New Track Featuring Salvation Mods Spawn! 80's Goodness!

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Mike P

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Hey Guys,

I was so impressed by Matt's Spawn demo that I ordered one last week and received it on Friday. Unlike the other modules I've purchased or had commissioned in the past, I'd never played through a Splawn Quick Rod and wasn't sure exactly what to expect. But not only is it an amazing sounding module, it's chocked full of features which make it amazingly versatile! Once I dialed in the tone, I immediately wrote this track. It's a really inspiring module!

For this track, I used my Les Paul with a Burstbucker Pro in the bridge. I tried my Charvel clone (Warmoth body, Mighty Mite neck, JB & Jazz, original Floyd) but there was something about the LP that sounded "just right" to my ears.

The OD1/OD2 is set to OD2. In OD1 mode, the module really harkens back to the early 70's 4 input 1959 and 1987 models, although I'd describe the Tone Stack as "Modern" as opposed to a vintage midrange and bass. This module can be fairly clean or have an enormous amount of gain - like Smashing Pumpkins without a Big Muff.

So, in OD2 mode, the bass is at 5, the Mid at 4, the Treble at 7 and the Presence, which really makes a huge difference in the gain, is at about 4. When the Presence is cranked, the gain really explodes but for my purposes in this track, I wanted less "White Noise" on top.

The Tight Switch and the Gate are off (the ending fades) and it's in Gear 2, which is described as JCM800 mode. I owned an early 80's JCM 800 but it never sounded like this module, that's for sure! The tone is all about "80's Goodness" and it seems like the perfect module for those killer guitar tones we all loved.

The signal path is the same as always: Les Paul>Randall RM100 w/ARS 12AX7's and Ruby 6L6's>Bogner Cube w/Lynchback>Mojave FET 201>Vintech 273>Apogee>Nuendo 5.5.6. There's a hair of Lexicon plate reverb from the LXP Native and delay from the PSP PCM 42 emulation.

I'll be happy to answer any questions, so feel free to post.

Enjoy!

www.mikeplas.com/mcm/amairstrike.mp3
 
Love your clips, I think the Spawn sounds great...can't wait to get one!

Downloading to listen now! :twisted:
 
Hopefully you know... as ALWAYS, I'm trying to be constructive and helpful.

I liked the clip Mike, but I think the spawn is a bit hairy. I was surprised how well it sounded in Matt's clip, but I think in yours... it's back to my original opinion of this tone. I think you had the gain turned up a little higher than the guy did in Matt's clip (which could be contributing to the difference)

Just my two cents which half of the time probably just pisses people off
 
suphuckers said:
Hopefully you know... as ALWAYS, I'm trying to be constructive and helpful.

I liked the clip Mike, but I think the spawn is a bit hairy. I was surprised how well it sounded in Matt's clip, but I think in yours... it's back to my original opinion of this tone. I think you had the gain turned up a little higher than the guy did in Matt's clip (which could be contributing to the difference)

Just my two cents which half of the time probably just pisses people off

Regardless of where Matt set the gain, the OD1/OD2 and Gear switch, I chose a setting that best suits this particular track.
 
So I was thinking maybe I got you wrong Mike ...so if I got you wrong I'm sorry. (I'm still pretty sure I read you right but... who really cares)

It just kinda seemed from your response, that you weren't interested in my input, and I originally assumed (...but I shouldn't have) that you wanted some.

I just personally think, that presence or white noise as you called it, is still present, and it would sound better if it were reduced a tiny bit more.

That's the only reason I posted.

Otherwise like I said (and made bold and underlined) in my 1st post. I like the clip

...and it's just my opinion
 
suphuckers said:
So I was thinking maybe I got you wrong Mike ...so if I got you wrong I'm sorry. (I'm still pretty sure I read you right but... who really cares)

It just kinda seemed from your response, that you weren't interested in my input, and I originally assumed (...but I shouldn't have) that you wanted some.

I just personally think, that presence or white noise as you called it, is still present, and it would sound better if it were reduced a tiny bit more.

That's the only reason I posted.

Otherwise like I said (and made bold and underlined) in my 1st post. I like the clip

...and it's just my opinion
Like Mike should give two shits about your opinion. Do you think he's going to go back and change things because some JoeBob on a forum thinks he knows best? Get over yourself!
Mike,
That sounds fantastic!!!
 
I think this sounded better than Fig's recording because it sounds more like the speaker moving air vs that darned Torpedo! :D Nothing wrong with the torpedo and it sounds good but a real speaker and mic just sounds better. The "hair" on top could be from the Lynchback breaking in or just where Mike likes to place his mic. I guess the only way to truly A/B the module would be to put it side by side by the real deal.

I personally find a lot of the salvation stuff sounds fizzy to my ears as the gain opens up so maybe that is what you are hearing and not liking. For me though, I liked the rawness of this clip. Mike I thought in the past some of your other recordings sounded darker or more rounded to me. They sounded good but not all of them really dug in like this one. Maybe it is the LYnchback vs the 80 watters you used before? How did you account for a 100 watt amp with 50 watt speaker? Pull two tubes? I want to pick up a lynchback for recording but i am afraid that it won't handle a 50 watt Marshall for recording.
 
audiomidijace said:
Like Mike should give two shits about your opinion. Do you think he's going to go back and change things because some JoeBob on a forum thinks he knows best? Get over yourself!
Mike,
That sounds fantastic!!!

Thanks, Jace! I think the module sounds great and it's super fun to play. I'd forgotten how much I dug the JCM800. I think a Camerock might be next :D
 
Yeah that's what I'm hearing Kapo. I think Mike heard it too. Although for some reason now he's gone silent. (...but whatever Mike. I was just trying to help. You don't need to talk to me, and especially no need to change you're recording) ...but If you read his original post Kapo, he said...
So, in OD2 mode, the bass is at 5, the Mid at 4, the Treble at 7 and the Presence, which really makes a huge difference in the gain, is at about 4. When the Presence is cranked, the gain really explodes but for my purposes in this track, I wanted less "White Noise" on top.

I said I thought the gain was higher in his recording, and I really didn't even catch this part of his post until after I made my observation. He's got that knob all the way to 4. "...because he wanted less white noise". I can only imagine what it sounded like at 6, that made him cut it back to 4. ...but I'm an idiot and an ******* probably, and apparently need to get over myself. So what the heck do I know? lmao
 
Kapo_Polenton said:
I think this sounded better than Fig's recording because it sounds more like the speaker moving air vs that darned Torpedo! :D Nothing wrong with the torpedo and it sounds good but a real speaker and mic just sounds better. The "hair" on top could be from the Lynchback breaking in or just where Mike likes to place his mic. I guess the only way to truly A/B the module would be to put it side by side by the real deal.

The tiny bit of "hair" or top end was a choice. I just felt it worked well within the track and a day later, I'm still very pleased with the track.

Kapo_Polenton said:
For me though, I liked the rawness of this clip. Mike I thought in the past some of your other recordings sounded darker or more rounded to me. They sounded good but not all of them really dug in like this one. Maybe it is the LYnchback vs the 80 watters you used before? How did you account for a 100 watt amp with 50 watt speaker? Pull two tubes? I want to pick up a lynchback for recording but i am afraid that it won't handle a 50 watt Marshall for recording.

I've made so many changes in the past six months that's difficult to pinpoint one factor. The Producer's Blanket's made such a huge difference in revealing the true tone coming from the speaker, so that was certainly the starting point. Once I began recording new tracks, I kept stumbling into pretty large peaks in the high midrange, which I finally identified as the Classic Lead 80. Once I replaced it with the Lynchback and spent 20 hours breaking it in, "everything" changed again.

As for the older recordings I've shared, I completely agree but they sounded darker for several reasons as well. First, the old room wasn't treated properly, nor was I taking advantage of the space due the existing layout. In the new room, I'm taking advantage of 17 feet of depth (the other only about 10) and nine foot ceilings, along with multiple GIK Tri-Traps and more than a dozen 48x24x4 705 panels. In the old room, I was "fooled" into thinking it sounded a certain way but that was revealed in the new room.

The other underlying factor in the darker tracks is that I've recently switched from mixing through a Neve 8816 with a Vintech 609CA (33609 clone) and all of their transformer goodness to mixing "In the Box" using the Slate Virtual Bus Compressors. I've recently remixed my entire 200+ song catalog (along with the alternate mixes, so more than 800 in total) and I'm happier with the SSL Emulation than with the real transformers. I've also replaced every drum kit and dozens of guitar and bass tracks so that they fit my original vision. It's been extremely time consuming and challenging but I feel much better about my guitar driven tracks moving forward.
 
..and Kapo you said you liked Mike's clip better than Matt's, and I just want to point out that I never compared the clips. I just compared the tone in the clips (There's a big difference.) My only point here was... At 4, I still hear all that noise Mike. Make 50 clips and turn the presence control to 77638476234 I really don't care.
 
Kapo_Polenton said:
How did you account for a 100 watt amp with 50 watt speaker? Pull two tubes? I want to pick up a lynchback for recording but i am afraid that it won't handle a 50 watt Marshall for recording.

I don't record very loud, so it hasn't been an issue. The master volume on the RM100 is generally between 10 & 11 O'clock, with the master volume on the modules anywhere from 10-12 O'clock.

It doesn't sound as if the speaker is overloading, nor have I heard any artifacts in the recordings, so I don't think it's much of an issue. Now, if I were to have everything cranked up to 2 O'clock or so, that might present an issue. But so far, no problems.

I recorded the Classic Lead 80, which is 80 watts rms, for 10 years with a 100 watt amp and it's still chugging along.
 
suphuckers said:
Haha Some JoeBob good one

...but no I don't expect him to go back and change anything. I just thought he might take a 2nd listen and maybe he will hear it too.

Sounds like I'm not the one that needs to get over myself

I will explain this to you, one more time: I made a conscious choice for the guitars in this track to sound this way. If you can project that turning down the Presence knob would work better for you, that's all good.

To be quite honest, I am not concerned with your opinion unless you are paying me to be concerned with your opinion.

And furthermore, you're the absolute rudest person I've encountered on this forum. Your deleted messages last night were quite nasty, which I suppose is why you deleted them.
 
They weren't that nasty, I just thought I'd try to be nicer. I thought maybe I had you wrong, but I'm pretty sure I have you dialed right in. You have an ego the size of my... well I wont even go here. Don't worry about me commenting on your clips anymore Mike. But before I go.. So far most are just kinda aight. Be thankful you have a job, and get off your horse.
 
suphuckers said:
They weren't that nasty, I just thought I'd try to be nicer. I thought maybe I had you wrong, but I'm pretty sure I have you dialed right in. You have an ego the size of my... well I wont even go here. Don't worry about me commenting on your clips anymore Mike. But before I go.. So far most are just kinda aight. Be thankful you have a job, and get off your horse.

I'm more than happy to hear objective opinions from colleagues and from people whose work that I respect. I also honor any requests from music supervisors, directors, producers and A&R people that I've worked with in the past and present, making your proclamation null & void.

If your comments had been more along the lines of "Yeah, that sounds great and I see that there is room to decrease the top end, which would work better for me", I don't think that either Jace or I would have an issue with them.

But instead, you took the route of telling me what I should be doing, which is only rude, but highly egotistical.

Who are you? What are your credentials? Are you listening on a lap top or tuned room on Focals or Barefoot's? What makes you believe that reducing the top end by a half a dB would any impact as to whether or not this track is placed in a TV show and if so, why?

You've done nothing other than act like petulant child in this topic and unfortunately, it's not the first time, as I've seen your "spam" in nearly every topic for the past several months.
 
Well if you insist on continuing Mike I'll give it a shot, but I reserve the right to get the hell out of here at a moments notice. 1st off. I wasn't even commenting on your ability to make a recording. I was commenting on the tone coming out of that Module. ...but you just want to take everything personal. As far as my credentials they are right here on the side of my head. They are called ears, and mine work really well... Don't worry I wont offer them to you again.
 
suphuckers said:
Well if you insist on continuing Mike I'll give it a shot, but I reserve the right to get the hell out of here at a moments notice. 1st off. I wasn't even commenting on your ability to make a recording. I was commenting on the tone coming out of that Module. ...but you just wasn't to take everything personal. As far as my credentials they are right here on the side of my head. They are called ears, and mine work really well... Don't worry I wont offer them to you again.

"Everything personal"? Last night, you claimed that I thought I was "perfect" because I chose not to change the mix after your multiple posts, yet you later deleted that comment.

And finally, I couldn't care less whether you choose to comment in the future. The tracks that I've posted over the years have been as a service to the members of this community, as well as the the modders, in the hopes of helping people to make informed decisions about their purchases.
 
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