Carstens Grace BC signature amp

[houseofglass11]

It was just a partscaster I put together, alder body. The lace red in the bridge has always been my favorite.

[paranoid]

yeah, i'd love to have a set of lace sensors.. thought about it with my own strat but i love the stock pickups in it.. it's a 80's made in japan.

and agree on amp head distortion.. if you're playing heavy stuff, like sludge, doom (like sleep), that's the only way to go. quieter rock stuff, like wilco or radiohead, pedal distortion works great because it's not overwhelming.. but with my own free jazz metal music i need that amp head distortion where you can just feel it shake the room. love it. like i said i had a sovtek mig100, and that was great, but still needed an extra distortion pedal to drive it more. this BC amp has loads of gain and it's just way easier to dial in and deal with. treble boost in front of it and it's perfect.

[thedeadofnight]

Originally Posted by AveryLoren

Also, what the hell is up with his shitty playing in these gear advertisements?

That Cherub Rock tone @3:42 is garbage.

[Ram27]

there's no warmth anymore. cherub used to sound warm and full and now it sounds like nasal trash

just like the rest of his vocals

[reprise85]

Originally Posted by thedeadofnight

That Cherub Rock tone @3:42 is garbage.

seriously

[Funbags]

Originally Posted by AveryLoren

Billy was my guitar idol for so many years but I just hate everything about his choices these days. A Reverend guitar into a Line 6 HX Stomp into an amp like this is just horrific. I think Old Bill is deaf and compensates with the mid-wah like tones.

This amp sounds like complete horse apples to me. I can't comprehend the asking price either. It sounds like a $40 fuzz box through a garage sale amp.

Yeah, there are plenty of points in his career where his live tone has been AMAZING, but it's taken a particular nosedive after Zeitgeist. He's always harping on about his discerning attitude toward replicating diverse tones live, but it's basically become a variation of "Sabbath" and "Sabbath with lead boost".

When he plays Siva with that Iommi tone...it sounds like TOTAL SHIT

Originally Posted by houseofglass11

I thought his tones were better with the Lace Sensor's. I had the BC Dimarzio set in one of my strats and they were very bassy and dark in all positions. The bridge position had so much bass it was almost like a neck pickup. I haven't really been a huge fan of his tones on any of the 2007-present stuff. Zeitgeist was decent in that regard, and also MtaE with that raw Laney Supergroup tone. I really don't like his live tones with the modular stuff. I had the Randall RM100 and all kinds of various modules, they're decent, but they just don't compare to a real high gain head.

His tone was amazing with the Lace Sensors. The BC Dimarzios were good with the Diezel during Zeitgeist era, but on every other amp, it sounds like the forerunner to his Iommi/Reverend sound. TBH, even his og blue Strat sounds like shit through the Salvation Mods.

[paranoid]

Originally Posted by Funbags

When he plays Siva with that Iommi tone...it sounds like TOTAL SHIT

jesus fucking christ, no.

and his tone on oceania is like, the best part of that record. proof to me that if anything has remained consistent, it's his guitar playing.

the only time i'm enthralled by playing on a demo video is when nels cline is doing it. he seems to enjoy demonstrating gear. otherwise the set up is just bullshit noodling to demonstrate the sound of something, and most guitar player are just doing the job.

man pumpkins fans will shit on anything and everything.

[paranoid]

also please better articulate how the strat sounds like shit through his salvation mods.. because i think it makes for an interesting discussion rather than just bagging on his tone.

i know his stance as of late has been to play just straight through the amp, no boosts, compressors, etc etc, where as with SD and MCIS live he'd stack a lot of gain in front of those amps to get that super saturated sound. on top of straight into the amp, he's dialing back a bit on the gain, likely to let the other two guitars breath.. so when playing something like cherub rock, it sounds anemic compared to early 90's when he had space to make a bigger guitar sound.. i do prefer the sound of he and james just stacking two monster guitar tones on top of each other. with 3 guitars seems like they had to do a lot of trial and error shit to make the 3 guitars work.

[houseofglass11]

Originally Posted by paranoid

jesus fucking christ, no.

and his tone on oceania is like, the best part of that record. proof to me that if anything has remained consistent, it's his guitar playing.

the only time i'm enthralled by playing on a demo video is when nels cline is doing it. he seems to enjoy demonstrating gear. otherwise the set up is just bullshit noodling to demonstrate the sound of something, and most guitar player are just doing the job.

man pumpkins fans will shit on anything and everything.

Sorry but I hate the Oceania tones. They’re just muddy, dark, and uninspiring like his live tone from the past ten years.

I actually came across the pro shot live nation stream on YouTube from the last tour the other day. I was sat there watching and thinking the same thing. The tones were muddy and just blah. It’s the combination of the Dimarzio’s and the amp modules. If you read the ad copy for his Dimarzio set it mentions him having them fine tune the pickups to have more bass, hence the muddy tones.

[paranoid]

"He wanted a deeper sound from the low strings without losing any punch, and he didn't want the sound to get muddy with high-gain amps. To do this, we lowered the frequency response of one of the the coils in each pickup just enough to boost the bass while opening up the mids. The end results are the pickups that are now in Billy's signature Strat®. They do exactly what he wants in humbucking mode and he's found they work really well in split mode as well."

didn't want the sound to get muddy with high gain amps.. bass was boosted while opening the mids. i mean you're close but that's not what's written out here. we're hearing different things, i hear more punch and clarity with these latest performances, like it seems he wants his tone to cut through the "soup" of the band more than him wanting as much of an upfront and present sound.. again letting the other two guitarists be heard on an even level.

remember how low in the mix james used to be back in the day? that's changed.

[Funbags]

Originally Posted by paranoid

also please better articulate how the strat sounds like shit through his salvation mods.. because i think it makes for an interesting discussion rather than just bagging on his tone.

MCIS Strat, with Dimarzios, through Salvation Mods...sounds like shrill ass (cued)



Then again, here's his Reverend through a Diezel...and it still sounds like shrill ass (whole video). I can't believe THE Billy Corgan's tone is 90% cocked-wah bullshit these days.

i know his stance as of late has been to play just straight through the amp, no boosts, compressors, etc etc, where as with SD and MCIS live he'd stack a lot of gain in front of those amps to get that super saturated sound. on top of straight into the amp, he's dialing back a bit on the gain, likely to let the other two guitars breath.. so when playing something like cherub rock, it sounds anemic compared to early 90's when he had space to make a bigger guitar sound.. i do prefer the sound of he and james just stacking two monster guitar tones on top of each other. with 3 guitars seems like they had to do a lot of trial and error shit to make the 3 guitars work.

Billy basically kept the same core live rig throughout MCIS, Machina, Zwan, and Zeitgeist. I know he hates LIVING IN THE PASS, but it sounded a million times better than his current rig (shrill ass).

He could put together the classic core rig of: Diezel head, JMP-1, ADA MP-1, Mesa power amp...and then all the effects could be replaced with an Axe-FX (like James does it). PROBLEM SOLVED.

*EDIT* Who am I kidding? There's no way in hell Billy will ditch the cocked-wah Reverend/Iommi nightmare for his classic rig.

[paranoid]

Originally Posted by Funbags

MCIS Strat, with Dimarzios, through Salvation Mods...sounds like shrill ass (cued)



Then again, here's his Reverend through a Diezel...and it still sounds like shrill ass (whole video). I can't believe THE Billy Corgan's tone is 90% cocked-wah bullshit these days.



Billy basically kept the same core live rig throughout MCIS, Machina, Zwan, and Zeitgeist. I know he hates LIVING IN THE PASS, but it sounded a million times better than his current rig (shrill ass).

He could put together the classic core rig of: Diezel head, JMP-1, ADA MP-1, Mesa power amp...and then all the effects could be replaced with an Axe-FX (like James does it). PROBLEM SOLVED.

*EDIT* Who am I kidding? There's no way in hell Billy will ditch the cocked-wah Reverend/Iommi nightmare for his classic rig.

You seem angry.

[spguitar0]

I'm loving the Reverend. Dunno why the hate is there. The pickups sound a lot like p90s.
https://youtu.be/NaMOKcZVreg

[houseofglass11]

Nice tones with that Diezel. Honestly sounds a lot better than his current tones for sure.

[AveryLoren]

Originally Posted by spguitar0

I'm loving the Reverend. Dunno why the hate is there. The pickups sound a lot like p90s.
https://youtu.be/NaMOKcZVreg

This sounds really good to my ears. Very good job at making the Reverend sound good.

[spguitar0]

Originally Posted by AveryLoren

This sounds really good to my ears. Very good job at making the Reverend sound good.

This is one of those guitars where it sounds awesome with every tone I try with it. Check these.

https://youtu.be/E_VzwOQNGgo

https://youtu.be/volTwJNEQTc

[AveryLoren]

Originally Posted by paranoid

his tone on oceania is like, the best part of that record.

One thing that stands out to me about Oceania is how digital and hollow it sounds. There is absolutely nothing warm and lush about the production. It's like Billy was the engineer and wanted everything to be as shrill and weak as his vocals.

I wouldn't be surprised if his tone came from something like a Fractal modeler or software like Waves GTR or UAD stuff. There is something very, very digital about those frequencies.

[paranoid]

reverend is a great sounding and playing guitar and sounds good with any amp.

quasar rhythm tone? oceania and inkless solos? based on what i'm hearing here, and on that youtube vid with carts full of old pedals, it sounds to me like he dug out his old pedals for some or most of his guitar playing on this record. maybe you're referring to jeff's guitar parts? those sounds weird, i guess.

my own experience and BC has said this before, 90% of your tone is from your hands/fingers.. maybe y'all just don't like his playing anymore, which is fine. i've enjoyed it from gish up until now.

i feel like I'm in a guitar center in this thread.

[thedeadofnight]

favourate ever guitar tone from smashing pumpkins, just listen to those chugs on bose headphones and you will see what I mean about it when I say it.

[reprise85]

lol monuments is soooo bad

i can't believe people think cyr is worse than anti-hero

[Funbags]

Originally Posted by paranoid

You seem angry.

You know, I am! It's a crying shame that Billy Corgan of all people has such a terrible live tone.

He harps on about "gain structure" and "articulation", and then...it sounds like shrill, mid-peak shit.

Originally Posted by spguitar0

I'm loving the Reverend. Dunno why the hate is there. The pickups sound a lot like p90s.
https://youtu.be/NaMOKcZVreg

This sounds good -so the problem must be with Billy.

Compare your tone to the one in his Reverend video (an identical rig)...and you'll hear what I'm talking about:

[houseofglass11]

Monuments was good and it was his best guitar tones in years. Yeah I’d take anti-hero over Cyr any day.

[houseofglass11]

Originally Posted by paranoid

reverend is a great sounding and playing guitar and sounds good with any amp.

quasar rhythm tone? oceania and inkless solos? based on what i'm hearing here, and on that youtube vid with carts full of old pedals, it sounds to me like he dug out his old pedals for some or most of his guitar playing on this record. maybe you're referring to jeff's guitar parts? those sounds weird, i guess.

my own experience and BC has said this before, 90% of your tone is from your hands/fingers.. maybe y'all just don't like his playing anymore, which is fine. i've enjoyed it from gish up until now.

i feel like I'm in a guitar center in this thread.

Why? We’re all entitled to our opinions. There seems to be a consensus here that his tones both on album and live haven’t been that good since Oceania which coincides with him using the modular stuff. For me Monuments is the exception. I really liked the tones there. This new amp seems to be going for that tone of the Laney Supergroup boosted with a rangemaster. I mean you have it, would you say that’s accurate?

[paranoid]

Originally Posted by houseofglass11

Why? We’re all entitled to our opinions. There seems to be a consensus here that his tones both on album and live haven’t been that good since Oceania which coincides with him using the modular stuff. For me Monuments is the exception. I really liked the tones there. This new amp seems to be going for that tone of the Laney Supergroup boosted with a rangemaster. I mean you have it, would you say that’s accurate?

not really. rangemaster boost would give it more saturation, more compressed gain. This amp acts more like an overdrive, in that it's clear and articulate but with a ton more gain.. gain that interacts with how hard or light you play the guitar. TL;DR lots of gain but not as much sustain.

with that said, this amp sounds incredible with a rangemaster boost in front of it.. also depends on what guitar you plug into it. like i said earlier, with an SG the amp sounds just like the vids SPguitar posted above.

[paranoid]

Originally Posted by Funbags

You know, I am! It's a crying shame that Billy Corgan of all people has such a terrible live tone.

He harps on about "gain structure" and "articulation", and then...it sounds like shrill, mid-peak shit.



This sounds good -so the problem must be with Billy.

Compare your tone to the one in his Reverend video (an identical rig)...and you'll hear what I'm talking about:

lol i love his tone in this video. maybe to your ears it's mic choice? i dunno. we're comparing SP guitar's cell phone video to an miced amp here.

[paranoid]

maybe billy needs to start putting an iPhone in front of his amp

[spguitar0]

Originally Posted by paranoid

maybe billy needs to start putting an iPhone in front of his amp

Samsung A50! Cant stand apple. 😂 I actually just got an external mic so I'm gonna tinker with it this week.

[paranoid]

Originally Posted by spguitar0

Samsung A50! Cant stand apple. 😂 I actually just got an external mic so I'm gonna tinker with it this week.

were you successful in getting yourself a grace?

[spguitar0]

Originally Posted by paranoid

were you successful in getting yourself a grace?

I dont have the extra funds right now with Christmas coming up. I think my wife got me the VH4 plugin from universal audio though. I tried a trial of it tonight and it's so dang close to the real deal.

[Funbags]

Originally Posted by paranoid

lol i love his tone in this video. maybe to your ears it's mic choice? i dunno. we're comparing SP guitar's cell phone video to an miced amp here.

You have lost your mind if you love this tone!

The cellphone video sounds like a typical full-range guitar tone, whereas Billy's video sounds fizzy and shrill. You can literally hear the pick-scratch against the string when he plays single note leads. That's not "articulation". It's an ice-pick in my ear holes.