DetroitBlues Posted July 22, 2011 Author Share Posted July 22, 2011 I had an Epi LP a few years ago with Gibson BB pro's in it. With everything being stock, it sounded really good for playing blues in a BB King sort of way. Which he has a humbucker loaded guitar going through a Fender Twin which is nothing more than a 2x12 version of a Deluxe Reverb (a little more power of course).... My thing is, I've listened to the DRRI with a Les Paul through a midway volume setting. The amp and guitar sounded great together. Don't get me wrong, this guitar totally rocks with the amp, however, when some slow moody blues songs come along, I'd like it to mellow out and just purr like a kitten... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueox Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 " . . . I know you know It, but it's never going to sound like a strat.... And that's OK! But when the ear is used to hearing one pickup type or the other almost exclusively, the other type can just sound wrong." The blues can be played on a wide variety of instruments, whether solid-body or semi-hollow, with single coils or humbuckers--it's all personal preference. I tend to reach for something with an f-hole in it, but my solid bodies can also get that sweet spot by tweaking the controls. Work with your H-140 tone controls, pickup heights, and especially your amp settings. Keep away from that Strat for a while as you work out your sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halowords Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 I think you should be able to get that setup fine for Blues. I'm not really a Blues player, however I had a Hamer Studio with that same pickup setup (Seymour Duncan JB & Jazz, same as yours I believe), and they are pretty similar guitars in a lot of ways. It cleaned up & mellowed quite nicely, even the JB when I turned the volume down did passable. So I would say you could get it to mellow out a bit. As they say . . . Barring that, different pickups might be an option as well. While I think those pickups (barring something wrong with them) will work fine, especially the Jazz in the neck, there has to be SOME reason your guitar is constantly trying to push the amp into overdrive. Granted, for me that might be a plus for somebody like me, but that's another thread. Still, there is nothing inherent about Mahogany and Rosewood that would make your guitar unable to back down a bit when asked for. So have faith! And feel free to save up for a 535 (or a Prospect) if you want something else. But I would not give up on the H-140. That totally sounds like an electronics issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted July 22, 2011 Author Share Posted July 22, 2011 The blues can be played on a wide variety of instruments, whether solid-body or semi-hollow, with single coils or humbuckers--it's all personal preference. I tend to reach for something with an f-hole in it, but my solid bodies can also get that sweet spot by tweaking the controls. Work with your H-140 tone controls, pickup heights, and especially your amp settings. Keep away from that Strat for a while as you work out your sound. I've been playing with a lot of things for a week now. Problem is, the amp needs to be above volume level 2 to acheive its sweet tone as the tubes are fully being used. Issue is, the guitar causes it to breakup like crazy at that setting which it shouldn't do. When I mess with the volume or tone controls, it actually just makes things muddy. The volume roll cleans up a little, but ends up reducing the actual precieved volume to be almost too quiet. This amp should be able to hang with a live band and at the moment it cannot handle a Ipod with the H140 plugged into it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smurph1 Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 So I have a little Love/Hate relationship going on with my H-140. I love the way it looks and feels. And I love the way it wants to rock. But I hate how it doesn't want to mellow out the blues. Even at low volumes on the KBP810 amp, it pushes into rock like breakup. I found myself putting it down after awhile and going back to my strat because it sounds so much better playing blues through the amp. Tomorrow, I'm working with KBP810 to install a whole new wiring harness to include caps and pots. He believes the ones installed are fried and causing a lot of trouble with too much bass and overdrive. I purposefully chose Jazz style pickups for the guitar so I can get some mellow blues tones out of it. Right now its just not happening. If this doesn't work, I may put the H-140 in a case for a long while or look to trade for a H-535. I'm so bummed.... Sorry to hear that Detroit.. In my 40+ years of playing, I've never found a guitar that did everything..Maybe someone else has, but to my ears I haven't..That's why I have three guitars, they all excel in their own styles of music..I wish you well in your search, but don't give up on that 140..Maybe you are expecting too much from it..As always My 2 cents and YMMV.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjkrause84 Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 If it's too powerful...have you tried lowering the pickups? It's certainly the cheapest option available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoNameBand Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 If it's too powerful...have you tried lowering the pickups? It's certainly the cheapest option available. +1. It's hard to believe that the pups you have are too hot. Lowering may be the best shot. I have 5 amps and 16 guitars. They all behave differently to each other. Some guitars (pups) match up better than others with certain amps. Maybe you just need to have a second guitar for the sound that you can't get out of the guitar that does almost everything. Good luck. However, out of all my guitars, my 535 does more for Blues & Classic rock than any other. It's the One guitar I would grab if I could only have or take One. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fxdx99 Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 ...I have 5 amps and 16 guitars. Mark, given your ratio you need a lot more amps! Talk to me at PSP, I can offer plenty of suggestions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted July 22, 2011 Author Share Posted July 22, 2011 +1. It's hard to believe that the pups you have are too hot. Lowering may be the best shot. I have 5 amps and 16 guitars. They all behave differently to each other. Some guitars (pups) match up better than others with certain amps. Maybe you just need to have a second guitar for the sound that you can't get out of the guitar that does almost everything. Good luck. However, out of all my guitars, my 535 does more for Blues & Classic rock than any other. It's the One guitar I would grab if I could only have or take One. I'm looking at both putting some newer electronics in the guitar as well as swapping out the speaking for one that doesn't have its own natural breakup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSquared Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 : ) I think that's a great idea! Nothing like a 535 for the blues! I agree, but as a Strat/535 guy I know where the OP is coming from and doubt it would make a difference (though he'd get another cool guitar for sure!). I have a 535 with one '59 and one Seth Lover, which are not exactly "hot" pickups, but they still push an amp a LOT more than any Strat with single coils. A few others mentioned lowering the pickups. Unless they are really low already that is the first thing I'd do. It should push back the breakup a little, and also give more clarity and less muddiness, all other things being equal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smurph1 Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Mark, given your ratio you need a lot more amps! Talk to me at PSP, I can offer plenty of suggestions LOL..It's funny I used to use that very guitar for a lot of blues..But it's subjective I know..plus i'm using a different amp too..So I Dunno..I Live in West virginia.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted July 23, 2011 Author Share Posted July 23, 2011 Found the one pot was shot and another was mising a connector. Replaced everything, but had a problem with the fact, we were sent a set of non split pots. Have to send them back to get the right pots... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steiner Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 Chicken heads to the rescue! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted July 23, 2011 Author Share Posted July 23, 2011 We still have some bugs to sort out, but Brian did capture a few moments of some sweet blues breakup with my H-140 straight into the KBP810 RD amp with a 4x12 extension cab.... Throaty Blues LittleByLittle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TalismanRich Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 Maybe its just the DR circuit. When I looked at the Allen Accomplice Jr, the one thing I felt was that it broke up way too soon. Lately, I've been on a "clean" kick. The Patriot which is more along the lines of a Super Reverb is so much cleaner than the Accomplice. Of course the answer is to have Brian build you a Super clone as well as the Deluxe clone, have Steiner make you a special cable so you can plug them both up and "have it all". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted July 24, 2011 Author Share Posted July 24, 2011 Maybe its just the DR circuit. When I looked at the Allen Accomplice Jr, the one thing I felt was that it broke up way too soon. Lately, I've been on a "clean" kick. The Patriot which is more along the lines of a Super Reverb is so much cleaner than the Accomplice. Of course the answer is to have Brian build you a Super clone as well as the Deluxe clone, have Steiner make you a special cable so you can plug them both up and "have it all". I found I like a little growl when playing a clean tune. Roll back the volume now and it cleans up the way I like it. Besides, Brian has enough on his hands right now with several amps in progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueox Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 "Found the one pot was shot and another was mising a connector. Replaced everything . . . " No doubt that will make a lot of difference as you take the necessary steps to your tone. Are you still considering replacing one or both pickups? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blunote Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 I found I like a little growl when playing a clean tune. Roll back the volume now and it cleans up the way I like it. Besides, Brian has enough on his hands right now with several amps in progress. So at this point it's back to pure love? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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