Indeed, I have spent a couple of days with V5 (or was that the M5 multitronic unit). Anyway, I like it a lot because.
1) It is fast. The notes (especially the midrange stuff) seem to come out of the amp just slightly before you play them. This is the same feeling I get from the clean channel of some Two Rocks. It can be frightening and is always revealing. This is evidenced by my flub in the attached clip. It couldn't be more out there and in your face. Careful kids lest your ass be exposed like your wearing a pair of Princes chaps!
2) The overdrive is freakin sweet. When I engage the overdrive I can get a feedback even when the tone is fairly clean. (once again see clip below). This happens at fairly low volume too.
3) Distortion - I cranked everything with a Les Paul and immediate heard the metal gods commanding me to Thrash!!! (that's right John). This will be my next clip cuz this sound is WAY beyond anything I would think of for this kind of amp.
4) See you at 12! - The amp sounds great with everything at 12 o'clock. You don't have to go too far from there for many tonal variants. Scoop the mids for a clean fender like tone (sorry got a fender for that) and crank the treble and presence for some TriWatt spank.
5) Tone controls are usable - and they actually do something without farting out or piercing your ears or anything nasty like that. No Bass on zero with this amp.
6) Clean and Dirty and the Creamy in-between. Clean sound is unique. Full bore distortion is absolutely psychotic but that area where the amp just starts to break up and get meaty is the place I like the best. I have the best time of it with the master pretty much cranked and the volume and gain turned up as much as I need to to get the guitar into that happy place. This is a different place with different guitars. Here are the settings I used to get to (and maybe just a little past) this place with the strat.
'62 Reissue Strat - Bright Input - Volume 12oclock - Overdrive Out 2 - Bass 12 - Treble 3 - Mid 2 Presence 2. Trinity 2x12 with TT alnicos
7) This thing sounds great with alnico's but it also sounded great with G12-65's in a 4x12 slant cab (really good). Fantastic bottom end clarity.
I have modified my rig for the next gig and did a quick test. It was very promising. I was using a two rock and TC2290 with some effects in the TC's loop (which was a great tone at the last rehursal). Tonight I will switch to stomp boxes on the floor straight into the TW set to the inbetweeny spot I like so much. Pedal board is as follows
Volume pedal > tuner > BB Preamp > Boss Dimention > MXR Flanger > Sparkle Drive > Keeley Compressor > Ibanez DE7 Echo > Verbzilla.
Early testing sounded pretty good with no spikeyness or skanky tones right from the start. This means I can have maximum play with how I set the pedals without getting into the tinny skank zone that cuts in an ear peircing way and not a happy way.
Coco will post the link to the clip later. It is recorded quick and dry. I stuck a 57 about 4 inches in front of the amp and hit the record button on pro tools. No tweaking no nothing. I will do a little more setup for the dirty tone. I went flat into and out of protools and mastered in Audition. Once again, no comp, no eq, no nothing. (yes it was difficult).
We'll see how it sounds in the big room tonight.
Cheers
Larry
Clip: Take1
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