trinityamps.com

I have been experimenting with my Trinity 15 tone controls. They are very unusual in the way that they work being active and all. They are so far away from fender or Marshall tone control function that it is sometimes unsettling and confusing. i.e. You dial in your favourite deluxe reverb tone settings and it sounds like sh!t. Do not dismay. Experimentation and forgetting everything you used to do is the key.

For example, I have mentioned before that you CAN run the amp with both tone controls fully off (CCW). This seems to pass a hell of a lot more mids than any other position. It is very nice for tele's and humbuckers. There seems to be a good deal of gain in this position too (relative to other tone stack settings).

Another trick or method that I have used lately is to keep both tone controls in the same position. I start with treb and bass at 12 o'clock and move them up or down (together) from there. You can get some pretty cool scooped clean tones that sound very nice with single coils. P-90’s seem to respond very well to any setting above 12 o'clock.

This is very dependant on your volume and master Vol settings but for my latest tweaking session I had the Volume at 12 o’clock and the master at 11. (I was going for a cleanish sound so I was trying to hold back the output section just a bit. When I go for full on gain I usually bull the bass WAY BACK and have the treble set to taste.

Just wanted to say thanks for all the time and effort to post the excellent sound files. Really helps someone (like me) who likes the idea of the Lightning, but hasn't heard one first hand or won't have a chance to play one before taking the plunge.

One request: how about some comping or rhythm sounds? Jazz, R&R, R&B, Soul and then into heavier stuff? The Sweet Jane variation was cool and helped a lot.

Anyway, thanks again - Jon

The Lightning tone stack is not active.

Mr. db, are you sure? I thought that the design employs active tone controls using V2 as a kind of filter/gain stage. As a result you get boost and attenuation for treble and bass frequencies. (as opposed to just cut like you get from passive tone controls)

According to Matchless, the tone circuit is indeed active:

http://www.matchlessamplifiers.com/match23_light.html

Hey I'll try and get those clips posted tonight.

Just look at the schematic. There's no difference in a Lightning tone stack and that of any Fender or Marshall, apart from a few component values. It's a passive RC stack hung on the output of a triode gain stage, just like any other. An active tone control would involve feedback around a gain stage or two, with the RC components in the loop.

Manufacturers lie about their circuits all the time. People still think that an AC30 is Class-A, too...

I think the confusion is "active" and "interactive" where in an interactive eq, one tone control affects the frequencies of the other when it's boosted or cut.

Well, the Matchless site mentions interactive and active when refering to the tone controls.

Yeah, I see that now. I guess they use the term "active" loosely. A marketing guy, no doubt.

Whatever they are, they are boo coup flexible. Here is a few snippets quickly recorded tonight. I used a '62RI Tele and a 2x12 Cab with two Can Rex in there.

Tele Comp

Ibet - Great, thanks so much. These clips help to "fill in" the holes for me about the T15.

Always more questions: does the master vol. allow you to play in smaller clubs (or record) and still get a good bit of grind (not over the top distortion) and girth?

Beautiful sound and playing. - J

lbethune, I really like your clips and playing too. I'm just holding my breath until my head kit arrives any day now. I have a small home studio and I can add some Lightning clips too....although I'll be put to shame by yours. I listen to everyone of them and can hear the playing, guitar and amp all working together in harmony. Keep up the good work man.

Cool, glad it worked. And yes, the master allows you to get good breakup suitable for rhythm work at lower volumes. For leads at that level I use a tubescreamer or somthing.



I really like my lightning. It is so easy to get good tones out of it. You have to be able to deal with the choices though. Lots of options depending on the guitar.