Just Guitar and Amp.

[hedas46]

I know the Vm is meant to be controlled by the guitars volume, but does anybody on here just use the guitar and amp, and not use any effects.... :chug

[burnsy]

That's my setup. Les Paul straight into the VM (High Dynamic Range). Low on the guitar for cleans, in the middle for crunch riffing, and up the top for soloing. My band plays old school Classic Rock (Lizzy, AC/DC, Zep etc.) and this setup is perfect for me. A great sounding amp with a good guitar plugged into it doesn't need anything else.

[thebigt71]

I use a minimal effect set up with a tuner, delay, od and wah pedal. My guitar is a Gibson Les Paul Standard.

I really only use the delay for adding some depth to my solos and the wah every now and then. In the past I used the od pedal quite a bit with my JCM 800 but find that I really don't seem to need it with the VM 2466.

I would have no problem just plugging straight into the VM, as 90% of the time all my effects are off when playing in a band setting. The VM is a fantastic amp and doesn't seem to need anything else to make it sound good. Just roll the volume down for clean, a little more volume for crunchier sound and full open for leads.

[hedas46]

Thanks for the response, but my problem is;
My band has a girl singer, and we can play stuff like Skunkanansie and Pink, then stuff like Meredith Brooks and Alanis Morrisette etc.
Please dont assume we don't rock, cos we do, but I want to leave my amp on HDR and just use the volume, but I am struggling a bit to get a good sound on the softer songs, even when I roll back the volume. I'm not after a pure clean sound, just a bit of crunch, if you know what I mean. At the minute, I'm using effects but I'd rather not use anything.
My set up is a Les Paul Custom, Lonestar Strat and VM "of course".
Any advice would be greatly accepted
Cheers

[thebigt71]

I get a great clean sound on the neck pick up of my les paul. I use the bridge pick up for leads and heavier riffing. The neck pick up really gets a big and open clean sound with the volume at about 3.

I do have the detail and body fairly high with the detail at 8 and the body at 7.5 in HDR and I am still able to get a great clean sound by reducing the volume this way. I find that the bridge pick up on my les paul does not do as good a job as the neck pick up for clean. What I do is just keep the Neck p/u volume on the 3 and the Bridge p/u on 10 and just switch back and forth between them. For crunch, I use both pick ups which mellows the sound just enough for dirtier rhythm playing. Just my thoughts and hope they are helpful.

[DeanM]

thebigt71 makes a good point, i think with any guitar, or atleast with my two guitars, the neck is usually better for cleans. usually, the neck pup in a guitar will have lower output, so that and the position further up the strings gives a cleaner warmer. . . clean sound!

oh and yeah i use guitars and amp only. have a few pedals lyin around but havent had them connected. . .

[slowpokerhino]

I go back and forth. Pedals or no pedals. Les Paul or Strat. VM or Twin. Depends a lot on my mood. The guys in my band never know what to expect when I show up for practice.

[Murfdog]

I've never used effects in my rig. When I was younger, I never had the money to spend on effect pedals. I would use a wah pedal from time to time, but not so much anymore. In fact, a lot of opening bands I've played with in the past thought it was amusing that I didn't have a ten pedal board. I guess they thought it was old school (though I was in my early twenties).

[Mr_Martin]

My Setup: Telecaster or Flying Vee straight to the Amp.

Settings: HDR, Body 3, Detail 7, Master: loud,
EQ all on 5, never use the Reverb.

For Rhythm i lower the Guitar volume, for lead: full Guitar Volume.

That's it!

[Angus]

I know the Vm is meant to be controlled by the guitars volume, but does anybody on here just use the guitar and amp, and not use any effects.... :chug

I'm just a bedroom practice guitarist (if that doesn't sound too smutty) but yes, my preference is guitar/cable/amp. By the way, if you were happy to go to the Low Dynamic Range on those songs, would it give you the sound you want?

I guess you are generally happy with your Les Paul's pickups and their characteristics? Looking at replacements obviously wouldn't make much sense if that were the case.

[jab996]

I usually plug my LP Traditional into a Digitech RP2000 then into the front of the VM with the amp on LDR, but sometimes I also plug straight into the amp.
I play classic hard rock from the 70's and some later stuff also... Zep, Aerosmith, AC/DC, KISS, Hendrix, Metallica, etc. and the RP is a great match with the VM because it does'nt seem to change the tone of the amp.
I also have a BOSS ME-50 but it seems to change the tone of the amp and I don't use it.
With the RP in front, I turn down the output level of the RP and crank up the master volume on the amp then select a preprogrammed EQ setting along with whatever effects I want and I always get great sounding cleans and crunch.

[hedas46]

I know the Vm is meant to be controlled by the guitars volume, but does anybody on here just use the guitar and amp, and not use any effects.... :chug

I'm just a bedroom practice guitarist (if that doesn't sound too smutty) but yes, my preference is guitar/cable/amp. By the way, if you were happy to go to the Low Dynamic Range on those songs, would it give you the sound you want?

I guess you are generally happy with your Les Paul's pickups and their characteristics? Looking at replacements obviously wouldn't make much sense if that were the case.

Thanks for that, but I can get a great sound in my bedroom on LDR or HDR, but when I play a gig and crank up the volume it's just not the same, especially on LDR 'cos I just can't seem to get the volume I want.

[Tnjpekar]

I would use an mxr microamp or a fulltone ocd for the softer stuff to give it a bit of a bite if thats what you are looking to do.
I roll my guitar back to about 3 -5 and hit the ocd and its perfect. you bite in with the pick when you need to accent, you pick softly for a more blended sound.

[frank9310]

That may be true that the VM is made to be controlled by the guitar's volume control BUT that also means it LOVES pedals! It makes the sound of all your pedals much more dynamic such as overdrives, wahs, modulation, etc.



Clearer pics below at my link

In fact, I sold a pedal board to Marcelo of Paula Rubino's band http://www.paupower.com/english/home.php She's about as hot a girl band as you can get! Here's his board...

[bluezguy]

Greetings,

Not one stinking effect is used !!! OK OK OK... I do have a BOSS compressor patched into the back of my 2466 and it stays on mildly all the time at one setting for my Strats, 'Birds, Teles and LP. Besides, compressors are not a true 'effect'.
In my ear's opinion, you lose all pure Marshall + Instrument tone that you worked so f__ing hard for to find. Fact not Fiction. I know 95% of yaz will disagree.
On the other hand these stomp things are a means to an end... I've been blessed to have rack equipment with manpower usually handling it at a board. Once you've had that, yer spoiled because there ain't a stomp box out there that will match the full blown rack mount.
VM2466 is probably the finest amp I've ever used for ALL my musical adventures of the past 40 years. Although I've never done death metal or goth or whatever that scream stuff is , with the right player and axe it would probably do good there too.