Anyone got any good Metal settings for DC-5???

So...
I've been back and forth with my DC-5. I really love it, but I want it to be more aggressive and Recto like.
In the last few months, I have traded a bunch of gear and through my hands passed a Dual Rec (early Rev. G), Rectoverb, and Mark IV.

Last night I a/b-ed my DC-5 combo with my Rectoverb combo.
The Recto has so much more aggression and distortion, plus the BASS is phenomenal!
That is all it has going for it.

The DC has a way better clean channel and reverb.
The EQ adds a lot of versatility, as does the separate preamp tubes for each channel!

I just wish it had more girth in the lead channel.
FWIW: I have the Master Volume Mod on a push/pull pot. Last night, when I pulled the knob (adding the parallel resistor back in), the amp really came alive!
I'll probably keep it pulled and only push it in for bedroom jamming late at night.

Anyway......
Anybody have some great Metal settings for the lead channel??????

just to be aware of what you consider a good metal tone, please give an me opinion on this, I bought an M Audio Fasttrack interface like three weeks ago and to test it I recorded this, it's just fooling around with the lead channel, pay no attention to my playing .

Path was : Amp recording output -> fasttrack -> computer , that's it no efeccts, post eq or anything

http://soundcloud.com/maynardo/dc-5-lead-channel


BTW I have only tried a recto tremoverb in a mesa 4x12 and the bottom end was annoying, probably in a combo is great tho. Anyways I was thinking that a lot of amps with only prescence knob have mods to have a depth or resonance pot added, maybe that could be done with the DC-5 as well ?

have you try to put an attenuation in the fx loop ? something like a 10db pad ?

it can help you a bit more.

What kind of metal tone are you going for? Do you own a MFX unit?

:lol: Guess that was pretty vague....

I'm looking for a darker tone than the DC has been able to give me. I completely understand that it is partially (or mostly) due to my setup.
I also completely understand that I could modify the amp to no end. I don't really want to put more mods into it, although I hadn't thought of a Depth mod......

Here is my setup:
Ibanez JS1000 (DiMarzio PAF Pro/neck Tone Zone/bridge)(This is my favorite guitar)
PRS McCarty (Duncan Alnico II pickups - smooth, rich and creamy!)
PRS CE-22 (DiMarzio Full Shred/Dimebucker)(This guitar makes a Blues Jr. sound Metal!)
Fulltone Clyde Deluxe Wah
Planet Waves Tuner Pedal
DC-5 combo with Celestion Black Shadow
Stiletto 1x12 super wide closed back cab w/Vintage 30
TC Electronic G-Major 2 in the loop

I would just like to figure out some nice aggressive settings.
Here are my settings right now.....
Gain - 10 (8 if the amp is turned up past 2)
Treb - 5-7 (depending on the guitar)
Mids - 5-7
Bass - 8
Presence - 5-10 (depending on the guitar)
Reverb - 0
Master - 2-3

Graphic EQ - Soft "V" shape
80 - Just below the top line
240 - Middle line
750 - Just above bottom line
2200 - Middle line
6000 - Just below the top line

After playing through the Rectoverb and Dual Rec over the last few months, I have just come to realize that the perfect amp for me would be:
DC clean channel - Mine is modded to be really close to the Lonestar
Rectoverb - Channel 2 for chunky rhythm (set to Vintage with the gain maxed)
DC-5 lead channel - Mine doesn't have as much gain as the Mark IV lead channel, but almost!

I might just have to buy a Triple Wreck or SLOStortion pedal.

I have an EQ pedal that I might try in the loop today too, just to see if that helps.
I think the DC's EQ is much better at providing an incredible lead boost than it is at adding depth and girth. It sounds so fake to me with a hard "V" setting.

I did notice the other day that the amp sounds much heavier with the Output Volume Mod reversed.
I have been playing it almost exclusively with the resistor added back in and really liking it.

...that bass setting would give me flubby nightmares ;-)

Try something like:
Gain: 8-10
Treb: 7
Mid: 3-4
Bass: 2-3
Pres: 3-5

Both these EQ setting work good for me, I like the 1st one a tad bit better


This should work good for hi-gain rhythms.
Add any Tubescreamer-derivate (I really dig the Keeley TS9DX Flex ord the Boss Blues Driver; a friend of mine gest awesome results with a an MXR GT OD or his Digitech Bad Monkey) for leads in front of the amp, set the TS dials
Tone: 9-10 o'clock
Volume: 2 o'clock
Drive: 9-12 o'clock (to your tastes)

Hope this helps

I have the A version and personally prescense and master knobs in the lead channel are always dimed, specially considering the clean channel is waaay louder, the output level is my real volume pot. I like using the eq with an M or use a mild V but using the 240 slide as the pit and taking the 80hz slide really high, so it's like a |/ .

So the "M" using the tight mod, these are my settings:






I do use an oversized 2x12 so bottom end is not an issue to me. You should really try a depth mod and and maybe SD blackouts pickups, those things just have stupids amount of output and are not bright like an emg81.

BTW too bad you have the B version of the DC, in your thread about mods you posted what you did to your amp, I'm assuming those mods gave you the "lonestar" thing.

...that bass setting would give me flubby nightmares ;-)

Click to expand...

With just the combo, or the combo and the Stiletto cab, it's not flubby at all.
Might be my tube choices too though.....

I'll try those settings today and see if they do the trick. Hadn't thought of raising upper mids and lowering the highs.
As for the Presence, I have noticed that I loose a lot of harmonics and sustain if I turn it much lower than 8.



Maynardo,
The conversion of the clean channel to the B specs is super easy. I can email you both drawings if you want them.

Monsta-Tone said:

Maynardo,
The conversion of the clean channel to the B specs is super easy. I can email you both drawings if you want them.

Click to expand...

OOh that would be great!!, so I would have to go to B version and then apply the mods from the thread to go "lonestar mode" right?

Triaxstasy said:

...that bass setting would give me flubby nightmares ;-)

Try something like:
Gain: 8-10
Treb: 7
Mid: 3-4
Bass: 2-3
Pres: 3-5

Both these EQ setting work good for me, I like the 1st one a tad bit better

Hope this helps

Click to expand...

I really liked the EQ settings on the left!
I forgot to try the knob settings.... Good thing the house will be empty and I'm working from home today!

Maynardo said:

Monsta-Tone said:

Maynardo,
The conversion of the clean channel to the B specs is super easy. I can email you both drawings if you want them.

Click to expand...

OOh that would be great!!, so I would have to go to B version and then apply the mods from the thread to go "lonestar mode" right?

Click to expand...

It won't be exactly like the LS, which is pretty close to Fender Blackface specs. The reverb is still in the wrong place. I moved it and changed the clean channel to BF spec. It sounded so phenomenal!
But....there was a huge crash sound when the channels changed, just like the Lonestar manual suggests. I should have kept it like that and just removed the reverb from the lead channel. I never use it on distortion anyway.

Hope the drawings help.

Monsta-Tone said:

I should have kept it like that and just removed the reverb from the lead channel. I never use it on distortion anyway.

Click to expand...

maybe you could remove the reverb from the lead channel and use that knob for depth. The other thing I was thinking about is if you dont use the fx loop you could take that off and use the tube for another gain stage, that would be enough for the SLO/Recto 4 gain stages and cathode follower circuit

First order of business is to install a depth mod, using the 5150 specs. For even more oomph, put it on a push/pull pot so you can pull it out and engage modern mode like the Recto's. This will disable your presence knob, but this all stuff you already know. :lol: I drilled a hole and put mine next to the speaker outputs.

Next up, is some pedal stacking.

Run your boost pedal into the EQ pedal, if you try the other way around, the noise is unbearable. Doing it this way boosts the signal really good, and kills the flubby bass before it hits any gainstages and gets mushed up through the signal. I add the bass back in with the Mesa 5band EQ, which is after all the gainstages and makes it cleaner. Here are my settings for the pedals and amp. I run it through a Mesa Traditional 4x12(Now called the Stiletto) with v30s.

I have a switchable mod to cut some of the low end using a cap before the first gain stage (I did not do this mod so sadly I can't share it ), it's kinda like what biggness does with the eq pedal, my thing it's based on the tight switch Egnater amps have. Instead of drilling I have the switch in the position of the "slave" jack tho.

I was thinking with a depth mod the "tight" switch I have could be taken a bit further to cut even more bass at the beggining to unleash the balls at the end, but still sound tight. Especially considering I don't like using very extreme settings with the eq 'cause of the noise, I try to never take the sliders too high, so more and more I'm thinking depth mod would be a more natural and less noisy way to get the oomph needed.

Right on, thanks for the ideas guys!
Biggness:
On your push/pull Resonance, I am guessing that you mean when the pot is pulled out, the Negative Feedback is bypassed, like the Recto Modern setting?
Does your Resonance pot still work when it is pulled out?

How do you like the MXR EQ?
I have a Boss GE-7 that I modded. It sounds really good now and is much more quiet than the stock circuit. My son really wants it bad though, so I will probably need another. How quiet is the MXR?


Maynardo:
I've experimented a little with the Cathode Bypass caps. If you change the 1st one from a 1mf to a .47mf, this gets rid of a lot of early bass frequencies.
My problem is, the amp is just too bright with my setup. Using a 1x12 open back cab and a 1x12 closed back extension cab is not the best way to harness bass frequencies anyway, but I am very limited in space at the venues here.
A friend of mine just played the MACC (largest venue on Maui) and his Nomad 55 combo was too loud! Times are truly changing.......

I'm looking for more bass (probably Resonance knob), and more sustain. I've modded the hell out of DC's for years. It seems like, when I add too much gain, then I loose too much clarity and note definition.
I guess pedals are the way to go.

We talked about the cathode bypass caps with the guy who did the mod and he told me that would affect the way the gain stage acts, so he made this mod act before the first gain stage 'ala Egnater'.

I made a really short demo of the change it produces, I'm using a super bassy knob configuration to make it sound muddy so the effect will be more evident... So, same settings same guitar the only change is the activation of the switch in the midle of the demo.

http://soundcloud.com/maynardo/tight-switch

BTW We played around with different values to try and get to a point where it gets tight and not thin. It was funny and weird I was playing the axe and the amp was next to me opened and the other guy changing caps :lol: until we got to the right spot.



I'm still thinking with a depth knob it wouldn't get "thin" so fast, so the switch could have a third position, like a "super tight" :lol:

Best regards from Chile!

Monsta-Tone said:

Right on, thanks for the ideas guys!
Biggness:
On your push/pull Resonance, I am guessing that you mean when the pot is pulled out, the Negative Feedback is bypassed, like the Recto Modern setting?
Does your Resonance pot still work when it is pulled out?

How do you like the MXR EQ?
I have a Boss GE-7 that I modded. It sounds really good now and is much more quiet than the stock circuit. My son really wants it bad though, so I will probably need another. How quiet is the MXR?


Maynardo:
I've experimented a little with the Cathode Bypass caps. If you change the 1st one from a 1mf to a .47mf, this gets rid of a lot of early bass frequencies.
My problem is, the amp is just too bright with my setup. Using a 1x12 open back cab and a 1x12 closed back extension cab is not the best way to harness bass frequencies anyway, but I am very limited in space at the venues here.
A friend of mine just played the MACC (largest venue on Maui) and his Nomad 55 combo was too loud! Times are truly changing.......

I'm looking for more bass (probably Resonance knob), and more sustain. I've modded the hell out of DC's for years. It seems like, when I add too much gain, then I loose too much clarity and note definition.
I guess pedals are the way to go.

Click to expand...

It is bypassed when it is pulled.

As for the MXR, it is noisy. Keep in mind that I have no experience with any other EQ's besides this one, so it very well could be one of the quieter ones available. lol I guess anytime you boost some frequencies before the amp, it is going to introduce some noise. There is a guy that offers some mods for it to lessen the noise. http://www.elevonaudio.com/product/mxr-m-108-10-band-eq-mod-service/ I haven't tried it. Don't know if I will either, since my noisegate keeps everything on the hush-hush when playing. Maybe the clarity would be improved when playing though...

And Maynardo,
You need to get me some pics of that tight switch mod. Some detailed pics... 8)

Hey biggness, how does the bypass NFB works for you?... I Played a recto once and the owner told me he never used that mode 'cause it made the amp really fuzzbox like.

Hey Monsta : I was talking to a friend who just did a clone of an uberschall, I was asking him why does he think that thing has so much low end, He told me it was about the caps before every power tube, the larger the cap more bass, so he kept on going on how the usual is .023 and Mesas use .047 and that's one the reasons mesas's tone is usually loaded with more low end, the thing is the Uberschall uses .1 caps before every power tube.

I saw the schematic, and the DC5 also uses .047, Did you ever tried to go 0.1 like ubers ? Maybe that could be a quick solution to your low end problems.

Can't remember if I ever tried that. I used to spend days just trying out new parts to see what it did. I documented most of it, but some of them never got written down.

I haven't been able to play my amp with the EQ settings posted by Triaxstasy very much yet. Our drummer has family on island, so we won't play again for another 2 weeks. I'll give them a better try this week sometime.
That might just do the trick for me.

I love the solo tones that I get out of my amp with the EQ off or with it set to boost the mids and highs a little bit. Great sustain and harmonics, the notes just seem to get bigger the longer they sustain!
Really, all that I have done to the lead channel on this amp are the gain mods that I emailed you about. I reversed a bunch of other mods that I had done because they just didn't quite do what I wanted them to.

I might mess with the NFB, Resonance, etc. sometime this week too.
How much louder is the amp when the negative feedback is cut off?