Can a Plexi do metal?

[mikah912]

Yeah, I think that pedal has been around so long people have just forgotten how great it is. I absolutely hated that Fortin 33, it literally did the opposite of what I love about tones to anything I put it in front of. I may have aged out of modern guitar tones.

I have respect for the 7-stringers and djentlords who use these tones and drive a lot of modern progressive metal. But I'm an 80s geezer who stays in Standard on 6-strings. I'm never going to gig or record at a church, small venue or just jamming with friends with that much gain or that much chugging.

 

[KingsXJJ]

Speaking of Hot Modded-Plexi’s, I’d love to see Friedman release a version of his Plex that was similar in spirit to his Arredondo Amp. Nothing but cream of the crop mods and his Plex amp combined into one killer amp.

 

[DrewJD82]

Killer tone! But once you put a hot mod in, it’s no longer a plexi circuit - if the mods were hard wired in no one would say it’s a plexi, you’d say it’s been modded for higher gain. Throw a boost in front and you’ve got more gain stages than basically any stock Marshall

 

[KingsXJJ]

Itsa not a me!

 

[EOengineer]

You can sort of roll your own channel switcher.

AB box path A -> boost -> bright input
AB box path B -> Distortion -> normal input

It can be a balancing act with levels but with the right signal chains it can work. Use an ABY box if you really want to fuck shit up.

The darker channel can sound really good with drive pedals.

 

[Richard_G]

I was actually thinking Sabbath when it first fell out of my fingers, too! Kinda the Cantrell/Down vibe that all came from Iommi. I’m really enjoying the tone, it’s got pretty much everything I want in a high gain tone.

Yeah, the riffing/clip immediately made me think about Cantrell - well before I read this post.

 

[Fireproof]

Sure as shit it can!



TBF, I have the Hot Mod engaged and it's boosted with an SD-1, non-jumped (really, I haven't found a use for jumping the channels yet, there's more than enough low end in the head as-is) but this is pretty much the most amount of dirt I'd want on a rhythm tone.

The more time I spend with a Marshall circuit, the more I believe my ultimate tone is to be found somewhere within them, rather than a Mesa. I do miss the headroom at times, but I think a 100watt Plexi could resolve that.

sounded great to me!!

 

[ejecta]

A plexi is just a great great amp. I’d keep my SL68 over my Bogners any day. It would be hard to do but that’s what I’d pick.

 

[DrewJD82]

Threw some VH licks at it today and was already in the ballpark without touchin' a frickin' knob-

 

[Byrdman]

Threw some VH licks at it today and was already in the ballpark without touchin' a frickin' knob-

Sounds great, Drew!

 

[Sirloin]

Yep, the V2. It came with the amp and the other day was the first time I really turned it on after the first day. I’d love to have it selectable via footswitch or some way to switch it live without keeping the back of the amp opened up. It also has the Bass boost that I haven’t even tried because I haven’t found any lacking in low end in this amp, I rarely turn the Bass knob above 4.

Wait a minute. You “turned it on after the first day”? If it’s in the amp, it’s always on (The Hot Mod V2). Just selectable between a higher and lower gain setting. If you take it out of the amp, your amp will have less gain. Please correct me if I misunderstood your post.

Also, what Plexi is this? 1959HW? Something else?

 

[DrewJD82]

Wait a minute. You “turned it on after the first day”? If it’s in the amp, it’s always on (The Hot Mod V2). Just selectable between a higher and lower gain setting. If you take it out of the amp, your amp will have less gain. Please correct me if I misunderstood your post.

Also, what Plexi is this? 1959HW? Something else?

Ahhhhh, that makes sense then! I assumed the Gain switch on the V2 was an On/Off switch, not a "More" and "More More" thing. Guess I'll be ordering some preamp tubes! Some to put it back to stock specs and some for lower gain with the Hot Mod.

It's a Ceriatone Plexi50 '68, which is funny, because I just wrote this earlier today comparing it to the 1987x model in the Fractal gear-

I hadn’t messed around with the 1987x model much after I got my Ceriatone but made a preset for it last night and man, I think I like it more than the Ceriatone! The Ceriatone definitely has more dirt on it, I’m assuming some of the ‘68 mods lend itself to that. I can get the VH1 thing out of the Treble channel 3/4’s the way up on the Ceriatone, the same dirt isn’t even available on the 87x dimed.

It all makes so much sense now!

 

[AlbertA]

This makes me want to do a custom Marshall based amp build. <goes and looks at existing amp kits>

 

[2dor]

This makes me want to do a custom Marshall based amp build. <goes and looks at existing amp kits>

Ceriatone All Access stuff - they offer the 50W ones with optional Heyboer output transformers now.

 

[gearJunkie]

 

[AlbertA]

View attachment 49835

You forgot the pope hat.

 

[DrewJD82]

I yanked the Hot Mod out today and pulled the JJ out of it to stick in the V2 spot, I'm undecided for the time being how I prefer it, there's pros and cons on each side of the fence. I really dig the sound of the extra headroom without it, there's a lot more depth to it, it's also considerably warmer sounding and the EQ is much more effective without it.

But, I think I like the way it compresses with the HM in there, even at lower gain settings and it's far more versatile having all that gain on tap, despite the EQ having less of a prominent effect.

 

[Byrdman]

I yanked the Hot Mod out today and pulled the JJ out of it to stick in the V2 spot, I'm undecided for the time being how I prefer it, there's pros and cons on each side of the fence. I really dig the sound of the extra headroom without it, there's a lot more depth to it, it's also considerably warmer sounding and the EQ is much more effective without it.

But, I think I like the way it compresses with the HM in there, even at lower gain settings and it's far more versatile having all that gain on tap, despite the EQ having less of a prominent effect.

Practicing at 12:33 AM? Which spot do the neighbors prefer it?

 

[DrewJD82]

Practicing at 12:33 AM? Which spot do the neighbors prefer it?

Hahahah the spot I sit in with headphones and a load box!