Steiner Posted July 4, 2023 Posted July 4, 2023 Full disclosure: I LOVE amps. I've been chasing amps that would change that tinny electric guitar sound into a Steinway piano on steroids. I became aware of Dumble and Trainwreck early on but had no desire to shell out that much cash. It didn't make sense. I started following designers; after all, these talented individuals are responsible for the sound. I began with Soldano and soon found most of his models didn't shine as bright as his SLO. Bogner was next; good but plagued by functionality issues. I tried three different Fender models and was ok with what I found; I'm not a pedals guy so I moved on. The next designer I latched on was Mark Sampson (Matchless, Bad Cat, SMF and Star amplifiers). Tried a Matchless it's good but was high priced in the used market. Bad Cat (Sampson's second company) were more reasonable; tried them, liked them and kept going. Sampson's third company, Sound Machine Factory was short lived and only had two models. Both are good - suggesting that following a designer has some merit. Sampson moved on to Star Amplifiers which I haven't tried, though they do get favorable accolades. At one point a Marshall 2210 (100w 2203 w/ reverb) showed up here. Perhaps it was modded, I'll never know. I didn't gel with it but understood there was something there. A deep dive into Marshall quickly showed there were too many models and collectors were obsessed with certain ranges of serial numbers within models - too deep. A few years back a good friend bought a Metropoulos amp. I knew of George Metropoulos but never looked too deep into his offerings. My buddy's amp caught my eye (and ears) so I started looking in to this new designer. By the time I caught up with George, he was on a new model - the DVL-1. Once I played it I knew it had that Steinway factor. I've purchased every model he has released since then. This, his latest release, is on target for his favorite rock sound and amp. The video gives a good indication of sound plus drives through the features in the amp. If you're a Marshall kind of guy, you're going to smile https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9W2UqzOM0iU
bolero Posted July 5, 2023 Posted July 5, 2023 Yeah for a new amp that captures the vibe of those 60s Marshalls, that sounds like the ticket.
Steiner Posted July 6, 2023 Author Posted July 6, 2023 It floored me that the different bright caps and mid pot would have THAT much difference. The difference between the two channels is obvious which makes for enough differences to keep life interesting. The two gain controls in the 12380 channel works primarily in the sizzle level. The amp sounds wonderful either way but sometimes even Super Leads need to be tamed (just a tad). The different bright cap levels once again provide just enough variation to fine-tune the guitar's attack. The sound is pure Marshall. There's enough fun in there to cover many different top-shelf individual amps - no moding required. The best part is I don't have to search on the dark web to find an example with pedigree and hope every mod was an improvement. Unlike a 60yr old amp, this comes with many contemporary updates. This is when one-stop shopping really pays off.
rwinking Posted July 13, 2023 Posted July 13, 2023 I know that he designed the Metro Plex tube module for Synergy. After hearing you rave about the amp I may have to pick up one of his modules. https://www.synergyamps.com/shop/modules/metropoulos-metro-plex/
Steiner Posted July 13, 2023 Author Posted July 13, 2023 11 hours ago, rwinking said: I know that he designed the Metro Plex tube module for Synergy. After hearing you rave about the amp I may have to pick up one of his modules. https://www.synergyamps.com/shop/modules/metropoulos-metro-plex/ 11 hours ago, rwinking said: Found this: How does the sound compare? If you already have the Synergy system, it will get you in the ballpark. Akin to the SLO module, it has, generally, one setting that comes close to the original. Deviate and the two begin to diverge quickly. You get what you pay for - A cursory scan of Reverb shows most of the Metro Plex sold within $300 of original MSRP. These amps excited me enough to pony up the big bucks; knowing the amps are better than all other amps I've owned/played (WRT sound and range of beauty) and given they are in short supply, resale value should be stable, perhaps increase. I was offered the Metro Plex module for free last weekend; I don't need it. I bought the prototype of the MP MK II plus production 50 and 100W versions. To me, I'll get the value out of them, far better than I would some stock certificate. I'll let my heirs worry about value after they wrench them from my cold, dead hands. Disclaimer: I ran across Metropoulos in 2019. Since then I've learned more about guitar sound than in the previous 45 years. I practice every day, smile and giggle when playing because these amps help to generate the soundtrack of my childhood. Sound that normally requires an original studio record and headphones is suddenly coming through my hands. Here's George playing through his '68 SL and the Synergy MP. If you listen close, there are minor differences. If you buy one, note his settings. I'd imagine it's as good as it gets. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTxwesu8FdU
Steiner Posted September 29, 2023 Author Posted September 29, 2023 Today is the official kickoff to the Metro Plex Mark II shipping. Been playing the prototype daily for the past few months; there's no buyer's remorse, just happy to get the opportunity to play it. When you follow a good designer, good things happen. The following quote comes from - https://www.facebook.com/MetropoulosAmplification/ "Gentlemen, the Metro-Plex MK II era officially begins today. I've pursued this tone for decades. Just as many others have. I've obsessed over the minute details. I've endeavored to learn electronics just so I could apply those skills to this goal. I've chased this tone not because I wanted to be a great amp builder. It was a far more selfish pursuit. From the days I spent as a teenager, in my bedroom playing through terrible amps. Staring at Carvin catalogs. Drawing guitar rigs on my notebooks in school. Listening to old records and yearning to express myself through music. On into adulthood and playing guitar for a (very meager) living. Some nights, my old Marshall would be cooking and on a different plane. Those moments where I became one with my instrument and the amp was an extension of my musical will. Every tone I desired was right there under my fingers and available from my guitar knob. That synergy between a player and their weapons. By my mid 30's I was done gigging, had children, doubled down on passion for those old Marshalls and the elusive sounds some of them could make. But only when planets aligned and they could be played at ear shattering volume. My quest was still before me. Even though I attacked it in the first person persona, as an artist striving for their own voice, I was tasked with capturing the magic of great plexi tone and delivering to all like-minded artists. Slowly, often one component or one gain stage at a time...archiving data and learning the nuances along the way, patterns emerged. Circuit topology, gain staging, asymmetrical clipping, even harmonics, odd harmonics.. Negative feedback! There is something in the DNA of these old tube amps. A code. A code to be cracked. Enter the Audio Precision audio analyzer. My missing link. The tool that put everything into sharp focus. Two decades of fumbling with inferior tools, collecting imperfect data, reading books and online posts about how these circuits work, all debunked and my understanding re-written. The books say there's no clipping in the cathode follower. Not true! Take that away and it never sounds right. It matters. EVERYTHING matters! Over time, an overview became clear. How a plexi circuit works, why it clips where it does, which harmonics are generated... The secrets of plexi tone, the code, the DNA, the golden ratios. Call it what you want, by any name it amounts to the data and experience collected to recreate the glorious plexi tones I've (we all) have chased since they defined the greatest rock music in history. That might have been enough. My quest fulfilled. Well... obviously, it was not. Recreating those sounds at 120db+ is one thing. Separating the plexi tone experience from sheer volume is something else altogether. Deep associations fire brain synapses and release dopamine when we hear and feel sounds that connect with nostalgia. Play the Heartbreaker riff through a dimed plexi stack and it's impossible not to experience a range of emotions. Euphoria, elation, fear, invincibility! Now, turn it down and try to recreate that sensation. Ugh. Back to the quest, aimed at a new goal. The intangible plexi experience, at levels that allow the baby to sleep in the next room. More analysis. New circuits. Countless starts and eventual discarding of circuit concepts. I have mountains of engineering notes. That kid who drew guitar rigs on his notebooks in school, now finds himself scribbling circuits. On napkins, on my phone, during flights. In the middle of the nights, my body exhausted and my mind refusing to turn off. Ultimately, those concepts were vetted and became eloquent circuits. Combinations of components arranged to accomplish design criteria. String enough of those together in the right order and you gaze upon a fully realized, finished quest. Decades of passionate pursuit have led me to this day. Years of living like a starving artist, ignoring health issues, devoting endless energy to things that no rational person could ever imagine would amount to something grandiose. Defying odds, battling long Covid. A true Odyssey in the classical sense. I humbly submit to you, a life's work (so far). Quest forth, as LOUD as you possibly can." George Metropoulos 9/29/23
Steiner Posted September 30, 2023 Author Posted September 30, 2023 1 hour ago, kbp810 said: Happy metroplex ii day ? Spank you, I depreciate that. Coming from you, that really is significant. We should plug that new, Pelham blue H-150 into it and have at thee! Then we can fire up that dirty, old H-157 you have laying about.
Steiner Posted October 1, 2023 Author Posted October 1, 2023 1 hour ago, bolero said: Ha, too cool!! Congrats If only you and I could do a mosquito riddled rendition of Cinnamon Girl on it.
bolero Posted October 2, 2023 Posted October 2, 2023 Lol! "Hey, maybe if we play this thing loud enough, the breeze from the speakers will keep all the bugs away?"
Steiner Posted October 2, 2023 Author Posted October 2, 2023 18 minutes ago, bolero said: Lol! "Hey, maybe if we play this thing loud enough, the breeze from the speakers will keep all the bugs away?" Or render them insensate... I like the way you're thinking!
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