Life as a working musician - Vlogs, Gear, and Recording through a Six String Lense
Bio: Originally from Athens Georgia, Michael W. Westbrook has been a part of the Atlanta music community for over 15 years. As a multi-instrumentalist he has toured nationally and internationally supporting artist including Crowder, Corey Smith, Jake Clemons of the “E” Street Band, and Nathan Angelo among others. When he's not on the road he utilizes his experience to teach, write, and produce.
I have a '73 Deluxe Reverb. I put a negative feedback disconnect switch on the back and a vibrato disconnect as well. My amp stayed on stage for years at a blues jam in Portland and everyone loved it. The reissues they are making now aren't Deluxe Reverbs at ALL.
Yeah, I’ve tweaked my negative feedback just a hair. Just a touch less than stock but honestly probably still within tolerances of the old parts 😂 It livened it up a touch
I’ve heard of guys figuring out midi switching via USB so seems like it’s possible but I don’t think that is an official feature yet. If that’s a make or break feature for you, I’d wait for future updates on ToneX One or go with the larger units
Yes, a direct capture of the amps and included IR’s for each preset. This allows you to change the IR side to suit individual preferences. I’ve been really happy with doing it this way and the options it gives you
Love your videos, brotha!! Been doing some captures of my own, I’d love to send em to you and get your feedback if you’re up for it! I’ll definitely be trying out yours soon 🙏🏼
Just downloaded your Platform Collection. It was super easy and only took 1 minute to get them. I will check them out soon. I do have a Lightspeed that I was planning to sell, but maybe your captures will be the magic combo with that Lightspeed. haha Great video, Thanks for sharing!
I have found latency varies by capture it seems. I picked two that I really liked and are pretty close. I saw on a video that The full size and mini do have different latency or response time but overall I find it’s not out of phase and gives it a small stereo spread. I used my Daw to record and check phase and found I prefer they are not perfectly in line so it doesn’t bother me. But I feel like it really depends on the captures you use together. There is a Lot of trashy captures out there
I have the walrus audio acs1 (after hearing your awesome tones through it) Would you recommend switching over to the tonex one? Great vids as always my dude.
I just changed from ACS1 to a Tonex and Tonex One. You would have to have two to get stereo amps. Also have to go through a ton of captures to get one you like. I never cared for any of the IRs that are in the ACS1 and had to go through tons of IRs for it as well. In a live setting it’s probably not very much difference between the ACS1 or Tonex. You might change the way you set and use your drives. I got Tonex mainly to capture my real amps and will be doing that in the next couple of weeks.
If I understand it’s just a difference of how many Amps (captures) come with it. (The difference between the ToneX Se and Max software that is..) With the ones on Tone.net and third party captures I don’t think it’s necessary. There are some great sounds in MAX but I wouldn’t let SE deter you!
Very nice build. Have you ever thought of building a trainwreck? I've built a couple express'. They can do anything. Incredible cleans , all the way to super saturated, gorgeous, harmonically rich overtones. I've always been into tweed and plexi amps, but they do not even compare to a trainwreck.. the honeymoon phase will never end, lol. They are a very simple build as well
Thanks! I have actually and even a tarted researching it but got busy. It seems like a pretty easy build overall especially compared to this one. I still can’t believe it fired up first time 😂
The ToneX capture pack is awesome! It would be great if you could also give informations on your global settings for input trim and main vol of the ToneX pedal since these have a great impact on gain and sound! Thank you!
I’m going to make a video soon and discuss this… I’m not convinced it’s a one size fits all thing. I believe my input gain is at +1 or +2 and the ToneX One it’s just above noon or a little more.
@@MichaelWWestbrook Yes, definitely also depending on the guitar etc. However input trim gives an idea how it is supposed to sound. A more in death video on how to use ToneX with an acoustic guitar/dobro would also be great. Thank you so much for your outstanding videos and sharing your expertise!
Lots of variables especially when using the plugin… You’ve got 3 controls that change input level/drive…preamp gain, input volume in ToneX, and the gain control.
Very interesting video, thank you! I'd like to say I tried the NFB mod but my 5E3 sounds best stock (without negative feedback) ! Imho, the most useful mod I did was reducing signal caps from .1 to .022 and installing a pre-phase inverter master volume.
Agreed! I like mine stock (with the smaller caps) or the Cathode bypass engaged. It’s rare I use the Neg feedback mode. It is nice for big over drive sounds though. Tightens things up a little bit
Did you find annoying the fact that if you push a tonex switch twice it goes into bypass mode? This behaviour is what It made unusable live for me. Well, I move a lot and sometimes I miss some pedals.
@@MichaelWWestbrook Interesting, the new tonex one can change presets with midi messages by usb port, I don't know what the benefits of the big brother are apart from the thru midi port to use 2 units together like you do. In any case, thank you for your reply!
I do like the menus and ability to tweak all the parameters on the bigger ones. That’s helpful for me but I can see how it doesn’t matter for a lot of folks.
I still haven’t added it all up because I spent it over the course of a year but I would guess somewhere between $1k and $1200. Tubes, transformers, and chassis were probably around $650. There were also a number of parts that I bought that weren’t correct or I bought extras of like common value resistors/caps/etc
Is it recommended for use with a bass? Honestly, I am unaware of the technical difference between a guitar compressor and a bass compressor, apart from the fact that some guitar compressors tend to cut the lower frequencies. I don't know if this is the case with this compressor
I picked up the Fundamentals Reverb pedal from this line for my budget board, and it was exactly what I was looking for. Now I'm considering the Ambient for my main board, because I love these kinds of sounds. Thanks for the demo.
is there a particular di box you would recommend for live use with tonex one? i am used to using either tech 21 flyrig or dsm humboldt which both have xlr outs.
Purchased this for my D18 with a Pure Mini. It work perfect with small tweaks for the mahogany back and sides. I also have had excellent results with your 5c3 Fullerton presets/IRs as well.
Hey MWW, just purchased your Fullerton preset (works great) and was wondering if the Grammatico 5e3 preset and IR pack is for sale? If it’s available it didn’t jump out at me on your web site.. really good stuff man 👍🏽
Slight circuit tweaks. Mine has been “black faced” as to say it’s had the changes made so it’s like a 65 (Blackface). At this point they are all a little different due to aging parts but to me it seems like the Silverface Deluxes are generally but slightly on the cleaner side.
Initially I was super turned off by it, but now that I have it mounted it and secure - it’s not that different than other supplies. I plug this board in just like any other board with an IEC. In the bigger picture it adds to the flexibility. It’s all give and take I guess…
Hey Michael! Can you explain the WRLS a bit more? What it's accomplishing? I'm running a Shure GLXD14R+ into a tuner for my acoustic board and haven't had any issues, but would love to hear more about what you're saying. Thanks, brother!
Made a whole video about it here: Wireless Acoustic AND a Tuner or Pedalboard? You NEED this! Line Level to Instrument Level ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-6x1tKAMWqCk.html
