22 Apr Breaking News: The Vega “Right” Settings with Input Impedance @ 50kohm
Well well well… I’m so ecstatic. I thought I couldn’t be any more than this, but I am.
As anticipated here, yesterday at the lab we went back to what we know of the original specifications of the Schaffer Vega. It clearly stated – thank God – that the input impedance of the transmitter was 50kohm (basically, right after the input jack there is a resistance inside the transmitter box).
[singlepic id=445 w=1024 h=768 float=]
Original Schaffer Vega Specifications (transmitter/receiver)
We carefully re-measured ALL the transmitters that I have, (a bunch) and they all measured 10kohm. That’s because all of these were built for microphone use.
So we set one unit to an impedance of exactly 50kohm, and the magic – right now – happened: the excess bass that you must have heard is gone.
Previously, I could not go above 2 or 3 o’ clock on the sensitivity of the transmitter because it would get “too bassy”, and would distort everything.
Now the sensitivity goes all the way, and the sound really benefits from this. NO more excess bass but instant “Back in Black” (Album) bass-type frequencies with the guitar on 10 and rolling off.
Additionally, when rolling off the guitar volume, the bass freq’s don’t disappear (anymore). I could not explain why on my “Whole Lotta Rosie” attempt I had to be careful about the bass when the guitar was on 10 but when on 8, a “hole” of bass would happen (not to mention with lower guitar volume settings).
I thought Angus would fix this somehow, I thought probably the mixdown fixed this, but naturally, no. It had to be “normalized” with this simple and true to the original specs modification.
Additionally, this one was recorded with one microphone, but this being the mighty Neumann U47 (tube microphone) original from the ’50s. This is the KING of microphones.
AC/DC did record with this microphone (for example, the whole Glasgow concert in 1978 was entirely recorded with U47s on guitars). It wasn’t used on Back in Black but still, I think it gets me even closer than AT4047s.
I will try to record later on with the U47 and an AT4047 to use two mikes as Platt did on the record. I expect even more.
All for now from a really happy Fil 🙂
Here to you.
PLEASE NOTE: don’t worry too much about the ProTools equalization, it’s just for the texture of the sound.
There may be a slight excess of bass, but this is not due to the Vega anymore, it’s on ProTools.
This is the most incredible tone I have ever heard or played with, this is “IT”.
Another incredible thing for me is… this is how it SOUNDS from the cabinet speakers.
To follow all the story that brought us here, remember to click the tab below “Related Posts”.
gimmeabullet78
Posted at 03:01h, 08 Decemberwhy do you change the ohms to 100k on the r42 and not 50k like the schaffer?
Max
Posted at 08:47h, 27 AprilWow.
Fil, if the input impedance is 50k that may be a big part of the sound because most guitar gear is much higher in impedance, like 500k
That would certainly change the tone just by itself, especially when the guitar volume is close to maximum!
SoloDallas
Posted at 09:02h, 27 AprilMax is this you? “My” Max?
Max
Posted at 13:23h, 27 Aprilhey buddy, sent you an email!
SoloDallas
Posted at 11:29h, 28 AprilGot it, will reply asap, have no time, I’m running like a headless chicken lol
ar2619Rob
Posted at 16:25h, 26 AprilUnbelievable, you go away for the weekend and look what you miss.
Both tracks sound so very much like the record, really very very good indeed. I love this tone, I can’t wait for the replica. Now to catch up on all the other posts I missed. 🙂
SoloDallas
Posted at 16:29h, 26 AprilWelcome back you!
ar2619Rob
Posted at 16:55h, 26 AprilYeah, still catching up!
Ice-Nick
Posted at 21:19h, 23 AprilVeramente OTTIMO Fil!
Uno dei migliori suoni mai sentiti… veramente!
Forse l’originale ha una leggera compressione in più sulla parte bassa ma davvero siamo lì… 🙂
Ottimo lavoro e grazie davvero per l’ispirazione!
Peccato che alcune cose siano molto delicate e costose per essere portate dal vivo 😉