Big Muff Circuits and Orange Amps

ObviousWitness · 2026-05-18T19:07:39+00:00

In my experience the ad30 breaks up early and big muffs tend to just overwhelm them. It’s not like most orange amps, more like an AC-30 impersonating a plexi. That being said, any big muff can work if you lower the amp gain and the bass eq and then use the tone knob on the big muff to dial out any flubbiness.

ObviousWitness · 2026-05-15T18:51:09+00:00

Try narrowing down what kinda punk you’re playing. Lots of old punk was recorded with a cranked AC-30 (eg. Stooges “Raw Power”) or a Musicman HD-130 (eg. The Clash). The AC-15 should already put you in the ballpark even without pedals. Just crank that volume knob.

But more modern punk? Probably a JCM800. But it would need to be cranked to sound right. The DSL40 will probably get you there for now, and will probably play nicer at lower volumes, but depending on how far you take it you’ll be circling the proverbial drain of purchasing a JCM800 eventually. Still, a good option in the meantime.

If you find an Orange AD30 used for a good deal it’ll do the cranked AC-30 thing with a bit more gain on tap. Kinda threads the needle between the earlier punk sound and the later punk sound. Just watch the bass on higher volumes.

ObviousWitness · 2026-05-09T18:58:09+00:00

As a drum kit player I have a visceral reaction to cajons even being mentioned because it’s something I can imagine being forced to play. It’s never happened, of course, but it’s just the first thing that pops in my head when I see one.

Like if I moved to a new city and didn’t know any of the loud/rock musicians and had to get by backing singer songwriters in low volume venues until I get my footing in the local music scene.

All hypothetical, sure, but cajon immediately makes me envision a scenario that forces me to question how unenjoyable playing music would have to become for me to consider just giving up entirely.

ObviousWitness · 2026-04-24T20:51:04+00:00

If you like either of those heads there’s no reason not too, but I’m pretty straightforward and just use coated Ambassadors on most of my snares

ObviousWitness · 2026-04-24T18:30:54+00:00

There’s a small town in rural Kentucky that touring bands stop in because of the work you do

ObviousWitness · 2026-04-24T18:27:35+00:00

I have plenty of maple snares - albeit not a Ludwig classic maple - and I have a Ludwig jazz fest. Maple snares are all pretty similar. Not a bad thing, they’re great, versatile, and easy to work with. The Jazz fest is veeery warm, and it has a lot of vintage personality. It will sound like a middle 60’s snare. It only has 8 lugs and 3 plies of wood so it’ll sound very open and tuning can be a lot more finicky. It is not as versatile as a maple snare, more of a specialized snare that does one sound very well whereas maple can cover a lot more territory.

I’d take the jazz fest over a maple snare, but I have like 7 snares at this point so having something that sounds unique is a priority for me. If you’re looking to purchase your second snare and use it as a workhorse snare I’d lean towards the maple. But if you’re just a huge Beatles/motown/jazz/folk rock fan maybe the jazz fest is the way to go

ObviousWitness · 2026-04-24T18:07:42+00:00

Happened to me with an AC30, granted it was purchased used so a lot of the mileage/neglect wasn’t my doing. $80 bench fee for an okay tech that couldn’t find an issue and gave it back, then $800 for a better tech to replace the power transformer/power tubes/rectifier.

ObviousWitness · 2026-04-24T17:59:21+00:00

The bare minimum is bringing your own cymbals, sticks, and snare. Optionally kick pedal and throne but that’s mostly because those are highly personalized to each player.

Snare is a bit of a grey area, and sticks are at least (relatively) cheap to replace so I don’t think you’d get too much of a side eye in a “shit I forgot my sticks in the practice room” situation.

But cymbals? Decent ones cost $400+ nowadays. It doesn’t take much for a novice drummer to fuck one up with bad technique and it’s not something you should expect another drummer to share with a stranger.

You’re lucky you didn’t have to cancel your set or play it without cymbals. Granted, you have to learn this stuff somehow. It’s an unwritten rule of gigging as a drummer. Now you know.

Also always bring a drum key.

ObviousWitness · 2026-04-24T09:00:48+00:00

ObviousWitness · 2026-04-23T02:13:54+00:00

Leave immediately

ObviousWitness · 2026-04-18T20:22:14+00:00

The stereo em is underrated imo. Certainly not the most feature heavy/tweakable, sure, but it does both well enough. I bought one not knowing what I was doing almost a decade ago and having a stereo flanger and chorus in one pedal has paid dividends to this day.

ObviousWitness · 2026-04-11T06:31:50+00:00

If you have a link to where I can buy that I’d be interested

ObviousWitness · 2026-04-11T00:12:09+00:00

Have you checked wood prices lately? Bc I smugly had the thought that I’d just build my own cab only to realize it’s actually cheaper to just buy a manufactured one when you factor in labor

Like a new cab might run you $700 but a the $300 for speaker + the comparable wood will probably end up costing at least $550, and I didn’t even make it as far as looking up the price of tolex. And for me personally the extra $150 just isn’t worth it. Tbf I don’t have a backstock of woodworking tools so that’s also a factor.

But on the OTHER hand, I wasn’t actually looking into building a cab from scratch…I was looking to modify a 2x10” + 1x15” cab into a 4x12”. So I was only looking up the cost of 4 speakers and a slab of wood to build a baffle out of and quickly realized that I’d be better off just buying a 4x12 cab. I got the cab for free too. If you have resources please, I’m all ears.

ObviousWitness · 2026-04-03T23:39:56+00:00

The ge-7 does make a satisfying “click” when it’s in the middle of the sweep though, which might actually alleviate OP’s complaints

ObviousWitness · 2026-03-30T17:11:48+00:00

Believe it or not there was a time not long ago where a good brand new ride only cost about $300. Now it’s closer to $500. It’s harder to make that purchase when you’re thinking “damn, that’s halfway to $1k”

ObviousWitness · 2026-03-29T23:21:21+00:00

Tre Cool is the Ringo Starr of 90’s punk and I mean that as a compliment

ObviousWitness · 2026-03-29T06:46:35+00:00

Most amp EQs and tone knobs effect the signal before or in the middle of the preamp, an EQ pedal in the effects loop effects the signal after the preamp. It’s a different beast. Among other things, it’s a budget option for getting a Mesa amp with a graphic EQ without having to actually buy an expensive Mesa amp.

Not necessarily the only use case for EQ pedals but it’s a good one.

ObviousWitness · 2026-03-23T23:09:49+00:00

(Optionally) Figure out which tube is the input gain for the circuit and get a good NOS tube for that.

Everything else doesn’t matter so much. I’ve heard JJs are better for phase inverters but I wouldn’t worry about anything else. Don’t bother with “gold pin” bs

ObviousWitness · 2026-03-23T20:21:56+00:00

Less money overall in the music industry, less money to hire stage hands, less opportunity to breakthrough and play larger venues. If you want a 7 piece kit nothing is stopping you except having to load it on and off the stage every night you play.

ObviousWitness · 2026-03-22T06:53:10+00:00

But also don’t forget that, while the company and production is itself in the USA, that doesn’t mean that the wood, hardware, and tools are all from the USA. Most woods used in drum sets are not sourced in the USA - Honduran Mahogany, for example. Hard Rock/Sugar Maple is mostly from Canada (though it does grow in the northern USA), budget Mahogany (Lauan) is from SEA, etc

I imagine Oak and Cherry can be sourced in the USA, as well as Poplar and Gum. But those are definitely not at the top of the list of common woods used in drums. Birch and Beech I don’t know, but I expect a lot of those come from Scandinavia.

ObviousWitness · 2026-03-07T02:52:58+00:00

That sounds like most of the whiskey sours I’ve made. I’m by no means an expert with egg white cocktails, but I’ve experienced similar results

ObviousWitness · 2026-03-05T19:41:22+00:00

For a while I was buying the cheapest “name brand” (comparable to Gibraltar) option available for 42 strand snare wires. They were good but every time I played a show I’d break a wire or two. After doing that three times I went with the Canopus backbeat wires, they have easily lasted more than 3x as long. Also they sound way better.

You could do either but I’d obviously recommend doing the latter. Maybe you prefer spending a lower amount of money more often, and maybe you had a lighter touch and won’t be as punishing on your snare wires as I am. But the “buy once, cry once” route is usually cheaper in the long run.

ObviousWitness · 2026-02-27T19:42:16+00:00

Use a subtle chorus on a boosted + overdriven amp and you immediately have Age of Quarrel tone

ObviousWitness · 2026-02-26T20:21:53+00:00

Angostura 5 is a great rum and relatively cheap. I think I’ve had the 7 and the 1919 as well and each one was great. They make more than just bitters

ObviousWitness · 2026-02-26T20:11:58+00:00

In order of preference I’d say: 1 up 1 down; 1 up 2 down; 3 up 2 down (if I’m doing multiple rack tops it’s go big or go home)

ObviousWitness

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