The S-100's Sound *A Work In Progress*

So here's the deal, only a little while ago I landed the guitar of my dreams, my 71 S-100.
Incredible punchy clean sound, but of course tune it down to a C to where i want it and crank up the gain to where i usually play my Lester thru and no dice. Too saturated and muddy. No definition.

Well i've been playing around with my rig and adding and taking out pedals, playing around with my Peavy Ultra's settings and still no dice. Just can't get the sound i want. Especially at gig and jam volumes.

Until now. Picked up a Lovepedal Englishman pedal while in Winnipeg the other day. Sweetnes in a box boys, let me tell you. Tuned down, i'm reaching Sleep and Electric Wizard levels with ease. Oh my. The break up is incredible, simulates the sound of a class A amp's break up and gives a beautiful gravel sounding sustain. Makes your amp's speaker sound like it's going to explode. Borderline fuzz pedal but they market it as an overdrive pedal.
So now the S-100 is running straight to my Morley-Lovepdal-Amp. Stoner Rock Bliss Baby!!

Check out there site guys, you wont be sorry.
http://lovepedal.com/

I get some pretty nice dirty stoner with my S-100 thru either of my vintage Rats (one a big box, the other small). May want to track one of those down too.

Cool Hammer I will. Thanks.

What do you other guys use in your effects chain and what are you guys plugging into? I left my Memory Man running through my effects loop and the englishman is direct. Took out my EH Graphic Fuzz, and my two 808's now. Stripped it down and i think it's for the best.

son_of_gloin said:

...but of course tune it down to a C to where i want it...

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Can you explain the tune down to "C" for us geezers on the board?

Is this a Sludge Metal thing?

Aren't the strings so loose that they fall off the fretboard?

Thanks!

Some guys go up to using 13's for more string tension and a heavier sound but your tuning is C-F-Bb-Eb-G-C.......something like that anyways, ala Black Sabbath Master of Reality, St.Vitus type stuff.

Yea, tuning to C is for heavy, sludge, stoner metal mostly. I was playing Sabbath's Into the Void the other day tuned to C# and no strings were falling off...and I use 9's. :wink:

As far as what I'm going into, it was the S-100 into a cheap arse Behringer tuner, into the small metal box Rat, into the clean channel of a Fender HRD 2x12's clean channel with the volume at 1.5, of course, lest the house fall apart...eff that amp is loud. :lol: Octoplus and chorus in the loop, but I don't think either were on. With the Rat I can dial in anything from Stevie to Metallica. About the only thing it can't do is modern, digital, generic sounding distortion...think NIN...for that I bust out the Boss Heavy Metal HM-2.

Fender HRD??

son_of_gloin said:

Fender HRD??

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Hot Rod DeVille

Ah

son_of_gloin said:

Tuned down, i'm reaching Sleep and Electric Wizard levels with ease...Stoner Rock Bliss Baby!!

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I caught your Clutch reference and commented earlier that we had another fan around here, but now you're really speaking my language. When we talk about S-100's - and especially the HB-1 pickups - I always say that they handle the low sound I go for great. Of course, I don't tune as far down as C (the '74 S-100C and '78 S300-A are in D) but I love the sound I get.

My rig:
1990 Marshall JCM900 Model 4100
1988 Peavey 412M cabinet (2 Peaveys, 2 Celestion G12K-85's)

Not my ideal rig for stonerrock, but I've had the Marshall for over ten years now and it's a powerhouse. I traded a cheap Ibanez someone gave me for the cab so I can't complain. As for effects: I have two pedals - a tuner and a channel switch. :lol:

I have been thinking lately about a wah. I had a Morley years ago and got rid of it because I never really used it (I was playing in a punk band back then. That's when I got this Marshall).

Lately I've been thinking the Marshall might need to go too. And the cab. But I'm in no hurry.

This is my rig:









This is where I'm at normally. Plugged straight in:



Your myspace tracks sound pretty good. Have you listened to Colour Haze? I came across them randomly about a year ago and I've been hooked on the self-titled album. Oh yeah, there's Guild content too.



\m/'-_-'\m/

Far out brother. Colour Haze sounds right on.
Check out Black Pyramid!!!!!! Talking of wah's, the front man uses his wah heavily in a couple tracks off their self titled album.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHRLZh8cfnc

Sorry no guild content though. Just killer stoner rock!!!

Whoa, Qvart and son_of_gloin, those are pretty good bands. I really like stoner rock and doom metal, but besides bands like Kyuss, Fu Manchu, The Sword and Red Fang, I don't know much.

I must say that I really dig that Black Pyramid stuff :twisted:

Sleep - Holy Mountain & Dopesmoker, Electric Wizard - Dopethrone & Withcult Today, Acid King - Busse Woods, Lords of The North, Nebula, Earth, Om, Atomic Bitchwax, Scissorfight..........oh and DEADBIRD!!!! Check out Deadbird guys, Twilight Ritual is the new album and i seem to have forgotten the name of the first one.

So Q, you are just using the JCM's distortion? And no attenuator (?) thingy. I didn't know a marshall could do that sound at low volumes. I found the my Ultra 60's gain to be too saturated and creamy sounding. Hence, the search for the pedal.

son_of_gloin said:

So Q, you are just using the JCM's distortion? And no attenuator (?) thingy. I didn't know a marshall could do that sound at low volumes.

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Yep. Plugged straight in. NOFX. :lol:

I got that amp about ten years ago when I was in a punk band and it was great for that. 100 watts (switchable to 50) and there were some shows I didn't even mic it. Nowadays the sound I like has changed and I might do better with another amp - like a JCM800 or some other brand - because this one is designed more for lead playing and, honestly, what do I need reverb for? :lol:

Part of the reason I think it works for me is I took capnjuan's advice awhile back and switched out the 12AX7 preamp for a 12AT7 to cut the shrillness of the gain a bit. That was definitely an improvement. Beyond that I just kill most of the mids and highs and crank up the bass. Leave the gain up nearly all the way (it goes to TWENTY). Seems to be able to handle the sound I go for with the '70's Guilds, but if I tried to go much lower then I would probably look at a different amp, and definitely different speakers. Pretty good valve sound even though it does have some IC's as well. Not that I've done much experimenting. Okay, I haven't done any. This is the only amp I have so that's what I play.

Oh yeah, a footnote:

I only really every play through the neck pickup. I leave the phase switch on so I can flip the pickup selector to the middle and have that out of phase tone then switch back to the neck p'up. It's a lot easier than trying to find that little dinky phase switch.

I have modded a MXR Dist + and have had pretty good success. Definition is all in the clipping diodes fellas..... I had to use some silicon one mixed with germanium and L E D... Works plugged into my Sundown on the clean channel or my Ampeg V2.....I'm tuned to D and also do drop C.

I think the vintage pups would give me more clarity tho.... I need to finish the S-73 with HB-1's... I've wired it up but it didn't work right..... I did something wrong and gotta go through it.

You guys ever check out Earthless?

Wow. Not too late to the party? I've had best luck with a fender amp pushed to the edge with an old big muff or mxr dist+ to rough things up a bit. Mostly I've been using my Blackface Bassman, Guild Thunderbass, or Harmony 420. All very similar amps, but the Fender and Guild go through 12s whereas the 420 is a 1x15 combo. For ratting around the house, I just plug into a Fender Musicmaster Bass Amp. It's a 1x12 combo with some real oddball tubes (6aq5). Tuned down to D standard, it sounds pretty Sabbathy. I've got the Russian Green Big Muff and an older NYC one, and no matter what I do, the green one can't do it for me. I've heard that the Ultra 60 can get pretty icepicky so maybe I should try an Englishman for my Bassman 100.

danerectal said:

I've got the Russian Green Big Muff and an older NYC one, and no matter what I do, the green one can't do it for me.

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I've got a newer NYC one. I find the gain on them to be, well mine at least, on the creamy side. Mine seems to sound better being pushed by single coils. What are your experiences with your russian version? I've heard they are better for going after the doom sound, as their sustain is more on the crunchy side.

son_of_gloin, I used to play bass in Deadbird for 'bout three years. Chuck from DB plays drums in the band I play guitar in.


I play a Guild S-100 tuned down to B standard, into a '74 Orange OR120, and/or a '73 Sunn Model T. With a supercollider for dirt.

fuzzfarmer said:

I play a Guild S-100 tuned down to B standard, into a '74 Orange OR120, and/or a '73 Sunn Model T. With a supercollider for dirt.

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Holy !@#$.

BTW, "I play a Guild S-100" isn't enough to satisfy us addicts. More info please. And pron. I mean pics. Unless I missed something somewhere?

fuzzfarmer said:

son_of_gloin, I used to play bass in Deadbird for 'bout three years. Chuck from DB plays drums in the band I play guitar in.


I play a Guild S-100 tuned down to B standard, into a '74 Orange OR120, and/or a '73 Sunn Model T. With a supercollider for dirt.

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Damn! I'll check out the new band. So you were with DB on Death of the Self? Cool, great album!! Took me quite awhile to find a copy of that up here in Canada.

First jam with the Englishman was a home run!