Yeah, i think I agree with you, Gerry. The fact that it's a bit dry and needs some effects points in the other direction to me. I would like the extra gain that comes with the 3tm but i really don't want to sacrifice my clean tone. Perhaps i should try a boost in front. There have been a couple of options for that on this forum and I'd never considered it properly until now.
Yeah I have to say this is where I am at also. Now 3tm Excluded, regular MP1 has gain alright. But what I am talking about is the "extra layer" which is my experience can only be achieved by another gain stage. And wait till you hear this. I don't heap on the gain right after I have this extra gain stage at the front either. I just need that extra thickening agent that another gain stage brings. I'll give you an example. Stock MP1, I bang up the gain, great lots of gain!! WOOHOO! But it's too open for me, not responsive enough, and not great for my style of playing guitar (I don't even mean heavy metal here I just mean my own personal style). If I have the "extra layer" added I get the thicker tone I am after and it's not even a gain thing anymore, it's more a feel, a feel for chunk I guess. Hopefully someone knows what I'm getting at here.
However as soon as you drop the gain in overall tone, the extra gain stage can make your sound thin, and it just doesn't sound right, it sounds hollow. So if you are lowering the overall gain for whatever it is you are playing you could probably do with dropping the "extra layer", then the lower gain doesn't have the stupid hollowness. So basically what I think I'm saying is add the extra gain stage for thickness and spongey feeling saturation, but drop it as soon as you want to drop overall distortion in your tone (accordingly to whatever it is you are playing and what tone is required).
3TM has this "extra layer" built in basically. I
still have not cracked the stock MP1 in my live setup. I Get some ok sounds but not yet where I want to be. In a direct recording environment I had it sussed.
I'll make a few clips next week and let you all hear where I'm at.
In regards to my plan to move over to a preamp in my live setup, the compliments keep flying in about the tone I get from my old Boss GT5
I find this amazing since there is a lot of hatred out there for MFX units. A german band said to me last night "where was your amp? I could not see any tubes". I said "that's all coming out of my pedal man.......................then into two little power amps one at either side playing in stereo".
f**king great gig last night BTW not bad considering I'm only back from holiday and haven't rehearsed in two weeks
I think with "over-processed" Chamai refers to the whole package of MP1 plus multiple fx (units)...
think Def Leppard Hysteria typo tone (all Rockman stuff), or maybe some early Pink Cream 69 (Alfred Coffer still has/uses an MP1 according to hier gear list; back the it was an ESP M-II with PAF Pros into an MP1).
I personally never had the impression the MP1 lacked gain...having it properly set up/adjusted, some higain spec'd tubes in there and a hotter bridge PU I always felt I had enough gain on tap.
OD1 for Drive (7.0) and OD2 for Saturation (8.0 - 9.0)
Really? (in regards to what Chamai meant). The reason I say this is because I have read this quite a lot about the MP1. Many people who don't like it think it's very processed so this is why I assumed that is what he meant. Personally I don't think it is. And secondly I don't mind processed sounding guitar
you just need to know how to use it.
Leppard used Rockman stuff for that whole album apparently. You know I am a fan of that sound. Although Def Leppard suck absolute balls. Good live band though as I say them once when I was 15.