Best module for Modern Rock

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gtr31

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I posted on the gear page but thought I would post here as well
Looking for opinions on the current hi gain mods
SLO HBE and VH4 the Soldano is the one I seems to hear the most about
To owners I am looking for a Breaking Benjamin Pop Evil Shinedown type tone
Can you compare the 3 ??
Thanks in advance
 
For "me" for Modern stuff I use something like a JJDirt in Stereo with something like an Angel or a MarkUS

SLO/Soldano HBE etc to me are all way too old sounding...

May as well play through a Fender if you're going to use those LoL

Can't comment on the VH4, but my "guess" is that it would sound decent backing up the JJ just like the Angel/MarkUS.

You could use something other than a JJ, but the idea is the same.

Anyways, half the tone is in your fingers, and 1/4 is in your guitar.. only 1/4 in your amp soooo youre not gonna sound like em anyways LoL

My .25 cents, which is probably only worth a dime.

..and in 25 minutes Ill probably be sorry I chose to offer up my views LoL
 
gtr31 said:
I posted on the gear page but thought I would post here as well
Looking for opinions on the current hi gain mods
SLO HBE and VH4 the Soldano is the one I seems to hear the most about
To owners I am looking for a Breaking Benjamin Pop Evil Shinedown type tone
Can you compare the 3 ??
Thanks in advance

I have that trio loaded in a Friedman-modded RM100, and it will cover any heavy tone you need covered.

The HBE is the most traditional of the bunch, with lots of mids, moderate lows and a darker high end than most Marshall-type modules. It also has the signature Friedman compression, which makes it incredibly smooth for soloing.

The SLO has more lows and highs, giving it a more aggressive edge. It also has a sharper attack than the HBE, but it's still very nice for lead playing. It slots neatly between the other two on the traditional/modern continuum.

The VH4 is darker and much less compressed than the other two, with a huge low end. I like it for heavy rhythm playing, but it does leads quite well with a boost.

As noted, there are plenty of excellent non-Synergy options available as well. I only limited my observations here to the Synergy products because you asked about them specifically.
 
Thanks Rising ,

In regards to the VH4 can you get it too brighten up ? i was always a fan of the Archon which i think you mentioned VH4 is similar but a little less mid honk and dryer, if i dug the Archon do you think i would be at home with that mod for the Drop D stuff we are doing .from the clips i like the SLO but i would be afraid as it perhaps coming off to 80s or the lows starting to crumble in drop tunings , If i am looking for a tighter Recto type tone with more bite will the VH4 get me there??
 
gtr31 said:
Thanks Rising ,

In regards to the VH4 can you get it too brighten up ? i was always a fan of the Archon which i think you mentioned VH4 is similar but a little less mid honk and dryer, if i dug the Archon do you think i would be at home with that mod for the Drop D stuff we are doing .from the clips i like the SLO but i would be afraid as it perhaps coming off to 80s or the lows starting to crumble in drop tunings , If i am looking for a tighter Recto type tone with more bite will the VH4 get me there??

You can brighten it up a fair amount with the presence and treble knobs, but it is, like most Diezel products, fundamentally a darker, tighter, more refined tone than any three-channel Recto.

That said, if you like the Archon, I'm pretty sure you'll like the VH4, as they can be dialed to sound fairly similar. The VH4 leans toward the lows and low mids, whereas the Archon, to my ears, is more mid-focused, but again, the differences aren't huge. And yes, they both excel at drop tunings.

Good luck.
 
Rising Farce said:
As noted, there are plenty of excellent non-Synergy options available as well. I only limited my observations here to the Synergy products because you asked about them specifically.

That fact wasn't lost on me, but my point was... If I were looking for a Modern tone, I doubt I'd look at ANY of the Synergy stuff.

If you want to play Jimmy Hendrix to Judas Priest, Queen, Iron Maiden, Van Halen, Ozzy, Ratt, Poison, GnR, all the way up to Pearl Jam, you're probably good to go. For anything after 1990 you're probably SOL on this stuff ... Seems that way to me, and just my opinion. Which I base on what I read and the clips and the fact that they claim these modules are "true to the original" amps etc..

Of course some of the post 1990 guys used classic gear, but... the best modern tones are tighter/cleaner/thicker. They have tone you can't get out of that old ****. ...and like me, a lot of the post 1990 guys that used classic gear had them modified from the original or had 3 pre EQ's jammed down the amps throat to make it comply LoL. Or had crazy signal chains and effects proc's and etc.

I think this new stuff looks good, but somebody need to get them out of 1989 lmao

The reason I prefer (and always have preferred) Salvation mods is because Anthony takes the original amp/tone, emulates it, and then he adds a little more. Its a little more pushed, there's a lot of tonal options with the switches etc... The Modules are like the original amps, but... not exactly. Just kinda sorta. ;) IMO Better.... That's why Friedman became so famous right? Taking stock amps and supposedly making them better? Won't bash on him but.. mostly don't dig his "improvements". I never liked the way most of it sounded, so I never looked that close at exactly what he was doing in his amps, but it seemed to me like he (a lot of times) amplified exactly what I hated about an amp LMAO. Anyways, wanted to clarify why I posted about all those non Synergy Modules on your question

Good Luck on your Quest! Took me about 4 or 5 years of serious work to find the right arsenal of tone (for me). ..and yes I did eventually find it, and no after 6 months I don't hate it and want to start all over again lmao
 
I agree and disagree in a way. A boosted 800 can do anything in my eyes. I just watched a vid of a Ceriatone Chupa playing Lamb of God. That's probably my next amp. You would think the Synergy BE could cover all that territory. But I prefer tightening old preamp sections rather than trying to loosen or get any dynamics out of something like the EVH 50w I had. Great amp, but too much gain and compression. There's 3 amps you go to when you're done messing around. JCM800, 5150, and Dual Rec. And Synergy is missing 2/3 of those listed unfortunately.

Tippy is right about the Angel. OH MY I enjoy it. JJ Dirt was to be my next to cover "greasy modded Marshall" territory. But Matt just told me about the Criminal and I'm intrigued in its possible ability to quench my Peavey needs in a mod.
 
Yeah op1e, (Lets not hijack this thread, so if you want to talk more send me a PM, but..) the Criminal is a thing. I owned one (maybe the 1st one) and sold it to Rus. I think he may have sold it again to someone else. It's not like any other module, and you can def get stuff out of it such as a really decent tone for EVH eruption. I think Eddie played that on a Marshall, but the way he had it setup was not like anything anyone else would do, so it really doesn't sound like a Marshall (to me). So far for a Peavey tone though (and I used to play Peavey's back in the day) I made a custom Faceplate for my JF Trilogy module (cause that original Faceplate was ugly as hell LoL), and that's the module in my rack with a Peavey logo on it. Give credit where its due. I haven't tried Robs new offering/replacement for the Trilogy, but the Trilogy is one of Robs modules I've always liked (Not that I use it much). If given the choice though, and hopefully not screwing up a deal Matt is trying to make, (sorry if I am Matt but..) I'd recommend getting the JJ over both of those. The JJ is a GREAT Module. Right now it's one of my favorites, and I currently have like 24 modules or some silly/ridiculous/unnecessary amount.
 
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