Posted by Norm on 8/5/2008, 12:14 am, in reply to "Re: Trainwreck"

Yeah, I have an Ultimate Attenuator but I think I have finally made the switch away from tube amps now. This was the last straw so to speak. The copy band stuff I do demands similar tonalities of the original artists and I am tired of fighting tube amps. The digital processor I have now sounds very good and I don't have to fight it or match pedals to it. It doesn't matter how loud or soft you play or what sound you are going after, it just does it. --Previous Message-- : I hear ya Norm! I have decided to limit my : wattage to 18 or get amps w/ power scaling. : Even with the 18 I get that stupified look : from drummers that I play with.......LOL : : Hey I am sure that you have considered and : attenuator like the Air Break, haven't you? : : ~Joe : : --Previous Message-- : Hey Joe, : It is an Express clone with 2 EL34s. I am : now faced with the choice of spending more : money on a master volume control or selling : the amp. Still thinking but, I am really : tired of loud amps that have to operate at a : certain decibel level to sound right so even : though I like what it does, it might be on : the way out too. : : --Previous Message-- : Hey Norm, : : Congrats on the amp! i had an EL84 Jester : that is based on a wreck, it is made by : Reinhardt. It was cool but of course, I : sold it! What power tube is the amp based : on? : : ~Joe : : --Previous Message-- : If memory serves me correctly, and I think I : would certainly remember playing a : Trainwreck, I've never played a real deal : Wreck but I am very aware of them and some : of the general things about Ken Fischer. : : I've seen some of the good videos out there : of folks playing them. I've played the : T-Wreck inspired Two Rock Ruby models, and I : guess the Fuchs Train 45 owes a pretty : blatant nod to the general style of amp. My : K&M amp has the same transformer in it that : Ken was using from what I understand. I : know they have something special going on : for the right players. : : If I had one, I think it would be guitar, : cord and amp because of what they do. : Probably a dream amp for people who like a : fair amount of gain and tailoring it with : the guitar's volume knob. : : That Two Rock Ruby, as my point of : reference, was a bear of an amp. Or more : accurately, something from the equestrian : world: A one trick pony but what it : did....wow! : : Hope you can put a video clip or two : together of your clone rig. As for the : Axe-Fx, still haven't tried one yet! : : : : : --Previous Message-- : Well, I finally got the Trainwreck clone. : First UPS delivered it 2 blocks away from my : house at the same house number but just 2 : blocks over. They left the cherry wood cab : and the amp in the rain sitting on a : concrete planter. I was tracking it on line : and saw that it was delivered at 3:30 in the : afternoon but I was also at home waiting for : that big brown piece of s#!t to show up so I : knew they had never been there. So I went : looking through the neighborhood in places : that I thought a stoned person or one with a : really low IQ would have left it. BINGO, : there it was! I think a drug test is in : order!! : : Anyway Stu packed the hell out of it with : bubble wrap and it didn't get hurt or wet. I : then looked the amp over and realized that : there was no post phase inverter master : volume control on it as I had ordered many : months ago. But I didn't have time to try it : out because I had an appointment and had : used up my extra time running around the : hood trying to find the amp. I emailed Stu : and asked him if he forgot to put the master : volume control on it and he emailed me a one : liner back that said it didn't need a master : volume control because it had Mercury Magnet : transformers in it. Yeah, I was scratching : my head too. : : The next day I tried out the amp and it is a : very soulful amp, no doubt. However, it is : about as loud as a 50 watt plexi and can't : be used for bedroom playing at all or even : for some band practices without an : attenuator or me having to have someone : install a master volume. I emailed my : findings to Stu and haven't heard another : word from him. I like Stu but for me this is : like ordering a car with a sun roof and when : the car comes in without it the dealer says : that it isn't necessary if the car has a 6 : cylinder engine in it. It is too much : trouble to deal with UPS again and pay : shipping both ways for me to send it back to : Stu so at this point I have another amp : perfect for any colosseum in the area! I am : liking the AXE-FX more and more every day. : : The Trainwreck is Marshall sounding amp. It : has a lot of gain but not like a Boogie. The : sustain is more like a cranked Marshall : feedback sustain as opposed to a singing : Boogie type sustain. You still need pedals : to do different types of textures. It cleans : up better than a Marshall when you turn your : guitar volume down. You don't turn this amp : up to 10 like a Marshall. It has a sweet : spot around 1 o'clock and is actually : already breaking up nicely at 9 o'clock! : Turning it past 2 o'clock almost saturates : it too much and makes it sound unstable. It : has a 3 position switch in the front panel : for different degrees of brightness. There : is a character about this amp that I don't : know how to describe. It is a little : smoother/ sweeter/ not quite as harsh as a : Marshall. A great sounding amp for what it : does but if I had to pick only one amp to : take to a gig, this wouldn't be it. : : : : : : : : :