[GoodTrips]

I like to cover a variety of music, beside Grateful Dead, but like everyone else here, having the ability to get a good Jerry tone is really important to me. I have been assembling a rig using Kingsley Preamps and recently got a Kingsley Crucible, which is a brand new 1 Watt Power amp they just released. The power amp allows you to adjust Tone/Presence/Negative Feedback and has a PPIMV to adjust headroom. I have found that by running their Blackface Preamp (Maiden BF) -> Crucible -> Delay/Reverb -> Mesa Lonestar FX loop return (running 6L6's) -> Homemade cab w/ K120, I've been able to dial in a Jerry Tone that really seems close to me. Loud, Punchy and clear.

The really nice thing is that I can then run the Kingsley Plexi or Dumble preamp and cover an incredible range. It's not necessarily a cheaper alternative but it does allow for a lot of flexibility so I thought I'd share my experience.

[MikeMcA]

Cool. I'm interested in how close one can get to 80's Jerry tone using gear other than what he used, and I'm also a big fan of Kingsley pedals. Does it do the snappy, slightly gainy 80's thing?

Why do you use a power amp if you're going into the effects return of the Lonestar? Is it just for the tonal contributions? Is the Lonestar power section contributing to the tone too or could you go into a SS power amp? Does it sound good at low volumes driving the speaker directly with the Crucible?

Cheers!

[Alligator]

I can get a fat 72 tone with asat special and mesa mark 1. Maybe a little more sustain than he got at more manageable volume.