MODELED AMPS: WHICH AMPS ARE MODELED?
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Tweed Blues - The classic ’59 Fender Bassman 4x10 combo was the amp
that started it all – instant rock and roll tone. Originally a bass guitar amp, the
Bassman became a Blues staple for 6-string guitarists. It has the fat bottom end
you’d expect from a bass amp but also has the Fender twang on the top. The
Bassman was the “blueprint” for POD’s Tweed Blues. Incidentally, when Jim
Marshall built his first amps with Ken Bran they were heavily influenced by the
early Bassman. One of the interesting things about the Bassman is just how
interactive the Mid and Treble controls are. The Mid control isn’t a bandpass, as
in most tone control setups. Instead, it’s almost like a second treble control. The
two are additive, so if you’re running the Mid knob higher than halfway up, you’ll
find that the Treble Control might give you more bright than you really want. On
the other hand, when you turn the Mid knob down, you’ll probably want to boost
the Treble.
The Bassman, like many of the amps modeled for POD, didn’t have a master
volume. So to get the kind of tone that the Bassman can deliver at higher gain
settings, you had to crank it up loud enough to do some serious damage to anyone
who might be standing close by. With POD, you can get that kind of tone at a
bedroom or studio level – or through your headphones even! Try a drive setting of
about 4 or 5 – it’s guaranteed to dredge up the best R&B licks you know.
Black Panel - The Holy Grail for many blues, country, and “roots” players
has been a blackface Fender Deluxe Reverb (Of course, now that POD’s here, that
may all change). After listening to quite a few candidates for modeling, we
stumbled upon an extremely cool ’64 Deluxe. Most players love a Deluxe when it’s
turned up to about 7 for a nice gritty sound that cleans up when you back off your
guitar’s volume knob just a little. Notice how the tone control response changes as
this Amp Model’s Drive is changed; clean settings are crisp and present, while
more driven settings will mellow the high end. This is typical of what you get from
a Deluxe, and is nicely captured here.
The Deluxe itself has only Bass and Treble controls. Leaving us, once again, with
the prospect of a knob with nothing to say for itself. But fear not; in this case,
we’ve set up the Mid knob so you can add some post-Tubetone Midrange
contouring for a little more flexibility. Once again, set the Mid knob to its
“neutral” 12 o’clock position for the classic Deluxe sound. Tweaked up right, this
tone will cut through and sing.
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