Post #4 Second gig of the weekend

October 02, 2017

Saturday 30 September

Now we are getting there. I'm getting used to the settings, the volume and Gain of the amp. Sadly, I will need to wait a little longer for the High setting. But I am really enjoying the 30 watt setting at a decent volume.

Two different guitars today. An Ibanez RGHRG1 and a Musicman Luke II with EMGs.

The Musicman is a dream to play and with the EMGs has a massive amount of punch. Because of the switching options with the single coils you get a massive start sound with tremendous punch. Th Super Countess loved this. The bridge pickup was not a million miles from the Revernd's Rail Hammers but with perhaps a bit more edge to the delivery. Positions 2 and 4 sounded amazing and the neck single coil was massive. Perhaps even too much. The Reverend's P90 was definitely calmer.

Set 2 and I switched to the Geiger. "Insert rude word here". This thing is made for the Super Countess. The tones!! Everything was bigger, clearer and just better. Bridge, 2 and 4 all sounded like you want them to and the neck pickup was woody and thick but not over powering (unlike the EMG).

I think the conclusion I have to reach here is that the V130 Super Countess puts out what you put in. I'll try a Tele next to prove this but the Starla (which is still quite hot) was the most Vintage sounding, then the Reverend really pushed out a great rock tone. The EMGs perhaps could have done with me backing off some of the gain but the RG took the Reverend sound and pushed it up a notch. If you want an amp that lets the character of your guitars come shining through then this is the beast!

All 4 voices got a look in tonight. The clean is huge and with the Gain where I have it (wound all the way up), it bites and sounds amazing. Loud too. Crunch is my main Rhythm tone and possibly the best noise ever made. It is hairy and "Malcolm Young-y" but still keeps clarity and articulation. I could sit and jam with this tone all day; it is everything I want from an amp for Classic Rock.

OD 1 for lead has brighter tone that cuts through the mix more than OD2 so I would need to bring the overdrive volume down if I were to use that but I will be sticking to OD2 with its thick and creamy feel. There is tonnes of OD volume on tap so I am not compromising by using the second overdrive voice.

Pedal Gremlins were attended to during the day and so I got to use all my pedals throughout the night and the V130 handles these with typical Victory quality. Again, because I am on the clean channel in Crunch mode, there is a clarity with the pedals going into the front which i would associate more with a clean channel than a Gain channel. Wah sounds amazing, chorus shimmers, phaser swooshes brilliantly even the massive pad reverb I use for one song does what I want.

Our sound tonight is massive with a number of regulars commenting this is the best we have ever sounded in over 5 years of gigging.The crowd seemed to enjoy themselves!

This amp is extraordinary. A classic rock gigging guitarist's dream. 4 completely usable voices. Volume options to suit pubs or big venues and tones for years not days.