OP
Mr Grumpy
Ambassador of Comings and Goings
Just a little update, now that I've had more time with the amp...
I'm currently using these settings without the wife or neighbours complaining:
From left to right, what and why:
Hi setting is fine for the P90 SG, when add pedals I'll try them through the low to see if that works nicely.
Clean, it's a nice setting without scooped mids. (the mean has a lot more volume and gain, but the speaker sounds poor with the scooped mids - I'll give that setting a try through the 1x12 because it should sound much better). Just a very nice and easy sound that plays pretty clean if you want it to, but can have a bit of grit if you dig in. Interestingly, the SG volume doesn't clean up the sound, but just takes the volume down - not the usual SG way, so I tend to have the SG volume up to or near wide open and not use the volume control much.
Gain, just a tad, but it's noticeable when digging in.
Tone, on this setting, you need it up a bit higher than you'd normally do to get a nice bit of bite - the mean setting is typical cheap Celestion through Marshall nastiness with the tone up; not nice to my ears.
Volume, I like it most of the way up on this low attenuator setting. Get the underlying tone that I want then bring the gain in til there's a tad of bite.
1/8th watt attenuated, doesn't sound attenuated or muffled (some amps feel like the speaker has a blanket over it at lower power settings, but this doesn't). &, I can play with enough bite and snarl that's it's enjoyable and under 70db, it even sounds good to play at 60db which I've never found through another amp.
Thus, the attenuator works very well, similar but different voices, D setting is noticeably more compressed than the other 3 hence why I have the volume up rather than the tone; the suggestion of distortion is there via picking dynamics. Picking dynamics can do a lot which is nice, much more usable than the guitar volume knob in this case. The mean setting is just the natural sound from the eight 15 celestion and it is piercing (not in a good way) while the clean is revoiced and sounds really nice. It's kinda strange, I wonder why he didn't just use a different speaker??? The amp is not noisy - with the P90 SG on a stand right in from of the amp if I turn the amp volume to half then it's completely silent.
Compared to other amps I've had it sounds better across the range of attenuated settings; all are useable, and you can get nice low volume sounds (which I wanted). To gig with, you'd need it on the mean setting and either a speaker change or cab.
I'm pleased with it, still honeymoon period, but sounds great and very functional for my situation. It doesn't have the sound of a cranked Marshall Origin 20, but I could not find usable volume levels for that in my situation. It doesn't have any of the DSL sounds, maybe the clean is closest. It doesn't have the sounds of Bugera T5 (which somebody told me was based on a VOX Night Train?), but maybe closest to the OD Bugera sound.
It is maybe Fender-ish, but with a Britishness to it... A hot-rodded (a little bit...) Fender?
Edit to add: the mean setting still sounds nasty through the 1x12 - I suppose I could be kind and say it'd cut through a mix. The cab sounds better than the standard speaker on the clean setting; more full range, a bit more bass, a bit fuller sound and sound staging, so I might as well leave the cab plugged in. The standard speaker does sound good on the clean setting though.
I'm currently using these settings without the wife or neighbours complaining:
From left to right, what and why:
Hi setting is fine for the P90 SG, when add pedals I'll try them through the low to see if that works nicely.
Clean, it's a nice setting without scooped mids. (the mean has a lot more volume and gain, but the speaker sounds poor with the scooped mids - I'll give that setting a try through the 1x12 because it should sound much better). Just a very nice and easy sound that plays pretty clean if you want it to, but can have a bit of grit if you dig in. Interestingly, the SG volume doesn't clean up the sound, but just takes the volume down - not the usual SG way, so I tend to have the SG volume up to or near wide open and not use the volume control much.
Gain, just a tad, but it's noticeable when digging in.
Tone, on this setting, you need it up a bit higher than you'd normally do to get a nice bit of bite - the mean setting is typical cheap Celestion through Marshall nastiness with the tone up; not nice to my ears.
Volume, I like it most of the way up on this low attenuator setting. Get the underlying tone that I want then bring the gain in til there's a tad of bite.
1/8th watt attenuated, doesn't sound attenuated or muffled (some amps feel like the speaker has a blanket over it at lower power settings, but this doesn't). &, I can play with enough bite and snarl that's it's enjoyable and under 70db, it even sounds good to play at 60db which I've never found through another amp.
Thus, the attenuator works very well, similar but different voices, D setting is noticeably more compressed than the other 3 hence why I have the volume up rather than the tone; the suggestion of distortion is there via picking dynamics. Picking dynamics can do a lot which is nice, much more usable than the guitar volume knob in this case. The mean setting is just the natural sound from the eight 15 celestion and it is piercing (not in a good way) while the clean is revoiced and sounds really nice. It's kinda strange, I wonder why he didn't just use a different speaker??? The amp is not noisy - with the P90 SG on a stand right in from of the amp if I turn the amp volume to half then it's completely silent.
Compared to other amps I've had it sounds better across the range of attenuated settings; all are useable, and you can get nice low volume sounds (which I wanted). To gig with, you'd need it on the mean setting and either a speaker change or cab.
I'm pleased with it, still honeymoon period, but sounds great and very functional for my situation. It doesn't have the sound of a cranked Marshall Origin 20, but I could not find usable volume levels for that in my situation. It doesn't have any of the DSL sounds, maybe the clean is closest. It doesn't have the sounds of Bugera T5 (which somebody told me was based on a VOX Night Train?), but maybe closest to the OD Bugera sound.
It is maybe Fender-ish, but with a Britishness to it... A hot-rodded (a little bit...) Fender?
Edit to add: the mean setting still sounds nasty through the 1x12 - I suppose I could be kind and say it'd cut through a mix. The cab sounds better than the standard speaker on the clean setting; more full range, a bit more bass, a bit fuller sound and sound staging, so I might as well leave the cab plugged in. The standard speaker does sound good on the clean setting though.
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