Grateful Dead Music Forum

I've been gigging with my MV962 for the last few weeks. Both of my MC2100s are out for repair. I would have to say that while to my ears while I'm playing, it doesn't have the same mojo. A little harsh sounding compared to the Mac but on recordings it sounds really good. It is certainly a good amp considering I only paid about $125 for it.

tcsned wrote:I've been gigging with my MV962 for the last few weeks. Both of my MC2100s are out for repair. I would have to say that while to my ears while I'm playing, it doesn't have the same mojo. A little harsh sounding compared to the Mac but on recordings it sounds really good. It is certainly a good amp considering I only paid about $125 for it.

Agreed, my mc250 definitely has more silk/mojo vs my 1160 as stated, but for the $$, it's a great bargain and for me, a great backup amp too. The MV can perform just fine for a main amp as well imo
If I really push the 1160, it does not clip as friendly as the Mc250 does.

TeeJay wrote:Sounds fantastic. Is all the reverb exclusively the Talisman?

Sorry for the delay - Yes, the reverb is exclusively the Talisman. For gigs I set it up on top of my amp so depending on my mood or the song I can alter the settings.

Recently I was lucky to fill in for VIc with Playin Dead at an outdoor gig. Ironically, 5 minutes prior to go time I could not find my Q-tron power supply... Shakedown, Estimated and Ramble On Rose on the setlist. I had to change things and wound up using my Lunar Phaser for the wah sound so to speak. You can hear that on the opener and Estimated.

You can get a real good idea of the reverb with the last 3 minutes of this set. I crank up the reverb for the Morning Dew jam (maybe too much).

Loving the SMS rig though - lightweight, reliable and sounds good.

I used the same combo for a few years. The 962 is decent extremely reliable amp that can be had for a great price. I have since switched my amp to a Stewart PA 50b. A nice little half rack amp that produces 100 watts bridged. It uses convection cooling instead fans which I feel makes for a quieter amp. On the other side of my half rack, I installed the little black box, so those two items only take up 1U.

keirweir wrote:

TeeJay wrote:Sounds fantastic. Is all the reverb exclusively the Talisman?

Sorry for the delay - Yes, the reverb is exclusively the Talisman. For gigs I set it up on top of my amp so depending on my mood or the song I can alter the settings.

Recently I was lucky to fill in for VIc with Playin Dead at an outdoor gig. Ironically, 5 minutes prior to go time I could not find my Q-tron power supply... Shakedown, Estimated and Ramble On Rose on the setlist. I had to change things and wound up using my Lunar Phaser for the wah sound so to speak. You can hear that on the opener and Estimated.

You can get a real good idea of the reverb with the last 3 minutes of this set. I crank up the reverb for the Morning Dew jam (maybe too much).

Loving the SMS rig though - lightweight, reliable and sounds good.

Sounds incredible, man. And, great playing! Curious, to the extent you're still using your Shakedown amp -- are you also using the Talisman with it? How do you think it compares to the verb on the Shakedown? I ask because I too have a Shakedown Amp, which I love, but actually had to bring it in recently to a local guy because the reverb was making a weird hissing sound (I didn't have time to drive all the way up to see Joe). It got fixed -- but I think it sounds different now and somehow less Jerry??? Anyway, I was thinking about bringing it back to Joe (which is a bit of a trek), but I'm so impressed with the sounds you're getting out of that Talisman -- I'm also thinking about just scoring one of those and saving myself the trip (at least for now). So -- curious about your thoughts as to how you think the Talisman compares to the verb on the shakedown. . . . thanks!

Jedstein

I used my Shakedown Exclusively from 2011-2015. I had sent it back to Joe for mods a few times and it always came back sounding amazing. One of the things I loved about my Shakedown was the reverb. 3 spring long tank that was an older one and just sounded great. About 2 years ago I started dealing with a squealing sound actually coming from the reverb. Once the amp warmed up any reverb at all would turn into straight feedback. I sent it to Joe to fix, when it came back the reverb issue started up again pretty quickly. I then brought it to Aztec Electronics in Boston to the most well respected tech in the city. He worked on it for 5 hours and we couldn't figure it out. Then I replaced the reverb tank altogether. I wasn't happy with the newer tank sound and wouldn't; you know it, the reverb feedback returned shortly thereafter. I can even get a little ping when the reverb is off.

Eventually I said screw it and went the SMS route. I haven't been using the Shakedown at because of the issue. I ran into an amp tech at a show who said he might know what the problem is.

I love the Talisman, it works for me

Here's a clip of what's going on with my Shakedown and why I can't use it. Usually it works fine for the first 5-10 minutes but eventually it does this. At first the reverb knob is turned down all the way (even though you can somewhat hear it). As the clip Progresses I turn up the reverb a little winsing up on 4.5 when the gates of tone he'll open up.

keirweir wrote:Here's a clip of what's going on with my Shakedown and why I can't use it. Usually it works fine for the first 5-10 minutes but eventually it does this. At first the reverb knob is turned down all the way (even though you can somewhat hear it). As the clip Progresses I turn up the reverb a little winsing up on 4.5 when the gates of tone he'll open up.

No bueno. I saw this answer in a forum: "If the physical mounting of the tank is too rigid, you'll get feedback. Does your tank sit in a tolex bag mounted on the bottom of the cabinet?"

I got my Macs back last week from being serviced and gigged with one last night. There is a big difference in tone at least to my ears. The MosValve is certainly a great amp especially for the $$ but the Mac is more much more 3 dimensional, sweeter, and clearer. Loud with less pain. The MosValve is an excellent backup. I carry it with me to every gig. My Macs have not proven to be super reliable so having a good backup has been a lifesaver.

keirweir wrote:Here's a clip of what's going on with my Shakedown and why I can't use it. Usually it works fine for the first 5-10 minutes but eventually it does this. At first the reverb knob is turned down all the way (even though you can somewhat hear it). As the clip Progresses I turn up the reverb a little winsing up on 4.5 when the gates of tone he'll open up.

Keirweir,

Really interesting -- thanks for the response and the demo. I had the exact same problem! I actually brought it to Andy Fuchs, who, in addition to making killer amps, runs a full repair shop. And I think Andy said something to the effect that the reverb was really sensitive the way that it was set up, which is why he thought it was giving me problems. What he did -- was basically change it back to the way it would normally be set -- which meant that instead of getting the desired amount of reverb on about 4.5 -- as was the case before -- now I'm not really pushing it past 3. He told me it wouldn't affect the tone (just the sensitivity) -- but at least in my mind -- it sounds different, which I can only sum up by saying it sounds less Jerry, less ethereal? Would be curious to know if anyone thinks this makes any sense or if I'm likely just imagining this! And it certainly doesn't sound bad -- some of the mojo just seems gone. But -- on a positive note -- I'm not getting that horrible hiss that you still have. But, again, after hearing the Talisman (which I'm very impressed with), I'm wondering if maybe the safest bet is to just get a separate reverb source (like the Talisman). Thanks!