F30 Drive Sounds

I've had my F30 Combo for a couple of years now and think it's a great amp. However I've found it really sensitive to EQ settings - especially the bass control which I've found needs to be tamed (below the "noon" setting) to avoid that fuzzy distortion on the drive channels.

What I've always struggled with is the slightly boxy nature of the standard drive channel. The Contour channel seems to fix that, but then it seems like you also get a gain jump which I'm not looking for (looking for Classic rock types sounds - less "in your face" distortion). Playing with the gain control (on the drive channel) I find there isn't a particularly wide "sweet spot" for lower gain drive sounds. I've also tried to get those lower gain drive sounds from the clean channel without much success.

Perhaps plugging it into a larger cabinet would solve the boxy sound? Anyone know what closing off the back of the cabinet would do for the sound? (I'm guess that would make it more "directional"?)

Anyone out there shared the same dilemma?

I'm mostly using a 2008 Les Paul Std (occasionally a PRS Satin SC w/Trem).

First; DON'T close the back!! It needs to get rid of the heat from the tubes!! So don't do that!
I've got the F30 combo as well. Love it. However, I know what you mean by having a "boxy" sound by it self. It definitely changes when connecting it to a larger/one more cab. I use mine with a Mesa C90 Thiele. Sounds fantastic and ALOT more powerfull! And that is on both channels, with or without contour. I would recommend you to try it out with a closed back 1x12" cab in conjunction with the combo itself. Or try to unplug the combo speaker, and connect the amp to a 2x12" or 4x12" cab on its own. You'll be amazed of how much power that little beast wil deliver! And I'm shure this will cure alot of th
E boxy sounds you get on the dirt channel (without the contour).
Maybe you could also try to change the preamp tube in V1 to some kind of tube with less gain. Don't know which :-(
Hope this helped just a little.
B.r. andershoeg

i've always sort of struggled with what the term 'boxy' means to different sets of ears...
i will say this about my F-30 combo though...

in my gigging days - i had a few extension cabs that i used from time to time - but my best results with the full band were always using just the combo speaker. the cranked V-30 sat perfectly in the mix - above my funk bass player and sharing midrange with the key-boards...

now that i am semi-retired from the music scene (i.e. raising children, paying a mortgage, playing guitar in my basement, and looking forward to getting the band back together one day years from now), i like my sounds a little different - bigger, bassier, smoother - stuff that probably wouldn't work as well in a full band setting - but for those sounds - i MUCH prefer the sound of the F-30 through my mesa 3/4 back C90 cab.
sounds HUGE - smooth - gorgeous.

also - i completely understand what you mean about going for the lower/med gain sounds... i often run my clean channel gain at ~3:00, and the drive at ~9:00... and wish there was a useable sound in between. hands down best solution i've found - BB preamp. added to the clean channel - it give me just what i was looking for... sort of like just adding more of the same gain to the clean channel... obviously, YMMV

"i am semi-retired from the music scene (i.e. raising children, paying a mortgage, playing guitar in my basement, and looking forward to getting the band back together one day years from now)".......
Sounds just like me
Actually I've also used mine with a pedal, a Boss OD-3, with the clean channel. Lots of classic rock sounds!
B.r. andershoeg

Thanks for the suggestions guys! I'll definitely give adding a 1x12 cab a go.

I have played around with swapping preamp valves to get lower gain sounds - Watford Valves in the UK do a low gain kit which did help a bit but the sweet spot was still small and meant the clean channel didn't crunch up much.

I agree that when playing in a band context the "goal posts" move - what sounds great in the bedroom will probably get lost in a live situation! I play in a twin guitar band so it gets even more complex (the battle to be heard)!

Interestingly I switched the Power Amp valves last night to some Cryo treated Harma valves (also from Watford Valves) and it seem to change the tone (less harsh). The joys of valve amps and tone!

Boxy describes small combos until you play them in a band setting, they loosen up a bit. Any 1x12 extension cab will widen out the sound, for me I added a 2X12 and it was a complete different amp.

Great suggestions on this thread. Nice work all.

The 19" wide format produces a signature mid clarity that really serves well in a band mix and this was the early Boogie's claim to fame (Think early Mark I in the standard Boogie combo size). So while the classic 19" combo format can really cut through in a band mix, it can sometimes feel/sound a little stiff, especially if you're playing alone in the basement and don't have cymbals and bass and vocals filling around the focused Boogie sound.

An extension cab will definitely fill in some bass and make a fuller sound. Just adding another open back cab will fatten things up but if you wanted to really add some bass, something like a Thiele cab can really thicken things up while the combo maintains the midrange focus.

For those who own the F30 combo and have never plugged this amp into a 2x12 or even 4x12 cab, you owe it to yourself to hear what this amp sounds like with a cab beyond the combo. As well, doing this will help you understand where the combo's sweetspots and high points are when it's by itself and figuring out how it fits well in the band mix with or without more speaker area.

Hope this helps.

Authorized Boogie

Seconding the thiele. I have a thiele 2 x 12 that I run with my Dual Recto. It has a really big sound but doesn't have the bulk of a 4 x 12. It also has a really clear tone which is great for low volume crunch and blaring high gain.