AC/DC's "Walk All Over You", The Schaffer Replica™ Series (S

[SoloDallas]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JwsDw6K3fc[/youtube]

[stef]

[Lefty Lou]

Pardon my noob question but is the subject header based upon an upgraded Schaffer-Vega Wireless Diversity System or are we talking about a M-I-B (Marshall in a box) pedal here?

[SoloDallas]

Pardon my noob question but is the subject header based upon an upgraded Schaffer-Vega Wireless Diversity System or are we talking about a M-I-B (Marshall in a box) pedal here?

"There are no stupid questions, only stupid answers".
MIB pedal. We made a replica, NON wireless, audio only.

[Lefty Lou]

It sure sounds sweet. Solo, I've seen several of your AC/DC vids and they're very enjoyable for the listener as well as for the performer I always think it's funny when the subject comes up about Angus not using any pedals. I guess the thinking here is that master volume Marshall circuits don't count as OD circuits

[SoloDallas]

I always think it's funny when the subject comes up about Angus not using any pedals. I guess the thinking here is that master volume Marshall circuits don't count as OD circuits

THAT's IT! So much for the guy who never plugged into anything and just went cable straight into the amplifier
Yeah, right. Not.

Angus did say this himself actually, but only a careful reader of the past ( I have been one) would catch that interview where Angus mentioned that as a guitar "effect" he "only" used a Schaffer-Vega Diversity System. He did NOT mean to say that he was using it only as a wireless system; he did in fact imply he was using the SVDS as a GUITAR EFFECT. It took me years to get that line in my system and decipher it properly, thus then tracking down the SVDS and the rest of the story.
The SVDS (and now our Replica) completely changes Angus' game of those years. He did say this, but no one had paid attention (maybe no one was interested this seriously).

It was the SVDS, the Master Volume amps and more recently, other little tricks that I have - too - unlocked, and will cover those when I'm done covering the SVDS era (which I am jut beginning with)

Thanks

[Lefty Lou]

I'm still in misunderstanding about the SVDS, is it the gain level on the unit itself (much like modern wireless units) that we're talking about here? So, essentially you have a wireless system plus a gain boost in the wireless unit? That I can understand.
BTW Solo, do you have stock humbuckers in your SG's like Gibson Burstbuckers or 57's? Just curious, as I have stock 57's in my Gibson Custom Shop lefty SG. I also have a lefty 80' Greco SG that I replaced pups for with Seymour Duncan Antiquity humbuckers. For whatever reason the Greco SG sat with my other guitars for awhile, but when I picked up the guitar and played it again I'm going "what was I thinking?" this guitar sounds tremendous! Whomever had previously owned the Greco SG had cranked the aluminum stop tailpiece down (but didn't wrap the strings over the stop tailpiece) and I get more of a "stringy" feel when I play that makes my .010 gauge string set feel slinkier like it has a set of .009's on the guitar.

Solo, I think you should have a way cooler "nom de plume" than "Solo Dallas", How about the name "Hands Solo", cool eh?

[SoloDallas]

I'm still in misunderstanding about the SVDS, is it the gain level on the unit itself (much like modern wireless units) that we're talking about here? So, essentially you have a wireless system plus a gain boost in the wireless unit? That I can understand.
BTW Solo, do you have stock humbuckers in your SG's like Gibson Burstbuckers or 57's? Just curious, as I have stock 57's in my Gibson Custom Shop lefty SG. I also have a lefty 80' Greco SG that I replaced pups for with Seymour Duncan Antiquity humbuckers. For whatever reason the Greco SG sat with my other guitars for awhile, but when I picked up the guitar and played it again I'm going "what was I thinking?" this guitar sounds tremendous! Whomever had previously owned the Greco SG had cranked the aluminum stop tailpiece down (but didn't wrap the strings over the stop tailpiece) and I get more of a "stringy" feel when I play that makes my .010 gauge string set feel slinkier like it has a set of .009's on the guitar.

Solo, I think you should have a way cooler "nom de plume" than "Solo Dallas", How about the name "Hands Solo", cool eh?

Oh no worries Lefty here to you: the SVDS was the first wireless system worthy of being called a professional system.
It was a fully analog system, comprised of one transmitter with companding technology inside (a compressor) and two receivers (Diversity). Inside the receivers box, you also had one expander (companding) and a clean boost, that was there in the form (and purpose) of... an headphones monitor system! It was an analog, extremely powerful amplifier to Monitor the output of the unit.
But - as Ken Schaffer told me in person - it soon if not immediately became (the monitor output) THE output outlet for guitar players, as they could easily boost the signal on their amplifiers and thus further overdrive the amp itself. Prior to this way of doing, guitar players and the rest of the SVDS users were using the rear output, which sounds the same but the boost. It is set at a level where it's basically at the same level/loudness of the cable. It was supposed to replicate the same level of a cable.

So between the compressor on the transmitter (X10) and the boost on the receiver (EX63) the player had two effects in one, really. And the overall effect is (still) to me ears analogically magnificent. Pure analog drive, sustain, fatness. I love it, it's my favourite sound of all times, if you consider that I started listening seriously to music in 1978, when 9 years old, and AC/DC's "If You Want Blood" LIVE at Glasgow had just been released and it was my very first album of my life.

On that very album, the SVDS was being used to its fullest by Angus himself, on a Marshall 2203 amplifier. I haven't been knowing this for the most part of my life, but I was evidently related to the SVDS and the way I conceive the guitar sound for most of my life. Probably me "discovering" the importance of this in Angus Young's older (and greater) sound was not a coincidence (laughs).

Hope this explains it to you? We just replicated 1:1 (using the SAME components!) the audio circuitry on our replica. We offer no wireless, it's "just" a guitar effect to be connected by cables.

Now onto the pickups. As you probably noticed, I use mostly vintage guitars. And some "replicas" (recently I have been using a Rock N Roll Relics "Angus Model" I contributed to designing). The Angus Model has a David Allen P51 inside, which is a close replica of a vintage 1959 PAF pickup. I am developing with David Allen (from David Allen pickups) a "t-top" type pickup which is more appropriate for Angus' older times.

Other than this, what you saw me use is - on SGs - exclusively T-Tops, mostly originals from the late 1960s and super early 1970s (1970 AND 1971, no further). I also used a lot a Gibson Angus Young signature.
I tend to like hotter versions of these pickups, just like Angus did (and he favoured the hotter ones even back then).

[Lefty Lou]

Solo, it sounds as though if one desired to simplify the process, then a good analog compressor and boost pedal in front of a MV amp could get one equally close to the sound we're speaking of. In 78' I was graduating high school, and sometime in the early 80's I saw the AC/DC "Back In Black" Tour with special guest Yngwie Malmsteen. After about 15 minutes (or less) of Yngwie's set I already had ear fatigue and was pleading for him to go. Scales and arpeggios at the speed of light plus all of those odd harmonics were worse than Hiroshima or Nagasaki. It was easy enough then to listen to Yngwie on vinyl because you could turn off the turntable plus the decibel level wasn't at earbleed levels. I remember for the first time ever that I had ever attended any concert that I wore these earplugs that let sound through but blocked the noise and harmful dB levels. At the end of the concert my ears were still ringing and I was on the floor by the front of the stage (their stage right, my stage left or on Malcolm's side). Angus went out into that large crowd and pleased the crowd with his typical antics.

What was cool was AC/DC had two field artillery cannons on top of the amp stacks that fired powder charges on "For Those About To Rock", and a bell not unlike the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia was lowered from the ceiling and was clanging on "Hells Bells". What's also cool to (note/mention) here is that Angus had (2) custom Marshall half stacks built for him by Jim Marshall. Both heads were of larger dimension than typical Marshall heads, each head supplying 300 Watts RMS + with a 4 x15" cabinet for each head. From memory, I believe that each of the two cabinets were slant front 4 x 15"s. Each of these half stacks faced stage left and stage right (I guess you'd call them monitors) since they'd be blasting Angus's left eardrum and Malcolms right eardrum.

Of my humbuckers that I've become most attached to I'd say the Tom Holmes hb set, Tim White Timbucker hb set, and Seymour Duncan Antiquity hb set have to be my favorites. I had ordered a WCR Crossroads hb set, and WCR Moore/Green hb set however I don't want to pull my top three hb's to try them out even though I know they're stellar pickups.

[SoloDallas]

Sorry for the late reply LL!
Yes, I guess the TSR (or SVDS) may be simulated by use of a compressor and clean boost. However Lou, I tried many of both, alone and in combination and never even come close. That was actually my first series of attempts when I couldn't locate original SVDS (the first months) but I had understood what the SVDS does to the sound. So tried to simulate it. But no cigar.
Then got close with a Cetec-Vega (later model) and finally, Ken Schaffer responded to my messages and on and forth with the story.

You know what, do you think those 300W amps were master volumes or 1959 model types?

[Lefty Lou]

Sorry for the late reply LL!
Yes, I guess the TSR (or SVDS) may be simulated by use of a compressor and clean boost. However Lou, I tried many of both, alone and in combination and never even come close. That was actually my first series of attempts when I couldn't locate original SVDS (the first months) but I had understood what the SVDS does to the sound. So tried to simulate it. But no cigar.
Then got close with a Cetec-Vega (later model) and finally, Ken Schaffer responded to my messages and on and forth with the story.

You know what, do you think those 300W amps were master volumes or 1959 model types?

Roe on this forum did a (cut/paste) interview "Angus Young: Seriously By Jas Obrecht From Guitar Player, February 1984" wherein Angus stated the amps were 350 Watts but nothing was said about MV or 1959 models. My memory is cloudy as we're talking at least 31 years ago, but I think it's safe to say the 350 watt monitor amps would be more akin to a 1959 w/o MV if the amps were being used as monitors. I'll see if I can find out more from Marshall Law or another Marshall source.


I believe a good SG with a good set of pups, a MV Marshall head and Celestion loaded cabinet can more than adequately provide that sound. Solo, I don't have your Angus chops but I used to get that tone with a 72' SG Std. w/DiMarzio Super Distortion bridge pup and a pre JCM800 Marshall 2203 with 4x12 loaded with 70 watt Celestions.

[Lefty Lou]

I can't help but wonder how truthful or how knowledgeable Angus truly is about his equipment. Take this for example:



A couple of gimmees: 1) For Malcolm and Angus to be driving Marshall's (and/or) Wizard amps to ear splitting levels, when they used the lower wattage G12M and G12H speakers, cabinets would have to be doubled up in quantity f.e. a Marshall Super Lead is capable of outputting around 160 watts which would require at least (2) 4x12 greenback cabinets so as not to blow said speakers. Of course more of these cabs would be required if cleaner headroom is desired prior to clipping. 2) Since Angus doesn't put as much emphasis on MV circuitry, one would guess that this little tidbit would go unnoticed like in his pictured rack that he's using two Mesa Boogie amps with MV circuits and 5 band EQ's. This is just an opinion, but I'll just bet that at one time Angus had, or was using a SR&D Rockman X100 (possibly when they first came out), and setting the Rockman X100 for clean with echo using the Rockman's natural compression there is no external gain device, or is there? Does EVH reveal all his trade secrets, convolute information about his equipment, provide disinformation about his equipment? YES, and Angus is no different in that respect.

Back in the early 80's Scholz Rockmans were the "big deal" and EVERYBODY was using them (I still have mine) even though the main effects of the SR&D Rockman X100 were only chorus gain and echo, there (was/is) still a certain amount of natural compression to the effect. Just try hooking one of these units into a JTM50 or 1959 with your trusty SG, play some AC/DC licks and be prepared to be pleasantly surprised.

[SoloDallas]

LL,
I still have my Rockmans (I have two, the cheaper one featured here and the "pro" one) still from back then!

He(a)r he(a)r!

(replying to you on the other points asap, now taking children to children party... )

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lc_4ND4b17w[/youtube]

[Lefty Lou]

LL,
I still have my Rockmans (I have two, the cheaper one featured here and the "pro" one) still from back then!

He(a)r he(a)r!

(replying to you on the other points asap, now taking children to children party... )

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lc_4ND4b17w[/youtube]

Bravissimo Fil! The Rockman is still just as valid today as it was when it came on the market. I wanted to take the guts out of mine and to fit the unit in a pedal with quality switches and pots. I found a musician from the U.K. (I believe) that did this with his X100 and the work was performed by an audio firm in Germany. When I inquired further into the conversion of my X100, I was told it would be too cost inefficient to repeat the process as was done for the U.K. (musician/customer). I was perusing your website yesterday evening when I noticed that you were born in Dallas in 68'. I was 8 yrs. old living in Midland
Texas in 68' as my father worked for Union Oil of California or (Union 76).

Lately I've been using my Mesa Boogie V-Twin pedal with a Boss DD-2 into a custom built JTM45/50 head into a Marshall 1960A Vintage cabinet w/Celestion G12T-75 speakers (Gary Moore's speaker of choice). I jumper from lo input Normal channel to hi input Bright channel with the output of my DD-2 into the lo input Bright channel. The Celestion G12T-75 speakers were Gary Moore's "Most Essential" speaker of choice.

My JTM45/50 has (3) NOS GT Mullard 12AX7's (2) NOS GT Siemens EL34's & (1) NOS Mullard GZ34 tubes. The power tranny is a Heyboer JTM45 PT and the output tranny is a Mercury Magnetics JTM50 OT. This amp has THE classic rock tone. I only wish that I had several others like it as backups.

[fivecoyote]

AWESOME stuff Solo! Wish I had the time to crank and play like you do, brother. Rock on!