Grateful Dead Music Forum

So I haven't been here in a while but there have been some developments:

I saw dark star last weekend in providence and was blown away by Jeff Mattson's tone. Like Waldo once said, the key is in the crispness of the lower registers like on althea and sugaree. I am currently playing through a boogie mkIII that is very tweakable. any suggestions EQ wise to help with the lower crispness? I understand that most of the tone comes through playing like jerry but I've got a pretty good base and I JUST NEED TO HAVE THAT LOW TONE FOR ALTHEA!!!!!

Thanks

Try lowering the bass, and raising the treble. Your low notes will sound clear and snappy, but you may get piercing highs? A lot depends on the guitar also. And, of course, the pups!

I'd start with the bass at 0, and adjust the treble to taste...

I gigged with a Mark III from about 1987-2003. It's an awesome amp but I had some of the same issues you are having. I used hum bucking guitars through a good bit of that period (a Les Paul and a PRS) and that probably some of it. Do you know if you have 4 6L6 tubes or 2 EL34s? Using the EL34s could make somewhat of a difference. I found that I needed a bit more low end and a little less high end that how you would set a Twin just for a Jerry tone. I never quite got there but it was a great tone nonetheless.

Others have more experience than me, but I think the McIntosh has a lot to do with the lowest notes tone with Garcia too.
You will get a snappier low end using the pups nearest the bridge as well (eg. bridge pup on Cold Rain Snow). The problem is those pups can get pretty thin/brittle/piercing on the unwound strings with some guitars. JBL or similar high power speaker plays a part too.
I don't have any modification ideas though if that's what your after.

What guitar and PUPs are you using? You could try slightly lowering your main PUP on the bass side.

The onboard jg preamp is the key to the snappy, clear lows. I've had good results with many different amps and speakers as long as the preamp is there.

The onboard jg preamp is the key to the snappy, clear lows. I've had good results with many different amps and speakers as long as the preamp is there.

This is a vital point... I forget that some folks don't use them...

When seeking a tonal change, start with the simplest, free changes and proceed from there. IF you don't already have an on-board buffer or preamp, by all means, consider installing one, but START with experimenting with your PUP heights and amp settings.

This, to me, has always been the most difficult aspect of Garcia's tone to capture. I do have ONE guitar that can do it, a Music Man, but I've never really understood why--and lo and behold it does have an active pickup system (IOW, it uses a 9 volt battery, installed in the back of the guitar). Perhaps that's the magic ingredient!

So I hate to put my ignorance fully on display here, but is this the same thing as an onboard preamp?

And if anyone has any suggestions for posts or other resources that might clue me in a little further about this topic, please let me know.

Thanks much.

Fresh strings!!

On-board buffer!!

Turn the bass on the amp/preamp OFF. Crispy lows come from virtually removing the fundamentals of the low notes and letting all the overtones dominate. The more you turn the bass down (to off!) the more clear, crisp, punchy, boinky and audible the bass notes become.

JBL!!! They sparkle and shimmer like nothing else.



B

+1 +1 +1
Clear and concise!

My Mesa Lonestar is switchable between tube and solid state (silicone?) rectifiers. I noticed a more Jerry-like response when I switched from tube to solid-state. Snappy, punchy... "crisper". More similar to the Mac- which would also have a solid state rectifier.

So I guess this question would be directed to SMS--are you saying that the onboard preamp is NOT a factor at all? Or just a less important factor? Or do you consider it important too?

Graphite pick!!! The Dunlop Adamas that Jerry himself used. It really creates a more metal on metal, snappy low tone!