound on your MM? I would like to get mine fixed, so I wouldn't have to carry both a delay pedal and a reverb pedal, but I've read varying reviews on the reverb that came on these amps. I've read that the six spring reverb sounds very good, and I've read other comments that didn't like it. I hate to spend the money on it and decide I like the pedal better.

Thanks,
Jeff Stovall

What about turning down the guitar volume somewhat and the amp volume up to compensate? I know the conventional wisdom is keep the guitar volume at max, but it seems like with this particular amp, you might benefit from shaving a bit of the high treble by turning down the guitar.

Also, seems worthwhile to turn the guitar's tone control down slightly.

I'm generally with you; I often keep the guitar controls at maximum. However, with certain guitar/amp/sound combinations, I find it useful to roll back the guitar's controls somewhat.

I suggest letting your ears decide the best setting for you. They've already led you to the same approximate settings Chet used!

Brian,

I know what you're saying. I've tried turning the amp to about 6, my master volume on my guitar to about 50%, and the tone on my guitar to 5-8. That combination sounds good also, but I think some of the chiminess is lost. I do vary the tone on my guitar to control some of the brightness/harshness with the MM and the Fender DR. It's strange, but some days I think the sound is better than others - I guess my ears or my taste varies.

An amp that I tried, but was unable to buy, was a Victoria Victoriette with the 1-12" speaker and 6L6 options. That amp sounded good no matter where I set the eq. If I set the bass higher I got a bassier sound, but still good and the same with the treble. It was really a great sound with my Gretsch; I was unable to try it with the Gibson, but I'm sure it would sound good as well.

Thanks for the help,
Jeff Stovall