Goodbye TVP15

[Lonesome Cowboy Bill]

I've fought with this thing on and off for about a year and today I gave it it's last chance. I went through every pre-amp using every power amp for each selection. I fiddled extensively with the gain, the master, the EQ and the ISF. Conclusion - not a single usable sound to be found. TVP is a joke - it may be louder but it's not remotely tube-like. Dull and lifeless. Turn it up and it gets worse. In a blind test NOBODY would think this is a valve amp. I had a Laney solid state amp about 12 years ago that would blow this out of the water. Utter garbage, a joke and not a funny one.

Should have known - I had the HT Drive 'Pure Valve' pedal (no it isn't, not by a long stretch) and that was rubbish too. I don't understand why this company is still in business.

[flimbo]

You've changed your tune since October then...

"I play my ID TVP 15 in my kitchen sometimes at whisper levels and have no problem getting a great overdrive sound. It took a while to get there. I use mainly crunch and supercrunch. One thing I found is to look at the EQ differenly than I do with valve amps. Typically I'll have the ISF set all the way to the Brit side. The bass I have set just below the middle mark and the treble a little lower than that. I can get a great THICK sound this way. If it;s no toppy enough I'll take the ISF back a little more in the American direction. The EQ controls are very powerful so I find it's best to set them almost 'off' and then add in what I need" - Lonesome Cowboy Bill.

[Lonesome Cowboy Bill]

Yes Flimbo - I really tried to like it but it's just a load of crap. For home practice I've gone back to my Microcube - I use only one sound but it's musical and pleasant to the ears. I've nothing against modeling amps. My gigging amp right now is a Yamaha THR 100, a terrific amp which, unlike the Blackstar, sounds better the more it's turned up. Blackstar seem to have abandoned the TVP concept but, typical of this company, have nothing to say on the subject.