Twinface drive sounds vs cleans? need help

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withmittens

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I'm leaning toward a Twinface. I like the fender cleans for some things but clean come with the other mods I have. What I'm wondering is if the Twinface can deliver on edge of breakup or full on broken Fender tone of these two amps. I've experienced mods with the added "Mesa pushed" tone and I'm not a fan. much too smooth.

to me a driven Fender is nasty and broken up, when near wide open

so, I'm wondering if the Twinface can do this kind of thing on the Twin and Deluxe channels with the gain up......

otherwise I'm going to have a custom mod done, and I really don't want to do that.

Think Uncle Tupelo, Gun Club, Cramps, Kills, Flat Duo Jets, etc.....

Thanks for your input
 
Don't know about the Twinface. however, in my opinion twins were never designed to break up and sound kind of farty when they do. I would go with a Deluxe base mod....not much over $100 and the break up is spot on fender and not like a Mesa or Marshall. They also can do a nice clean if you want or that place between clean and break up. If the twinface can do that it is not really based on a Twin. Also Rob's VybeDeluxe is way cool. Has a wonderful clean, plus the pushed mode does a nice distortion. A Twinface with an overdrive pedal might be nice......
 
I haven't owned a Twinface but Drew loaned me his for a while, and I can tell you that the overdrive sounds in the Twin mode are kickass. I wasn't so into the Pushed mode, but in the regular Twin mode with Mojo set to warm (which gives you a gain boost), when you dime the gain you get some real mean crunch. Totally rocking tone and not farty at all (by which I mean it doesn't sound the way the stock Blackface and Deluxe modules do when cranked).

I personally didn't have much use for the Deluxe sounds in the Twinface, so what I ended up doing was getting the Deluxe Twin Mod from Voodoo Amps. For a very reasonable price (even factoring in the mini-Fender knobs and custom faceplate I bought for it), I ended up with a module that gave me the things I liked best about the Twinface without the versatility that I didn't need. And yes, this module sounds godly when cranked as well.
 
For me, it's a very versatile module because of the great cleans as well as a nice kick - the "pushed" brings a trebly-singing type of tone to my playing. It's not shrill but it does certainly have more high frequencies than lower ones, as you might expect.
 
When you say "real Fender Twin", which one are you referring to, exactly? An original Blackface? A non-master volume Silverface? A master-volume Silverface? An ultralinear Silverface? They're all going to sound very different. I've never had the pleasure of playing a real Blackface Twin, but my understanding is that they break up rather early. I have played a master volume Silverface, and no, the Twinface doesn't sound anything like it, and it's the better for it.
 
Whoopysnorp said:
I've never had the pleasure of playing a real Blackface Twin, but my understanding is that they break up rather early. .
Click to expand...

i suppose I'm talking about a real blackface but also a bit of the tweed twin sound. they both break up in a really great way
 
I have played on a few Black face twins in my day and own a silverface twin. My experience is that the speakers break up but not the amp. They are really loud and you have to crank them to ear bleeding volume before they break up....at least with JBLs or EV SROs
 
withmittens said:
Whoopysnorp said:
I've never had the pleasure of playing a real Blackface Twin, but my understanding is that they break up rather early. .
Click to expand...

i suppose I'm talking about a real blackface but also a bit of the tweed twin sound. they both break up in a really great way
Click to expand...

My experience is that the Blackface Twin does not break up and sounds nearly (if not completely) like a Silverfaced Twin.

Now, a Blackfaced Bassman breaks up, big time. Far more than the Silverfaced Bassman or Tweed 4x10 Bassman.

The Blackfaced Bassman can do that "Running on a Dream" Tom Petty/Mike Campbell thing perfectly.
 
ricky said:
I have played on a few Black face twins in my day and own a silverface twin. My experience is that the speakers break up but not the amp. They are really loud and you have to crank them to ear bleeding volume before they break up....at least with JBLs or EV SROs
Click to expand...

Yeah, this is has been my exact experience as well. The "Classic" Fender Twin sound is achieved with either of those speaker combinations, although I slightly prefer the EV's to the JBL's.

In the early 80's, I put a pair of EV's in a Roland JC120. It sounded phenomenal but was super heavy.
 
Yep on that Mike P. My twin has EV-SROs from the 50s with the coffee can sized magnets. One of the reasons I retired it was because of the weight. But what a clean sound! I imagine in a JC-120 it would be lighter b/c of it being a solid state amp, but with the EVs, still pretty heavy.
With my JF Twin mod, I can get my RM50 to sound almost exactly like my twin. I am pretty sure it would be spot on if I dropped on of those EVs in it. I am considering one of the Weber D120 clones.
 
I defer to you guys' knowledge on that point, then. To get back to the original point: my Voodoo Twin is pretty similar to the "warm mojo" mode of the Twin side of the Twinface, both clean and dirty. I can record some quick clips for you and it should give you a general idea of what those settings on the Twinface are like.
 
Yes, to get back to the point....I did have a VooDoo Twin mod and while not being Twin like, it was a cool mod in that it had a gain pot inside that I could kick up or down and get some nice warm overdriven sounds. Trace was good at that.
 
withmittens said:
awesome responses, thank you all. I will either go Voodoo with a custom added flavor or Twinface
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I really hate to recommend one modder over another or for it appear as if I'm showing favor, but in my experience, the JF Vybe Deluxe would be the module most suited for the tones based on your description.
 
had one, thanks Mike

I don't think that saying a mod does brilliantly well or badly at getting a certain sound, in ones experience with it, is bias. it's just discourse, which after all, is what a forum is all about. I appreciate any input anyone can give of their experience with mods and sounds. money does not grow on trees, much to my surprise
 
withmittens said:
had one, thanks Mike
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May I ask which or what guitar you were using?

Personally, I am absolutely blown away by the Vybe Deluxe. I've owned the aforementioned amps (Black and Silverfaced Bassman, Silver faced 1977 Fender Twin, Fender Reissue Bassman 4x10, a Vibroverb and even a Dual Showman) and I was just floored with the sound, tone and versatility of the Vybe Deluxe.

I've tracked with using my Les Paul with a Burstbucker Pro Bridge & Classic 57 neck, my new Sheraton with Lollar Imperial Low Wounds and new Casino with Lollar P90's, and have just been extremely amazed at the results.

All of the combinations sound exactly like a vintage guitar/amp combination (FTR, I've replaced the hardware on each with Bone Nuts, CTS pots, Switchcraft jacks, Grover Locking Tuners and TonePros locking tune-a-matic and stop tailpieces).

It's a mind-blower, IMO.
 
sure, I have a '13 Les Paul std. with BB pros, a '70 SG with classic 57 in bridge and T top in neck and a strat. The Vybe was nice, it did a good job at getting the warmer fender tones, the break up was not desirable or what I recognize from a Fender amp, with my guitars anyway. Best with the strat as the humbuckers drive it into fart land too much.

When i first got it I liked it very much. It's bass response seemed to overwhelm my other mods though so switching between mods during the set was just too far different in tone. i needed that sharp Fender type of bite. It seemed to have too much squish for me as well. i used to play Fenders a lot and what I remember liking was a rich sound with a good amount of attack, in a clean way and then nice creamy, non farty drive that could be obtained with either a pedal or volume. the Vybe does the big round sound well but loses me on the sharper, early breakup tones. so, I'm still looking for that sharp thwack and quack fender tone that can be driven into non farty dirt

No doubt the Vybe is a fine mod, just not for me
 
withmittens said:
sure, I have a '13 Les Paul std. with BB pros, a '70 SG with classic 57 in bridge and T top in neck and a strat. The Vybe was nice, it did a good job at getting the warmer fender tones, the break up was not desirable or what I recognize from a Fender amp, with my guitars anyway. Best with the strat as the humbuckers drive it into fart land too much.

When i first got it I liked it very much. It's bass response seemed to overwhelm my other mods though so switching between mods during the set was just too far different in tone. i needed that sharp Fender type of bite. It seemed to have too much squish for me as well. i used to play Fenders a lot and what I remember liking was a rich sound with a good amount of attack, in a clean way and then nice creamy, non farty drive that could be obtained with either a pedal or volume. the Vybe does the big round sound well but loses me on the sharper, early breakup tones. so, I'm still looking for that sharp thwack and quack fender tone that can be driven into non farty dirt

No doubt the Vybe is a fine mod, just not for me
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Hmmm. Were you using an open back cab? Which speaker(s)?

My experience is that single coil pickups are more desirably for the tone you're seeking, whether it's a Tele, Strat or P90 equipped guitar. Humbuckers are generally too "fat" sounding, especially with a Twin.
 

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