#97034  by jeager
 
Wow, I gigged with my MC 250 for the first time last night. Had to lug across the parking lot in the poorin' rain wrapped in my best gortex rain parka. Frightening! Then I had to set it up in very limited space but it all worked out... our sound guy, band leader etc all love what I am getting out the thing. I love it too but the set up and move aspect is a big concern.

Today I picked up a V 300 pwr amp. I set it up and spent considerable time tweeking the controls on both the V300 and my SMS pre to try and get the sweetest sound I could. I have to admit its better than i thought, I found some very usable settings and messed around for a few hours getting as close as I could to the sound in my head. I had not set up MC 250 this morning so my ears were as fresh as can be. Once I got things as dialed in as possible, i switched over to the MC 250 without changing a thing on the gtr or the pre amp. Oh my, there really is some serious magic in these things. The V 300 is very tempting because of the ease of use factor and I am sure it is very dependable and road worthy, however ... after making all those adjustments to the V300, my guitar and pre, and all I had to do is hook up the Mac turn it on...

I will keep trying with the V300 and maybe post a few sound clips...

Given all our modern technology, why can't we get something that does what the Mac does in one or two rack spaces?
 #97035  by strumminsix
 
Interesting and thanks!!! It's my understanding the V300 is voiced like a guitar poweramp vs the 250 which is more neutral PA type poweramp. just my $.02
 #97037  by gr8fullfred
 
Given all our modern technology, why can't we get something that does what the Mac does in one or two rack spaces?
That is an easy question to answer. The answer is based on the vintage equipment Murphy's law. Section one clearly states that the older, rarer, heavier and more expensive it is, the better it sounds. :lol:
 #97038  by JonnyBoy
 
There is some overall "warmth" to the macs that is not subtle, but very noticeable. It is a beautiful thing I would have never had unless I knew about this place. I knew Jerry had a Mac but I had no idea a MC250 would be so similar. It is good to know that the Rocktron can foot the bill, I heard clips of Jon S. rig and it sounded great. Believe me if I could get the same thing out of a rack amp as a mac I would be saving lots of money and space. I built a box to enclose and lock down the mac, on the back I put a banana jack outlet like a wall outlet flush with the box. I can plug in the speakers and unplug in a flash and its easy to move now. It was real easy to make if you can work a table saw. PM me if you wanna know how, or I can make you one for a nominal price. it reminds me of a wooden lunch box, with a banana plug outlet on the back. :lol:

Much easier to move, stack and some piece of mind.
 #97041  by jeager
 
strumminsix wrote:Interesting and thanks!!! It's my understanding the V300 is voiced like a guitar poweramp vs the 250 which is more neutral PA type poweramp. just my $.02
Hmm. Yea I guess that should be obvious somehow. I kinda thought the pre amp should do most of the voicing part but I am clearly wrong. Anyway, there just seems to be a wee bit of nasty in the upper frequencies in the V 300 that I cant dial out without losing something I want but I will keep trying... and then there is the whole feel thing that is different, though i can't say one is better than the other in that department, just different.
 #97043  by JonnyBoy
 
Yes, I guess it is how the amp excites the signal as it amplifies it, for lack of better words. Some amps throw it at you with more high end, some with more mids,lows etc. Some scoop some peak the mids, some are a flat response. At Macintosh I can see a bunch of audiophiles sitting around tweaking the sound until its perrrrrfect, they must have been Dead Heads :lol: . They thought about all the angles and pitfalls of amplifying a signal for sure. I have heard their transformers have a lot to do with their tone. I am glad they set it at the best it can sound and only left a gain knob to use, cuz I would screw it up if not. :lol:
 #97051  by jenkins
 
I agree 100%, there's nothing like a mac. You don't have to tweak anything, they just sound awesome. I had never used one before I bought my first one & I was just floored when I tried it out. The warmth it adds to your tone is just unmatched w any other amp, IMO.
I haven't tried a rocktron but after owning a mac I see no need to go shopping for a new power amp.
Jk's tone is great, he is an effects master bit his tone is clearly lacking the warmth that Jerry had. He sounds like Jerry , but also he doesn't sound like Jerry. To me he sounds like 89-90 Jerry(when he was using mad fx) which I love, but it's not my favorite Jerry tone at all & def not the kind of tone I'm going for. Jk's effects kick ass but je is totally missing that awesome clean tone that jetty had. Jerry could use no effects bc his guitar just sounded so awesome. His clean tone was so dank that he could just use that & everyone loved it. Listen to like 76 shows, there's whole sections that he doesn't touch his effects just because his clean tone is so sick. Jk does not have that, his clean tone is definitely lacking. Even with his effects he is missing some warmth Jerry had. His tone to me sounds like what a digital clone of jerry's tone might sound like.
I always wondered why jk doesn't go with a mac, it makes no sense to me. I think that a mac is the one thing his rig is lacking
 #97057  by jeager
 
I think there are certainly a variety of ways to arrive at an excellent clean Jerry tone and you could certainly use a modified twin combo or even some digital stuff, these guys using the Axe FX are sounding great for example but I have to admit I get a kick out of doing things in traditional/old fashion ways on occasion.

On another note, I tried that E120 JBL and just hated it I have heard the D120s sounding great but i am hesitant to spend that kind of money on a used speaker so I pick up an Austin Speaker Works KTS 70, not anything like a JBL E, D or K etc but it just sound terrific.
 #97077  by lunasparks
 
Link below will take you to a recording of SMS Classic into both MC250 and Rocktron Velocity 300 (mine is the old, original version), played through JBL K110. Guitar is Am. Std. Strat with middle pickup Dimarzio Area 58. In all cases, the first clip is MC250 followed by the V300. My personal opinion is that it's harder to tell the difference on the recording than in the room. Also, I think the edge goes to the MC250 when I crank the volume. Still, it's possible that my ears are lying :-) In any event, if I was playing out I think I'd probably use the rack-mounted V300 just for convenience sake, but at home I keep turning on the Mac!

http://www.soundclick.com/player/single ... D=10538673
 #97096  by strumminsix
 
mkaufman wrote:I like the MC250 clips better, however, is it possible that you needed to adjust the SMS to make the V300 sound better?

mk
+1
 #97101  by brbadg
 
Seems to me that the velocity 300 could've benefited from a volume increase.Is the difference worth the extra weight and $400
price difference? For me,I have my answer.Thanks so much for posting this!
 #97102  by Jon S.
 
JonnyBoy wrote:I heard clips of Jon S. rig and it sounded great.
I knew if I lived long enough someone would notice! :lol: Seriously, I'm entirely satisfied with my RV300. Cheap, convenient, sounds good - a winning triad.
Image
 #97103  by JonnyBoy
 
Jon S. wrote: I knew if I lived long enough someone would notice! :lol: Seriously, I'm entirely satisfied with my RV300. Cheap, convenient, sounds good - a winning triad.
I am one of your biggest fans Jon! :lol: and not because you have a great first name either! I really really dig how many incarnations and versions of players/songs this site has. It is really cool. I wish people would post more, I would feel tempted to myself!!
 #97118  by lunasparks
 
mkaufman wrote:I like the MC250 clips better, however, is it possible that you needed to adjust the SMS to make the V300 sound better?

mk
guys, apologies if I didn't get the volume/settings quite right. I did it pretty quickly and recording is not really a skill of mine! Basically, I left everything exactly the same and just switched out the two power amps and tried to set volume by ear. I think it's right to assume that working harder to get the best out of either could only improve things. For my money, though, I think there's something still special about the Mac, even if I don't think I could necessarily pass a blind tone test -- at least not with a recording. In the room, I think the difference is somehow more noticeable, as if the MC250 is more transparent or more rounded or more dimensional. Again, it's subtle but when it's just me noodling around I gravitate to the Mac.