Just passing along something that happened last night.
Not a slam against the Reeder Mod, I just couldn’t resist the rhyme.
Tell me if you think this makes sense...
So I get home and plug into my LSS head for a little after-work jamming.
(Through a stock Mesa Lonestar 23 1x12 cab, C90 speaker, 8 ohms.)
Like everyone, I love the cleans on Channel 1.
I also love using a dirt pedal on that channel.
Channel 2, however, I don’t use as much: too muddy, too mid-y, etc.
The usual LSS gripe, right?
And when I do use it, I usually have mids and bass low-to-off, and even use a Boss GE-7 in the loop for extra mid-flub reduction. (I call that EQ pedal my “Reeder Mod In A Box,” since I’ve been too lazy to try the actual mod thus far. Honestly, I think the EQ pedal works well for mud-removal, so no issues there for me.)
Anyway, back to the story...
So I’m on Channel 2 when I flick the Standby switch on.
5 watt setting.
Drive is on, at 1:00
Thick is set to Normal (middle setting).
Gain around 3:00.
Treble at Noon.
Mids 9:00
Bass 9:00
Presence Noon.
Output about 11:00.
In other words, the Ch. 2 settings I use to keep the mud/flub to a minimum.
But something is immediately weird.
Instead of the sound being the usual low-mud tone I’ve worked so hard to achieve, it sounds like there aren’t ENOUGH mids. Way too treble-y and thin.
And the EQ pedal isn’t even on.
And I’m using a humbucker.
WTF?
Now I’m really confused.
I check all settings, switch channels back and forth, can’t figure out what’s going on.
Then I remember something and check one more thing.
Mystery solved.
After changing cabs the day before, I mistakenly plugged this cab into the optional 8ohm input instead of one of the 4 ohm inputs as I usually do.
Thus, for the first time, and purely by accident, I was listening to the head and cab using MATCHING impedance, vs. the usual 8ohm speaker into 4ohm input MIS-MATCH I was used to hearing.
Could this be why the highs sounded more prominent and the mids reduced? I turn the mid and bass knobs up to around 11 and sure enough, there it is: wonderful, full, juicy-yet-non-muddy tone. Now I’ve got some girth, but the top end is still intact. And I can adjust it to taste without losing detail. No more mud. And I’m on Channel 2! Without feeling the need to use my EQ pedal!
Sorry if all this is a big “Duh” to many of you, but after all the time I’ve spent trying to love Channel 2, it was amazing to me to finally hear the difference matching impedance made. (At least with my set-up, at lower, non-band-practice volume. Why had I never tried it before? Not sure. Maybe because the User Manual only mentions the 8ohm input as Optional when using the 30 watt setting. I usually play at 5 or 15 watts, so I figured it didn’t really apply to me. Sure sounded good though.)
Just thought I’d post this and share if anyone else out there is still wrestling with Channel 2. Try an 8ohm speaker into the 8ohm input. It might just be the fix for Channel 2 you’ve been looking for.
Not a slam against the Reeder Mod, I just couldn’t resist the rhyme.
Tell me if you think this makes sense...
So I get home and plug into my LSS head for a little after-work jamming.
(Through a stock Mesa Lonestar 23 1x12 cab, C90 speaker, 8 ohms.)
Like everyone, I love the cleans on Channel 1.
I also love using a dirt pedal on that channel.
Channel 2, however, I don’t use as much: too muddy, too mid-y, etc.
The usual LSS gripe, right?
And when I do use it, I usually have mids and bass low-to-off, and even use a Boss GE-7 in the loop for extra mid-flub reduction. (I call that EQ pedal my “Reeder Mod In A Box,” since I’ve been too lazy to try the actual mod thus far. Honestly, I think the EQ pedal works well for mud-removal, so no issues there for me.)
Anyway, back to the story...
So I’m on Channel 2 when I flick the Standby switch on.
5 watt setting.
Drive is on, at 1:00
Thick is set to Normal (middle setting).
Gain around 3:00.
Treble at Noon.
Mids 9:00
Bass 9:00
Presence Noon.
Output about 11:00.
In other words, the Ch. 2 settings I use to keep the mud/flub to a minimum.
But something is immediately weird.
Instead of the sound being the usual low-mud tone I’ve worked so hard to achieve, it sounds like there aren’t ENOUGH mids. Way too treble-y and thin.
And the EQ pedal isn’t even on.
And I’m using a humbucker.
WTF?
Now I’m really confused.
I check all settings, switch channels back and forth, can’t figure out what’s going on.
Then I remember something and check one more thing.
Mystery solved.
After changing cabs the day before, I mistakenly plugged this cab into the optional 8ohm input instead of one of the 4 ohm inputs as I usually do.
Thus, for the first time, and purely by accident, I was listening to the head and cab using MATCHING impedance, vs. the usual 8ohm speaker into 4ohm input MIS-MATCH I was used to hearing.
Could this be why the highs sounded more prominent and the mids reduced? I turn the mid and bass knobs up to around 11 and sure enough, there it is: wonderful, full, juicy-yet-non-muddy tone. Now I’ve got some girth, but the top end is still intact. And I can adjust it to taste without losing detail. No more mud. And I’m on Channel 2! Without feeling the need to use my EQ pedal!
Sorry if all this is a big “Duh” to many of you, but after all the time I’ve spent trying to love Channel 2, it was amazing to me to finally hear the difference matching impedance made. (At least with my set-up, at lower, non-band-practice volume. Why had I never tried it before? Not sure. Maybe because the User Manual only mentions the 8ohm input as Optional when using the 30 watt setting. I usually play at 5 or 15 watts, so I figured it didn’t really apply to me. Sure sounded good though.)
Just thought I’d post this and share if anyone else out there is still wrestling with Channel 2. Try an 8ohm speaker into the 8ohm input. It might just be the fix for Channel 2 you’ve been looking for.
