Ibanez TK999HT

[VENTGtr]

Anyone used one of these?

http://www.ibanez.com/electronics/produ ... ?m=TK999HT

I'm into the whole pedal pre thing. The Tech21 is great, but I'd rather not have
to mess with the settings to get different gain levels for different tunes....then
forget to take them back to the "normal" settings. So, wanted something else
and something a bit different.

Looked at the ToneBones, Mesa V-Twin (Which, for being a Mesa, the price,
and seemingly great construction, got some oddly mixed reviews), FullTones,
etc. This thing looked like the best, and most flexible, out of all of them (Though,
the Blackstar is intriuging).

SO, ordered one. AND ordered a TungSol to drop in place of whatever the
stock tube is. If it arrives before Friday, will be using it this weekend. Need to
expand the pedal board vertically I think. Too...much...stuff...

[Banned]

I had the original version in a gold case. It didn't have as many knobs and switches. The sound would change in a BIG way depending on the tube you put in it. When you found a good one, it had a monster tone.

[VENTGtr]

Jimi,

Cool. I'm hopin' the TungSol does its thing in this unit. I have a couple
of G.T.s and a Mesa tube or two sitting around to try out as well.

DaveP.

[metalchurch]

Never saw this before, let me just say it looks bad ass!
Can't wait to hear what you think about it. What's really cool is the simplicity of the construction, so I'm sure that by simply swapping tube brands, you'll find something that really crushes.(or whatever sound you're looking for.)

Wonder why Boss never made anything like this? I love Boss, but they can take that COSM technology and shove it in my opinion.

Hell, with just this pedal there'd be no reason for rackmount guys to even run a preamp. The only reason I'm running my Engl pre is to take advantage of the tubed sound. I'm using an MT-2 as my gain and running that into the Engl's clean side, which also has a gain knob.

VentGtr, I'd really like to know what you think of this once you mess with it.

[VENTGtr]

MC,

Ya, I'm goin' to write it up. Few things like this out there and some I've
gotten to to use (Fulltone makes some cool, great sounding stuff. If this
really is better, it's a tremendous piece of gear).

I got the Tech21 GT-2 after seeing all these session guys use them. Just
go in with their git and the ped. Its "Mesa" sound is really good and the
British Marshall setting gets the closest to an AC/DC sound as I've ever
heard (Whether you're trying too or not). It's Fender-type setting...eh. Not
so great. But, I've not delved into that one as much as I could have, so I
may be wrong there.

F.T. is MosFet and the T21 is, essentially, an analog modeler. I'm kind of
hoping to get a sort of nice grit out of this thing. Anything else is just a
bonus.

H&K makes a couple of pretty niceTube Pre pedals, though I've read
mixed reviews on when you throw them in front of an amp. The Mesa
Bottle Rocket is the same way.

What's really cool is the simplicity of the construction,
so I'm sure that by simply swapping tube brands, you'll find something that
really crushes.(or whatever sound you're looking for.)"

Ya, it's cool that the tube is easily accessible. Will make the experimenting
much easier.

Agree about Boss. If they put something like this out, (Or even threw a tube
pre section in their GT processors, similar to how Vox and Zoom (I think
Zoom does) have), would probably get one pretty quick.

[metalchurch]

Yeah if Boss did that, I get one also. I had no idea that tubed pedals existed. H&K makes one also? Damn I need to get out more!

The MT-2 is my sound, I've tried alot of pedals and preamps and I always go back to it. The only thing I do not like is the High EQ section. The parametric mids are tits man, I love the adjustment they allow. I think as far as upgrading my rig there's a few things I am going to do real soon:

#1 Take the 12AX7 GT tubes out of my Engl and replace them w/ TungSol's

#2 Buy a Robert Keeley modded MT-2

#3 Try to find either a Boss PQ stompbox, or a 15 band mono rack unit.

I simplified my setup to get to the roots of my sound, and only now can I hear the things I do and do not like.

So easy to color your sound and bury your true tone.

I'm really curious to hear what you think and which tubes sounded the best.
BTW, if you dont mind me asking: How much and where'd you get it?

[DirtySanchez]

I need to stay the hell out of the tech section.
I am stoopid

[metalchurch]

I need to stay the hell out of the tech section.
I am stoopid

Don't say you're stupid man, cause you're not. You just aren't familiar with these things.

Unfamiliarity doesn't = stupid.


Keep hanging out and it will catch on, everyone has to start somewhere man.

[onegunguitar]

Yeah if Boss did that, I get one also. I had no idea that tubed pedals existed. H&K makes one also? Damn I need to get out more!

The MT-2 is my sound, I've tried alot of pedals and preamps and I always go back to it. The only thing I do not like is the High EQ section. The parametric mids are tits man, I love the adjustment they allow. I think as far as upgrading my rig there's a few things I am going to do real soon:

#1 Take the 12AX7 GT tubes out of my Engl and replace them w/ TungSol's

#2 Buy a Robert Keeley modded MT-2

#3 Try to find either a Boss PQ stompbox, or a 15 band mono rack unit.

I simplified my setup to get to the roots of my sound, and only now can I hear the things I do and do not like.

So easy to color your sound and bury your true tone.

I'm really curious to hear what you think and which tubes sounded the best.
BTW, if you dont mind me asking: How much and where'd you get it?

Trade it all in and buy an ENGL Fireball or Powerball,no need for additional eq's,just plug in and play

[metalchurch]

True that Scott, I gotta say I am envious of your equipment at the moment. I am very impressed by those Engl heads. They are so tight sounding, I can't believe it. Even your 60W Fireball was more than enough.
I'd really like to have the simplicity that you have, but I'm sticking w/ my rack. I'm getting very close to achieving my sound, just a few more tweaks and I'll be there. I'd hate to give up and buy a head after all this trial & error, not including time & money. I enjoy the challenge of making something work, cause it the end I get more satisfaction.

Ventgtr, could you list the rest of your setup also? Just curious to see what you're running now a days.

[metalchurch]

Ventgtr, I found that Rocktron makes a distortion pedal with a 12AX7 too.

http://www.rocktron.com/frameset1.html

Seems there's more like that Ibanez than I realized there was.

[VENTGtr]

Ya, the Rocktron seems pretty cool. Their "Metal" version of the floor
pre apparently does a great job of getting a Sabbath-like sound. Not
sure it'd really apply to what "Metal" means nowadays (Not that it's
what I play or sound I'm looking for, just mentioning).

Chris Hescox, from Spider Kelly, has one of the ToneBones, and he
liked it (Though I believe it's sitting in his Black Hole of purchased, but
rarely used gear). The BlackStar intrigued me because I'd never heard
of it, but it got good reviews.

I just got the Ibanez from Musician's Friend. Every place else had the
same price and they're not all that common to find. I figured why not
take advantage of the free shipping, plus I got the TungSol right along
with.

Live setup is:

TubeWorks 752. Was originally a combo, but I tore it apart and built a
head shell for this. Rest goes into:

Korg Tuner
Ernie Ball Volume
Boss Overdrive SD-1 (For a volume boost).
Cry Baby Wah
TECH 21 SansAmp GT2
Boss Chorus
Ibanez Flanger
DOD Phaser
DOD Delay
Carvin footswitch (Gets no real use. I don't use reverb and
it's rare I go to the drive channel anymore).

Lopo 2x12 cab with Eminence Legends

The clean side of the TubeWorks is one of the best, most
responsive cleans you'll hear. I put a volume attenuator in
the FX Loop so I can crank it to wherever, but control the
output level so the backline is at a good spot.. Can chunk
it up to get a sort of Keith Richards thing, get a sound like
Chad Taylor's grittier but not distorted stuff, or make it totally
clean. SO, that makes it a big plus with the floor pre things.

Have also been looking at a THD Reactor Rectifier to maybe
throw in. My only concern is that it'll change the sound too
much.

Have used SO much stuff, but keep finding that I really like the B.K.
Butler stuff. It has some drawbacks on the Overdrive side if you don't
change some parts out (Sound-wise, great, can just pick up some noise
depending on the building).

I just like having stuff to stomp on as well. One of the...fun(?) parts
of these things is trying to figure out where it all works best in your
setup. My current or, with the Wah where it is, is the LAST thing I
would've thought worked best, but having the Tech21 after, the OD
before, just works, odd as it seems.

Have some other stuff sittin' that I'm not really using, some of
it makes appearances on the board, some doesn't

Electro-Harmonix Nano LPB-1 Power Booster (Only used this 1x).
Boss Distortion DS-1
Boss Distortion DS-1
DOD Flanger...somewhere in the basement...and a few others.

One of the DS-1s is pretty old. One of the nice MIJ versions.
The other is from just when they moved production. Have
considered sending it to Keeley, or downloading one of his
mods to experiment.

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.c ... D=34431500

In fact, if it wasn't that I liked to mess around with different gear and
all, I'd buy Jimi's Ampeg. That was on my mind all of last night. BUT,
the reality that I'll probably be putting a new roof on the house soon
was also there getting in the way. STUPID HOUSE! STUPID ROOF!

[metalchurch]

Korg Tuner
Ernie Ball Volume
Boss Overdrive SD-1 (For a volume boost).
Cry Baby Wah
TECH 21 SansAmp GT2
Boss Chorus
Ibanez Flanger
DOD Phaser
DOD Delay
Carvin footswitch (Gets no real use. I don't use reverb and
it's rare I go to the drive channel anymore).

Do you battle with noise and hum with all of those stomp boxes?
Right now I'm using an MT-2, and it's noisy by itself. I want to try a Boss GE-7 EQ, and a Boss Flanger, but I'm afraid of having too many stomp boxes inline because of the inherent noise.

I might look into either sending my MT-2 out to be modded, or buying the mod and doing it myself.

[VENTGtr]

MC,

Ya know, in reality, there should be some. If I go to the Overdrive side of
the head, there is some buzz. However, on the clean, even with the T-21
on, not at all. Unless, of course, I've gotten used to it... Rob,...is there noise?

Guess when I do switch the OD on for lead boost, there's probably something,
but don't hear it then. I still consider putting an NS or something in there from
time-to-time.

From what little I know about the MTs, aren't they kind of known for a bit of
noise? One of those little prices to pay for having something you like, I guess.

I'd be really interested to hear Keeley mods on some of the stuff we all use.

[JackANSI]

How'd you know I was watching?

Dave's setup is generally quiet, noise-wise.

He seems to have an amp that is efficient enough at what it does to use the sound of a pindrop to blow over large concrete structures... with the attenuator set to 0.01 of 10.. So if there was noise, it would be quite audible.

Scientifically:

If there was any noise to be heard the pressure wave it would induce would probably cause some kind of singularity in space-time forcing all matter to collapse on itself. Since things are still running smooth in this universe, Dave's setup must still be noise free. But since this observer is stuck in just one universe with no 'looking glass' into the multiverse I can't be sure about the condition of some other universe that Dave's amp may be drawing its output power from. I am also unable to tell if any other universes may have collapsed from the pressure waves that may have (for some unknown reason, maybe a quantum anti-resonance?) left our universe untouched.



Don't know why I put that last part in there... Just felt like fun at the time I guess..

[metalchurch]

I think the MT-2 is known for noise? I'm not real sure, I don't know anyone else that runs one. I am preamping the hell out of my rig, so that may account for the hum? The MT-2 is the only stomp box I'm using, everything else is rackmount. I am using an A/C adapter w/ it though.
I'm plugging everything into my Furman, and from there into a ground strip for more added insurance. Onegunguitar told me to switch the Boss from A/C power to 9V power, and that may just quiet it down. I need to buy some 9v's cause I used the last one for an EMG I just installed.

I too have considered a Boss NS-2 for noise. I bought a Rocktron Hush and it was a piece of dogshit. I could not get the gate's threshold to open and close where I wanted it to. I had it in my rack for about 30 seconds if that!
It may work perfect for someone else, but for my playing style/ guitar setup it just wasn't for me.

I keep day dreaming about this Keeley Modded MT-2, but I always blow my $$ on other things. I really should get one.
Most of Robert Keeley's modded pedals have a toggle switch to go from the stock to modded sound.
I love the trial and error with making something work, it's like a never ending task though. It's nice to BS with someone about it also

It surprising that with all of the guitarists on this board that there isn't more of these topics in the tech. Hell, most of em' don't even reply to the ones that already exist.
Maybe they don't care?
Maybe they already have their sound?
It would be tits to have more ppl involved though wouldn't it?

[VENTGtr]

He seems to have an amp that is efficient enough at what it does to use the sound of a pindrop to blow over large concrete structures... with the attenuator set to 0.01 of 10.

UNFORTUNATELY. I was looking forward to opening things up on Saturday
(We were playing outside). But, spent the first half of the first set turning
down until I hit a volume I wasn't just hearing me.

BTW, the Ibanez is supposed to arrive today (Monday). I'm at home today...
waiting.

Scientifically:

If there was any noise to be heard the pressure wave it would induce would probably cause some kind of singularity in space-time forcing all matter to collapse...unknown reason, maybe a quantum anti-resonance?) left our universe untouched.

I see a Rob thesis in the works.

I keep day dreaming about this Keeley Modded MT-2, but I always blow my $$ on other things.

Ya, not sure what kinds he has on the site to download. May try one out on one the
DS-1s someday.

It surprising that with all of the guitarists on this board that there isn't more of these topics in the tech.

It would be tits to have more ppl involved though wouldn't it?

Ya, I try to follow a lot of these, even those on bass, drums, vocals, etc. Find out a lot of
stuff and generally know that the sources are knowledgeable, as opposed to the "I'm 14,
this is my first amp. It's the best ever..." you find on some vender sites.

[metalchurch]

Dave, I also try to follow the Bass threads, cause they are in the stringed family, so I can relate to them somewhat, but I have to admit, that alot of it's even over my head.

I also look at the Vocalists threads, and the Drummer threads. There's always something to learn on here, although I don't normally post due to lack of knowledge and I dont want to ask a redundant question on a topic I know nothing about.

I would rather learn from my peers who are out gigging and buying their gear for a reason than a 14 year old jammin in their bedroom like you said.

I gotta say that I have learned a great deal from you guys since I've been a member on here. I would like to see more input from other members in the tech. There's no such thing as a stupid question, so please don't fear asking one. (I should take my own advice,huh?)
99.9% of the guys/gals on here are way cool, so that shouldn't be an issue really.

Can't wait to hear your review on that Ibanez! Do you already have a few different brands of 12AX7's to swap back and forth?

[JackANSI]

Dave I'd like you to try and use one of my well burned in electro-harmonix tubes. I'm interested in seeing how they stack up to tung-sols in a higher frequency range.

[VENTGtr]

MC,

I'm the same way in the other threads. I can put a rough, extremely basic
demo track down and I like to flail around goofily with my thumb on a nicely
setup bass....but that's about it.

Ya, I have some Groove Tubes, a MESA, I just found another that I can't tell
WHAT in the world it says one the side (An destined to be the best sounding
one of the lot), ordered a TungSol, have another one or 2 sitting here, plus
whatever comes in it. Plus, Wiggus has a million tubes of all types sitting
around. Might throw a 12AT, U, Z, or anything else in there to try out.

I also agree about picking up a lot of info from what you guys write up. I
think everyone mentions a piece of gear I look up on it. Mainly in the amps
and effects area.

[Ron]

This discussion reminds me of a distortion box I made once that had alligator clips so that I could try different clipping diodes (and other components) in the negative feedback loop. I was in a junkyard one day and found an old point-to-point TV circuit with a big ass selenium diode in it. It only had one, so I used a germanium diode with it in the clipping circuit, and it had the thickest distortion of all of the combinations I tried... just before a certain person threw it away. Arrrgh.

So yeah, Dave, the unmarked tube will sound like God and then self-destruct the next time you fire it up. Murphy's a bastard.

[VENTGtr]

Well, okay, here'go.

First off, we've been off lately, so haven't gotten to use it at a show as
of yet, but did run through it at a practice/audition on Sunday (We split
with our singer. We were trying out a potential replacement last Sunday).

First thoughts on the pedal:

Construction: Built like a proverbial tank. Weighs in at a little over 5.5lbs.,
has a cool look. Nice layout of the knobs. Nothing sits up high that might
get stepped on by a drunk guy being too close and stumbling onto the
pedalboard. Low/Mid/High and "Void" knobs are in the recessed crevice,
Gain and Level are all but flush with the top (Sort of a slight dome shape),
yet easy to turn. Great design on this part. Whomever had this idea has
been through some stuff.

It sits at the odd angle (CW 90° rather than as a facing square, which is,
on the face of it, kind of odd. BUT, on the upside of even this, where the
cable input/outputs are, it does allow for the cables, especially right-angled,
to be more out of the way. SO, after initially thinking they were just trying to
be cutesy, seems to be a good design idea.

Sound: Decided to just take it out of the box and plug in. Did put the E.H.
Nano in front to see how the two worked together; ie: If the Ibanez got a
boost from the Nano, how it dealt, etc. Other than that, nothing in the chain
for a first try. Just decided to turn on and see how it sounded with the settings
that just happened to be where they were.

Sounded GREAT. The Level was straight up, Gain was around 4, my amps
volume was moderate. Little louder than practice volume. First thought was
Jerry Cantrell's "Man In the Box" sounded. Probably a little less beefy than
that, but, again, just where things were (If I'm not mistaken, Cantrell used a
TubeWorks power amp at the time. MAY have had something to do with the
sound).

Made some adjustments with the Low/Mid/Highs and on the amp. Did the
usual get a good clean sound, then adapt the pedal. The Gain on 0 still
has some guts. Maybe a little more than I'd like, but still sounded good.

What I did notice, as you'd hope, the sound of the gain kind of adapts with how
you play. Gain on 3, with a bit more Highs, and loose "strumming" got the EXACT
sound of "Sick of Myself" by Matthew Sweet (I'm a huge Sweet/Richard Lloyd guy
so was really happy about it.). Messed with the just Highs a bit more and was
reminded of "What's the Frequency Kenneth" by REM. Ran upstairs, got the CD,
and it was as close a match as you could hope for.

Gain on 5 at what was, probably, a live volume for me got close to the sound
I use on the Tech21. But, do have to say, as great as the Tech21 is, the Ibz
was probably more responsive. I'll give that to having a tube sitting there. Even
at 5, could play an arpeggio and hear every note individually as the others
rang.

Going anywhere higher than 8 at around my live volume, did get some
unwanted feedback. But, at 7 at that volume, even with my middy-range
sounding strat setup, got as close to a Metal sound as I'm ever going to.
With humbuckers you could probably get more of one than I'd have expected
from this.

The Level straight up at a live volume evened out very well switching from on
to off. Volume backed off on the amp (Attenuator or amp) and the level was
a bit louder on the Ibanez when kicked on. At practice level, the Ibz volume
was around 3/3.5.

With the Nano, it did exactly what the Nano is supposed to do; a nice, straight
clean, focused boost. Some may want something that fattens up a bit more,
but I'd say that's more on the what you're using to boost than the Ibanez (Boosta
Grandé might be incredible with the Ibanez...considering...).

Should also mention here the Void knob. Basically, this is like a Gate. Allows
you to set where you want the sound to cut off, or mute after you hit and release
a note/chord. It's kind of a built-in clip control. If you're chugging through some
heavy 5ths and want to get some breathing space between, you can set this to
do that. if you're playing 80s hair stuff and want to lose some bleed between
chords, can control that (Think of, say "In my Dreams", by Dokken. In the Intro,
there's a bit of decay between chord changes. Slight, but you can adjust this to
however extreme you want).

I set it on 0 and there was still just a bit more of the Gate than I like, so I just
turned it off. There IS a very slight bit of hum when the pedal is on on the
Void is off. Turn it to just barely being on and that hum is gone. But, didn't
even realize there was on before trying this.

Later, put the Boss OD in front to see how it reacted. Got a bit more gain to
single-note lines, etc. (Lead-y-type stuff). Would work great with it but I may
just run with the Nano a while.

The odd part of any of these preamp pedals is trying to figure out where it
works best in the chain. It's at once a preamp and a sort of Overdrive/Distortion
so may take some switching around and MAY end up in an odd spot.

Tried it first in line, then started moving things. What I found is that it works best
Post-Wah, and any effects other than a Delay. Close to where and actual preamp
should be but not where others seem to work best. This also holds true for where
the Nano is when running with it. Best if just before the Ibanez. (Interesting, the
Boss OD still works best just before the Wah if used in tandem with the Ibz).

Once I get the Carvin head I'm also going to see how it all works with the FX
Loop but since I've never liked using ANY FXL, I'm not expecting to end up
there.

At the practice/audition, with the amp volume backed down, I did have the
Gain up to about 7 for one tune, back to about 5-6 for a general, all around
sound. With the volume at live level and the speakers pushing more air
I'm thinking 5 will be plenty. My initial plan was to use this as a less driven
sound in the chain to have alongside the Tech 21. But, it seems able to handle
everything and it's highly possible that the Tech21 will clash with the tube power
amp in the Carvin. SO, I'm going to do a couple of shows using the Ibanez for
everything (Maybe use the Drive channel of the Carvin for the less "dirt" sound.
WAY more versatile than I expected. Not that I didn't think it would have some
guts and gain to it, I just didn't expect it to be as able to do high gain type sounds.

If you're playing more of a Blues-type thing you could use this with the Gain
on 0-2 and be set, could set it to be a Lead sound if you have a Rhythm sound
you like from the amp, or any combination of.

Downside: My thoughts in getting it were that it would cool/fun/easy to try out
different tubes. NOT the case at all. It's a NIGHTMARE. Took seconds to get
the screw for the heat shield off, then FOREVER to fight getting the heat shield
and tube out. Got the TungSol in, then fought again to try and get both screws
lined up. Got the first one in okay, but the second just didn't want to get back in
line. It's so tight in there it isn't going anyplace and I was getting concerned about
breaking off the pins, so said "Screw it. You're in forever"). AND, interestingly,
didn't change the sound much, if at all. No name on the original tube either.
If I knew then what I do now, would've saved myself the time and left it as is
(Although....Ron's mention of Murphy may be a reason to swap 'em out...at least
once). This does take away the one thing I was really looking forward to, especially
with Rob's well-worn E.H.s. THIS would be one thing I'd hope they revisit and
improve. As good as the pedal is, it's a huge downside for me from an experiment
point of view.

If I had any other "druthers", I'd ask that the cord on the power supply was beefier.
As a matter of fact, if they had a separate one you could buy that was thicker, I'd
get it in a second.

Overall, really like this thing. I'm looking forward to using it at a few shows to
see how it goes but looking good thus far. I'd put it up there in the "TOP BUY
EVER" category at the moment. In 5 years, hopefully, it'll still be around.

[metalchurch]

Dave, first off that is the most awesome review of a piece of gear ever! You should submit that to Harmony Central, no shit.

Anyway, seems like the tube swapping is more of a pain in the ass than what it's worth atleast for now anyway.

So, how would you describe the Gain on 10? More like modern rock, or 80's metal, of the hair variety?

[VENTGtr]

Joe,

Thanks much. As I was typing it up I thought "Ya know, guys who review
stuff for a living...GREAT job they have".

Agree about the tube-swapping. For me, it would have been worth giving
the stock tubes more of a run.

I would say with the Gain at about 7-8, and tweedlin' with the EQ you can
get a great 80s Hair sound. 8 and above, you could get what I'd consider
a real, modern, even seriously metal distortion.

There are actually suggested settings they send along for different genres
as well and they're very close, even with my pickups. These also all utilize
the "Void" control, so they seem to have given some thought on making it
really versatile.

If you're doin' metal, figure you'd be using humbuckers, if not active a/o
distortion-type pups, so if it worked well with my SC/P90-types, could be
HUGE sounding. Plus, could chuck in a 12AX7B Silver Dragon-type tube
and probably knock down walls.

With my setup, if I were on 10, I'd say I'd be fighting feedback. However,
since my rig's not really meant for that, someone else may have better
results. It's also possible, if not likely, that the Void could quelch that
problem.

I'm also goin' to lend this thing to Wiggus to give a run. Figure he'll be
using it completely differently than I, so will be interesting.

[metalchurch]

Dave, what exactly does the 'void' knob do? Is it a noise gate, or something similar?

You really should try an Electro Harmonix 12AX7, or a Tung-Sol 12AX7 in that thing. I'm guessing that it would make a huge difference in how the gain structure is voiced. But that does suck balls that the tubes are difficult to swap in and out.

Sounds like a great little unit, I'd love to try one sometime. I wonder if Guitar Center has them?

BTW, wouldn't that be cool to have a Guitar Center in Altoona or State College?