In the past I have had great luck using clean sounding small PA heads(like Earthe Mates, Kustoms)and then running them through a 2-12″ with decent speakers. Using EQ and OD pedals, I get a great sound that pulls out the guitar’s qualities. I am thinking of getting the .44 Magnum for the same use in a smaller format.. Youtube can only give you so much..does it stay clean sounding at higher volume?I’m not really concerned if the tone is kind of plain, just a good bit of headroom that lets my telecaster be a tele, and my Les Paul be a Les Paul. This looks promising, thanks!

Great pic! Nice to see the LPB2-ube in action, it’s an under-rated pedal IMO. Way to turn the 44 magnum into a hybrid amp!

Well, the LPB2ube being stereo means you can gang the channels and put effects in between. I’d put the dist first, like:

22cal–2ubeChan2–modulation–2ubeChan1–dist–guitar

This way, you can use the gain from channel 1 to hit your modulation effects, then use channel 2 as a master volume to bring the signal level up to where the power amp wants it.

Ehx really doesn’t read much if any of the forums.
and the tiny-amplifier-on-giant-board thing could be maybe a personal monitor if the venue just provides a ‘front of house’ monitor setup or they don’t want to have to get an amp and a roadcase just be told to turn their 200 watt Sunn Concertlead down because it’ll just be mic’d anyways.

Also bear in mind it’s just a power amp. ever plug JUST an electric guitar into a PA? it sounds flat. Amps provide [natural] compression/maximization and overdrive. Try running an amp sim or an enhancer or a sonic maximizer or even a dirt pedal with the tone up and the fuzz/gain low with it and see if you like it better. It’s more of a pick-your-own-preamp type idea. All that ‘real tone of the guitar’ stuff? no that’s the real tone of the amplifier. Sorry. As a synth player, that whole attitude bugs me- yeah, there’s a bit of your tone coming from your guitar, your playing style, but the bulk of it is in your preamp(s).

and lastly, you aren’t supposed to use it with 4-ohm cabs. just throwing that out there.

Dear Cry,
Thanks for the reply. You could be right but let’s examine a couple of aspects just for fun. While your assumption about the use as a monitor amp is a great idea, the 44 seems to have no clarity–no high frequency extension, so articulation of vocals is unlikely. I’ll plug in a tube mic preamp and see. Good thought though.

Look, I want this to sound good. I like EH prodicts and the compnay and it would’ve been a hoot to show up with a pedal board 4 X 4 inches with a little pedal feeding the 44! As I stated, the Xotic RC Booster (or my own custom preamp) helps a lot but it’s still barely suitable for gigging–not in terms of volume–in terms of chime, clarity and overall balance. I HOPE it’s defective. I WANT to keep it. It did get some positive strokes but only on this forum. I still have my hopes up. I’ll call the company. I have contacts there from my writing.

Now to the overall tone issue. First of all, you are simply incorrect when you say it’s only a power amp. If it had no preamp, you’d get very little sound. Try plugging a guitar into a real true power amp. It cannot work. The signal coming off the pickups is at microphone level–thousands of a volt. A power amp might need 1.5 volts to start cookin’ hard–that could be a thousand times more. It has a preamp; see the bright switch? While the preamp is really as simple as it can possbly be (just a voltage boost and a cheap high boost–or more likely, a high cut if “bright” in actually normal), the overal sound should be far better and it can be. There’s nothing inherent in spectral balance issues with class-D amps, just smoothness sometimes but not a complete lack of character and transparency.

Finally, I was astounded at your statement about the tone coming from the amp (or preamp). While the amplifier makes a giant difference, you must start with a given. Tell me, Cry, does a Fender guitar sound like a Gretch or a Gibson? How about pedals and amps that completely obscure the original tone? They do exist because they are so colored they can’t get you your sound (if that’s what you prefer). I assure you sir, my 60’s Gibsons sound different from my newer Les Pauls. In fact, every Les Paul, semi-solid Gibson and Epiphone (and D’Angelico) I own sound a little different from each other and all my amps–practice or gigging–show the difference, The 44 cannot. Guitarists use the words “tone woods” because even different woods sound, uh, different. Different pieces of mahogany sound different from each other. A good amp reveals and enhances the difference while adding it’s own color. I love great amps. I detest toneless amps designed from day one as promotional products that appear to be good deals at the guitar megamart.

I almost forgot: The amp worked slighy better in a 2X12 even though it’s a 4-ohm load–a function of the speaker blending of the two dissimilar drivers. I am always careful with solid state driving low impedances unless they are optimized for that load. I did not play it super loud and shut down quickly as the sound did not improve much anyway

Once again, thanks for the reply and the insight.

Fmalitz;

No offense taken. I’m impressed with yer writing style, and I’d be interested in ready some of yer articles.

I use my 44 in a variety of diff settings. Sometimes alone, or with a Catalinebread DLS and a DMB. For my bigger setups, I run my whole pedalboard thru it. And I hit it pretty hard with my v4 Big Muff. I can’t have the bright switch on with the muff tho’. Too much top.

I’m playing a Godin LGX with stock humbuckers. My main amp is a Mesa Boogie rocket 4 Forty. I use it and the Mag side by side for live looping (verse in one/chorus in the other). The Mag totally stands up to the Mesa in terms of clarity.

In just about every case the mag is around 9 o’clock fer practice and 10:30 to 11 fer gigs. It starts to break up around noon. From what you have described, the Mag may not be functioning properly. Either that, or my ears are failing me. Sorry to say I’m hopin yer 44 is defective;)

Bought mine unheard as well. Not a lot of selection in Nova Scotia. Got my at Steves Music when I was in Toronto without my guitar.

TGM

Thanks everyone for tolerating my opinoins. If Cry is right, Ghost cannot be and visa versa! Cry says one must expect dull sound from an ordniary preapm section not voiced for guitar (I agree; hi-fi equipemnt won’t work as a guitar amp–sounds lifeless) but Ghost says his sounds pertty good! Hey Cry: Do you actually have a 44 or are you guesstimating?

I’m gonna call EH and post their response.

One more thing: this endeavor is not for an article but that’s a great idea. I wanted to gig with it! I’m working on an article right now on the Xotic RC Booster (outstanding product) and their remarkable EP Booster which emulates the old EchoPlex preamp (geddit? Echo Plex) It adds gain but does fatten the tone almost like an overdrive but more subtle–an outstanding produst as well.

You guys can see one of my articles in the “Archive” section at my site: MagicFrankBluesBand.com
If you want more, contact me though the site and I’ll send you some–no charge of course. I was with 20th Centry Guitar Magazine as the Gigologist for years and more recently as a contributor for Premier Guitar. Now I only freelance due to the recession.

I’m the founder of Onkyo USA and I’ve represented Yamaha (still do), Kustom, Sennheiser, Monster Cable, and US Music (Washburn, Randall, etc). I assemble and sell parts guitars. I’m an old guy and play primarily Chicago-style blues–no fuzz tones, no envelope modifiers, etc. Tone is my passion. By the way, if you know Chicago-style Blues tone (early BB King, Otis Rush, even Chris Cain), you understand my inclination for Fender amps. You can’t have the blues in a Toyota and you can’t play Chicago blues though a Marshall stack–British blues for sure, but Chicago-style? Nah…(only kidding!). Tone is in your hands and hearts–not your rig.
Peace