Post by rocknrolla on Jun 3, 2011 12:22:59 GMT -5
After a month and a half with my Nitro I feel like we are just now beginning to understand each other. I would never have guessed that an amp with such a simple control layout would prove to be this diverse. I am a longtime Mesa/Boogie (Mark series) player so I've done the whole tweak for months on end thing so I thought dialing in a Nitro would be pretty straight forward.
First off, this amp sounds fantastic with almost any setting whereas the Boogies have these hidden pockets of sweetness surrounded by flub and buzz. The gain knob is the most straight forward knob on the whole amp. I just turn it up while chugging on the E string until the note starts to get fuzzy and then I back it off a bit. Volume lives at 9:00 which is just right in half power mode but requires the loop volume to be engaged in full power. This seems to be the sweet spot for me anything under 9 is a bit choked and much over starts to compress a bit. The tone knobs are very difficult to dial in because the amp sounds so good at any setting that fine tuning them can be subject to your mood as much as to your ear.
The Mid control seems to play off the others the least. For metal riffing and heavy rhythm I keep it between 1-2:00. For a less modern tone or soloing I crank the Mid to 5:00. It seems to take away some of the attack when it's all the way up but it adds a lot of liquidity to single note stuff.
The Treble knob is the most important knob for cut and definition. I use this in tandem with Presence and Resonance to get the overall punch and thump where I like it. Keeping the Resonance over 9:00 requires me to increase the Treble to maintain tightness and when Resonance is decreased I lower the Treble to keep it from being overly bright. The Resonance is a fun control also. I keep turning it up until the tightness starts to go away and then I adjust the Treble accordingly. Like with the Mid control, Resonance can be used to cream up a solo. The Bass knob goes up and down with the resonance to keep the fast palm muted stuff tight and defined. With Resonance at 9 and Treble at 3 I like to keep the Bass knob at 10 or so.
My go-to settings for tight, dry Metallica-esque rhythm work is in o'clock,
R=9 P=1 B=10 M=1 T=2 S=to taste V=9 G=10
For a more liquid solo sound,
R=5 P=2 B=11 M=5 T=4 S=to taste V=9 G=12
For all out agro de-tuned br00tz,
R=0 P=2 B=12 M=2 T=3 S=to taste V=9 G=1
These are just my observations and I'd love to hear some of your interpretations on how the controls interact, setting suggestions, etc.
(edit. These settings and opinions are all based on playing through a Splawn cab with Small Blocks.)
First off, this amp sounds fantastic with almost any setting whereas the Boogies have these hidden pockets of sweetness surrounded by flub and buzz. The gain knob is the most straight forward knob on the whole amp. I just turn it up while chugging on the E string until the note starts to get fuzzy and then I back it off a bit. Volume lives at 9:00 which is just right in half power mode but requires the loop volume to be engaged in full power. This seems to be the sweet spot for me anything under 9 is a bit choked and much over starts to compress a bit. The tone knobs are very difficult to dial in because the amp sounds so good at any setting that fine tuning them can be subject to your mood as much as to your ear.
The Mid control seems to play off the others the least. For metal riffing and heavy rhythm I keep it between 1-2:00. For a less modern tone or soloing I crank the Mid to 5:00. It seems to take away some of the attack when it's all the way up but it adds a lot of liquidity to single note stuff.
The Treble knob is the most important knob for cut and definition. I use this in tandem with Presence and Resonance to get the overall punch and thump where I like it. Keeping the Resonance over 9:00 requires me to increase the Treble to maintain tightness and when Resonance is decreased I lower the Treble to keep it from being overly bright. The Resonance is a fun control also. I keep turning it up until the tightness starts to go away and then I adjust the Treble accordingly. Like with the Mid control, Resonance can be used to cream up a solo. The Bass knob goes up and down with the resonance to keep the fast palm muted stuff tight and defined. With Resonance at 9 and Treble at 3 I like to keep the Bass knob at 10 or so.
My go-to settings for tight, dry Metallica-esque rhythm work is in o'clock,
R=9 P=1 B=10 M=1 T=2 S=to taste V=9 G=10
For a more liquid solo sound,
R=5 P=2 B=11 M=5 T=4 S=to taste V=9 G=12
For all out agro de-tuned br00tz,
R=0 P=2 B=12 M=2 T=3 S=to taste V=9 G=1
These are just my observations and I'd love to hear some of your interpretations on how the controls interact, setting suggestions, etc.
(edit. These settings and opinions are all based on playing through a Splawn cab with Small Blocks.)
